Trust me, I hate that I’m asking this. He acts like nothing ever happened. I can barely even look at him. Fun all around 🫠 oh. I have little kids too.
Had my first round of chemo on Friday (today is Monday) and yesterday I felt extremely jittery and anxious and like I was having panic attacks all day. It seemed to get worse after taking zofran. I took zofran and the compazine round the clock preventively all day Saturday and didn't have any of those feelings then. I woke up Sunday and took a zofran and then all morning felt on edge, jittery, shaky, and like I was having severe anxiety. Faded a little as the day when on then took another zofran 8 hrs later and it came back. Called my oncologist and he seemed to think it was the steroids and possibly the zofran interacting with the steroids too. Anyone else have this happen??? Am I going to feel this psychotic after every round? He said we may have to try some different anti nausea meds to figure it out but to avoid zofran for now to see if it helps. Im still jittery and shaky this morning but not quite as bad as yesterday.
This was not at all what I expected to feel like. Is this from the steroids??
Looking for Swiss based women in the same situation 👀
My MIL is about to start chemo, I want to gift her with items that will help her during this time, please send me any items that you found helpful during treatment! Thank you so much ❤️
Please tell me what to say. Anytime, anywhere, I can run into an acquaintance who heard about the breast cancer (I am very open about it), and then they say “but you‘re cancer free now right?”.
These are not close friends (otherwise they would already know my status). So why ask me something like this?
I was at a friend‘s 50th birthday party a few weeks ago and this interaction happened and I was forced to say. “It’s a chronic condition.“
Their smile disappears Immediately, and not only my evening ruined and sometimes my entire week, but clearly they wish they could go back in time ask that question.
This happens every couple of months and it has created a lot of anxiety. I want to gain some control over the shitty situation I have found myself in, not get forced to mourn when I’m in the middle of my grocery run or at my kids high school game. I think if I had a response ready to shoot from the hip that politely but firmly shut this down I would feel better.
So far I’m pink but now I have a cluster of like brown freckles in the area. Did anyone have similar? Nothing hurts or is itchy. How was rads for you?
I'll go first. I just found out that because of my shitty titty diagnosis, two ladies I know are now in treatment for bc. One I spoke to directly, encouraged her to get a mammo, and is now in active treatment. The other, saw my social media post about my diagnosis, decided she needed to get checked and was fortunate enough to catch it early enough for surgical treatment only. So as much as being diagnosed last year sucked, sharing my story may have saved two women I know. Maybe more thanks to being able to post anonymously on some social media groups.
Eta: I got a clear report back from my 1 year scan & ultrasound, too so yay!
I was diagnosed with with IDC a week ago, and it seems like everyone and their brother wants to tell me how lucky I am that it was caught early and how they’re “not worried at all” about me. If I hear from one more person that I’m “going to be fine” I may stab someone.
Can folks learn to just say “wow, that sucks,” or “I’m sorry you’re going through this”?
I get that people don’t know what to do with bad news. But the whole “not worried” stance feels so dismissive. I’m glad you’re not up with sleepless nights over hormone blocker side effects and surgical options and post radiation skin care. But I sure as hell am.
Hi friends,
I could use some hope today. I swear that every time I see a story of recurrence that it’s always my subtype. I don’t have the slow growing luminal A cancer that responds well to endocrine therapy. It doesn’t have targeted treatment like her2 positive cancer. We don’t have high PCR rates. To be honest, it feels a bit like I got chemo to see if that sticks, then endocrine therapy to see if that maybe works, then another pill that may help if endocrine therapy fails (but not by a significant margin). Then to add that I could recur now or 30 years from now. It just feels like too much most days. It feels like with hr positive her 2 negative cancer that if it spread to the nodes and was aggressive, it’s a matter of when. I guess I could use some hope that maybe it will turn out ok.
I was reading an article about how to donate specific things & came across this -
“Your old bras are welcomed with open arms at the Bra Recyclers, a Phoenix-based enterprise that has sent more than four million bras to homeless shelters, schools, foster programs, and other nonprofits all over the world. As Elaine Birks-Mitch-ell, the founder of the Bra Recyclers, explained to me over Zoom, bras are not just about fashion. For girls in developing countries, they make it possible to play sports and attend school without embarrassment.”
& thought of how many of us have bras that we can no longer use bc we have different (or no!) breasts than before treatment. If you needed an excuse to clean out your bra drawer, here it is.
Age 68 and relatively healthy with mild to moderate arthritis and osteopenia. Retired and semi active. Just got diagnosed with stage 2b triple negative in one breast and estrogen , her2 positive stage 2b in other. Both show lymphatic invasion in tissue. So far no lymph nodes that we can tell are involved after ultrasound and MRI. Going for chest CT scan, bone scan and echocardiogram this week. If those tests are good they told me 6 visits of chemo every three weeks and possibly more if that doesn’t work and then mastectomy and then more treatment and radiation.i am honestly considering palliative care with some treatment. I don’t think I can handle all this at my age and the effect it will have on my body. Has anyone took this route? I am so sad.
Going to a highly regarded cancer center this week for second opinion and then making my decision.
Hi all. Probably a long-shot but anyone else here have a history of endometrial cancer? Mine was Stage 1 treated surgically. Because of this I was not a candidate for tamoxifen as a high risk preventive measure bc it has the opposite effect for uterine ca . Now here we are DCIS grade 3 ER+ with 1st chemo onc tomorrow and I’m wondering if there’s a hormone blocker that I *would* be a candidate for?
