Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA

[luvmarypoppins]

February greetings to all! Hope everyone is doing well.
Today I am going to the eye Dr. He will reculture it. Then we need to see about the Id Dr. because mine doesn’t have hours for a month.
Having a special date with a special guy on Valentine’s Day..,,,my oncologist lol! He told ds he’s not in a hurry to do the chemo pills, good.
Next week I go to the new pcp. Hope I like him. I need a med refill and ds needs his fmla paperwork updated.
Hopefully everyone can get together this weekend for a bday celebration and we can see grandson.
GAGWTA

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Happy March to all!
I liked the new pcp. He is young, laid back and not test crazy. Ds knows him from the hospital. A little farther to get to.
The hospital. Remodeled the old Sears store the mall. Amazing!
Cardiologist said echo good and good for chemo.
Didn’t like this 2nd new infectious disease Dr. She was rushy and confusing. Said no chemo till eye surgery. Called eye dr. He will confer with her. I feel like I am on a hamster wheel just paying copays. This Dr. wants me to take antibiotics until surgery. Sigh.
Got to see grandson. He is fussy alot of the time. He had lip and tongue tie procedures.
Always cute though.
Hope everyone is doing well.
GAGWTA

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Happy almost Spring to all! Hoping everyone is doing well!
Tomm. I am having an mri so the reg. Onc. Has a base line before chemo.
Next wed. I am having eye surgery. I have to be asleep in the main hospital and then get stitches out in a week. Never ends. Sigh.
GAGWTA

 

[leebee]

Happy almost Spring to all! Hoping everyone is doing well!
Tomm. I am having an mri so the reg. Onc. Has a base line before chemo.
Next wed. I am having eye surgery. I have to be asleep in the main hospital and then get stitches out in a week. Never ends. Sigh.
GAGWTA

Good morning, everyone, GAGWTA!

LMP, you have to be the most studied, most resilient woman in the history of the UNIVERSE. I hope your eye surgery goes well. I know you've been chasing this forever, but maybe the eye-thing will be over soon. I'm not a praying person but think of you frequently, sending light and hope for pain relief and healing.

I hope everyone is well and looking forward to spring, warmer weather, sunnier days to come.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Best wishes, LMP, with your upcoming eye surgery along with your tests, exams and all.

My best to all here.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Hello, hoping all here are well! Sorry been a bit MIA.

Wanted to let you know that I’ve recently had another BC diagnosis. Second time around. It’s a new one, not a recurrence of first one. First one was triple negative. This one’s on the other side and is hormone positive. So a new cancer, other was cured in 2003/2004, as confirmed with MRI.

This came up in a weird way. Found on mammogram just from an enlarged node, and had to follow the path with that (US, then US guided biopsy for that, then bilateral breast MRI, followed by MRI-guided biopsy of breast, as well as clip placements in all spots X2 (regular and saviscouts), etc. Found just two super small areas in my breast (not even detectable on mammogram) but one is very aggressive, having already caused nodal disease.

Had my first chemo this week, will have four in all, then surgery, then radiation, and a slew of meds that are available for this type of cancer, thankfully. We’re going for complete cure again.

Always something, right?

All thoughts and prayers welcomed.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Pes-n-Me So sad to hear that cancer has again come to wreak havoc on your body. You are strong and will persevere. It sounds like you have a good medical team on your side.

Sending you positive thoughts and prayers.

 

[mickeyboat]

Oh Pea - I am sorry to hear this news. Sending lots of positive thoughts and prayers to you and to your medical team for a successful outcome, and lots of hugs to comfort to you as you go through treatment.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Pea, I am very sorry to hear this. I did the full gamut for my hormone positive BC. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions along the way…. Especially concerning the meds you will be on following active treatment. Thinking of you!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Pea-n-Me - So sorry to hear you have to be on this journey once again. You are a strong warrior!, have great family support and a good medical team. I am sending prayers and good thoughts your way and wishing you all the best.

