Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA
- Thread starter Pea-n-Me
- Start date
Feralpeg
Living and Loving Windermere!
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2000
Jason, my hair began coming back within a month of finishing chemo. It came back pretty quick. I've always had very straight hair. Initially, it came in curly! After about six months, the majority of the curl was gone. I still have one little area that curls that wasn't there pre-chemo. I was most excited to get my eyelashes and eyebrows back!
Don't worry! It will come back.
Don't worry! It will come back.
The Mystery Machine
Sunrise at my house. :+)
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2001
Hang in there luv. 
I am hanging in there. Radiation is going OK.
My seromas are a bit of a PITA (they are pretty small but "there") and my flexibility was crap so I requested PT.
Went for my assessment and the OT tech thinks I have some "cording" which was a new one on me.
Not 100% happy with the place I am at, as they are not very helpful. I have to push.
So I have 30 visits for PT and they will massage my tissue and help me with the alleged cording.
I am hanging in there. Radiation is going OK.
My seromas are a bit of a PITA (they are pretty small but "there") and my flexibility was crap so I requested PT.
Went for my assessment and the OT tech thinks I have some "cording" which was a new one on me.
Not 100% happy with the place I am at, as they are not very helpful. I have to push.
So I have 30 visits for PT and they will massage my tissue and help me with the alleged cording.
Pea-n-Me
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
Lmp, if the tech didn't draw them, then likely there was no order for them. Those get messed up all the time. (The Bain of my existence sometimes!) My liver enzymes were elevated last year from the Tylenol I was taking for pain before my hysterectomy. They've since come down, though. There can be a lot of causes.
Pea-n-Me
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
Glad to share this article here - something we've known for a while, but now they've got over a decade of hard data!
With cancer in one breast, no survival advantage in removing second one
(Reuters Health) – The proportion of breast cancer patients who removed a healthy breast to prevent future cancers more than tripled over 10 years, but the procedure didn’t improve their survival odds, a U.S. study finds.
Based on a decade of data on half a million women diagnosed with cancer in one breast that had not spread to other parts of the body, researchers found that removal of the second, healthy breast rose from 4 percent of patients in 2002 to nearly 13 percent in 2012.
But for women who chose so-called contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, the odds of death from breast cancer or from any cause were no different than those of women who just removed the tumor or the affected breast.
“It seems that what we’re often doing is overtreating breast cancer,” said senior author Dr. Mehra Golshan by email.
“Most women with early stage breast cancer will not benefit from having both breasts removed,” said Golshan, the chair of surgical oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
For the study, published in the Annals of Surgery, Golshan and colleagues analyzed a nationwide cancer database, focusing on 496,488 women diagnosed with stage I, II and III cancers in only one breast between 1998 and 2012.
They also looked at survival rates among more than 200,000 women through 2007.
Overall, around 60 percent of women underwent breast-conserving surgery, meaning removal of only the tumor, 33 percent removed only the diseased breast and 7 percent removed both breasts.
Nearly half of the women who had both breasts removed had reconstructive surgery, compared to 16 percent of women who removed one breast.
Golshan noted that while techniques are improving, surgery to remove breasts is still very serious. Operations can take between three and 12 hours, recovery can last a couple of months and women often lose most of the feeling in their chests.
He said that women may fear going through the experience of finding another lump in their other breast and not being able to work or sleep while waiting for test results.
Past research has found that anxiety and a lack of information about the risks and benefits can drive women to opt for preventive removal of a healthy breast (see Reuters Health story of April 22, 2015, here: reut.rs/22oMubV).
Dr. Monica Morrow, chief of the breast service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was not involved in the study, also said that “having peace of mind” may motivate many women to choose to remove both breasts.
“Removal of the normal breast does nothing to reduce the risk of dying of the cancer that is already present, it simply reduces the risk of making a second cancer in the other breast (although it doesn’t make the risk zero),” Morrow said.
This risk of developing cancer in the opposite breast is very low for the vast majority of women, at around 0.5 percent chance, Golshan said.
