Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part II -GAGWTA!

[CherylDan]

GAGWTA!!!

Whew, I finally found us burried on page 10! How's everybody doing?

Maureen....hope your recovery is still going well. And glad to hear that you are enjoying your new found cleavage!

Laura, sorry to hear about your medication failing. I hope the new one kicks in soon, and hopefully the steriods will help.

Linda, that is very cool about the book.....I agree, getting in touch with her seems like a great idea.

JSG....glad to hear your mom is still doing ok with the Taxol. I think I knew I would be having radiation right off the bat, if I remember that correctly. Is she wondering whether or not she will have it, or wondering when?

I hope everybody had a good weekend....just normal stuff around here, had a nice dinner out with DH at Famous Dave's tonight (BBQ) - I love BBQ!

 

[snappy]

Hey where is everyone?

Hope it means everyone had a nice weekend.

Ours was just very busy.

Mom is having some pain and worrying too much about it. I am trying to spend as much time as possible with her. Company seems to help her outlook.

We are finally having some cool temp days. It may eveng et to the 30's one night soon. We have not pulled down the winter clothes out of the attic yet. I guess it is time.

I did decorate for Halloween a little. My New Orleans friend Cindy gave me a hard time when she had to evacuate here for Gustav, I still had my spring decorations on the mantel.

I guess I need to take a picture of my mantel and send it to her now.

Anyone else get into decorating for Halloween?

OUr yard is looking a little better although it will take a while for the ruts from the tree removal equipment to disappear. The grass is still green and needing to be cut.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday season. Probably because it's fun and colorful (and not hugely expensive and stressful like XMas ), and we really get into it for the kids' bday. Some of our neighbors really get into decorating which makes it even more fun. This year, though, I didn't put a lot out because the week we usually do it was the week DH was in the hospital, plus our house is kind of in flux this year so we just put a few things out. Friends of ours have an antique house and they had a big Halloween party for the kids Sat nite while a bunch of us parents went out for pizza and beer at a local pub. That was fun. I've been busy taking seasonal pictures, in fact my FIL just called to inform me that they're harvesting cranberries down his way so I'm going to see if I can go get some pictures of those. Will post a few of my pictures later if anyone wants to see them.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

GAGWTA, Ladies!

Cheryl - Mom was told she would have 6 weeks of radiation. We are assuming she will finish the Taxol in December and then start radiation after the holidays, but we don't know the exact timeline. I am sure she will have to have it, I just don't know how much of a lull she will have between finishing the Taxol and starting the radiation.

Laurie - Hope your mom's pain isn't too severe!

Linda - I would love to see your pics! (But I do lurk on the Photo forum so I would probably see them there if you didn't post them here. )
OBM has his knickers in a knot because the photos he shot yesterday are in RAW and the computer says it doesn't recognize the file format. He wanted me to help him. I have NO CLUE how to make the computer recognize the files! I told him he is on his own.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Linda - I would love to see your pics! (But I do lurk on the Photo forum so I would probably see them there if you didn't post them here. )

OBM has his knickers in a knot because the photos he shot yesterday are in RAW and the computer says it doesn't recognize the file format. He wanted me to help him. I have NO CLUE how to make the computer recognize the files! I told him he is on his own.

Yeah, you've probably seen some of them.

Tell OBM not to give up. I've been shooting exclusively in RAW but the Oly software is terrible, I have to find something else. I will ask my DH what he has to do to get it to go into the Oly file. Stay tuned.

Bummer, I took so long getting down there today the bogs were almost cleared of cranberries. Here I am at these multiple huge bogs and they had one tiny little section of cranberries left. Just my luck.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Yeah, you've probably seen some of them.

Tell OBM not to give up. I've been shooting exclusively in RAW but the Oly software is terrible, I have to find something else. I will ask my DH what he has to do to get it to go into the Oly file. Stay tuned.

Bummer, I took so long getting down there today the bogs were almost cleared of cranberries. Here I am at these multiple huge bogs and they had one tiny little section of cranberries left. Just my luck.

Well, that's a bummer! Is it a one shot thing with the cranberries? Meaning if you miss them today that's the end of the season? I know nothing about cranberries!

We have that Oly software loaded on the desktop, but we use Windows Gallery or whatever as the default. At first he thought his pics were just gone, but i found them in Gallery. BUT he can't edit them in Gallery. It would really be so much simpler if he didn't shoot anything else in RAW!

 

[snappy]

I too have a bit of curiosity about the bog pictures.

