Dis Breast Cancer Survivors - GAGWTA!

[mickeymost]

Linda : Yes, this is the same side. I went through radiation again after the recurrence. I made an appointment today to see a plastic surgeon in Florida. It really stinks not having the doctors I was so familiar with. I go next Wed., they didn't have anything before then. I don't know if this is where things are going to settle in my body because it's a weak spot. I wasn't feeling so great last week, but it didn't turn out to be anything . I'm almost wondering if it's the change in the weather. Who knows? I hope to have some answers next week. I just hope it doesn't get infected again.

Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll just go away!

Kelly

 

[Cruise04]

Linda - Thank you. She did mention a newer procedure - the breast MRI. The problem with this spot is that the MRI won't be very conclusive if we can't see anything with the ultrasound because it's not seen very well on many angles. And they aren't seeing it with an ultrasound, only the mammo. With the mammo, they can't get the needle in to do an excisional biopsy either. I did come home tonight after working out and getting my hair cut to a message from the radiology department at the clinic. I'm sure they are calling to schedule more films. I have to call them back first thing in the morning.

MerryPoppins -

Susan - I'm sorry about your news.

Ann - I was going through a thread that Towncrier posted today and your daughter was on there and I noticed her "ribbon" in her sigi. Can you ask her if I can use that as well? I like that and would like to put one in my sigi in memory of my mom. Thanks

This is kind of funny to me - I came home today very thankful that my mom is not here right now. She didn't handle stress very well and even more so when one of us (I have a brother) was sick or was having medical issues. And that would have compounded to my stress as well. I know that sounds harsh and mean but it's true. I loved her death and I was so glad she was with me during the many times I was hospitalized with pneumonia, and always glad she was there to take care of me when I sick at home, and very glad she was with me for the birth of my dd but I don't think I could have taken her very well right now. BUT I STILL LOVE YOU MOM!!!!! (I just had to get that out - thank you)

HUGS to everyone else - hope you all have a good night GAGWTA!!!!!
Chris

 

[Dan Murphy]

Just stopping by for a few page catch up here. Wow, you ladies sure do move right along. What a great group you all are.

Susan, Melissa, Chris, and all of you, good wishes and prayers are with you all, always. You all are inspirations.

Chris, Marie and I are looking forward to see you guys in a couple weeks.

 

[laurabelle]

~~~***GAGWTA screaming with Kelly sistas***~~~

Kelly- I wish rads didn't interfere with reconstruction...that sucks. Sistas I know who had rads ended up doing one of the flap procedures. I hope your new PS is wonderful!

MerryPoppins- Yes, paying for ins. is crazy expensive! I think they named COBRA appropriately...

Ann- I didn't know your dd posted here on the Dis...what's her name?

Linda- I notice the article is about women on HRT and wine drinking. I love wine, but have cut back...

Chris- I think we all want to spare our loved ones all this medical stress... Your mom would be proud of you I'm sure!

Dan- It's always good to see you post here! Thanks for your support!

 

[Cruise04]

Thanks Dan and Laura.

Okay - on to the next step of my journey this time around. I just got a call from the doc again and she does want me to have a breast mri after consulting again with the radiologist. If the spot is not seen on the mri then we will check in 6 months. If it does show up on the mri then she will figure out how to go in and get it to biopsy it, which will mean I be out for a few days. But we'll get to that step if it gets here.

I'm so impressed with her, as I've said before. She's not letting this rest and checking all avenues before she lets it rest. I have not had this kind of care in a long time and that wasn't for me, it was for my daughter when she was sick when she was little. And she doesn't want me to have the mri here, so she's doing a referral so I can go to a hospital that has more state of the art equipment.

More waiting. If you asked me 3 days ago if it was worth it I would have said no. Now I'm saying yes!!!! Tonight I am going to let know what has been going on. She knew I had an appointment on Friday and Monday but we haven't had time to talk because she was gone last night and Monday night she had loads of homework.

Can't wait to see you guys in a little over a week Dan!!!!

Have a good day everyone!
Chris

 

[laurabelle]

Chris- I'm glad your doc is being so diligent! Breast MRI is a good tool... I hope and pray you get a clear result!

 

[NHAnn]

Phew...lots of reading and things to respond too, hope I don't miss anything/anyone......so let me just say GAGWTA

Linda...love the pics of the kids, all 3 My mom's lung congestion is still a problem, because of that they have not rescheduled her neuro/plastic surgery procedure at MGH yet, but she is feeling OK other than the phlegmy cough.

Kelly...a big "AAARRRGGG" for you and a hug!!

MerryPoppins...NO you are never a downer!! And thinking good thoguths and hoping the job and insurance situation works out quickly!

MNSusan...I was where you are now, six months ago next week!! DCIS diagnosis from the biopsy (mine was surgical excision with wire locator though, too scattered an area of calcifications to do the needle thing). It was a relief to HAVE the Dx and a "favorable" one to boot...but I quickly got a little overwhelmed with the decision making process....lumpectomy w/radiation, or mastectomy. But that was me, and everyone processes and proceeds differently. Just feel free to post or PM any questions or vent any feelings here....it is SUCH a great resource and support!!

Chris hang in there!!! I checked with DD about the signature...she said she actually got the idea from SillyMe on this thread. DD Googled for a pink rubbon clipart to add to her DIS sig, and then entered the text above it on the sig herself.

laurabelle...DD is "Megster" here on the DIS She's 19, a college sophomore. She registerd on the DIS several years ago on the Teen Board but never posted much...then last year going off to school (though only about 50 miles away) she became more active on the Community Board and the College Board.

I went to the big monthly support group tonight at my local Breast Care Center....interesting discussions about side effects of hormonal therapies (I'm thinking my study drug is Arimidex from the anecdotal info from those who were there that KNOW that;s what they are on!); and also one quite young mother of 3 (Dx almost a yr ago) who has had bilateral mast with recon..describing her procedure to add nipples last week...and they'll be tatooing them with ink specially ordered to match what was her natural color (from photos taken by the plastic surgeon before her bialteral mast).......still lots of "stuff" floating in my head about the meeting but one thing I did take home from it (as I do from comments on here) is that I'm not the only one who has the emotional roller coaster thing going on
Hi Dan, Amy...everyone

OK, I've said enough for now!!

 

[Lessa of Pern]

so tomorrow is the podiatrist (my aching feet!) and friday is my priamry care doctor -- I got squished monday, and he should have the results when I see him.

I heard on the news today that primrose oil, when combined with herpacin, makes the herpacin more effective. they're doing more studies...

 

[laurabelle]

