TRIPLE POSITIVE GROUP
Comments
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lago - we have that arrangement too - but I tend to feel more guilty because I am not working, lol! I finally got him to agree to a lawn service. He was mowing 9 months out of the year and it is hot here in FL! We have a large yard and I was worried about him mowing in Jul/Aug! He loves to vacuum, and it feels weird to me when I do it because of the pectoral displacement, so he vacuums. He got one of those floor steamers and he goes around all the hard flooring with it. He also likes to clean the pool and take care of all the potted plants. He handles anything electrical and he likes to paint. I pretty much handle everything else. He can cook, but now he just mans the grill. He has been banned from laundry though - he is a disaster in that department!
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vacuuming is something I think my husband did once. He hates loud noises and has very sensitive hearing. Our old place had a disposal and he never used that either because of the noise. But I don't seem to have an issue with pectoral displacement. I think I might be using my arms more now. Only time I get that pectoral displacement is if it's really cold and I tighten up (winter below freezing) or trying to open a jar that I can't possibly open.
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lago - vacuuming tends to bother me too because that is my LE side - something about the angle, I am not very tall. He likes it so I am all for it! I need to go back to stretching more but that side has a 650cc implant, and I seem to be aware of it 100% of the time.
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SpecialK, I think the story of how you got together is adorable!
My sweetie learned to do his clothes while doing his stint in the military, and he learned to cook from his mother, who was a fantastic home chef.
But anything that he happens to put down stays where it is because once it is behind him he never looks back... So I am the picker-upper that comes along behind.... closing cabinet doors and drawers....
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Over the 10 years since dx, the side with the lumpectomy and SNB has never worked out the kinks. The rads fibrosis has spread over time, and tightened up, so that mammograms have become more and more painful, and the muscles around that shoulder and the neck have tightened up protectively. I've been through PT several times for it. The elbow and shoulder are particularly painful. I backpacked all my life into my late 30's as part of my work, so I had excellent musculature there, but it was damaged by the 6 episodes of chemo plus doubled-steroids and has never recovered. I use a rowing machine and weights.
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AA - thanks! Our 30th anniversary is this year - hard to believe! He was active-duty military when he lived in that apartment, so I became a military spouse for the next 28 years. He is very neat and tidy, one year he threw away our taxes before I had sent them in! We were overseas at the time - before the internet, so I had to re-invent the wheel to get them done! He retired shortly before my diagnosis, but continues to work for Special Operations Command here at his last duty station. I do get good relief from tightness by stretching the shoulders/neck/chest as I was taught in PT, I just need to be more disciplined about doing it - I tend to get busy and start running around and actually forget. It feels so much better when I do it that I don't really know why I don't! I am sorry that you are having trouble - I was fortunate not to need rads. It seems like so many people have residual issues afterward, I feel like it was one bullet that I dodged.
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SpecialK, I agree about rads. Had I known ahead of time that the breast completely would lose all pleasure sensation and become painful, I would have chosen differently simply to avoid the exposure to radiation.
I admire your persistence. We just finished our taxes and if anybody lost or destroyed the paperwork for that, at this point I'd head for the nearest cliff to jump from. It is the one time of year when we are at odds as a couple for days on end.
P.S. Our 40th anniversary was last year, can't actually imagine where the time went
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AA I didn't have radiation but my left side never got full range back from BMX. Both side feel stiff/sore when I really stretch. I also have some nerve damage under the right breast that burns when I do my "massaging" for my implants. But I'm not in pain only when I do those things. The burning can hurt if I don't approach it gradually.
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My worse side for weakness is the non-cancer side, but it has had 7 surgeries. My LE PT actually said after exchange surgery there was a void on the back side of the shoulder where the muscle had atrophied so much. The right side has more discomfort due to the ALND surgery, but that side has only had 4 surgeries counting that one. I find that recovering muscle strength and tone has been a very slow process, and I fatigue easily when doing anything that requires continuous reaching overhead.
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I had to give up one of my back exercises because it kept hurting my neck/shoulder from an accident. This is also the LE side and the 10 node side. I am using some band exercises to replace that one. One of my other exercises I can only use 7lbs. I have yet to get up to 10lbs. Other than that I have been doing strength training the same as before BC, even with the 10lbs weight which I had just started… but I will admit some of the exercises are much more challenging than before treatment. Could be I'm just getting older too. Almost 3 years since diagnosis. Also went through chemo-pause too.
