Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA

[luvmarypoppins]

kriddle - welcome but sorry you have to be here. The ladies are great here and inspire me so much with their strength and courage. I cant comment as I have thy ca. Wishing you all the best.

Smiley - sorry to hear about your sis. Wishing her all the best too and I hope she heals quckly from her surgery.

Laurie - thinking of your mom. She sounds like such a sweet lady. I feel bad when people have to go through so much in their golden years.

kofslinky - wishing you all the best whatever your decision is. Your man sounds like a real keeper!

I texted Sha to wish her a happy birthday. She says to tell all the ladies here HI!!! and she is going to try and stop in next week here.

Ds 3 took the nursing boards on Sat. He should know by tomm. I think if he passed and Linda he got all 265 questions and it took him 5 hours and 50 minutes

Ds2 cooked steaks. Very well done but some ate them.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Ds3 passed his nursing boards. Proud mom here for sure!

I am calling today to schedule my ultrasound/sono of my neck. I am really overdue for this. I want to do it now because next month is teaching and getting ready for the vbs so that is basically 2 weeks gone etc.

GAGWTA

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Congratulations to your son, lmp

 

[smiley_face2]

Ds3 passed his nursing boards. Proud mom here for sure!

I am calling today to schedule my ultrasound/sono of my neck. I am really overdue for this. I want to do it now because next month is teaching and getting ready for the vbs so that is basically 2 weeks gone etc.

GAGWTA

that is awesome!!

 

[Dancind]

Good news, LMP! Congrats to your son.

OK, here is my argument against bilateral mastectomy, keeping in mind I have not had to go through any more biopsies. I had a lot of my lymph nodes removed because my breast tissue spread out on the sides a bit. Extra fatty tissue, even though I'm not very overweight, and it took a lot of them. The result has been a continuing problem with my right side with swelling around the scar and under the arm if I overuse my right arm. So it's good to have a "good" side.

If threatened with another punch biopsy, I would probably insist on a lumpectomy instead. That was the worst part for me.

Of course, now I have a problem with my left shoulder, but that's a whole different issue.

 

[snappy]

I believe I agree with you, Diana, unless, and this is a big unless, I was BRAC i or 2 positive, or I had a lot of lumpiness or troublesome areas in the one without cancer that would have to be constantly checked.

I have one "good" side left, I had a free tram flap on the "affected" side in 2006.

I do like having a good side. That side was greatly reduced and lifted to match the tram flap side during the same 4 hour operation when the flap was done. It feels more normal to me, and to be frank, it is good to have some feeling on one side.

I think mine are really well matched. Good plastic surgeon, very good, and very successful healing. I will say doing reconstruction on even one side is a VERY BIG surgery. Lots of recovery time, pain in the abdomen was worse than I expected, although I took those crazy meds for only 4 days before I realized they were wrecking me.

It seemed to me when I was researching it, results varied. Some people's scars are just flatter and smoother. Some people can deal with the pain better. Some people are just better candidates.

The flap side is certainly not perfect looking due to the scars, but in a bra it is wonderful. I had a delayed reconstruction, but from my reading, the reconstructions done at the same time as the mastectomy, the immediate reconstructions, are done with scars more hidden.

I would choose the same path I did, if given the choice again.

Feel free to ask me questions if you like. I am an open book. Haha

 

[snappy]

Congrats to your DS3, MaryAnn.

That is wonderful news. And congrats to both you and your DH. You have to be beyond proud.

It is nice to get good news. So glad to hear it.

 

[smiley_face2]

Sister is in surgery this afternoon. We will know more after that. She is my last link to my childhood family. Lost first dad then mom when I was 33 and 37 years old, then lost my oldest sister in 2008 to cancer. It is a scarey thought.

 

[snappy]

Thinking good thoughts for your sister, Smiley.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

smiley - prayers for you dear sis.

Laurie - is your moms surgery soon?

Cheryl and jilly - thinking of you both

Peg - do you venture into the parks much during the summer or is it really crowded now?

We didnt renew our annual passes. I might think about if it we go in Dec. I am just not sure. If we go then, we will probably try to stay at the Swan because its always a good deal with dh ff miles.

I got a call from the onc office verifying my appt next week. I told them that the endo told me I didnt have to go since my ca numbers were good. So much for her cancelling the visit like she said she would with the electronic records

I also made the sono appt for June 30th. Its a little early but between teaching prep and dh being away in china and dealing with the 3 ds that was ok for me. I missed my reg. scheduled one. I will have to ask the tech when the last one was. It was suppose to be every 6 months but i am guessing its been more like a year.

GAGWTA

 

[Feralpeg]

I don't go to the parks nearly as much as I used to. Unfortunately, all the walking has caused my old problem with plantar fasciitis to crop up again. So, I'm trying to avoid a lot of walking at the moment.

The parks haven't been too bad recently. Not sure if that was because the schools hadn't let out yet or if the recent issues with FP+ and price increases are keeping people away. Things should be picking up very soon.

