I have breast cancer. :-(((

[antmary]

SG, I am so very glad to hear your good news. It seems that relief can be so intense, that it can be like starting a new life!

 

[simple girl]

SG, I am so very glad to hear your good news. It seems that relief can be so intense, that it can be like starting a new life!

Absolutely! Nothing like feeling like you are being given a second chance!

 

[powerplay]

So glad you are home, healing, and have good news on your pathology report. You really are Super Girl and so inspirational.

 

[simple girl]

Hello everyone! I'm doing great, still not 100%, but definitely continuing to heal and progress daily. I am now 3.5 wks post surgery. I'm up to walking 2.4 miles, and in fact, I am going to walk our local Race for the Cure tomorrow, while DH runs. Anyways, Sarah in SC shared this with me, and I thought it was hilarious, so I just have to pass it on. Wouldn't want you all to think I have lost my sense of humor!!! Just doing my part to increase awareness. Ladies, enjoy.

Rethink Breast Cancer presents: Your Man Reminder - YouTube

 

[Moemg]

I am so glad you are doing so well and I love the video !

 

[Sarah in SC]

Simple Girl--I thought you'd like that--and it certainly garnered some interest from the full gamut of my friend list, LOL!
Those guys are pretty hot, for sure. Whew!
And I think you knew my sis-in-law is in the club, too, unfortunately. She loved the video, too!

 

[bbbamI]

What were we talking about?

Oh yeah...heh.... Wonderful update SG. I will continue to check in on your progress.

 

[Sue J]

Thanks for the scrumptious video!

And I'm glad to read your nice update, Simple Girl.

 

[TromboneAl]

Is there an analogous video with hot babes showing men how to check for a certain male-specific cancer (no, not prostate)?

I think I went too far this time.

 

[simple girl]

Is there an analogous video with hot babes showing men how to check for a certain male-specific cancer (no, not prostate)?

I think I went too far this time.

You are the first brave man to reply...LOL, no you did not go too far! Laughter is the best medicine!

Oh, and if you find it, please do refrain from posting it here, though!

 

[brewer12345]

Is there an analogous video with hot babes showing men how to check for a certain male-specific cancer (no, not prostate)?

I am told that sort of thing is all over the interwebs.

 

[Amethyst]

sheesh - if only my doc were that hot! Might make exams a bit more tolerable....

Amethyst

 

[Alan]

I have a friend who told me about the first time he had his annual physical done by a lady Doc. After she checked him for a hernia he said, "you have warm fingers, is that typical of lady doctors?". "I have no idea", she said, "but more good news for you is that I have small fingers. Please bend over..."

 

[Nords]

Is there an analogous video with hot babes showing men how to check for a certain male-specific cancer (no, not prostate)?

I'm pretty sure YouTube would be happy to share that revenue with you too!

Talk about "going viral"...

 

[freebird5825]

Whew, I needed smelling salts after that video. Shake it baby, shake it

Glad to see you are finding some humor wherever you can. Please continue to share !

 

[JOHN CARRIGAN]

Absolutely! Nothing like feeling like you are being given a second chance!

FOR SURE. I have acute leukemia and feel I have been given a second chance at life! Once diagnosed, most felt I would not live another month! But having a very good Doctor and an outstanding cancer facility is the key. Now, after 62 days in hospital and more chemo than I ever want to go through again, then into their clinic as an out patient for even more chemo, AUGUST 5,2011 I went into remission. Now I must continue the 5 day regiment of chemo and then 3 weeks of labs.
BUT, here is a tidbit of info. The facility I credit for saving my life so far is the LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER/FEIST-WEILLER CANCER CENTER located in Shreveport,La. Best cancer facility for miles around. Doctors from all over Louisiana refer their cancer diagnosed patients there. Same for east Texas, south Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi. But, HUMANA has them as OUT-OF-NETWORK!! Has been an ongoing battle with them for me. Not only must fight LEUKEMIA but HUMANA as well to recieve the medicare coverage I am entitled to after having worked and paid into for over 45 years.
Sorry for being so long, just fed up!