Can't wait to see what they look like. All I can picture is a swamp, and I know that can't be right, not that mucky mess.

We do eat crawfish out of the swamp but we purge em and boil em first. Can't do that with cranberries.

 

[CherylDan]

GAGWTA!

I just waded through eight pages of mudslinging, but I finally found us!

How is everybody today? And the moms, too?

Just wondering, has anybody here ever taken an Alaskan cruise? DH & I were thinking about thinking about it. I think we would like it, we haven't been on a cruise since Disney had "The Big Red Boat"! I was looking at Norweigan Cruise Lines, with their 'freestyle" cruises. Anyone have any experience with them?

 

[snappy]

Only one cruise under my belt and it was Carnival, chich I can't really recommend although we had fun because we had such a big group.

My BIL and his wife cruised to Allaska back in August during hurricane Gustav. I'll inquire as to which line they went with.

Mom had another blow yesterday. An area on her leg that started with a bump against her plastic watering can several months ago looked like squamous cell carcinoma to the dermatologist yesterday.

I thought she was going to come unglued. He did the the biopsy but seemed pretty certain about what it was when he first saw it. After we get the results on the biopsy, he says if it is positive (and you could tell that is his expectation), he will send her to see a skin cancer specialist for treatment.

She was so blaming herself for not pursuing it earlier. When it looked like a cut that would not heal and was somewhat swollen, she asked the breast surgeon to look at it. Then she went in to see her internist a week before the mastectomy surgery. He advised waiting until after her surgery but offered to get her in to see a dermatolotist if she wanted. She opted to wait. He did tell her he thought she should have it biopsied.

The dermatologist told her it would not have made a difference if she had come earlier, thank God. I could see he had assesed her tendency to second guess. The thing just morphed from an injury to skin cancer fairly quickly. The dermatoligst said he has seen this many times, especially in people with thin skin like she has, so maybe it is common?

Then after he innocently made an oblique inference to politics, he realized they were like minded, so he managed to distract her with quite a long conversation on the elections stuff (we were there for a good hour and a half). That seemed to help her and again I was ready to bless the guy.

After I got her home, I headed to work and got double teamed by the auditor AND his manager. I got flustered when the manager starts a back of the envelope analysis of payroll expense to the quarterly federal tax returns. I finally figured out the difference once he left me alone and departed. By the time I got home from soccer carpool I was a complete basket case. I was not very friendly to DD12 or DH at 9 pm last night when we got home.

Mom is continuing to have the sharp pains we think are nerve pain from the area under the arm where the drain was. The extra Advil the plastic's nurse told her she could take for this new pain is not doing the trick. She goes to the plastic today and the breast surgeon tomorrow. Luckily, my sister is coming in and is taking her. I guess I need to focus on getting through this audit, and doing all my other tasks that need to be done yesterday.

OK I am over my pity party.

It has got to get better today. And there is an absolutely beautiful sunrise happening.

 

[laurabelle]

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

Just popping in to say I'm laying low. The prednisone is working and things have slowed down. The methotrexate made me feel like I had a boulder in my stomach, but I headed it off with Zofran so no vomiting. Hubby doesn't like the pills for increasing his BP so he's trying other things. I had him call the cardiologist to get confirmation that there is nothing life threatening so he can chill. I think half of it is him psyching himself up. Last weekend he went to visit his friend who's wife died of pancreatic ca in June...surprise! Hubby was a witness for his civil marriage ceremony to a woman he met in a disco.

Laurie- I'm so sorry it looks like your mom is being dealt yet another blow. I hope it's a simple fix.

JSG- how is your mom doing?

 

[snappy]

Sending you some postive thoughts, Laura. Glad the prednisone is working.

Elizabeth, I too am wondering how your mom is?

Has she retreated from her Thanksgiving trip plans? I can't even imagine Thanksgiving right now.

 

[CherylDan]

Snappy, I hope your day today is less stressful! Sorry to hear about your mom....wow, when it rains it pours. Hopefully this is just a bump in the road with an easy fix.

Laura, glad to hear that your new medication is helping. I hope things get better for you soon!

I'm off now for my annual gyno appt. Such a fun way to spend the afternoon!

GAGWTA!!!

 

[NHAnn]

I'm not a cruiser but my DSis and her DH did an Alaskan cruise a few years ago. Norweigan Cruise Line I believe, I will doublecheck. They loved it and have some spectacular pics. BIL totally enjoyed a TV which was mounted in their cabin so you could see it from the bed....apparently it had a channel with a live feed from the bridge (is that what you call where the captain sits?). Every morning he'd lie in bed and enjoy the view even before got up.