He and his coauthors note in their report that even after adjusting for the subtype of cancer women had and other risk factors, there was no statistically significant difference in survival rates between women who had breast-conserving surgery and those who removed both breasts. But there was “slightly worse survival” among women who removed both breasts. There was not enough data to explain that pattern, however.
What has come to be known as the Angelina Jolie effect may be another factor in the trend toward removing both breasts, researchers noted. Publicity about celebrities who had genetic predispositions to cancer and preventively removed both breasts may have contributed to people believing that removal of both breasts is a “safer” approach, Morrow said.
“Women should talk to their doctors to find out what their actual risk of development of a second cancer is estimated to be before making this decision,” she said.
“Surgeons should be operating less and we should have that discussion with the patient about the pros and cons of all the approaches,” Golshan said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/1Lt0WYV Annals of Surgery, online March 8, 2016.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-breastcancer-preventive-mastec-idUSKCN0WK244
With cancer in one breast, no survival advantage in removing second one
(Reuters Health) – The proportion of breast cancer patients who removed a healthy breast to prevent future cancers more than tripled over 10 years, but the procedure didn’t improve their survival odds, a U.S. study finds.
Based on a decade of data on half a million women diagnosed with cancer in one breast that had not spread to other parts of the body, researchers found that removal of the second, healthy breast rose from 4 percent of patients in 2002 to nearly 13 percent in 2012.
But for women who chose so-called contralateral prophylactic mastectomy, the odds of death from breast cancer or from any cause were no different than those of women who just removed the tumor or the affected breast.
“It seems that what we’re often doing is overtreating breast cancer,” said senior author Dr. Mehra Golshan by email.
“Most women with early stage breast cancer will not benefit from having both breasts removed,” said Golshan, the chair of surgical oncology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
For the study, published in the Annals of Surgery, Golshan and colleagues analyzed a nationwide cancer database, focusing on 496,488 women diagnosed with stage I, II and III cancers in only one breast between 1998 and 2012.
They also looked at survival rates among more than 200,000 women through 2007.
Overall, around 60 percent of women underwent breast-conserving surgery, meaning removal of only the tumor, 33 percent removed only the diseased breast and 7 percent removed both breasts.
Nearly half of the women who had both breasts removed had reconstructive surgery, compared to 16 percent of women who removed one breast.
Golshan noted that while techniques are improving, surgery to remove breasts is still very serious. Operations can take between three and 12 hours, recovery can last a couple of months and women often lose most of the feeling in their chests.
He said that women may fear going through the experience of finding another lump in their other breast and not being able to work or sleep while waiting for test results.
Past research has found that anxiety and a lack of information about the risks and benefits can drive women to opt for preventive removal of a healthy breast (see Reuters Health story of April 22, 2015, here: reut.rs/22oMubV).
Dr. Monica Morrow, chief of the breast service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, who was not involved in the study, also said that “having peace of mind” may motivate many women to choose to remove both breasts.
“Removal of the normal breast does nothing to reduce the risk of dying of the cancer that is already present, it simply reduces the risk of making a second cancer in the other breast (although it doesn’t make the risk zero),” Morrow said.
This risk of developing cancer in the opposite breast is very low for the vast majority of women, at around 0.5 percent chance, Golshan said.
He and his coauthors note in their report that even after adjusting for the subtype of cancer women had and other risk factors, there was no statistically significant difference in survival rates between women who had breast-conserving surgery and those who removed both breasts. But there was “slightly worse survival” among women who removed both breasts. There was not enough data to explain that pattern, however.
What has come to be known as the Angelina Jolie effect may be another factor in the trend toward removing both breasts, researchers noted. Publicity about celebrities who had genetic predispositions to cancer and preventively removed both breasts may have contributed to people believing that removal of both breasts is a “safer” approach, Morrow said.
“Women should talk to their doctors to find out what their actual risk of development of a second cancer is estimated to be before making this decision,” she said.