 

[BayouQueen]

Hello, hoping all here are well! Sorry been a bit MIA.

Wanted to let you know that I’ve recently had another BC diagnosis. Second time around. It’s a new one, not a recurrence of first one. First one was triple negative. This one’s on the other side and is hormone positive. So a new cancer, other was cured in 2003/2004, as confirmed with MRI.

This came up in a weird way. Found on mammogram just from an enlarged node, and had to follow the path with that (US, then US guided biopsy for that, then bilateral breast MRI, followed by MRI-guided biopsy of breast, as well as clip placements in all spots X2 (regular and saviscouts), etc. Found just two super small areas in my breast (not even detectable on mammogram) but one is very aggressive, having already caused nodal disease.

Had my first chemo this week, will have four in all, then surgery, then radiation, and a slew of meds that are available for this type of cancer, thankfully. We’re going for complete cure again.

Always something, right?

All thoughts and prayers welcomed.

Oh man...I just saw this. You know the drill. Pea -- take it one day and step at a time. You will be in my prayers every single day.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thank you, all. I really appreciate the care and concern, and especially the good thoughts and prayers.

We’re all warriors here! It’s been a while for me but I’m back in the saddle.

Pea, I am very sorry to hear this. I did the full gamut for my hormone positive BC. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions along the way…. Especially concerning the meds you will be on following active treatment. Thinking of you!

I may take you up on that at some point. Thank you. Sounds like a lot. Did you do well with everything?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Btw is there anyone here who has had two separate cancers (as opposed to recurrence of first cancer)? They tell me it happens but I was just wondering if anyone here has experienced it.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Thank you, all. I really appreciate the care and concern, and especially the good thoughts and prayers.

We’re all warriors here! It’s been a while for me but I’m back in the saddle.

I may take you up on that at some point. Thank you. Sounds like a lot. Did you do well with everything?

For the most part, I did well. I am a teacher and did take off while doing chemo. I had 16 rounds. I did end up with pulmonary embolisms that put me in the hospital for a few days. I think that is not entirely unusual when you have a port and get chemo, though.

I was mildly nauseous with chemo and very tired but no neuropathy or lasting effects (that I know of)

I did DMX and then a full ancillary lymph node clearance a few weeks after the DMX.

A lot of trouble with reconstruction… that’s another story, though…

I did 25 rounds of radiation. I worked thru that. Very little fatigue and a little bit of burning.

Since then I have been on tamoxifen, Lupron, Anastrozole and Kisqali.

For a time I found the psychological/mental aspect of survivorship much harder than the physical and being “in treatment” aspect. That is much better now, though.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For the most part, I did well. I am a teacher and did take off while doing chemo. I had 16 rounds. I did end up with pulmonary embolisms that put me in the hospital for a few days. I think that is not entirely unusual when you have a port and get chemo, though.

I was mildly nauseous with chemo and very tired but no neuropathy or lasting effects (that I know of)

I did DMX and then a full ancillary lymph node clearance a few weeks after the DMX.

A lot of trouble with reconstruction… that’s another story, though…

I did 25 rounds of radiation. I worked thru that. Very little fatigue and a little bit of burning.

Since then I have been on tamoxifen, Lupron, Anastrozole and Kisqali.

For a time I found the psychological/mental aspect of survivorship much harder than the physical and being “in treatment” aspect. That is much better now, though.

Thank you. You went through a lot. I will PM you re reconstruction.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I thought I would update.

First, a special thank you to @#1hoosierfan for sharing her whole story privately with me. I like going into things with my eyes wide open so even though it’s hard to hear of complications, it’s good to know that things don’t always go perfectly smoothly with this. (Which I see every day in my work.) Not everyone understands that. They tend to throw out suggestions that make everything sound so simple. We wish!

