Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part II -GAGWTA!

[NHAnn]

Kellie-what a great description of the doctor talking "like the Charlie Brown teacher" ....mwuah mwuah mwauh....it sure is hard to take it all in, isn't it? I am glad your DH and your PCP were with you. And I'm sorry the MRI news wasn't what you'd hoped Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers!!

Yikes Merry.....take care of yourself, as Laurie said rest...and lots of fluids, this flu going around this year is awful.

Spent some time running to the bathroom myself last night...my first screening colonoscopy bright and early this morning! Glad that's over and I'm good for 10 mor years!

Hope your day at Tulane goes well Laurie. Before you know it the college graduations will be upon you, as mine is this year with DD!

Beady... stay strong! Everyone else in treatment and everyone still in diagnosis/planning mode...I think of you all daily

GAGWTA!!!

 

[MerryPoppins]

I'm sorry you had to put off your surgery...but glad that they found it now so they can deal with it. Sooner is always better than later, so I guess that's the silver lining.

That's all I've got. I'm still worn out. This has quickly gone from an intestinal thing to I guess the flu. I still have a temp, headache, and now a sore throat. Oh joy!

GAGWTA!

 

[annrae]

I'm down and out with the flu. Last night was the worst. Made runs to the bathroom every hour all night long. Whew. Today I'm better, but still not myself. I can keep the temp at bay, but when meds wear off it comes back with a splitting headache.

I've read everything and I'm thinking of all of you. GAGWTA!

I hope you are feeling much better tonight, Merry. That flu this year is not pleasant at all. Hang in there - you should feel better soon.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Merry, hope you're feeling better.

Ann and Barbara, nice to see you!

SHAYMARAYSMOM, I'm sorry to hear about your MRI results. Keep us in the loop.

Hope everyone else is well.

How's the Raj doing, Laurie? I started to post some info for you the other day but the boards went down. I was going to suggest that because she has Chow in her you should make sure she has firm limit setting from the beginning (as I have to do). Tune into The Dog Whisperer and have your daughter watch too. Make sure potential problematic behaviors aren't inadvertently rewarded. Let me know if you need more info.

A Golden Retriever friend of ours went to the Rainbow Bridge tonight.

I have my annual breast MRI later in the week. I'll try not to worry until at least Friday.

GAGWTA

 

[laurabelle]

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

Kellie- I'm sorry you had a curveball thrown at you sista. You're so right about hearing the Dr.s talk like Charlie Brown's teacher! I always brought people with me to be my ears and take notes. It sounds like you are in caring compassionate hands.

Beadylady- I really hope you get what you need to be pain free sista! I know how you feel about being tired of talking about it...

Melissa- I hope you're feeling better sista. It's going around the schools here, thankfully we've avoided it at our house.

Ann- Good luck with the colonoscopy today.

Laurie- I know in a couple of years I'm going to be driving you guys crazy asking questions about the whole college process...I'm completely clueless!

Linda- Sorry to hear about your friend's dog... I hope you can go to that happy place in your mind during the MRI and that you get the annual all clear!

 

[snappy]

Merry, hope you're feeling better.

Ann and Barbara, nice to see you!

SHAYMARAYSMOM, I'm sorry to hear about your MRI results. Keep us in the loop.

Hope everyone else is well.

How's the Raj doing, Laurie? I started to post some info for you the other day but the boards went down. I was going to suggest that because she has Chow in her you should make sure she has firm limit setting from the beginning (as I have to do). Tune into The Dog Whisperer and have your daughter watch too. Make sure potential problematic behaviors aren't inadvertently rewarded. Let me know if you need more info.

A Golden Retriever friend of ours went to the Rainbow Bridge tonight.

I have my annual breast MRI later in the week. I'll try not to worry until at least Friday.

GAGWTA

Linda, Yes!!!! we will look into the Dog Whisperer, but any info you have is appreciated. She is trying to dominate Snappy. We are trying to let Snappy establish authority. She puts up with a lot, mostly just baring her teeth, until she "snaps" at the puppy. The puppy does not bark unless she gets incensed at Snappy.

Doing better with hte potty stuff, although we have to anticipate by taking her right from the crate outside and right from eating and drinking outside.

The crate is always clean though.