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Lago, I saw my BS in Seattle last fall after not seeing anyone but my local PCP for the last 6 years, because the rads necrosis/fibrosis has tightened up so much that I wanted his opinion re MRI vs mammo. His office normally is topnotch, but the nurse had been dense on the phone with me and wouldn't check with him nor order an MRI (and actively discouiraged the MRI as being something my insurance might not pay for), so I had my PCP here in AK just order the MRI and I kept the Seattle appt for the mammo. The breast center there successfully managed to get enough of a mammo to set me loose for another year, so I then canceled the MRI. When I saw my BS, he said that his preference is for me to have both, alternating them every 6 months. He was not too happy with the episode with the nurse that left me hanging, or that I had to get the MRI order on my own. Then he sent in the nurse so that I could address it directly with her -- which I definitely did..... I honestly don't know whether I can tolerate more mammos if it continues to tighten up.
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AlaskaAngel - Rads necrosis/fibrosis? Wow, that's something I never heard of. When did it show up? Here I thought I was home free after rads because I never had any skin problems.
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PatinMN, it is not all that common. I was one of the first (translation: guinea pig of sorts) to do IMRT rads, at a brand new cancer facility in the Lower 48, and since then they have refined that type of rads exposure somewhat.
One disillusioning aspect, however, was that when the breast started hardening up so badly and started becoming painful to touch, I traveled to the Lower 48 to the rads treatment center for the chief of rads (who had done the Rx for my rads dosage) to get her take on it. She had "no idea what the problem was"...!!! She wasn't used to interpreting MRI's and wanted to do an ultrasound (????!!!), so instead I got her to prescribe an MRI at the cancer center where my BS is, and I went there and he read it and immediately said it was likely rads necrosis/fibrosis, and then demonstrated in several ways why he thought so, for me to understand. Jeez.
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I know a friend of mine (and her friend) have dense tissue. Both had lump. They weren't getting MRIs on the "good" breast. So one of them went to my onc. My onc said they should be alternating 6 months mammo/6 months MRI on both breasts (former cancer and non cancer). She was already ready to switch to my treatment center when my onc said 'that's ridiculous. I'll right a letter to you onc.' They both get the MRIs on both breasts as well as the mammos and didn't have to switch. This seems to be pretty standard.
MRIs were still considered fairly new in terms of breast cancer diagnosis even 3 years ago according to my radiologist that did my biopsy. Any test you get is only as good as the person reading it. Keep that in mind. I know my breast cancer would have been found at least a year if not 2 years earlier had I been going to a different place for mammos. Even the last time the thought what I has was suspicious but not typical of breast cancer. My BS new just looking at the mammo (they sent the wrong disk for US) that I had it. I knew by how he was acting and the fact that he started to talk about treatment. I saw him before a biopsy was ordered.
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Hi all
Just wanted to let u know-just got word it's b9!0 -
AMESOME CYPHER!!!
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Lago- Yes. The amount of "chance" that we deal with as patients is hard to handle when it comes to something dangerous like cancer. In any kind of human coordination there are holes, and health care is no exception for sure... working in that field, one is aware but still somewhat in denial, until one becomes a patient with a life-threatening disease....
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Cypher, was it a fibroadenoma, or ?
Even though doing the trial and staying longer for your Herceptin is a pain.... it is a truly unique contribution to make. I've taken part in 2 clinical trials that were completely optional (no recurrence) and all of it really does "count".... Congrats on doing it despite the hassle.
A.A.
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AlaskaAngel - thanks for the info; I'm glad to hear it's not very common.
Cypher - great news! You must be so relieved!
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cypher - yay!
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Hi, everyone. I'm home from surgery. Got the very best news so far: tumor was less than 1.5 cm and no node involvement. Had radiation port and herceptin port installed. Nurses and doctors were wonderful. Boob hurts like you know what! But I'm already feeling better. Thank you all for you for your prayers and good thoughts. I'm sure the prayers of all my friends--old and new--made all the difference.... karen
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Karen, congrats.
Cypher, yay!
and I just got a call from my onc, the radiologist said the US was unremarkable. Translates as yippee! So glad they called do I dont have to wait all weekend. Btw, FIL funeral is Monday so will be out Sunday on for a bit. Everyone have a great weekend. Much.love.0 -
karen and moon - yay!
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OMG the good news keeps coming. Yah Karen and Moon.
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Hooray Cypher, Moon and Karen! Great day with all the good news.
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YEAH!
Karen, Moon and Cypher! Good news!! I love reading good news. What a wonderful way to start the weekend.
Praise God.
T
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Yes great news all around! Karen, 1.5 cm and no nodes is great news. Moon, glad it was clear from the US and you didn't even need to bother with the biopsy!
Alaska, they were fibroid adenomas.
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Cypher-- GREAT NEWS
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Karen and moon Yay
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Cypher, so relieved and glad for you! Karen and Moon yay for the good news!
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