I considered going to the Villains party at DHS, but decided to skip it this year. We always do the Halloween Party and thought about skipping that to do the Villains instead, but I decided to wait to see how things go this year. We aren't really big on the rides at DHS and we don't stand in lines for the meet & greets. There isn't a parade at the studios, so we are afraid there might not be that much to do for us. I would like to see the special fireworks show, but the crowds will probably be enormous since the party is only on one night. So, it's a no for us this year. We'll stick to the Halloween party. We love watching the parade and seeing all the guests in costume. Looking forward to that.

In the meantime, I will probably spend most of my time at Epcot or MK. I like to go there to just sit and people watch. How often this happens will depend on my feet and the weather!

Hope things are going well for all! Smiley, saying a special prayer for your sister!

 

[Straitlover]

Well, this was not what I expected. The radiologist said the mammo on 6/2 looked OK, so I wasn't expecting much of anything w/ the MRI. Unfortunately I was wrong. Last Friday at my followup appt at the surgeon, he did core biopsies on both breasts. Tuesday evening he called m w/ the results. Left breast was sclerosing papilloma like I had before w/ the right, benign, was not surprised w/ that. However, the right is a rare breast cancer, adenosquamous carcinoma (sp?). Couldn't just regular ol' cancer, has to be some rare kind. They're still testing it, but that kind usually acts like the triple negative kind, but he did say it is very treatable.

Don't know a lot yet. It's right behind the nipple. If the MyRisk assessment (checks BRCA and some other stuff) comes back negative, I will have the option of lumpectomy and radiation. They will have to take the nipple to make sure they get all the tumor. If it comes back positive, recommendations are more towards mastectomy. Chemo either way depends on the staging. The onc I saw today said if it's IA (and it might be because it's only like 1 cm), I probably wouldn't need to do chemo. The blood tests will take a couple of weeks; I won't make a decision before they come in.

I also have an appt w/ a plastic surgeon next week for a consultation. I know I will have to have surgery, just don't know what kind yet. So I will at least get a nipple reconstruction if my insurance pays for it.

I did tell my sister, but I am not telling my mother until I have decided what to do. Don't recall if I said it, but she has multiple myeloma and is now pretty frail. She just got out of the hospital and is kind of weak right now. She's lost two kids (car accident and breast cancer), and then my other sis was diagnosed last fall. I don't want to stress her more than necessary, so I will wait until I have a plan.

So, can I join your club???

 

[snappy]

Sorry you got this result, Straitlover.

And of course you are a member of our group. The club no one wants to join, but we do have a good group here, I would say.

Your insurance should definitely pay for the nipple reconstruction. Pm me some time and I will tell you what I remember from when I went through that step. Blue cross picked up everything but the cost of the tattoo for me, but the tattoo was done in the plastic surgeon doctor's treatment room, and BC balks at that. It think it was only about $150 or $200, but I had it redone when it faded the first time.

You still are in that scary time when you don't have all the tests back. Not knowing exactly what you are facing is stressful. Take care of yourself. I think you are kind to spare your mom this info for now at least until you have a treatment plan. She may sense thought that something is up so be aware of that possibility.

Hugs to you.

 

[jillyb]

Straitlover so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Hugs!

 

[Feralpeg]

Straitlover, So sorry to hear your news. Stay positive. We are here for you!

 

[Cherinva]

Busy thread here lately. Sorry I have been away.


Cherinva, you and your daughter might want to go to the breast cancer.org website. I have not visited there in a while, but when I did it offered a lot of info. In the meantime, please feel free to ask anything you like. We have had different experiences here as far as treatment and surgical approaches here. Breast cancer is not one size fits all, and likely your daughter will have options. Are you able to go with her to doctor visits? It is very helpful to the patient to have another set of ears when all the options are laid out.

Hope to hear from you soon.

I went to the surgeon appointment with her...the news was good, as far as we are concerned....they said that is was caught early. She will only need a to have the lump itself removed and then radiation after that. It's going to be a rough summer but the doctor assured us that she will be fine. Her surgery is scheduled for June 27th and they expect that she will be sent home the same day. It doesn't make the news any less frightful, but at least we know the whole story now and we are keeping her positive. They told her that later on this year she can consider reconstructive surgery if she wants it.

 

[snappy]

Busy thread here lately. Sorry I have been away.


Cherinva, you and your daughter might want to go to the breast cancer.org website. I have not visited there in a while, but when I did it offered a lot of info. In the meantime, please feel free to ask anything you like. We have had different experiences here as far as treatment and surgical approaches here. Breast cancer is not one size fits all, and likely your daughter will have options. Are you able to go with her to doctor visits? It is very helpful to the patient to have another set of ears when all the options are laid out.

Hope to hear from you soon.

I went to the surgeon appointment with her...the news was good, as far as we are concerned....they said that is was caught early. She will only need a to have the lump itself removed and then radiation after that. It's going to be a rough summer but the doctor assured us that she will be fine. Her surgery is scheduled for June 27th and they expect that she will be sent home the same day. It doesn't make the news any less frightful, but at least we know the whole story now and we are keeping her positive. They told her that later on this year she can consider reconstructive surgery if she wants it.

Glad you and your daughter received as good news as could have been hoped for under the circumstances. Still daunting, but treatable.

I was not sure about reconstructive surgery for a lumpectomy. Good to know that is an option.

