ER-, PR-, Her2+ Roll call

Thank you! I feel like I will be better having a plan in place. Right now, I just worry if the mass is going to just grow grow grow and get bigger until I get treatment started. My ultrasound measured it at 3.9 cm, but my surgeon said yesterday it was 2 inches wide (which is 5 cm). I just imagine it getting gigantic. Deep breaths. Woo-sah.

I'm probably getting way ahead of myself, but…I am wondering about diets during chemo. My husband saw a nutritionist in January and I benefitted from it. He's lost just under 80 pounds and I've lost 48. I still have lots more to go, as I'm in the obese category and I still get out and walk every day, but pretty sure that might not be possible while undergoing chemo (depending on how I feel). I'm still eating healthy and cutting out as much refined sugar as possible (even my beloved flavored coffee creamer) since I read that it's not good for HER2+. Any and all suggestions, "heads up" type scenarios, etc. are greatly appreciated!

Congrats on you and hubby’s weight loss!

I went into this so out of shape and feeling at a disadvantage because of it. Unfortunately, I didn't get much help from my nutritionists. Both the local and virtual oncology nutritionists told me to eat whatever I could, even recommending foods like puddings, pies, and milkshakes.

During chemo, fresh fruit is what I crave—processed foods taste awful in flavor and texture, even breads and crackers. I’ve lost weight on chemo because my diarrhea gets so bad. I need to keep it bland or my body revolts. I also focus on replenishing my potassium because they’ve almost held chemo because of it. I pair fruit with protein, like warm nut butter on bananas or cottage cheese with strawberries. Homemade unsweetened applesauce, cherries with vanilla yogurt, and watermelon with feta are favorites. I also find roasted pumpkin soothing. Chicken stock is a staple, and my favorite tip from the nutritionist— Banatrol powder, which is banana fiber— has been a lifesaver for managing diarrhea. I eat more as I’m feeling better. I start craving salads and greens and meats about two weeks past chemo.

Chemo has not been nearly as bad as I feared. The first round was my worst, I think because it was all new and I was learning what to do to get and stay ahead of side effects. Now, it’s more wearing and annoying. I’ve mainly felt weak and been achy in the arms, legs, and jaw this last round. I’m on day 4 of it.

Apparently, flavored coffee creamer is not healthy (loaded with sugar and chemicals…sugar free has artificial sweeteners which I personally don't do). Both my husband and myself were in the "morbidly obese" range (40+ bmi) and are thrilled to be in the plain 'ol obese range…lol. Our goal is to get in the "overweight" category next (sounds crazy, right?) I was more worried about gaining back some of what I've worked so hard to lose. We are on a whole food diet…no processed foods, whole grain bread/rice/pasta, lots of fruit and nuts for snacks. There's really not anything we've completely cut out except chips, cookies, cakes, etc. and don't miss it. We eat something every 3-4 hours and have never felt hungry. Of course, exercise is involved, but it's just walking at least 30 minutes/day and extremely doable. I think I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for what I may or may not want to eat. I plan to do some sort of walking (even if it's just in my house) but I'm pretty sure there will be some period of not wanting to. I read that refined sugar feeds HER2+, so I'm trying to cut out as much as I can (not that I get much in my diet now). I think I'm overthinking and need to just stop and breathe.

grammie - As the oldtimers on BCO always said - in your pocket.

Praying for clean markers, Grammie2!!

I'm going for my first appointment with my oncologist on Monday afternoon. I have NO idea what to expect. Can y'all prepare me?

Hello everyone, I hope all of you are well 😊 @beekaycro24 I know it's difficult but try to relax on the weekend. Your oncologist will probably talk about your treatment plan.

In my case, I had a multidisciplinary appointment with several doctors and they talked about the chemicals I would receive at chemo and about what they expected the surgery to be like. They said right away that the tumor would likely respond well to chemotherapy and that I would probably be able to have a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy. They also told me right away that if there was more than 1 positive lymphonode, they would remove all of them from my armpit. So wait for information like this.

Best of luck to you and try to relax!

Greetings to everyone! 🌷

Good luck at your first appt!

I recorded mine and later transcribed it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used it and referred back to it for different things.

For me, my onc basically laid out my diagnosis and an overview of my treatment plan, discussed what to expect and talked about the ways I’d be closely monitored throughout. She dove deeper into the surgery options. She recommended her top choices for a medical oncologist and plastic surgeon for me, based on me and my case. She ordered scans to see if my cancer spread. She talked about starting chemo before surgery to shrink the tumors and improve surgery outcomes. She gave some high level details on the chemo drugs I’d likely be taking, potential side effects, and how they’d monitor progress. It was a lot of info fast. She gave me some handouts on chemo and copies of the drawings on margins she sketched out while talking to me. She introduced me to her assistant I could reach out to and my designated social worker, who each gave me more handouts. She arranged for me to do lab work and genetic testing before leaving that day.

We were posting at the same time, so I missed your updates the first time around. I’m so glad to hear your surgery went smoothly, and it’s great that you’re feeling relatively comfortable so far! I hope you can get more clarity at your follow-up on the 12th. I’ll keep you in my prayers for a good biopsy report!

Take care! I hope you get lots of good rest and healing in 💕 

Hello everyone,

@grammie2 I'm thrilled that everything went well, I wish you a great recovery 🌷

At this moment, I had less good news, I'm scared and I wanted to ask you what you think about what's happening to me: My treatment plan would be 4 doses of AC plus 4 doses of taxotere+trastuzumab+pertuzumab. The doctors always assured me that my type of cancer, although aggressive, responds very well to chemotherapy. On Wednesday I took my last dose of AC, to my delight, and I only had 4 infusions left. I received instructions for my next dose, where I will need to take steroids before, during and after the infusion. So far so good.

Yesterday I decided to go to my hospital portal, and I was surprised when I saw that I have many more chemotherapy sessions scheduled! I was devastated... I still haven't been contacted to find out what happened. I know I did more blood tests on wednesday (probably for tumor markers, I don't have access to test results), did the AC not work? Do you know of any similar cases? I'm sorry for writing so much, but I'm really scared right now... And I only want to know if this is a normal procedure…

Thank you in advance!

@bailey.boo I'm curious if you have purchased a compression sleeve yet and if so, where from. I should start radiation in a few weeks and want to purchase one.

@grammie2 thank you for calming me down about my situation, it looks like it was a mistake after all and my sessions will continue as initially planned! What a big scare I got!
As for your case, my opinion is that you should never have had a marked nodule, but rather a portion of adipose tissue. In my case, the doctors did 3 biopsies on 3 different supposed lymph nodes, but when I received the results, only 2 were nodes (positive) and 1 of them was just breast tissue (negative). Sometimes on ultrasounds, it is not possible to clearly understand whether lymph nodes or other types of tissue are being seen.

I think it's good news and I'm very happy that you have negative margins! 🤩

@grammie2 it looks like the lymph node disappeared? What type of biopsy did you do? I read somewhere that sometimes lymph nodes can be completely aspirated during the biopsy. I know they inserted a marker, but... Keep us posted!