Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part III - GAGWTA!

[wdw4us2]

LMP - I know you will have a great time at WDW no matter how you're feeling. I received my diagnosis the day before we left for DS's WDW birthday trip at the end of June. Although it was on my mind while we were driving up, once I got into the parks and started doing things I was able to stop thinking about it for a while. I hope you have the same experience.

 

[snappy]

Sha, I hope you found you mom in good spirits tonight and in less pain.

I think a trip with all of your family together will be wonderful for you, LMP. If the prospect of the trip has helped you get through those darkest hours, the trip is more than worth it.

I hope you have some wonderful meals together. The meals together is what I have the fondest memories of, along with those few rides we all enjoy jointly. We have also have so much fun in the pools at the pool homes we rented 4-7 years ago.

I am so glad we discovered the fun of being together at WDW. It just does not get old for me. Each trip is different and special in its own way.

wdw4us2, I did not have chemo so I have lived what you are going through. Can you go to your hairdresser and ask her to shave your head? I have heard many women recommend that option, as Maureen did. It kind of gets it over with if you know what I mean.

 

[Sha]

Mom was doing well... good spirits and controlled pain. She was very concerned about having the TV on and ready for Dancing with the Stars. I take that as a good sign.

I am praying she stays infection free and that the pathology will be good news.

 

[snappy]

Mom was doing well... good spirits and controlled pain. She was very concerned about having the TV on and ready for Dancing with the Stars. I take that as a good sign.

I am praying she stays infection free and that the pathology will be good news.

Thanks for posting. Hope the nodes are clear. Do you know when will she be released from the hospital?

 

[CherylDan]

Lisa, when I was in your shoes I also just went ahead and got it all cut off. Actually my DH did it, didn't shave it but just cut it as close as possible. It seemed like a small little victory for me, that I decided when I'd have no hair instead of the chemo. I liked stocking caps for winter, they were soft and comfy.

Sha, glad to hear that your mom's surgery went well. Here's hoping for good news from pathology!

LMP, love the "personal triumph" term that reservations came up with! Such a true statement.

Had a busy weekend here, ended up getting DD20 a new (used) car since the one she was driving had 230k miles on it. Yep, ran the wheels right off that one! LOL It was fine as long as she was staying local, but next year she will be transferring 300 miles away. Anyway, a good deal came up and we went for it. Told her we'd pay half (college student) and she had some money saved and had to get a small loan for the rest. Of course we had to co-sign, so I'll be keeping really close tabs on that. But we figured she'd at least get some credit history out of the deal.

Tried to get tickets to the Garth Brooks concerts in Las Vegas but came up empty handed. Dial....redial....redial....repeat non-stop for four hours with no luck. More shows will be announced in a few months, so I'll be trying again then.

GAGWTA!!!!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Good morning ladies

I never know when I'll post as the ds have to use the computer too. Yes we are talking laptops now. DS 21 has to do some online child abuse classes for his coaching job. One he got a 90 on and he is starting the 2nd one soon.

Laura - Praying for your upcoming surgery next week. Hope you are hanging in there sista!!

Sha - glad to hear your mom is in good spirits

FL Lisa - I only had radiation, but I like what Cheryl said about letting your dh cut your hair. I go to the salon now and I cant even get my hair washed anymore because I cant bend my neck into the sink, so everything is so different, but they understand. This is another step, although a big one, in the journey. Hang in there!!

Cheryl - I was actually thinking of you when I heard the tickets sold out in 5 hours. I hope you have good luck the next time.

Laurie - The ds are not going on the trip with us. I think ds21 and ds19 have finals but I did offer to fly them down for the week end. They dont find Disney appealing anymore. DS 17 said he wants to go but he is already going in May for his class trip and I am looking forward to some adult time. If ds17 went he wants to commando everything and never stop etc. I am so not up to that.

I am getting ready for Halloween. Ds21 bought me a cornstalk, some orange mums and 3 pumpkins for the 3ds. I dread Halloween, its so hard on me emotionally since this is the day my sister collapsed at work etc. etc. Then she died a week later. I always sit on the porch and hand out candy. The ds think I am crazy. Not when one of their aquaintances just got out of juvenide detention for stealing something from another neighbor. There is no way I am opening my door and letting people see whats inside, oh yeah help yourself to the tv, wii etc. no way!! Its tough here. I have also learned not to offer a bowl of candy. I make up little baggies full and let them pick what they want. Of course I am the only person in the neighborhood who puts a religious tract in the bag my ds tell me. I also put it in the bag because some of the older kids use to throw it back on the lawn after I gave it to them. All the ds are working but ds17 usually goes out with his friends at night. They always tell me some interesting stories like some guy who refused to give their friends candy because of the color of their skin, so sad but true. and a lady who was obviously drunk or high and kept laughing and throwing tons of candy at them Who knows what will happen this year.

