Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA

[smiley_face2]

a few pics from the trip we took last august, during the break between chemo and radiation....when the da*# cancer was growing back without us realising

in front of the candy shop I can't wait to visit again in Carmel. I would live there if I could afford it!!

cannery row in Monterey. I learned a lesson here, don't order off a menu with no price before you ask.... We paid $56. for my serving of abalone.... hubby is a diver and we used to get them and have them all the time here. it had been at least 20 years and I wanted to have some badly. thankfully tasted as good as before!

us in front of the Golden Gate bridge. we went on an all day tour of the city, it was awesome!

in the Redwood Forest

 

[snappy]

Great news, Smilie, thanks for posting the update. And the pictures are wonderful, truly.

Taking my mom to my sister's house today to swim in her endless pool. It was warmer earlier in the week, but they keep the temp way up in the pool so we will be fine as long as we are in the water.

GAGWTA!

 

[snappy]

side view of my azaleas gone wild

 

[luvmarypoppins]

smiley - love the pictures. Carmel looks great. Did you go to the Aquarium in Monterey? My ds loved it there. Your trip to Disneyland with your dd and dgs sounds wonderful also with the side trip to Las Vegas! You are quite the traveler too! Seems like you plan everything so well too! I would love to see the redwood trees to.

Laurie - love your azaleas! The one lone one that we have is a bright red I think if its still there. Hope the swimming helps your mom.

Lisa - how are you feeling sista? Hoping you are resting and healing.

PatsMom - I think you have your trip and a follow up soon? Hope things are going well too.

Quiet here today. Ds20 got a letter from the comm. college that they are reviewing his application for the RN program. That was one if his backups if he doesnt get into a BSN program. I told him I opened it in case we needed to do something asap, I relayed the info to him. I think he will understand under the circumstances. I relly dont snoop into my kids mail, but since he is away and these applications might have deadline stuff to respond to, I saw the need etc.I didnt want to jepordize any chances of anything for him etc.

GAGWTA

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

GAGWTA!

Just popping in to say I am thinking of you ladies, and hope everyone is doing well.

My mom is fine, so that's good news.

Sadly, my cousin has been diagnosed with advanced ductal cancer. She is disabled (spina bifida) and is in a wheelchair. She also has brain damage from seizures when she was a baby so she doesn't really have the capacity to understand what this all means. Chronologically she is near 50, mentally she is about 9. My aunt (my mom's sister) is 70 and is her primary caregiver.

They met with the surgeon and the oncologist and the consensus is that things are not good. Because of her overall health, recovery from a mastectomy would be extremely complicated. There are also spots on her lungs that are likely mets. They are too small for needle biopsy, so the plan is to start her on Tamoxifen and see what the spots do.

My other cousin (her sister) called me yesterday to talk about the results of the marker test. Apparently a "usual" reading is up to about 37, but her result was 138. We are guessing that even if this is not a super accurate test that a result triple of what they typically see is very bad.

My aunt is adamant that they pull out all the stops and do surgery, chemo, rads, meds, you name it. My cousin, my mom and I are more in the camp of keeping her comfortable. Such a sad situation for everyone.

 

[snappy]

Elizabeth, good to see you posting here, and wonderful to hear your mom is doing well.

Your cousin's story is so sad. These are difficult decisions. I am a little confused about your description of advanced ductal cancer. DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ means there has been no invasion, and the cancer is confined to the ductal system, precluding any mets, as far as I understand. However, if it is extensive, the only way to get it all before it does escape the ducts is a mastectomy.

Ultimately, I guess it is up to whoever has her medical power of attorney. Does her mother care for her at home?

I agree though that the marker number is of concern.

Most likely then it would be invasive and probably DCIS with invasive components too.

Please let us know how your cousin does.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Elizabeth - so sorry to hear about your cousin. I am sure it is such a difficult decision to make. I am sure your family appreciates your support during this time too. Glad to hear your mom is doing well. Does your cousin live in Tx too? Hope your ds is doing well too.

Well I was all ready to make the adrs this afternoon and of course the wonderful disney dining website is down. I have seen other people post that they have to call. I guess I could do that but with my voice and all the adrs I would have to do I am sure it will be a little time consuming. We shall see. If the website does not work in the next day or two then I will give in and call. Hope I can make it through and not have my voice give out etc.

Tomm. the gang comes home. Yeah!

GAGWTA. Hope everyone is doing ok.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Laurie, it is ductal as opposed to lobular (which my mom had). The tumor is "at least" 4 cm. and the oncologist feels it is quite advanced. My aunt does care for her at home, with the help of some aides. But the equipment they use to lift her into bed, into the bath, and so forth all use straps under her arms. Obviously that isn't going to be an option if she has a mastectomy, even if they only take the affected breast. I would guess she would have to try to recover in a nursing home if she has surgery. I am surprised the surgeon was even willing to consider surgery, though. She takes blood thinners that she has to stop for the biopsy, so she would be at high risk for clots. She is also on oxygen. To me, it seems like it would be impossible to get a decent supply of properly oxygenated blood to the incision for it to heal. So complicated.
How are things with you and your family? Your flowers are lovely!

MaryAnn, no they don't live here. They live in Kansas.
When are you going to WDW? I had to call to make our ADRs for June because the system doesn't like to allow DVC reservations to do the 180+10.
DS is hanging in there. Ready for summer, I think. He has had a bit of a rough go this year. How is your family? How are you feeling?