Sorry about the golden. I am sure it was well loved.

 

[snappy]

SHAYMARAYSMOM, I am sorry you had delay surgery to the 24th. It is so hard to be waiting like this. I am glad your primary and DH were there for you when you got the results yesterday. We will certainly do the same here, please post when you can.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

To some degree it's normal for dogs to establish a pecking order. However, you need to be careful about letting the pup dominate Snappy here as she will learn and apply that towards other dogs as well. This can lead to "obnoxious" behaviors. In a little dog it's one thing; but in a big dog with aggresssiveness in the genes, this can be disastrous. Be careful about laughing or thinking it's cute (especially teens who don't always understand how it works) as this reinforces the behavior. Even though she's young she's soaking up everything now. And she's growing.

You could try keeping her on leash when she's out of the crate and correcting her if she behaves badly toward Snappy. The time to correct the behavior is when she's "thinking about it" (ie before it happens). It's much easier to prevent behaviors than it is to correct them when they occur. This also lets her know that you're in charge, not her. So, when you know she's running toward Snappy, say "leave it" and tug her away. This doesn't mean she shouldn't go near Snappy. If she's calm and friendly, she can. If she's growling/biting/obnoxious, she can't. Always stay calm and matter of fact. This routine applies to everything.

There is a great book that I live by called Good Owners, Great Dogs by Brian Kilcommons and Sarah Wilson. (I had the opportunity to work with Sarah last year and she is wonderful.) Pick up a copy soon and read it and have everyone else in the house read it, too. Keep it out on the coffee table. (They also have a new puppy book out, too, but if you're only going to buy one, get GOGD.) TiVo The Dog Whisperer and watch the episodes together. Look into local puppy classes and enroll in one soon, preferably group so she learns how to get along with other dogs. If she growls at them you'll need to work with the trainer on it.

It's a lot of work and really, a way of life, but truly necessary to establish good habits very early on when you have a dog like this (did you look at the link above re history of the Chow?). I love my German Shepherds and have always had one but I often think how much easier my life would be if I had a nice, friendly Golden Retriever.

Chow http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/chowchow.htm

 

[snappy]

I did read the link, how awful these dogs were treated in China.

I have printed off your suggestions and will talk to my daughter when she gets home from school.

We were trying to allow Snappy to establish dominance. That is clearly not happening after 9 or so days.

I plan to pick up that book as well. DD17 is a insatiable reader, albeit mostly classical literature and contemp fiction.

Maybe she will get into this book.

Thanks Linda, you are a dear.

There is a great group training class that my neighbor knows about, I'll check into that.

Snappy, with her collie/golden mix, has been as you say an easy dog from day one. I think we may be focusing too much on the potty aspect and not enough on others behaviors. Also, all of us are trying to correct her, and we all have different approaches. I would not consider that any of us are calm and matter of fact.

I also feel for Snappy and don't want her stressed any more than necessary. My return to the working world was enough of a burden for her.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I made mistakes as a 17yr old myself with my GS puppy that I had then. I learned my lesson the hard way, and have since devoted a big part of my life to dog training since I love German Shepherds. It's a lot of work, but the rewards are sweet. I'm sure Raj will be fine, you just need to start working with her now. I think the timing now is actually good - it does take a while to settle in, deal with potty issues, etc, so don't worry about that.

Keep us updated on her progress! PS I have a Pets thread on the PB, would love to see her picture there!

 

[snappy]

Thanks for the heads up on the pets thread on the PB board. I have not visited there for awhile.

Gosh Linda, you must have unlimited energy. I just don't have it.

I had to cancel my visit with the endo doc yesterday for the Tulane tour. DH is not happy. I am pretty sure it is time for a upping of my synthroid dose.

Could just be puppyhood and teen hood but I think I need a boost.

The tour was nice yesterday. We were lucky, the weather was pretty (not so today), clear, sunny, low humidity. The azalias all around campus were in their glory. Also, campus is directly across from Audobon park, an absolutely beautiful huge area full of oaks, lots of walking paths. Everyone bikes, walks their dogs, etc. It was very enticing. It is really is in a wonderful location, right on the streetcar route.