“Surgeons should be operating less and we should have that discussion with the patient about the pros and cons of all the approaches,” Golshan said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/1Lt0WYV Annals of Surgery, online March 8, 2016.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-breastcancer-preventive-mastec-idUSKCN0WK244
luvmarypoppins
<font color=darkorchid>I am debating whether to pu
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2003
This thread is quiet lately.
Linda - interesting and informative article. How is the college planning going for your ds and dd? The strange thing about my labs were that she did order those tests. They are so ocd about charting stuff and always keep records of tests ordered and will even call you to tell you if you didnt get the test about a week before you come in for an appt. So now I am going again sat. and we will see what happens.
Mystery Machine - hope you are feeling ok. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there!
The more I read about all these Disney changes and the constant cost increases and cutting back I feel less than enthused about planning a May trip. Dh is getting some new bosses and a new project in Boston, so I hope they give him the time off. He is going to the west Coast in 2 weeks. I think San Fran, Seattle and Portland areas.
Peg - since you live there just wondering what you think of all the changes and price increases etc.
Going to get our taxes done tonight. I am taking a break from paper gathering.
Ds3 got a great 6 month eval and a compliment from 2 supervisors. Too bad its a union place so performance does not equate to a raise, promotion etc. He is counting the days till the day shift. Life will be more normal around here for sure.
I am deciding also about where to eat on the trip. Just read and commented on another thread about how they are changing lunch menus to all day dinner menus. I am debating whether or not to get another TIW card. At $150 it seems a stretch. Some places give an ap discount, so that might have to do. We already paid a fortune for dh ap. I got the old one and squeezed in just under the date.
GAGWTA
Linda - interesting and informative article. How is the college planning going for your ds and dd? The strange thing about my labs were that she did order those tests. They are so ocd about charting stuff and always keep records of tests ordered and will even call you to tell you if you didnt get the test about a week before you come in for an appt. So now I am going again sat. and we will see what happens.
Mystery Machine - hope you are feeling ok. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Hang in there!
The more I read about all these Disney changes and the constant cost increases and cutting back I feel less than enthused about planning a May trip. Dh is getting some new bosses and a new project in Boston, so I hope they give him the time off. He is going to the west Coast in 2 weeks. I think San Fran, Seattle and Portland areas.
Peg - since you live there just wondering what you think of all the changes and price increases etc.
Going to get our taxes done tonight. I am taking a break from paper gathering.
Ds3 got a great 6 month eval and a compliment from 2 supervisors. Too bad its a union place so performance does not equate to a raise, promotion etc. He is counting the days till the day shift. Life will be more normal around here for sure.
I am deciding also about where to eat on the trip. Just read and commented on another thread about how they are changing lunch menus to all day dinner menus. I am debating whether or not to get another TIW card. At $150 it seems a stretch. Some places give an ap discount, so that might have to do. We already paid a fortune for dh ap. I got the old one and squeezed in just under the date.
GAGWTA
Pea-n-Me
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2004
It was a pretty stressful process going on since October, but both kids are enrolled in college, lmp. They are pretty happy with their choices. Still lots going on to finish up HS, as you know well, but they're winding down. I'll be glad when September rolls around and they'll actually be started!
Dancind
Tinkerbell's Mom
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2001
Wow! We used to get the TIW but it was only $75. Haven't been since 2012 but that's quite a jump. Liked it because sometimes I just wanted an appetizer and a glass of wine, and the discount applied to the wine.
Congrats on the college stuff being done, Pea! Hope all goes well. Two at once? That's doubly stressful.
We are leaving this week for my bucket trip. Starting with four days on our own in Florence Italy then onto the cruise. Woke up this morning in a panic thinking "what if we can't find anyone that speaks English?" I've been watching too many reruns of the Amazing Race on Hulu. Got the Google Translate app this morning, ha!
Congrats on the college stuff being done, Pea! Hope all goes well. Two at once? That's doubly stressful.