GAGWTA, Ladies! Is everybody ready for Spring Break? No exciting plans here. Hoping to keep the kids busy so they don't drive each other (and me) insane.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Oh wow, jsg, that sounds disastrous. You are right, she'll have a very high chance of blood clots being off her anticoagulants for such extensive surgery and special needs. My understanding, though, is that if it's thought to be Stage IV, they don't always do sugery anyways, just meds.

Laurie, my cancer was invasive ductal carcinoma. I'm pretty sure it's one of the more common types of BC. This is probably what she has, I would guess.

 

[snappy]

I think I understand now. Thanks for clarifying Elizabeth and Linda. I am familiar with the type of lift you describe. The non profit I work for has a lift in our demo centers. My heart goes out to your cousin. I think the physician who responsible for her day to day care needs to be on the treatment team.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

I am not sure where they are going from here, other than starting the Tamoxifen. My cousin who is my age (and an attorney) is certain her mom won't allow her to have medical power of attorney so she can't do anything other than tell her mom her opinions.

My mom did say my aunt was talking about taking my cousin on a trip to see Graceland. I think that makes more sense than putting her through a lot of really painful, frightening procedures that aren't likely to change the outcome. Obviously my aunt is dealing with a tremendous amount of guilt that she didn't notice that something was wrong. She said there is only so much you can watch, so I think she is really overwhelmed. I also think she wants to look at the cancer in terms of my mom's, and not in the terms the doctors are telling her. My mom went through treatment and now she is fine, so she envisions that same result without seeing the reality of how different the situations are.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Elizabeth - such a difficult situation and so much to consider. I think making your cousin as comfortable as possible would be a blessing for all involved in her care. Wishing her all the best.

Lisa - how are you feeling sista?

Well took ds to school and what is the lovely message on the answering machine? Why none other than the eye surgeons office telling me she is back from maternity leave. What to do, what to do?? Need to talk with dh and have a meeting of the minds. I think I am looking at July or August or maybe September. I dont know what..it all depends on the meeting we have about ds the end of the month. I might have to be driving him alot of places. We shall see.Gotta keep praying.

GAGWTA.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Hope everyone is doing well

PatsMom and Cheryl - know you have trips and testing soon. Thinking of you.

Dh and the 2ds are home. Dh has a bad scrape on his side from a luge like scooter thing he did. Looks awful.

Ds20 said he will hear from the state univ. in about 3 weeks or less. Praying. I hope he at least makes the wait list. One of ds22 friends was on the wait list last year so it will be interesting to see if he is accepted this year. You must apply all over again though.

Guess who called me again today? the eye surgeon, Gheesh! I was in the shower. Dh and I have talked about possibly August.

I have a meeting today and need to review stuff after lunch. Warm here today. The crockpot is my friend

GAGWTA.

 

[wdw4us2]

Finally have the energy to be on the computer. The past week and a half has been absolutely horrible for me. The surgery was fine, but the radiation/chemo combo is kicking my butt. Constant nausea (meds not helping), vomiting, diarrhea, no appetite and complete lack of energy. I am having problems finding anything I can eat or drink. As of today, I have six more radiation treatments remaining. I asked my oncologist to postpone my next chemo for a week, so I won't be having that until the 23rd. I can only hope that things get better after the end of the radiation treatments. My positive outlook has all but disappeared recently, but I'm hanging in.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Lisa - good to see you post but so sorry you are having such a rough go of it lately. Just take it one day at a time. You have been through so much lately. My heart goes out to you.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Lisa thanks for updating. Praying for some relief for you.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Lisa, I am sorry things have been so icky. Sending you many well wishes, good thoughts, and healing vibes.

 

[snappy]

Lisa, I hate that you are feeling so badly. I hope that you will have more stamina once you finish the radiation.

Please post again when you can. With you in spirit.

 

[CherylDan]

Lisa sorry to hear that things are so rough right now. Add me to the list of those sending well wishes your way. Hopefully you'll find something you can tolerate soon.....have you tried a slushy drink from DQ? Those were OK for me last summer when I was having trouble keeping food down.

Laurie, love the flowers! We are having some really unseasonably warm weather right now, but no flowers yet. I did see some tulips starting to pop up, and daffodils, so maybe flowers will be starting to show up before too long.

LMP, bet you are glad everybody is back home....Hope your DH will be staying put for awhile! Did you get your ADRs made?

JSG, nice to see you....sorry to hear about your cousin, such a difficult situation.

Smiley, great pictures! Looks like such a pretty place, I've never been there but sure would like to go sometime.

We are heading to Vegas on Sunday, looking forward to it!

GAGWTA!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Cheryl - have a wonderful trip. No I need to make the adrs. I am such a slacker lately in that area.

Lisa - hope you can find something to keep down too.

I made the appt. for the blood test for sat.

Yest. my meeting was 2 hours long, wow!

Today even ds20 commented to me that I dont look good etc. He saw how out of breath I was and I told him I was tired and my bones hurt etc. I will see what the endo says when she calls. I really dont want to have my regular gp test me for anything again. Maybe I could talk her into running more blood for stuff etc. if need be. We shall see.

Anyone have any "well meaning" people send you cancer information. Dh has a friend whose wife has the rare uterine cancer, had chemo and rads etc. Is doing well, except for neuropathy and memory loss.

Well once before he sent me info about taking a spoonful of asparagus paste or from a can mushed up etc, once a day will help the cancer etc. Well today he sends me an e mail that you should (not me personally), just a general e mail that taking a teaspoon of real lemon lemon juice once a day is better than chemo at fighting cancer. Gheesh, I love this guy but dont want to comment to him. I dont even want to say thanks fearing he will send me other things etc. I know he means well. I guess I should be happy that he just thought of me etc. Anyone else have friends like this etc?

GAGWTA.