Oh yes, and GO YANKEES!! Guess where I will be glued tonight if the rain stops???

GTAGWTA. Thinking of you all.

 

[wdw4us2]

Thanks for the suggestions ladies. I already had five inches of my hair cut off about a month ago. My hair hasn't been this short since I was in the Army! The wig I have is actually almost exactly how my hair looked before it was cut.

Sha - It sounds like your Mom is in good spirits. I hope her recovery continues to go well.

Cheryl - Sorry you didn't get tickets. Start calling before the official start time if they announce more dates. I have had success doing that in the past because they sometimes open the lines a few minutes early.

LMP - Adults only trips to WDW are different but very nice. I find them less tiring and more enjoyable because you are able to do what you want, for a change, and at your own pace. I am sure you'll have a great time there!

 

[Pei4ever]

I am confused about the call about saying the needle biopsy result was abnormal. I believe you should ask for more information and should call and ask to speak with the surgeon. I think you should also ask for a copy of the pathology report from the biopsy. Personally I would ask for a face to face before Monday, failing that I would ask at least to speak to him/her over the phone.

If you can obtain more info. I always say info is power. Most biopsies turn out with benign results. I am just unclear if the surgery you are scheduled for on Monday is an excisional surgical biopsy or not.

Please don't let all of the above scare you. We care and want to help with info.

Laurie

thanks for the info---I'm calling to speak with them today---I know that what came back "abnormal" was done ultrasound guided core needle biopsy with thru cut & Monday is suppose to be needle localization with surgical removal of mass which he had also placed a tissue marker in the prior biopsy. I know that it is a 2.1cm x 1.2 x 1.5cm mass with indistinct margins.....
Thanks again for listening---I'm sure it will be benign & nothing to worry about! I just let myself get upset at times when I shouldn't. Thanks again!

 

[honugirl]

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't been around. I went to visit some friends and things got a little crazy. They don't have good internet, so anything more than email was too hard to do. I just got back home late last night. It was a good visit. I'm pretty wiped out now. We'll see if I make it up to the U2 concert tonight or not... sigh. Anyway, I go to the endo in a couple of weeks. How's everyone doing?

 

[Sha]

I want to let you all know my mom is home and resting. I turned the phone off in her room... we see one MD next week and get the pathology. I am more anxious about that and each day that passes.

thanks again for all the prayers and good thoughts.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Good afternoon ladies

Sha - Glad your mom is home. I know its so hard to wait for the biopsy results.

Pei - wishing you all the best on mon.

Lisa - welcome back stranger!! So did you get to go to the U2 Concert???Please tell!! You can read the thread and see how I am doing. Pain is doing ok so far, at least bearable. I think I only shouted a little so far today

Laura - I am guessing you are doing or have done your pre op stuff. I bet they remember you. I have quite a rep around the pre op area too. I am no stranger!!Praying for you sista.

Candy - how are you sista?? Miss your posts.

Well I got a beautiful surprise yest. My bff in Texas sent me some amazing flowers. They are red and pink roses, daisies and carnations and some purple thing. Very nice and so sweet of her. I sent an e mail thank you. Ds 21 had a friend over yest. Of coruse we were all upset that the Yankees lost. I saw ds17 new sat grades and he did WORSE!! I cant believe it, by 40 points total. Oh gheesh. That is just so not good. He said I hate tests like these etc. I hope they look at his overall average, grades and see that he is in 3 honor societies etc. I hope that helps him alot.He is not taking any ap classes. I only said no as its private and in our school it costs like $600 a class, you get a $200 rebate if you take the ap test and you do it all on a cmputer, only the teacher guides you, not teaches you, didnt like that one. but he is taking 2 dual college credit classes. I made up 70 bags of candy so far. I hope that will be enough. I have more if I need it.

GTAGWTA. Thinking of you all.

 

[wdw4us2]

LMP - Sorry about your DS's SAT most recent SAT score. Has he thought about taking the ACT instead? My DD couldn't get her SAT above 1200 and she needed 1270 to qualify for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. She decided to focus on the ACT instead and was able to get a 28 to get the scholarship at 100%. She liked the ACT better because it focused more subjects than the SAT.

Sha - Hope your Mom is doing well now that she is home.