We are leaving this week for my bucket trip. Starting with four days on our own in Florence Italy then onto the cruise. Woke up this morning in a panic thinking "what if we can't find anyone that speaks English?" I've been watching too many reruns of the Amazing Race on Hulu. Got the Google Translate app this morning, ha!
luvmarypoppins
<font color=darkorchid>I am debating whether to pu
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2003
Hope everyone is doing well.
My new blood tests came out great, no cancer number to report and good liver stuff too, PTL!!!
This trip planning is driving me nuts. Again I may have to change the whole trip dates, it seems there is something going on for 2 days and the Swan is sold out and the YC and BC prices are through the roof, sigh. So we might push the trip more towards memorial day. At least maybe after the 24 and 25. I want to see at least some of the Flower show.
Spring has disappeared around here lately. Too much rain and clouds.
I have been online looking for condos for ds1 since we will be helping contribute some towards it which he is expected to pay back. I found a great one and it was sold so fast, sigh. One floor condos around here are few and far between.
GAGWTA
My new blood tests came out great, no cancer number to report and good liver stuff too, PTL!!!
This trip planning is driving me nuts. Again I may have to change the whole trip dates, it seems there is something going on for 2 days and the Swan is sold out and the YC and BC prices are through the roof, sigh. So we might push the trip more towards memorial day. At least maybe after the 24 and 25. I want to see at least some of the Flower show.
Spring has disappeared around here lately. Too much rain and clouds.
I have been online looking for condos for ds1 since we will be helping contribute some towards it which he is expected to pay back. I found a great one and it was sold so fast, sigh. One floor condos around here are few and far between.
GAGWTA
The Mystery Machine
Sunrise at my house. :+)
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2001
I am hanging in there. 8 more radiation treatments to go. I am burnt to crap right now.
Also I am doing PT/OT.
Also I am doing PT/OT.
luvmarypoppins
<font color=darkorchid>I am debating whether to pu
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2003
TMM - Wishing you all the best with the remaining treatments. Sorry to hear you are dealing with the skin issues.
Finally booked the trip. May 17-18 we will be at the Swan and then the 19-22 we will be at the Yacht Club with a nice ap discount. Those deluxe resorts are getting out of our price range. That is why I only did a few days there. I am saving whatever ff miles dh has for probably the Swan in Dec. or for Food and Wine there too. I made a few dining plans, Cape May since dh must have crab legs, Yachtsman, Tusker House lunch, dont know about that one yet and Be Our Guest lunch. I am going to check out Skippers Cantina. I know Laurie and her dd ate there and liked it. Need to figure out the rest.
And then ds2 informs me that he is taking his girlfriend to Disney May 7-15. They are staying at the Swan too since he heard the great deal we got with buy one night and get the 2nd 40% off. I m not to thrilled about all of this. He hasnt told dh yet as he knows dh will really be unhappy. But he is an adult. His gf is gluten free so that will be interesting.
Dh is on a trip to the west coast. Tomm. ds3 is flying out to meet him. They are visiting dh 90 year old uncle in Washington and then will go to Portland too. They come back together early wed. morning.
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring weather.
GAGWTA
Finally booked the trip. May 17-18 we will be at the Swan and then the 19-22 we will be at the Yacht Club with a nice ap discount. Those deluxe resorts are getting out of our price range. That is why I only did a few days there. I am saving whatever ff miles dh has for probably the Swan in Dec. or for Food and Wine there too. I made a few dining plans, Cape May since dh must have crab legs, Yachtsman, Tusker House lunch, dont know about that one yet and Be Our Guest lunch. I am going to check out Skippers Cantina. I know Laurie and her dd ate there and liked it. Need to figure out the rest.
And then ds2 informs me that he is taking his girlfriend to Disney May 7-15. They are staying at the Swan too since he heard the great deal we got with buy one night and get the 2nd 40% off. I m not to thrilled about all of this. He hasnt told dh yet as he knows dh will really be unhappy. But he is an adult. His gf is gluten free so that will be interesting.