That surgery is coming up quickly on the 27th. Good luck to your daughter and please let us know how she does.

 

[Straitlover]

Cherinva, glad the news was relatively good. That outcome is what my sister ahd last fall - lumpectomy and 33 radiation treatments. She is also taking tamoxifen for 5 years as a preventative.

I had my first oncologist appointment last Thursday. Still waiting on test results, but the surgeon said we might as well get started! She seems very smart: no-nonsense which is what I think I need, not someone to hold my hand. She said if it's as small as they think it is, I might not need chemo, but we have to wait and see. She did say it is definitely something hereditary going on because it's very rare to have three women in the same generation with breast cancer. If I had to guess, I'm betting she will be recommending a bilateral mastectomy no matter what the MyRisk assessment says due to everything I got going against me. I have a co-worker who went to the same practice (different doctor who she loved), and she liked the practice, so I guess I will stick with them for now.

I have a consultation w/ the plastic surgeon tomorrow. That ought to be fun - not!

Next on the list is checking on FMLA leave and exactly how my short term disability policy works in case I need it.

Hope everyone is doing OK!

 

[annrae]

I haven't written in some time but I have been following and reading your posts. It has been a different year for me - I had a mastectomy last July and wish now that I'd had the left breast removed also as I've been in for mammograms twice now for pain and lumps. Fortunately everything is ok - I have very dense tissue but it is a bit frightening. On April 27, I suffered a stroke on a Saturday evening - had no outward symptoms except vision problem and massive headache - did the mirror test and passed it so went to bed. Next morning I told my DIL who is a PA what happened and off we went for a 2 day stay in hospital. Luckily no bleeding. It was on the left side of the brain. They sent me home on a 325 mg. aspirin and then I had a holter monitor put on, then a 30 day monitor to see if I had Afib and on Friday, they implanted a 3 year monitor under the skin on the left side of my chest. I will be in constant contact with the cardiology dept and every heartbeat will be recorded as long as I am in North America. I think this is fairly new as I was the Chief of Cardiology's 17th patient - so glad I wasn't his 13th. The stroke did affect my language and memory somewhat but I am able to cope with it. There are times when I am at a loss for words (the correct word) but looking back, I feel very blessed and lucky.

Smiley - so sorry to hear about your sister.

Snappy - hope your Mom is doing well - I will be in touch.

Maryann - so pleased about your son passing.

Peg - glad you are doing quite well

Pea n Me - I can't believe how grown up your twins are!

To all of you who are quite new to this forum please accept my apologies for not acknowledging you - as I said, my memory lets me down at times and I don't trust this computer to go back and reread your posts.
Please know that I think of all of you so very often. Sending all of you a thousand smiles to brighten your day.

Hugs,

Barbara

 

[smiley_face2]

I haven't written in some time but I have been following and reading your posts. It has been a different year for me - I had a mastectomy last July and wish now that I'd had the left breast removed also as I've been in for mammograms twice now for pain and lumps. Fortunately everything is ok - I have very dense tissue but it is a bit frightening. On April 27, I suffered a stroke on a Saturday evening - had no outward symptoms except vision problem and massive headache - did the mirror test and passed it so went to bed. Next morning I told my DIL who is a PA what happened and off we went for a 2 day stay in hospital. Luckily no bleeding. It was on the left side of the brain. They sent me home on a 325 mg. aspirin and then I had a holter monitor put on, then a 30 day monitor to see if I had Afib and on Friday, they implanted a 3 year monitor under the skin on the left side of my chest. I will be in constant contact with the cardiology dept and every heartbeat will be recorded as long as I am in North America. I think this is fairly new as I was the Chief of Cardiology's 17th patient - so glad I wasn't his 13th. The stroke did affect my language and memory somewhat but I am able to cope with it. There are times when I am at a loss for words (the correct word) but looking back, I feel very blessed and lucky.

Smiley - so sorry to hear about your sister.

Snappy - hope your Mom is doing well - I will be in touch.

Maryann - so pleased about your son passing.

Peg - glad you are doing quite well

Pea n Me - I can't believe how grown up your twins are!

To all of you who are quite new to this forum please accept my apologies for not acknowledging you - as I said, my memory lets me down at times and I don't trust this computer to go back and reread your posts.
Please know that I think of all of you so very often. Sending all of you a thousand smiles to brighten your day.

Hugs,

Barbara

wow! I am so glad you went in and that it was not as bad as it could have been! So much to get used to....another new normal....
Straitlover I hope that things go as well for you as they can. such a long hard road we have to travel. Your poor mother, losing one child is such a devastation, I can't imagine losing 2. You are so dear for sparing her the pain right now.
Cherinva, that is good news in the circumstances!
I hope CHERYL is doing all right? praying for you still..... that baby must be due soon?
Sister is still in hospital waiting!....surgery got bumped and so she is just waiting. Such a stressful time for her
Hi Snappy and LMP!..... we had a short break from renovation, but are back at it again now. so much to do.... when I think about it all it gives me anxiety!! one room at a time..... very sad we just can not do the floors this year! But that time in Hawaii was worth it!!!
GAGWTA!!