DD is leaning big time to Tulane. We will see. They are using all full time professors, not teaching assistants for undergrads, which is vastly different that LSU. I still am not convinced it is worth the $$. Those $$ would come in handy for grad school. The gravy train will have to end there though. She'll have to earn that herself.

I just wish the campus would not have looked so damn good yesterday.

 

[annrae]

Merry, hope you're feeling better.

Ann and Barbara, nice to see you!

SHAYMARAYSMOM, I'm sorry to hear about your MRI results. Keep us in the loop.

Hope everyone else is well.

How's the Raj doing, Laurie? I started to post some info for you the other day but the boards went down. I was going to suggest that because she has Chow in her you should make sure she has firm limit setting from the beginning (as I have to do). Tune into The Dog Whisperer and have your daughter watch too. Make sure potential problematic behaviors aren't inadvertently rewarded. Let me know if you need more info.

A Golden Retriever friend of ours went to the Rainbow Bridge tonight.

I have my annual breast MRI later in the week. I'll try not to worry until at least Friday.

GAGWTA

I will be thinking of you this week, Linda - it is always so stressful and the months seem to go by so quickly between mammograms and MRI's. Good Luck - I'm sure everything will be fine.

Laurie: What a sweet puppy! Hope everything is going well with work and home.

Ann - so glad Avery is holding his own and doing well. You must be buried in all the white stuff as we are here in Upstate New York. Spring will be very welcome this year.

Laura - hi - hope you are doing well. I really liked the Bible Verses and have printed them out along with the link. Thanks so much.

To all of you - good luck and have a good week with treatments, surgery, or anything you may be going through at this time. I think of all of you so often and it's always so nice to read your posts.

Tonight, I have a heart monitor on as I've had a few "episodes" - something is going on with the electrical system in my heart so we are just checking things out. My DH said he feels like he is going to sleep with Darth Vader tonight - all these wires plus the CPAP machine for sleep apnea does not make for a romantic night!! Hugs to all of you. Barbara

 

[MerryPoppins]

I'm actually feeling better today. No temp and even though my throat is still scratchy, I think I'm on the mend.

I got my "all clear" letter from my mammogram, so that helped my spirits soar.

I'll try to catch up with everyone tomorrow. I'm reading, but not posting much. Still not quite myself. to those of you who need it. for those not feeling their best. GAGWTA!

 

[DeeCeeSW]

GAGWTA Ladies!

I hope that everyone is feeling better and that all is well.

I have had yet another rough week, with appts. and lots of aggravation. I have not been in the mood to post anything, but I thought I would drop a line so you would all know I am still around.

So surgeon tells me the night before last that he has me scheduled for surgery on April 11, then all of a sudden it changes that to April 14th the very next day. I reminded my surgeon that April 18th is Passover MANY times before and that the family member I am counting on to be with me for recovery (who lives out of state) has to be home during Passover to celebrate with family. I also told him that the plastic surgeon I was leaning towards was going on vacation on April 15th for Passover as well. So yesterday, while I am at the hospital meeting with a psychologist to discuss my decision to have a bilateral mast, Doc comes in and announces that he is going on vacation for the last two weeks of March so he will not be able to operate on me then. Based on our discussions and his proposed timeline, I seriously thought that I would be in surgery no later than the end of March.

Why Doc didn't inform me about his vacation before yesterday? I do not know.

Now his vacation is seriously messing with my surgery date because I decided on PS #1 and PS #1 is available for the next 4 weeks but NOT on April 14th because he is leaving for vacation on the 15th and will not perfom the surgery if he cannot be here for follow-up. Breast Doc's calendar is apparently FULL so he cannot accomodate me before April 14th (even though he said the schedule was more dependent on the PS and not him or the hospital and that he could probably get me in earlier).

So I have chosen a plastic surgeon who has LOADS of availability, but now I don't have a breast surgeon to perfom the mast.

And here's the kicker....PS gets back into town on April 29th and can do the surgery on April 30th but Breast Doc is STILL NOT free that day, and will not be free until MAY 6th.

MAY 6th???!!!!!! Are you kidding me???!!!!!!!!

So, Breast Doc and PS are supposed to be talking soon (w/o schedulers) to see if "something can be rearranged," so that I don't have to wait until MAY. If nothing can be "worked out," then I believe I am going to EXPLODE.

