Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part II -GAGWTA!

[Pea-n-Me]

Congratulations, Sha! I wish you much success in your career.

 

[snappy]

Way to go, Sha!!!

I really love the nurses I have been priviledged to have take care of me.

 

[NHAnn]

snappy.... it's very exciting news!! DILs parents are included on the trip, they basically gave up their lives when A was hospitalized, esp her mom, she stayed to care for the girls literally for months. We are thrilled for them.
DH and I are trying to work out a long weekend to join them down there....working on it!

Things are hectic here, mostly in a good way which is a positive.

GAGWTA!!

 

[snappy]

Very neat about Avery, Ann. I sure hope you and your DH are able to join them.

Glad things are going well for you.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I did not know you were doing the RFTC there, Laura.

Hope the weather is great and that you have a great time with your sistas.

We'll be with you in spirit.

I second this! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Congratulations, Sha! I wish you much success in your career.

Congrats to you!!

We are STILL waiting for the results of the uterine biopsy my mom had last Thursday. I don't know how long biopsies usually take, but I can't imagine they take a WEEK! Hopefully she will hear something by the end of the day tomorrow. Unless they are just planning to have the oncologist go over the results with her, which won't be until NEXT Friday.

 

[snappy]

We are STILL waiting for the results of the uterine biopsy my mom had last Thursday. I don't know how long biopsies usually take, but I can't imagine they take a WEEK! Hopefully she will hear something by the end of the day tomorrow. Unless they are just planning to have the oncologist go over the results with her, which won't be until NEXT Friday.

Waiting is torture. I found a much quicker turnaround in biopsies done in the hospital whether in patient or out patient. The one done in the dr office
took almost a week.

Hope you get good news quick!!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Waiting is torture. I found a much quicker turnaround in biopsies done in the hospital whether in patient or out patient. The one done in the dr office
took almost a week.

Hope you get good news quick!!

My mom called last night to say the biopsies were both benign! But now they want her to go back May 22 for more tests. She said they are going to inject a saline solution into the uterus and then do something - a scan or an ultrasound or something. Better safe than sorry, but it means MORE waiting.
She sees the oncologist May 9 so I am hoping he won't say they have to wait until after the next round with the OB/GYN before they schedule her breast surgery. Hopefully the tumor has responded well to the Arimidex and the oncologist will be ready to move forward.

 

[snappy]

Good news on your mom's path reports!!

It is unfortunate that they want to do further testing, but you want them to be thorough. I just don't think it is possible to be too safe in the cancer world.

I would still celebrate the benign results to date. Very good news.

 

[Sha]

I agree with Snappy... lets celebrate the good news for now!

 

[CherylDan]

GAGWTA!!

I was right in the middle of a nice long post, and I lost it.

Anyway......LOL, as I was saying......

How is everybody? This thread sure has been quiet the past few days, took me awhile to find it! Hopefully that means everybody was busy having a great weekend!

I just read an article that Wal-Mart is adding Tamoxifen to their list of cheap drugs....$9 for a 30 day supply. Good news for me, since my co-pay currently requires me to pay $30. So, for $21 a month, I'll be happy to transfer my prescription.

I've been busy planning our Christmas WDW trip. I'm so excited to have a trip to plan again! DD19 wants to bring her BF, so that's fine -they can hang out, and DH and I will have our own hang out time! I reserved a 3 bedroom townhouse at Windsor Hills, so we'll have plenty of room. Airfare prices for the week of Dec 27-Jan 3 (Chicago-Orlando) are sky high! I'm hoping when Southwest releases those dates, it will be doable. 1200 miles each way, non-stop, makes for a really long roadtrip, but it's looking very likely that that is what's gonna happen. Of course the trip wouldn't be as bad if we stopped along the way to sleep, but that would cut into my WDW time....can't have that happening!

Had a 3 month (again!) follow-up with my surgeon today. Everything was fine, blah, blah, felt my liver, etc., etc, and then ordered blood work to check for *something* (can't remember- but if the level is raised, it could indicate spread). Ok, so no big deal, it all sounded fairly routine, UNTIL I got home and starting thinking about it. He's never mentioned it before. So, now I'm doing my best not to freak out, and convince myself that I'm probably just being paranoid.