Hi, I just learned that I have IDC last Wednesday. I don't know much as the biopsy report says an addendum will come with more results. My doctor referred me to a surgeon at Texas Oncology and I am just waiting for them to call (I tried to call but they said I had to wait for the referral to be accepted). I'm definitely feeling some anxiety as I don't much about how bad it is. I tried finding a podcast to listen to about breast cancer, and the podcast I found had a lot to do about the cancer being caused by toxins in the environment and emotional toxicity/stress. I'm just not finding that very helpful right now. Sure, I'm sure our environment has toxins, but my life is pretty great. I have a wonderful family and job. I'm in a good place spiritually and emotionally. I have a fairly healthy diet and exercise regularly. I think sometimes cancer just happens and it sucks. Does anyone have any recommendations for books or podcasts that have been helpful?
How bad is it for you that have it? I am forgetting specific names for things. like what’s a pink lotion for rashes called? I had to google it and remember “oh it’s calamine”. Today I forgot again what’s the name of bone clinic called. struggled for few minutes and remembered “it’s orthopedic”. have this happened to any of yall?
Hi all, a little while ago, I posted about how I couldn't understand why even though I have TNBC, my oncologist originally said I would do 4 dose-dense AC and 4 dose-dense taxols only.
When I questioned how carboplatin wasn't included, she said she didn't think I needed it because studies show that it only helps by a few percent possibly and she didn't think the toxicity and side-effects were worth it. I pushed for it anyways since I'd rather do everything I can. But at that point, I had already done 1 dose-dense taxol, which she said counted for 3 weekly taxols and that I needed to be on a weekly taxol schedule in order to add the carboplatin.
She said the taxol would be for 12 weeks and since I already did 1 dose-dense (which counts for 3 weekly ones), that then I would to 9 weekly taxols + carboplatin...
My worry now is that I'm essentially missing out on 3 carboplatins in that case but my surgery is booked for August 7 and at this point, my last chemo is July 7... giving me a month off.
I've had a disconnect in communication with my oncologist and even though I asked my chemo nurses to ask her, no one got back to me. And even though I was supposed to have an appointment with her 2 weeks ago, it was with another doctor since she was on vacation and that one just kept saying that it's as my regular oncologist planned... essentially not willing to answer my question. But it's not how my oncologist had planned since I pushed for the carboplatin to begin with.
I'm just worried about whether it's "bad" that I'm missing out on 3 doses of carboplatin? With TNBC especially, I just want to be throwing everything possible at it to try to increase my chances of PCR...
My anxiety is through the roof. Honestly. Tell me how your symptoms progressed, or didn't!
Currently week 5 of taxol + carboplatin, but I had a 5 week delay in between infusions 2 and 3.
My symptoms are probably mild but with so much medical PTSD and anxiety, I feel like it's all going to kill me, even my sweaty palms. 7 more weeks and then AC is horrifying.
Hi! My mom is having a double mastectomy in 2 weeks. Myself and my dad will be her caregivers.. but I am wondering what would be considered helpful for her post op?
I’ve done some research, but please let me know if there’s anything i’m missing.
- shower seat
-detachable shower head
- recliner
- mastectomy pillow (the one that goes around your chest)
- seat belt cover
- wet wipes
- waterproof shower cape
other things:
-her fave snacks
- some books
- a new brumate tumbler - the smaller one so its not too heavy
- new pajama pants
- zip up night gown + shirts
- a bell (jokes in my family.. mostly so she can summon my dad 🤣🤣)
- new cozy blanket
I just want to make it the best possible experience for her despite the circumstances and have the house set up nicely for her to come back to.
Thank you so much for your help!
hi everyone. I’m 61F, officially diagnosed on June 15. I am wondering about my appt with my surgeon this week. Sorry this is so long.
My journey the last 3 weeks:
Mamm/FU mamm and Ultrasound/Ultrasound biopsy:
Right breast US core biopsy 12:30 N+4:
-Invasive ductal carcinoma, Nottingham grade 3 TNBC
(then I fell and broke my foot and banged up the rest of my body)
Breast clinic, Genetic testing (all negative!)
MRI results:
FU MRI Biopsy last Thursday, with a FU with surgeon on Tuesday, if Path comes back.
So it seems to me that once Path comes back, we have all the pieces of the puzzle.
My Mom had Pagents back in 1995, bad margins, mastectomy.
Then in 2003, found Breast cancer again, bad margins, mastectomy, then clots in her lungs.
(She did recover well, and lived another 15 years) I can't imagine all those surgeries. Also, I was sure my genetic would come back positive, and my decision would be easy.
So what will the surgeon appt be like? "Here's all your options!"
I've never had surgery. I definitely do not want reconstruction. I definitely do not want a UMX.
I would love to know the options along with the annual exams I will be needing the rest of my life.
DMX: do you usually still need radiation? yearly MRI? If it comes back, is it harder to treat? (is that a dumb question?)
Lumpectomy: assume radiation after, yearly mamm and MRI (6 mo intervals?) If it does come back, is it easier to treat with a lumpectomy?
Goldilocks....hmmm?
Even though my genetics is negative, I'm still concerned about it coming back, like my Mom.
thanks for reading.
Did any of you get any kind of tests run on your areas of pain? I was given a CT Scan to check for anything and despite constant pain that does not respond to any pain meds or treatment, the scan came up completely clear of anything. Oncologist shrugged his shoulders about the pain and just said Claratin, which I've been taking daily since first round of chemo.
Hello everyone,
Currently taking gabapentin 600mg for hot flashes at night. At first it was effective and I was able to get 4 hours of solid sleep. Now I find myself waking up 3 to 4 times a night from a hot flash. My medical oncologist has prescribed me Vehoza.
For those currently taking Vehoza:
- what time of the day do you take it
- do you experience any hot flashes or are they gone completely
- how are your sleeps
Thank you 😊