May 6th? It's March 12th! By May 6th I will be 9 days shy of three months diagnosed.

What about my cancer? I am supposedly Stage 1 but my lymph nodes have still not been checked, so maybe it's higher. My tumor was 1.8 cm, as of last Thursday, but will it be the same on May 6th???

And what about all the plans I have been trying to put together? You know, things like having people here to take care of me and take care of my son while my husband is at work, or the plan I had to put my son in summer camp for 6 weeks which will now have to be 8, or the Disney trip I had planned for the end of August that I hoped to be able to make, etc. I guess it all goes out the window.

Cancer changes everything and I have absolutely no control over any of it.

I swear, I felt like jumping in front of a moving train this afternoon after meeting PS # 3. He was an incredibly good looking guy with a major G-d complex, a REAL plastic surgeon, who is apparently more concerned with "the big picture" that happens to include tissue expanders and saline, even though I was very clear about my position on them.

Oh, and did I mention that my estranged father's doctor got in touch with me last night to tell me that my dad actually DIED last year from heart disease? I called to see if I could obtain any more info. regarding my deceased grandmother's ovarian cancer, and instead I was told I no longer have a father. (We hadn't seen each other in over 30 years, but it still hurts).

Thank goodness I have plans for tomorrow morning, bc if I didn't, I would probably sleep all day.

I hope that things are better in everyones' world. Right now I am feeling super sorry for myself...YET AGAIN

Dawn

 

[snappy]

Dawn, I am sorry about your dad. What a shock that must have been out of the clear blue!. Even if you had not been in touch with him, he was after all your dad. I hope you are able to talk to someone about this, as regardless of the circumstances, I think you need to take the time to grieve.

Your scheduling problems are nightmarish! There has to be an answer here. I can not imagine a breast surgeon allowing that much time to elapse. I would think that immediate reconstruction would bump up to the top of the list since there are two doctors from different disciplines involved (along with whoever is assisting). It would just be nice to finalize it so you can your ducks in a row so you have the help you need. However, you will have to let them work out the details. I would not sit idly by though, I would be calling daily to make sure it gets done.

I am glad to hear you plan to have a family member with you during recovery.
I needed my husband to help me day and night for the first 8 days after my tram. The stomach incision pain made it difficult to get in and out of bed.
After the 8th day, he went back to work and my mom came over for a week or two for a few hours. Housework was out for awhile. Also, it was nice to have someone fix my lunch.

It sounds like PS# 3 was a dud. I bet he does little or no flaps since he focused on the implants despite your position on them. You surely don't want him.

Do they actually listen?

Please vent away, I hope it helps. I know venting helps me. I can rant and rave with the best.

 

[snappy]

I will be thinking of you this week, Linda - it is always so stressful and the months seem to go by so quickly between mammograms and MRI's. Good Luck - I'm sure everything will be fine.

Laurie: What a sweet puppy! Hope everything is going well with work and home.

Ann - so glad Avery is holding his own and doing well. You must be buried in all the white stuff as we are here in Upstate New York. Spring will be very welcome this year.

Laura - hi - hope you are doing well. I really liked the Bible Verses and have printed them out along with the link. Thanks so much.

To all of you - good luck and have a good week with treatments, surgery, or anything you may be going through at this time. I think of all of you so often and it's always so nice to read your posts.

Tonight, I have a heart monitor on as I've had a few "episodes" - something is going on with the electrical system in my heart so we are just checking things out. My DH said he feels like he is going to sleep with Darth Vader tonight - all these wires plus the CPAP machine for sleep apnea does not make for a romantic night!! Hugs to all of you. Barbara

Barbara, glad you are being monitored. It sounds pretty scary though. Have you had episodes like this before?

I totally get what your DH means by Darth Vader. The CPAP thing looks and sounds like the character. DH hates his but he does use it. Have you gotten used to yours? DH started with his in 2003 and has yet to be able to fall asleep easily with it. He has to be dog tired in order to nod off.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Dawn, I'm so sorry that you're going through this. There ought to be a way to work this out. Sounds very frustrating. And since I know waiting is the worst part, I really feel for you.