Laura, I hope you are on the upswing and DH too.

snappy, that sounds like a rough day. I hope today was better!! Sounds like you need a little escape. CLose your eyes, drift off to Epcot, I'll meet you there for some hankie-waving dance,OK?? The skin thing is just what your mom (and you) do NOT need, but try to not let it upset you both...those are usually very easily treated.

DD missed 2 days of work (not great w/a new job ) this week with bronchitis. She went today though still feeling pretty bad. Took her to Urgent Care Sunday because her chest was so tight and throat so sore, and she'd been up all night coughing. She told three people there that she was allergic to codiene. (She had tylenol w/codiene once and it made her very sick to her stomach plus hives). I heard her myself tell the intake lady who noted it. She said she then verified it with the nurse who took her vitals and the examining doc. When he was done examining/diagnosing her he said he'd go write scrips for one dose prednisone, an antibiotic,and a prescription cough syrup to help her sleep. The nurse came back with them and fortunately DD glanced at them and said "Uuuummm, what exactly is 'Robitussin w/ Co' ?" yep...... codiene Off went the nurse and then returned saying just take an OTC cough suppressant. You have got to be so careful and alert with this stuff. Not fatal by any means but what IS the point of asking 3 times about allergies then prescribing the ONE medication she's allergic to? OK,I'm done with my rant of the day!

Except my complaint that I saw snow flurries today....a few lonely little white flakes! Aaaccck...not ready for that!

Thinking of all of you and your mothers too

GAGWTA!!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Sorry for the bad news Laurie. Hope it's easily dealt with.

Trying to keep up with everything here. This is a crazy week. DD is Bloody Mary in South Pacific. Here's her photo from the newspaper. Thought you might enjoy seeing it.

She hates the horrible baggy clothes they're making her wear. These pants are so big that she has to cinch up the drawstring waist until they're all puckered to keep them from falling down. But she's having a lot of fun with the character. She's really shy, so nothing like Bloody Mary. I'm so excited to see it tomorrow night. She gets two solos. (I'm gonna be like the mother in The Music Man...."That's my Amy!")

We have relatives coming into town to see the play and be here for her confirmation on Sunday. It's a busy, busy week. Next week should be calmer. Until then, GAGWTA!

 

[snappy]

Merry, how cool for our daughter to have such a prominent part! I am not familiar with that musical but now I really want to see it.

Ann, hope your daughter continues to improve. I am so glad that despite feeling bad she was alert enough to check on the med. Were the medical people on autopilot?

Flakes of snow?? YIKES!!!

Mom saw the plastci yesterday (my sister brought her) and he was so matter of fact about everything that his calmness has seemed to transfer over to mom. Although still getting take your breath away twinges, she says she is not so worried about it since she knows it is to be expected and is not a sign that she has done something to hurt herself. The doc got a surprise. . . when he walked in she was holding her affected arm against her chest as she had just had a twinge and that position helps it. He did not like the looks of that and quizzed her on whether she was doing the exercises, like the walking the wall one. She waid you mena like this and walked over to the wall and proceeded to walk all the way up the wall until her arm was straight up. My sister said he jaw dropped.

He had been able to put some fill in during surgery by the way the surgeon prepared the area. He did a fill yesterday and she says it is almost the size of the other one. She will only need on or two other. One thing that was strange, the port for the expander had flipped upside down. Mom blurted out what are you going to do, he said just turn it over. It was all over before she knew it.

She seems to be ok with the skin thing on her leg for now. We are still waiting for results from that but she has not been obsessing.

Gotta leave for the office. Thanks for the reminder, Ann. I did get some pictures printed this week from the trip and yes we did have a good time. It was so fun seeing the actual pictures rather than just looking at them on the computer. We need to make Wine and Food an annual tradition.

Ah, my DD is growing up, she will be 13 on Saturday. She picked out her first ever cell phone last night and she is on cloud nine. The AT&T guy was a delight with her, so patient and enjoying her enthusiasm.

I just see it as another sign of she is spreading her wings. She has actually reached my height now. I really can't stand that.

Linda, how was the twins' birthday?

My sister say

 

[Amy]

Hi ladies! Just popping in real quick to wish you all well on your cancer journeys. I don't post much here any more, but I do read what's going on and try to keep up with you all. (And boy, it is ever tough keeping up with this thread!) GAGWTA!!