I am off to an appointment with my oncologist and then I have my second round of chemo. I am thinking positively that it will go better than the first round did.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Good morning sistas

Fl Lisa - I hope your treatment today goes well.

Ok, someone throw me a box of calgon and some tissues cause I'm having a pity party/vent, Ds19 took my van out, (didnt know he was using it) with friends and some pre mischeif night fun. O.K. I dont want to know what happened but it was something with them daring each other to do some clothing optional stuff on a dark road and running. My ds are insane. Then he comes back and says, oh your vans transmission is gone, but you can shift in low and back to drive etc. So now ds17 has to use dh van to get to work and if he crashes that we will have absolutely nothing for dh and I etc. Um, we just spent like about $700 and 2 garages and no one said anything was wrong when dh told them about the problems I was having. O.K. its like 18 years old, so we know we need something, now what to get? New, used etc. I cant deal with this right now. I want something as high up as a van, not a car though, maybe a crossover?? I havent heard from dh, I cant sleep between my neck and stomach and back. Oh, and I realized I may or may not have paid all the taxes on dhs family properties in NJ, so I callled the town, useless lady, and so I decided to just mail it quickly and look for the paperwork later., I hate being a landlord, 3 houses and all the stuff it involves is just too much. The property was suppose to be sold but that is a mess and dh will deal with it later. DS 21 is going to NJ to the Nets game tonight, so I will be worried about the long trip, his friend is driving. DS 19 has not raked the leaves and I almost killed mself getting to the mailbox. So now I dont have a van, I cant drive dh van, its just too big for me to handle and I hate the brakes etc. I havent heard from dh and miss him. O.K. Thanks for listening and I feel much better!!

GTAGWTA. Thinking of you all.

 

[lookingforward]

LMP - Sorry about your DS's SAT most recent SAT score. Has he thought about taking the ACT instead? My DD couldn't get her SAT above 1200 and she needed 1270 to qualify for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. She decided to focus on the ACT instead and was able to get a 28 to get the scholarship at 100%. She liked the ACT better because it focused more subjects than the SAT.

Sha - Hope your Mom is doing well now that she is home.

I am off to an appointment with my oncologist and then I have my second round of chemo. I am thinking positively that it will go better than the first round did.

Hi! Forgive me if you already posted, but which chemo are you having? I had six TAC chemos and each one was different. I got mine on Thursday and went to work on Friday. By Saturday I was down and out for about 48 hours. Just tired, achy (from the nuelasta shot) and weak. Then after that each day I built up more strength. I had three weeks in between each treatment, by the t hird week I was much better. I know its hard but I used postive visualization and light massage (for the aches). Hang in there and please let us know if there is anything we can do or say to help! I am thinking about you. Remember, this too will pass. I am 1.5 years past chemo and its kind of like childbirth...you forget the difficulty and I rest easier knowing I did everything I could to get well. GAGWTA!

 

[lookingforward]

Hi everyone! I am sitting here worried because I got exposed to the swine flu by someone. I hope that I will not get it, but most of all I am worried about my kids. The flu is really spreading around here and thats all I need! The incubation period is about 4 to 8 days so by Monday I should be fine. I'm not happy!

 

[honugirl]

Hey LMP! Wow, sounds like you've got a ton of stuff going on! Hugs.

I did go to the U2 concert. It was pretty good. I almost didn't go because I was feeling soooo horrible!!!! They played all my favorite older songs. Yay! It seemed like they ripped off a lot of stuff from Bon Jovi's stage last year, which didn't make me too happy. With all their cash, you'd think they could afford to design their own cool stage! Larry the drummer was smokin' hot (I've had a crush on him FOREVER) and so was Adam rocking the gray hair look. I love guys with gray hair.

I'm getting ready to go to LA in a couple of weeks. I'm scared. I know they're going to push for the radiation, which I don't want. That will leave me with more problems than it will solve. I really want the adrenalectomy, but I don't know if they'll approve it. I did send my doc an article on a study that was done on 4 or so patients in Europe where they were put on a cortisol pump (think insulin pump filled with hydrocortisone) and they did very well after their adrenals were gone, so I'm hoping that will be an option.

I carved a boat load of pumpkins yesterday. Between my friends and I, we did 16 pumpkins and 5 large zucchini. I'll try to post pics after tomorrow. They're pretty cool.

Anyway, better run. Gotta go get ready to go back over for dinner tonight. Yay! Steak and baked taters! Woohoo!!!! I can finally rest tomorrow, which will be really nice.