Dh is on a trip to the west coast. Tomm. ds3 is flying out to meet him. They are visiting dh 90 year old uncle in Washington and then will go to Portland too. They come back together early wed. morning.
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring weather.
GAGWTA
The Mystery Machine
Sunrise at my house. :+)
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2001
I am done with radiation YEA!!! Skin is getting better. I just have to work on the swelling, scar tissue, and find a new place for PT/OT.
Now after going through all of this it is like holy crap, there is just not enough attention on the medical side to be helpful.
It is like a gamble on your doctors how "involved" they are with answering questions, their methods, advice, etc. which is why this thread exists to be frank.
Luv, happy you are planning and yes the resorts are just so expensive! WDW has been out of our reach for a vacation for quite some time. It does stink. One of these days we will be able to actually go on a vacation.
Now after going through all of this it is like holy crap, there is just not enough attention on the medical side to be helpful.
It is like a gamble on your doctors how "involved" they are with answering questions, their methods, advice, etc. which is why this thread exists to be frank.
Luv, happy you are planning and yes the resorts are just so expensive! WDW has been out of our reach for a vacation for quite some time. It does stink. One of these days we will be able to actually go on a vacation.
robinb
DIS veteran
- Joined
- Aug 29, 1999
ILuvmarypoppins, I'm so happy that you booked your trip! Frankly, if we didn't own DVC we would not be able to afford going to Disney AT ALL. Even so, the rising cost of passes and food have almost priced even us out of a WDW vacation. Ugh. I love the Swan! The YC is one of the few resorts I have not stayed at but I've stayed on the DVC side of the BC a couple of times and we own at BW. I love the Epcot resort area! Why are you upset about your son going to WDW with his girlfriend? Money? Your trips don't overlap?
TMM, yippie on finishing radiation! I hope you find a good PT/OT team.
TMM, yippie on finishing radiation! I hope you find a good PT/OT team.
Dancind
Tinkerbell's Mom
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2001
TMM, so glad to hear you are through that hurdle. What are you saying about the medical team? Do you feel like there is no coordination? I felt that way at times too.
Well, we are back from Europe. First time in a long while that we got to the end of a long vacation and weren't ready to go home. A few blips, but overall an amazing time and the Viking ship is absolutely gorgeous. May have been better than our Disney cruises!
I have to say, we are no longer young enough for 28 hours of travel without sleep. And Europe has so many stairs compared to the US! ha. Not prepared for that either. I had a lot of trouble with edema which can either be attributed to compromised lymph nodes or not being in great shape. Or both. Was not fun. Was finally feeling better and it was time to come home, but I just toughed it out.
Well, we are back from Europe. First time in a long while that we got to the end of a long vacation and weren't ready to go home. A few blips, but overall an amazing time and the Viking ship is absolutely gorgeous. May have been better than our Disney cruises!
I have to say, we are no longer young enough for 28 hours of travel without sleep. And Europe has so many stairs compared to the US! ha. Not prepared for that either. I had a lot of trouble with edema which can either be attributed to compromised lymph nodes or not being in great shape. Or both. Was not fun. Was finally feeling better and it was time to come home, but I just toughed it out.
smiley_face2
DIS veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
Diana, so glad you had such a good vacation! I hear you on the discomforts of getting older and travel! LOL! If you are able to post some pictures that would be so neat! I seriously doubt, as much as it is a bucket list wish, we will ever get to see any of Europe!
Tmm hope you will get feeling better asap now things are done. I do know what you mean about drs. and I ended up changing my oncologist, and even my treatment center.
Had my 6 month scan last week, waiting to hear results, that's always the hard part for me, makes me kinda crazy!! Been doing lots of work in our yard, thankfully the weather has been amazing!!
Been dealing with so much family stuff. way too much to talk about, but it's all really getting my down! one little spot of joy, was dear little grandson. the cancer people were going door to door for donations, selling the yellow daffodil pins, my daughter only had $2 to give and was talking to the lady about me, apparently grandson was listening and ran and got his toothfairy money for her, to help his gramma.