I had my first chemo last week. Yup, rough, as we know. I don’t know if it’s that I’m 20+ yrs older now, or if I was just in a busier life stage last time and had less time to fret about it but it sort of kicked my butt pretty good for several days, ie the steroid effects, then of course the dreaded neulasta related bone pain! I took the Claritin which was something that wasn’t known when I first did neulasta, and I’d say it did probably help a little. (Very little.) But that, I recall, has been one of the most difficult things. Was shuffling around the house like I was 90 yrs old.

The GI stuff has been ongoing. I understand it’s because GI tract cells are new cells, too, so therefore the chemo affects them. But it’s been challenging trying to balance the stomach discomfort when my belly is empty, with the way food goes right through me when I do eat something. The has been my friend! Been sticking with BRAT type foods but even then… So just trying to stay hydrated, soothe my sore body, and to just get through this.

I did do a little retail therapy which was great. Highly recommend. Been wanting to redo our flooring for a long time. Finally had the opportunity to get it done, with a lot of support from family and some people we hired, and I am really in love with them! Of course some new furniture was in order, and some nice rugs and pillows, etc. So that kept me busy and smiling. Now I have a nice, new space to recover in.

GAGWTA! Thank you so much for your support and prayers.

PS we’ll see starting this week whether the cold cap efforts were worth it. Not sure I talked about it here but we went about it in a roundabout way when I was unsure about trying it - knew it was important for me to relax during treatment and wasn’t sure it would really help, but last minute decided to try it. Thankfully my daughter was there (RN, also, like me) and helped deal with changing the cold cap out frequently, which is a big chore. And did stress me out a bit. Had to get dry ice and everything the night before, as well as bring all supplies in a cooler, etc. A lot of work. So we’ll see.. I’m expecting some hair may come out even if it does work. That’s probably the saddest part of this for me, as it is for so many of us - the hair loss. I did get a nice wig that I like if I need it, and my hairdresser is on board for whatever needs to happen. Thank God for her! Did anyone here have great success with their cold cap?

 

[BayouQueen]

@Pea-n-Me , I'm sorry to hear you're off to a rocky start. Hopefully your tummy will settle down some.
Glad you got some nice home improvements to lift your spirits. My chemo was 13 years ago, and the cold cap idea wasn't really being done. I hope it works for you!

When I had chemo, my feet were a problem and I ended up with a lot of rest time. My retail therapy was something others here might enjoy -- bidding on Disney pins from Ebay. It was fun looking for them, bidding on them, and then waiting for them to arrive in the mail. And now I have a great, inexpensive pin collection that the grandkids love to look through. I trade with DGD.

Thinking of you, Pea, and all the others here who are fighting this fight.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Pea-n-Me Isn't chemo so weird on our bodies??!! I know different cancers can require different chemos...but I never had any bad GI issues, thank God. It mainly affected my taste buds. The first 2 chemo drugs changed the way I tasted meats mostly. The second 2 drugs changed how I tasted meats, some veggies, and herbs and weirdly salt. I couldn't taste salt or any flavorings carried by salt. On the plus side, I stopped eating potato chips for months because it tasted like...nothing!

Good luck with the cold cap. I know a few people who had great success with it. I didn't try it but did use cold mitts and footies for my feet and hands to help avoid neuropathy.

Retail therapy is a must! Keep up the good work

 

[Dan Murphy]

@Pea-n-Me, it's been a while since I last stopped by here to see the toughest group of people ever. Very sorry to read you are in treatment again. But, knowing you, you will be kicking some serious butt in the days and weeks ahead. And you will do it again. You know you will!!. I know you will. We know you will. Prayers and good wishes follow you, P-n-M

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Pea-n-Me - sending you all my best. You have a great attitude and support team. Your retail therapy sounds perfect. Sorry about all the side effects. I remember years ago I think you said you were having kfc mashed potatoes? Sending prayers and a big virtual hug.
The cold cap. Ds3 friend had it. Only her husband could touch or help her. She has long red hair and really didn’t lose any. Of course her ins. didn’t pay for it. They were very happy with the results. This is the girl whose baby was 3 months old when she was dx.