I hope everybody has a happy mother's day! Mine will be out of town, so we'll have to delay it a bit with her.

 

[snappy]

CherylDan, if it allays your fear a bit, the doc who is following me for BC checks liver via bloodwork each time. I think it is standard.

I went to see him today coincidentially, my blood work, chest xray, as well as mammogram (which I already knew was clear) were all good. My 4 year anniversary just passed. One more year on Tamoxiffen the doc said. After than ??? I guess I will be released to the "general population"???


Glad to know about the Tamoxiffen though, I bought it a couple times ago at Walmart and it was higher than Sam's so I went back to Sam's. Now I will transfer back to Walmart as there is one located very close to my office.

My weekend was anything but quiet. DH and my New Orleans friend closed out Jazz FEst yesterday with the Neville brothers. We had fun but man was I bushed. Could I be too old for Jazz Fest? Saw a lot of grey heads. I think maybe all the other activities during the weekend pushed me over the hill. I have a sore throat too. Curses!!

Cool thing happened yesterday when we parked our car Sunday morning. There is a shuttle that takes you from the City park area over to the fairgrounds where Jazz Fest is held. We parked and walked down the road to the bus and here comes my friend Cindy. We had talked about 8 am by phone about just meeting at the fairground, the parking guy motioned her out of the line of cars and directed her to the space right next to ours. I don't think we could have planned that to happen.

It was kinda eery, we decided to take it as a good sign. We got into our Jazz Fest state of mind that much earlier. Laissez the bon temps roulez!!!
We sampled some cool food again this year, along with checked out all the crafts. It is not just all about the music.

Graduation is in 9 days. Crazy days here. It was a minor miracle that DH and I were able to get away yesterday for a day.

Hooray for Shell Oil who is still helping to underwrite the Jazz Fest!!

Shell has been a very good corporate citizen of New Orleans for many years. No bashing of Shell in our household.

 

[MerryPoppins]

If it makes you feel any better, I had bloodwork every 6 months the whole time I was with my oncologist. They checked my liver among other things because I was on Tamoxifen.

Yay for good news on path reports!

Anyone heard from Dawn? I'm thinking of her.

Are you guys hearing all the stuff about plastic bottles? My Breast Cancer Support newsletter came out this week and here is the article they included this month. Please excuse any typos. I'm typing fast because DD needs the computer for homework.

"The American Association for Cancer Research has issued a "Priority Report" in it's latest journal on the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). This chemical has been shown to leach into food and liquids from plastic containers. Research has found that even when exposed to very tiny concentrations of BPA, normal breast cells begin to act like aggressive breast cancer cells. Researchers state that BPA acts like "estrogen has been shown to have carcinogenic effects in animal studies, increasing both breast and prostate cancer, reducing sperm counts and effecting the immune system." A 2004 study from the CDC noted that 95% of people they tested had BPA in their urine with children having the highest concentrations. BPA is found in may plastic water bottles, plastic baby bottles, the lining in food cans and in sealants used by dentists to protect teeth."

I'd heard a little about this on the nightly news, but not the breast cancer connection. I'm thinking of tossing my water bottles and going with glass except when absolutely necessary. Thought you guys might be interested.

Graduation? That came up so fast, didn't it? Ours is just around the corner, but DD has one more year.

 

[CherylDan]

If it makes you feel any better, I had bloodwork every 6 months the whole time I was with my oncologist. They checked my liver among other things because I was on Tamoxifen.

CherylDan, if it allays your fear a bit, the doc who is following me for BC checks liver via bloodwork each time. I think it is standard.

Thanks for reminding me of that. Had I given it just a bit more thought, I would have reminded myself that the oncologist also checks my blood every three months. I guess maybe the doc talking about the liver in particular is what threw me. Anyway, I go on Wednesday morning for the blood work. He wanted to also check choresterol, so I have to go back after fasting. So, yeah.....just me being paranoid. I'm over it now.


I hadn't heard about the plastic bottles. I don't use them very often, but I'll be sure to avoid them now when I can.