~~~***GAGWTA sistas***~~~

Ann-It's a lot to take in...our monthly meetings run loooong, none of us ever want to leave! It can be emotional and tiring too, but I am so grateful we have each other.
I'm glad your daughter isn't far away. I really hope when my girls are that age they go to school here...for lots of reasons!

Lessa- Is the Neurotin helping? I hope the podiatrist gives you some relief...

 

[Lessa of Pern]

in addition to the neuropathy I have plantar fasciitis...he wants me to take an anti inflamatory and buy gel pads for my shoes -- you know the commercial, "I'm gelling"? that will be me...

if that doesn't help, he says cortisone shots or surgery might releive the pain.

as for the neuropathy, it seems it's relatively mild and should go away after I finsih chemo. not sure if the neurontin is helping, though...

and I hate taking a drug that was profiled on NBC's Dateline...

 

[MerryPoppins]

Not sure if this will help, but I'll throw it out there. My mother had trouble with plantar fasciitis. While she was dating a chiropractor he adjusted her back regularly and her foot pain went away. I'm not kidding. I guess she was walking wrong because of her back and that was irritating the condition? She no longer has to have injections. Something you might consider.

 

[Lessa of Pern]

Not sure if this will help, but I'll throw it out there. My mother had trouble with plantar fasciitis. While she was dating a chiropractor he adjusted her back regularly and her foot pain went away. I'm not kidding. I guess she was walking wrong because of her back and that was irritating the condition? She no longer has to have injections. Something you might consider.

I have a long relationship with my chiropractor. his younger daughter and mine went to preschool together, and the girls are in 8th grade now. he's been adjusting me for a long time -- I have a herniated disc.

10 years ago, I had a nasty fall in the lobby of a hotel and bruised my foot so badly that I wound up in a soft cast for 2 weeks. my limping around aggravated my back.

my back's bothering me again...I don't know if the back is causing the foot problem or the foot is causing the back probelm to flair up.

but...

the oncologist told me that chemo is making my bones brittle, and it's not a good idea to get adjusted right now. but the oncologist recommended therapeutic massage. so I'm looking into that.

 

[Amy]

Lessa, I'm dealing with plantar fasciitis right now, too. Mine started in March, right after my oncologist switched me from Tamoxifen to Arimidex, but she swears it wasn't the Arimidex that caused it.

I've seen a podiatrist, and he showed me some stretching exercises and gave me cortisone shots in both heels - wow did they hurt! It helped my right foot, but my left foot is still bothering me. I saw him last week, and he's recommending surgery. Right now I have the surgery scheduled for the end of January (no way can I be laid up for the holidays!). And I'm going to get another cortisone shot before we head to Disney in December.