Someone sent me the cutest breast cancer email, and I knew this was the right place to share it.

 

[lookingforward]

GAGWTA!

I just waded through eight pages of mudslinging, but I finally found us!

How is everybody today? And the moms, too?

Just wondering, has anybody here ever taken an Alaskan cruise? DH & I were thinking about thinking about it. I think we would like it, we haven't been on a cruise since Disney had "The Big Red Boat"! I was looking at Norweigan Cruise Lines, with their 'freestyle" cruises. Anyone have any experience with them?

Hi everyone. I am still having a difficult time with the freakin drain. I am praying to get it out tomorrow. Then I will heal faster. But the girls are looking mighty good, if I must say so! I know they have a while to go in the process but they are doing really well. For that I am thankful.

I have been on an Alaskan cruise! My parents took all 11 of us a few years back. We sailed on Royal Caribbean. Alaska was amazing. It is truly like another planet. Beautiful would not be descriptive enough. I loved the cruise. We sailed out of Vancouver and spent a few days in that city as well. We went in June..and it was very chilly. Some of the tours we did were a float plane over the misty fjords, salmon fishing, a train ride up a beautiful mountain. Just once in a lifetime experiences. My parents took the land tour after the cruise. That consisted of a luxury train and motor coach through the state. They loved it! Next time I want to do that part.

You won't regret cruising Alaska. You will be moved by the beauty and mystery of the land there. If I do it again I would book Holland America or Princess. They have been there the longest and have the rights to the most coveted iceberg fields. They limit the amount of ships in each area so those cruise lines get the best looks.

I have sailed NCCL. The freestyle dining is a great idea in concept. The only problem with that is the more popular restuarants get filled up fairly early and suite passnegers get priority. Also, the waiters don't know you so its not the traditional level of service we love in the normal dining rooms on cruises. THAT SAID, the variety of food and the ability to eat when we want is really cool. It is a tradeoff. Best scenerio....book a suite, study the different restuarants and have the concierge book your reservations while onboard.
GAGWTA!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

GAGWTA, Ladies!

Laura - I hope these new drugs give you some relief and you are feeling better soon!

Laurie - Good thoughts for your mom with the skin biopsy! She has a lot on her plate right now. Hugs to you while you help her and deal with the audit at work!

I am the worst daughter EVER. This is the second week in a row I have forgotten what day it is. Mom has chemo today, so I will have to call her tonight.

I am horribly stressed out his month. I feel silly fussing about it because there is nothing WRONG, I am just not keeping all the balls in the air very well.

We owe a HUGE chunk of money on DH's colonoscopy, which sort of blindsided me. The surgery center, the doctor, and the lab all want ALL of their money RIGHT NOW. That has required some scrambling.

DS has had more last-minute clothing emergencies in the past week than he has had the rest of his life combined. Last week we went to the mall 45 minutes before they closed to buy bigger jeans for him to wear the next day. This week he needed a long sleeved polo (solid black ONLY) to wear for a band performance at a football game they were NOT originally supposed to go to. I had to run around looking for that, ended up literally driving by the house and handing it out the car window to DH Tuesday afternoon about 30 minutes before DS left for the game. Wednesday AM DS pulls out an invitation to a Halloween party and says he needs a costume! I had told him NO costume this year because he wasn't planning to trick-or-treat and didn't need a costume. Bought one yesterday, that didn't work, returned it today and bought a different one, UGH!

I have gained weight recently and none of my jeans fit. My self-inflicted punishment is that I am not allowed to buy new jeans. I have to fit in the jeans I own, or I wear shorts. Since the weather has cooled off I am getting desperate to take the weight off! DH's company has decided to have the holiday party NEXT WEEKEND. Perfect. It is formal, and none of my formal wear fits, either.

And to top it all off, I am getting a stye in my eye so every time I blink it is like being jabbed in the eye with a stick.

Mom still says she is driving down for Thanksgiving. Last I heard she had decided to wait until Wednesday morning to leave instead of leaving after work on Tuesday. My sister has an orthodontist appt. Wednesday AM and Mom may have to go in for a Neulasta shot since she won't have chemo that week. She still hadn't had a flu shot when I talked with her last week. I called her Sunday because I had a nightmare that she was in the hospital. She was at the mall in Kansas City so I just talked to her for a minute. I need to remember to call her tonight.

Wow! That was quite a vent! Now back to your regularly scheduled thread!

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Hi Everyone! GAGWTA!

See below....

 

[DeeCeeSW]

Hi Everyone! GAGWTA!