 

[imabrat]

Hi Ladies! I know I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd update you. I hope you don't mind, as I haven't suffered thru breast but rather bone cancer.

I'm in remission! Last chemo was March 31st. Last week my oncologist reviewed my scans and bloodwork and all is clear! Great news in time for my birthday Sunday. I go back in 3 months for more scans and a checkup, and I'm scheduled in 2 weeks to get my Port(acath) removed. Thank the Lord, I despise that thing!
Now it's just finishing my freshman year of high school and learning to walk again at physical therapy.

Ya'll never told me that when hair grows back in, it gets itchy! I look like a crazy person scratching my head for the past 3 weeks. My eyebrows have grown back in so fast I need to get them waxed, but I still don't need to shave my legs.

so GAGWTA!, hugs to those who need them, and congrats to those if you're in order for them!
As Tigger would say, TTFN!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Yay for remission! I'm so glad you stopped by to see us. May you continue to feel stronger. Isn't the world beautiful when things start to fall into place following treatment? Congrats on your new hair. Maybe the hair on your legs won't reappear? Well, you can always hope.

 

[lookingforward]

Hi Ladies! I know I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd update you. I hope you don't mind, as I haven't suffered thru breast but rather bone cancer.

I'm in remission! Last chemo was March 31st. Last week my oncologist reviewed my scans and bloodwork and all is clear! Great news in time for my birthday Sunday. I go back in 3 months for more scans and a checkup, and I'm scheduled in 2 weeks to get my Port(acath) removed. Thank the Lord, I despise that thing!
Now it's just finishing my freshman year of high school and learning to walk again at physical therapy.

Ya'll never told me that when hair grows back in, it gets itchy! I look like a crazy person scratching my head for the past 3 weeks. My eyebrows have grown back in so fast I need to get them waxed, but I still don't need to shave my legs.

so GAGWTA!, hugs to those who need them, and congrats to those if you're in order for them!
As Tigger would say, TTFN!

YEA! I am so happy for you! I finished chemo on APril 17..and am anxiously awaiting my hair. I don't care if it itches... I just want some! I got my port out last week and it was such a milestone.

Now I am having a bit of tingling in my toes...they say its from the taxotare chemo..and not permanent. Its scary. And of course every pain I have I think its the cancer...I have to let it go.

I am going to buy one of those baseball caps with hair attached at the wig shop for my disney weekend. I plan on having a bandana under it. I just hope it doesn't fall off!

All the best to everyone.........

 

[snappy]

Yea, you better hold on to it in Splash and Space Mountain.

And it surely would get loose on Expedition Everest!!!

 

[snappy]

Imabrat, thanks so much for dropping in. What beautiful news you had to share. Keep up the good work!!!

 

[Sha]

Hi Ladies! I know I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd update you. I hope you don't mind, as I haven't suffered thru breast but rather bone cancer.

I'm in remission! Last chemo was March 31st. Last week my oncologist reviewed my scans and bloodwork and all is clear! Great news in time for my birthday Sunday. I go back in 3 months for more scans and a checkup, and I'm scheduled in 2 weeks to get my Port(acath) removed. Thank the Lord, I despise that thing!
Now it's just finishing my freshman year of high school and learning to walk again at physical therapy.

Ya'll never told me that when hair grows back in, it gets itchy! I look like a crazy person scratching my head for the past 3 weeks. My eyebrows have grown back in so fast I need to get them waxed, but I still don't need to shave my legs.

so GAGWTA!, hugs to those who need them, and congrats to those if you're in order for them!
As Tigger would say, TTFN!

CONGRATS!!!!!! That has to feel wonderful to have news like that especially for a Birthday! My mom got hers too on her birthday (as far as getting it all) and thankfully 5 years now! You must be an inspiration to your fellow classmates!!

 

[snappy]

CONGRATS!!!!!! That has to feel wonderful to have news like that especially for a Birthday! My mom got hers too on her birthday (as far as getting it all) and thankfully 5 years now! You must be an inspiration to your fellow classmates!!

Sha, good comment, as I see her as a personal inspiration to me as well!