I asked my podiatrist about shoe inserts and those night splints; he said they usually don't work. But the surgery is a 4-6 week total recuperation time, the first 7-10 days are walking ONLY to the bathroom and that's it. Well, I work part-time, so when I don't work, I don't get paid. And I ride the bus to work (35 min in good weather) and have to stand about 50% of the time, which he said isn't good. And January in Pittsburgh can be horrible weather, so we're talking a longer commute. So I'm real iffy about having the surgery.

In the meantime, I went online and ordered myself a night splint and some arch supports. If they work, I spent $75 to save myself from going thru surgery and missing work. If they don't work, then I spent $75 to know for sure that I really DO need the surgery. We'll see how it goes.....

 

[Lessa of Pern]

thanks for sharing, Amy. I hope you can avoid the surgery.

I work full time, in an office where I can sit. but that office is in Jersey City and I live on Long Island. I take the Long Island Railroad to Penn Station, transfer to a NYC subway and then transfer to the PATH train to New Jersey. it's a 1.5 hour commute (yes, I am crazy), and I'm very aggressive laltely about getting a seat, at least on the railroad. I missed four months of work after my hysterectomy and radiation treatments, which is why I've been working through the chemo. I'm dreading the winter weather, too. I'm going to try the medication and the gel inserts, see if that helps at all, and then reevaluate when I go back to the podiatrist in two weeks.

 

[NHAnn]

Oh wow Lessa, that is one heck of a commute!

Interesting discussion at my support group about bone/leg/joint/foot pain. Lots of Arimidex-takers complaining of muscle and joint pain in legs/hips....one spoke of back and hip pain w/iff legs....several complained of pain in their feet and one Tamoxifen-taker of foot pain too. And they all did this because a couple of the oncs (most of us go to the same group) say "Arimidex doesn't cause this..." or "Tamoxifen doesn't cause that..." So they were all attibuting it to gettng older except that several of these women were way too young to be having normal degenerative joint pains....... One lady says Glucosaminelfate got rid of her knee and leg pains within a couple of weeks...interesting...

 

[Amy]

Lessa - 1 1/2 hours on a normal day? What happens if it snows? Geez, I thought my commute was bad! Hang in there....

NHAnn - DH swears by Cosamin DS, which has glocosamine chondroitin in it. I tried taking it for about 3 months, but I didn't notice a difference. DH says it helps with his stiff/arthritic shoulder.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I'm taking Glucosamine for my knees. I think it is helping me. Too bad that you can't be adjusted right now. That's the pits.

My poor nose is so sore. I don't know if I'm having bad allergies or getting a bad cold. Either way, I'm miserable.

 

[laurabelle]

~~~***GAGWTA sistas***~~~
We're in for gorgeous weather here! I hope everyone else is too!

Lessa- My hubby does 1 1/2hr commute by train too, from north of Baltimore to D.C. He doesn't look forward to winter either...

Side effects- I am blessed to be at a university hospital that loves to study everything! I did a clinical trial for chemo and my implants, I was followed around by a pharmacy study because none of the anti-nausea meds worked for me during A/C, I've done a bunch of other studies...I can't even remember how many...alot. A couple of months ago, a nurse was at our support group meeting and asked how many had done a clinical trial or study and I was the only one to raise my hand out of 20+. I was shocked! Apparently the majority of docs don't even ask... This is how things like side effects get documented and if it's not documented, they won't say it's a side effect. Gosh, I think if the docs would just ask, more people would do it. I've even been paid a few times for it. Mostly I do it- for myself, to help my kids, others, because I want to give them my $.02.
So, I bet the Arimidex is causing the problems, it just hasn't been documented from a study yet...

 

[NHAnn]

Healing pixie dust for your nose MerryP, and your knees
...and to all for whatever ails you today

laurabelle....just noticed your countdown thingie....how long will you be at WDW??? We arrive on the 19th...will we jsut miss you?

Oh and I think you're absolutely right about the side effects just not being documented yet!

GAGWTA and TGIF!!! nice day expected ehre too

 

[MNSusan]

GAGWTA! and happy Friday!

This morning I have my first appointment with the surgeon. On Tuesday, I asked my primary doc to send me my path report so I could educate myself a bit before that appointment. It hasn't come. Dang!

Other than knowing I have DCIS and that the usual treatment is lumpectomy followed by radiation, I'm a bit in the dark. I don't know about er/pr and HER2 and those kinds of things. Do you usually find that out at biopsy, or does that wait until the lumpectomy surgery?

What questions should I ask the surgeon?

When the nurse called, she said they'll probaby want to schedule the surgery for next week. We leave for WDW on Thursday!!! My grandkids are going to be there, so unless I'll be okay to carry a 3 year old, I'd rather wait.