I know it's been a while. Honestly, I have not read through any of the thread since I last posted. I hope that everyone is healthy and happy and I apologize for not checking in.

An update: I had my exchange surgery on October 1st after postponing it from 9/26. I had a bad feeling about it and felt I needed some more time. I also had a nasty ragweed allergy and did not feel comfortable being "put under." I was afraid. I didn't want to put the surgery off too long, though, as I was not going to change our plans to go to WDW in December AGAIN.

Well, as it turns out, I probably should have stayed with 9/26. The surgery WAS successful in that I felt immediate relief from having the expanders removed and now have a lovely new set of saline foobs. My chest is healing well, and even though the foobs are considerably smaller than what I used to have, I am very happy with them. No bra required. What a nice "perk."

The not so great part about the surgery revolved around my interaction with the anesthesiologist. At my hospital, we walk into the operating room, lie on the table and then the anesthesia is administered (One more "What's your name, date of birth, and why are you here?" Don't know if it is this way it's done in all hospitals now).

My anesthesiologist was quite cold (as in unfriendly and almost, dare I say, Gestapo-like) and did not seem to care that what she was doing to me was causing me great pain and discomfort. She administered the IV in my hand despite me telling her about the difficulties I had with those veins in chemo. I asked her if she could try at or above the wrist (however, I knew she could not put it too high as it would interfere with the surgery). She made a half-a**ed attempt to go slightly higher, but then went right back to the hand (even though she DID have other options, she did not want to be bothered).

She was digging into my hand and vein and stabbing me. She was DETERMINED to get that thing in and it hurt like hell (and this was a puny butterfly needle). All the while she is doing this, I am SCREAMING OUT LOUD in pain. "Oww, you are hurting me, why does this need to be done this way?"

Mind you, my PS, the nurses and several others were IN THE ROOM while this was happening. Finally, a nurse comes over and asks if there is anything she can do to help (not me, but the Dr.), and is told no, everything is ok, as the IV finally went in.

Umm..not a great way to start surgery. I need to be agitated and upset before going under??!!

I then ask the nurse why the IV has to be in my hand, I explain the chemo situation again (you guys remember, I had an allergic reaction to the Taxotere when the nurse put the IV in a vein in my hand that didn't have a good return, because the vein was too thin?). The nurse tells me not to worry, that the IV is good as there is no swelling in my hand and everything is flowing, so we're good to go. "We'll change it later if we need to." HUH?

At this point I'm getting a REALLY bad feeling about this anesthesiologist (aren't you?). I wanted to scream out "remove this woman or I will not have this surgery today," but for some reason I didn't. I should have gone with my gut. Long story short, she puts me out. I wake up in recovery two hours later hacking away and dry heaving, completely nauseated. Funny, I didn't have this type of reaction to the anesthesia after my 6 hour mastectomy surgery...

So I get home that evening and can barely speak. I literally have no voice. By the next afternoon, nothing has changed. I get a call from a hospital nurse (f/u). She hears me struggling to speak and says, "Oh my, it sounds like you have vocal chord damage." HUH??!!!! Uhhh--are you suggesting that this may not clear up in a day or two??!! She suggests that I call the Patient Representative to have her look into what went on during surgery.

All surgical reports say that the surgery was "unremarkable," that the tube used was the smallest there is (#7?), that it went in and out without a problem. My PS backs up the anesthesiologist and does not recall there being any issues or complications during the surgery.

So, it has been 4 weeks since the surgery, and although I am now able to speak above a whisper, I am no where near 100% or even 70%. It's obvious that the tube bruised my vocal chords! No infection or sore throat, just no voice! Thank goodness it did not sever my chords, as I CAN speak. My PS and my onco (who is not affiliated with the hospital) both recommend(ed) that I WAIT to see an ENT as the scope could irritate my throat even more. They also say that this situation is not uncommon and that as long as my voice is improving, it should continue to improve. Why go through an exam only to have the ENT say that it will heal over time?

I am upset with myself for two reasons. I had a funny feeling about having the surgery, based on my concerns about the anesthesia. I had no idea why I was nervous about it. I mean, my mastectomy surgery went well, why worry? This was supposed to be a simple procedure. So I postponed the surgery. But just look how things ended up anyway! Ugh. And why didn't I speak up in the operating room and ask for another anesthesiologist?!

So right now I am frustrated (yet happy with the outcome of the exchange) and slightly depressed. I have been staying away from all message boards as I felt I needed a little break. I know you all understand.

Dawn