Lmp, I hope all your plans will fall into place! why are you not happy about son and girlfriend going to disney? because they wont' be there when you all are? maybe they can change dates? pretty late now to do that I guess!
GAGWTA
Tmm hope you will get feeling better asap now things are done. I do know what you mean about drs. and I ended up changing my oncologist, and even my treatment center.
Had my 6 month scan last week, waiting to hear results, that's always the hard part for me, makes me kinda crazy!! Been doing lots of work in our yard, thankfully the weather has been amazing!!
Been dealing with so much family stuff. way too much to talk about, but it's all really getting my down! one little spot of joy, was dear little grandson. the cancer people were going door to door for donations, selling the yellow daffodil pins, my daughter only had $2 to give and was talking to the lady about me, apparently grandson was listening and ran and got his toothfairy money for her, to help his gramma.
Lmp, I hope all your plans will fall into place! why are you not happy about son and girlfriend going to disney? because they wont' be there when you all are? maybe they can change dates? pretty late now to do that I guess!
GAGWTA
tazdev3225
<font color=darkorchid>I sucked my thumb up with t
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2008
I have been AWOL lately from the boards in general. Hope everyone is doing OK.
My dad had his 6 month CT scan and gets the results today. Evidently this will be our way of life now. He is doing OK but still tires easily. I guess that is to be expected as he turned 80 last Monday. He figures he outlived his father and grandfathers age at death by at least 25 years so all is good. I have to admire his perspective on life.
Have a good day all.
My dad had his 6 month CT scan and gets the results today. Evidently this will be our way of life now. He is doing OK but still tires easily. I guess that is to be expected as he turned 80 last Monday. He figures he outlived his father and grandfathers age at death by at least 25 years so all is good. I have to admire his perspective on life.
Have a good day all.
Dancind
Tinkerbell's Mom
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2001
I guess I can put a link to DH's SmugMug account here. Just go to the travel section and click on European cities. Please ignore photos of me. My face was bloated along with the rest of me, I look awful.
http://www.kevineddyphotography.com/Travel
We would love to go back again. Our favorite part of the trip was the three days we spent in Florence before the cruise, on our own. So now we are braver. But cruises are nice too!
http://www.kevineddyphotography.com/Travel
We would love to go back again. Our favorite part of the trip was the three days we spent in Florence before the cruise, on our own. So now we are braver. But cruises are nice too!
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smiley_face2
DIS veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
OMG thankyou for sharing!! Florence and Venice are soooooo beautiful!! what a stunning way to do that trip!! maybe when we finally sell this too big house and downsize that is what we will do! every PBS show we watch the commercials are always on for the viking cruise and it looks so inviting!! and for goodness sake you are too hard on yourself!! you look wonderful and so happy!
Dancind
Tinkerbell's Mom
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2001
Thanks Janet, glad you liked the photos! Venice is the most photogenic city. And we love that PBS commercial where it looks like the ship is sailing right into the Venice canal Lol. If you take the Travel part off the link, you can find the "Vacation" section with WDW photos. I love those. Don't know why they aren't in Travel. DH won several board challenges with some of those photos.
Don't think I mentioned it, but in Croatia we did Game of Thrones tours in Split and Dubrovnik. So many hills and stairs. Anyway, you can see Mereen and King's Landing filming locations in some of those photos, if you are a fan.
Don't think I mentioned it, but in Croatia we did Game of Thrones tours in Split and Dubrovnik. So many hills and stairs. Anyway, you can see Mereen and King's Landing filming locations in some of those photos, if you are a fan.
Dancind
Tinkerbell's Mom
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2001
Also, if you want to do this, don't wait too long. Viking is very, very port intensive. There was only one sea day on our 12 day cruise. And we chose some long tours because we wanted to see as much as we could! We were so tired at night we hardly did anything except dinner. Kind of need to be fit. We're thinking on our own, we could set a slower pace and maybe afford to stay longer. Ha.
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