I will add something that may make you feel a little better though. Hope it's not TMI. I put my mastectomy off a couple of weeks on purpose. The reason? Since I've started menopause, some months my period is particularly heavy. My original date of surgery was at the wrong time of month and I consulted with my surgeon about waiting a few weeks until I was pretty sure we'd be in the clear. I knew surgery on both sides would make use of my arms difficult and I just didn't want to deal with that. The idea of having family help me was difficult enough since I'm very independent, but the thought of that was just too much.

Here's the part that might be encouraging. My doc said even at such an early stage, I'd had cancer for probably a year or two. She said a few more days shouldn't make a difference. If you can't get it worked out any other way, it probably won't matter in the long run. I'll say a prayer that everything starts to quickly fall into place for you, though. Like I said, waiting is the worst.

I'm feeling much better today. Still no temp and my throat is much better. I am definitely on the mend. I'm just taking it kind of easy still since I don't want a relapse. I've heard that's how many people end up in the hospital...they hit the ground running when they're still not 100%. I do have a painful lump in my right ribs. I think it's a pulled muscle from when I was ill the other night, but I'm watching it closely. If it doesn't go away, I'll have to make a visit to the doc to get it checked out. I'm supposing since it's painful there when I cough, that it's a muscular thing.

 

[CherylDan]

GAGWTA!

Just wanted to say hi......I've been reading, just haven't posted in a long time. I think I'm still going thru my phase of trying to pretend that BC didn't actually happen. OK, I know that sounds rediculous....

Dawn....sorry to hear that you are having such a nighmare with your scheduling. My experience seemed to be completely the opposite - I had the initial biopsy on 10/31, got the results on 11/2, and mastectomy on 11/9. While it seemed like everything just really rushed right by me, I can understand your frustration of not being able to get on with it. I hope you get things ironed out soon.

Linda....how did everything go the other day with your MRI?

Snappy....love the puppy! I keep thinking perhaps I'd like to get a puppy, but then DH always manages to talk me out of it. I guess I'm still on the fence.

Barbara....I hope your electrical system checked out ok!

Merry....glad to hear you are feeling better. There has been a nasty flu going around here too, but so far we've been lucky enough to avoid it at our house.

Thoughts and hugs to all of you going thru treatment, test, and other assorted medical who-haw.

 

[laurabelle]

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

(((((Dawn)))))- I'm sorry for your loss and how you were blindsided, hearing of your dad's death that way... I hope all those docs get their schedules together soon. Don't be surprised if there is a sudden opening...

Barbara- Praying things are ok... My mom wears a cpap as well. I just saw this on t.v. and passed along these links to her. It sounds like a simple procedure. This doc is in TX though. I wonder how many others around the country do it?
http://www.wbaltv.com/video/15554629/index.html
http://www.snoringcenter.com/home.html

Melissa- Whooo hoooo!!!! Congrats on you mamm! That's awesome news sista! You're wise in giving yourself some extra TLC time. I hope you're back at 100% soon.

CherylDan- I know what you mean. I do what I can to not act like I'm the patient.

I've been going through a rough patch with my UC. I talked to my nurse yesterday. I am in a study and do computerized testing here at home once a week and the results are sent to the hospital. I told her I don't want to make any changes right now though and she agrees. She knows I'm leaving for my trip next Thursday. I go for remicade on Tue. I really hope it helps. It would suck to be sick in Disney World. I'm hoping that Disney magic makes me better. Hubby says he knows at least mentally I'll feel better there! I scheduled nail appt. for me and the girls next week using gift cards hubby gave us at Christmas, but I'm seriously thinking of changing my appt. to a massage instead...

 

[snappy]

Thanks for the links, Laura. I am going to show DH. His apnea is so severe, we need to consider all that is out there.

His sleep study showed drastic drops in oxygen in the blood.

His doc no doubt saved his life by sending him for it.

It is just that the CPAP is such a drag, really the mask is the problem.

Thanks,
Laurie

I am betting that the combination of the infusion and the prospect of your trip will help you feel better. Like you said, being sick there would suck big time. Spring at WDW is a glorious time. We only did Easter break once but I could not believe how much we enjoyed those 8 days, despite the crowds. We spent a lot of time in the pool in the back yard of the house we rented that trip (2003). It was warm and not humid. Perfect for swimming in a heated pool.

Hope your weather is picture perfect, and your Vistana stay marvelous. Please give us the details when you return.