 

[wdw4us2]

LMP - I don't even know your DS 19, but he is starting to annoy me. It seems as though he goes out of his way to cause you problems, even though I'm sure that's not true. It doesn't sound as though he is dealing with your illness well and is looking for outlets for his feelings. I hope you are able to find something suitable for your DS 17 to drive.

Lookingforward - I don't think I posted what chemo I am getting. I have Herceptin weekly and the Carboplatin, Taxotere, steroids, etc. every three weeks with the Neulasta shot the next day.

So, I had my second long chemo today. Everything was going fine until they started the Taxotere. I had a horrible reaction that happened in what seemed to be a nano second. I got flushed and had tightness in my chest and couldn't breathe. I immediately called for the nurse and they gave me a shot of Solumedrol and an IV of Benadryl. I didn't panic, luckily, but it was very disconcerting.

Lucky for me there was someone getting their infusion today that I've known for over 30 years. I used to babysit for her kids and we have kept in touch over the years. She was annoyed that she didn't find out about me till recently and I pointedly asked her what she was doing there. She has just been diagnosed with lung cancer and was having her first chemo. It was so much better for me having someone there that I've known for so long.

I am doing much better tonight. No praying to the porcelain god and I've been able to eat more than last time. Small victories - I love them!

 

[Sha]

Mom is doing well. Her occupational therapist (OT) and home health aide (HHA) both started with her yesterday. Her PT will start Tuesday. She had all of that when we went through this 6 years ago for the Right mastectomy. Her PT this time is someone different, but someone we know and knows how to work some of the other issues I have with mom and safety. (power in numbers). Incision looks great and drains are working.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Good morning ladies

Fl Lisa - Sorry to hear about your bad reaction. Hope you are feeling better today and its so nice to be with someone too, so that was a blessing for you.

Lisa - Guess what, my cousins dw went to school with the Bon Jovi brothers in NJ. She said, oh yeah they use to go to some deli or something after school. Its funny. Cant wait to see your pics.

Candy - I hope your treatments are bearable

Sha - Glad to hear your mom is getting all those therapies to help her.

Maureen - Sure hope you dont get the swine flu.

Well I got a trick and a treat yest. Hmm, the trick, of course ds19 being his usual self. He did rake some of the leaves. Maybe it had something to do with me sitting in front of the door and telling him not to come in and get to work, well that plan didnt work out so well. I figured he would go around the back and get in that way and he did. But he saw I meant business. The treat, I prayed that dh would call me and he did. He said he is out of the "black hole of earth", otherwise known as Siberia and is now in Bejing. Yes, he called from the Great Wall Of China. Thats all I had to hear about, um, he has been there before etc. He was not too interested in what I have been putting up with. He did say to ds19 to be nice to me and he said he would buy me a new or newer vehicle when he gets home. We knew this day was coming. After 18 years. I am going to miss it for sure!! He also said he lost/misplaced his cell phone and would look for it when he gets back to the hotel. He had it last in Russia. I said call if you cant find it and we will cancel it. I wouldnt want to think of those phone charges etc. He had some other guys cell phone. Thanks Uncle Sam. Its so windy here. Hope it gets nicer later for the trick or treaters. Of course I am subdued today thinking of my sis..

GTAGWTA. Thinking of you all.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Good afternoon sistas

Hope you all survived Halloween and are not eating too much candy

Candy and Fl Lisa - Hope your are recovering from your treatments

Sha - praying for your mom and Miss Lee

Linda - Hope your mom and dd are doing well

Laura - praying for your upcoming surgery, hmm, think..yummy hospital food, wonderful ivs etc.

Well I survived Halloween. We mostly had teenagers come and no bad stuff like shaving cream, toilet paper, eggs etc. Dont tell the tag fairy, but I admit...I am princess impaired. Yup, a little girl came up to the porch and I said, oh are you cinderella? It was dark, she said,NO!! I am Ariel. I saw the green when she got closer. O.K. what do you want. I have 3 ds. I told her I love disney and take 2 candy bags. We were blessed with another great meal from a church family. Dh callled me a few times from china. He is leaving tomm. to go to seoul and then 11 hours to auckland new zealand, so I will hear from him in 2 days maybe. He said take the van to the shop etc. I cried. We already put like $600 in it, so not worth it. He said yes he will get me something etc. Maybe I am being selfish, but I have been driving around for years, with no ac, no auto windows etc. Um, everyone else has a decent car in the family etc and to top it off ds17 is going to need something soon too. I told dh how horrible ds19 was yest. Well he was actually ok when he was sleeping or at Emilys house. Oh yes, and GO YANKEES

GTAGWTA. Thinking of you all.