 

[Dawg52]

FOR SURE. I have acute leukemia and feel I have been given a second chance at life! Once diagnosed, most felt I would not live another month! But having a very good Doctor and an outstanding cancer facility is the key. Now, after 62 days in hospital and more chemo than I ever want to go through again, then into their clinic as an out patient for even more chemo, AUGUST 5,2011 I went into remission. Now I must continue the 5 day regiment of chemo and then 3 weeks of labs.
BUT, here is a tidbit of info. The facility I credit for saving my life so far is the LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER/FEIST-WEILLER CANCER CENTER located in Shreveport,La. Best cancer facility for miles around. Doctors from all over Louisiana refer their cancer diagnosed patients there. Same for east Texas, south Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi. But, HUMANA has them as OUT-OF-NETWORK!! Has been an ongoing battle with them for me. Not only must fight LEUKEMIA but HUMANA as well to recieve the medicare coverage I am entitled to after having worked and paid into for over 45 years.
Sorry for being so long, just fed up!

Glad you are in remission and best of luck going forward. Dealing with insurance can be a real pain, particularly when your sick. Hope it works out for you.

 

[simple girl]

FOR SURE. I have acute leukemia and feel I have been given a second chance at life! Once diagnosed, most felt I would not live another month! But having a very good Doctor and an outstanding cancer facility is the key. Now, after 62 days in hospital and more chemo than I ever want to go through again, then into their clinic as an out patient for even more chemo, AUGUST 5,2011 I went into remission. Now I must continue the 5 day regiment of chemo and then 3 weeks of labs.
BUT, here is a tidbit of info. The facility I credit for saving my life so far is the LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER/FEIST-WEILLER CANCER CENTER located in Shreveport,La. Best cancer facility for miles around. Doctors from all over Louisiana refer their cancer diagnosed patients there. Same for east Texas, south Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi. But, HUMANA has them as OUT-OF-NETWORK!! Has been an ongoing battle with them for me. Not only must fight LEUKEMIA but HUMANA as well to recieve the medicare coverage I am entitled to after having worked and paid into for over 45 years.
Sorry for being so long, just fed up!

Wow, so happy for you to be in remission!!! And very sorry to hear about the insurance issues - it's the last thing you want to deal with when you are fighting for your life. Hang tough.

 

[Amethyst]

John,

The insurance issue you describe (not being able to go to the best facilities for your condition because it's out of your insurance co's network) probably deserves its own thread.

Here in MD/DC area, it is less of an issue, since we have top-tier medical centers (Johns Hopkins, etc.) and associated doctors and surgeons, but I know that if we move to a lower-cost part of the country, we'll face the "out of network" issue.

So very glad you are in remission. Several forum members have described their harrowing chemo battles. You sound tough and resilient. Here's to making the most of your second chance!

Amethyst

FOR SURE. I have acute leukemia and feel I have been given a second chance at life! Once diagnosed, most felt I would not live another month! But having a very good Doctor and an outstanding cancer facility is the key. Now, after 62 days in hospital and more chemo than I ever want to go through again, then into their clinic as an out patient for even more chemo, AUGUST 5,2011 I went into remission. Now I must continue the 5 day regiment of chemo and then 3 weeks of labs.
BUT, here is a tidbit of info. The facility I credit for saving my life so far is the LSU HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER/FEIST-WEILLER CANCER CENTER located in Shreveport,La. Best cancer facility for miles around. Doctors from all over Louisiana refer their cancer diagnosed patients there. Same for east Texas, south Arkansas, and parts of Mississippi. But, HUMANA has them as OUT-OF-NETWORK!! Has been an ongoing battle with them for me. Not only must fight LEUKEMIA but HUMANA as well to recieve the medicare coverage I am entitled to after having worked and paid into for over 45 years.
Sorry for being so long, just fed up!

 

[Dreamer]

It is great to hear how well you are doing. I agree that you are a Super Woman!

 

[simple girl]

Just found out the pathology came back as nothing invasive! The posterior margin was a bit close to the pec muscle, but doc says it should be fine. Will be getting a second opinion on the path from my doc here in Alabama to be sure, though. Assuming they agree, I shouldn't need any chemo or radiation...all that will be left to do is finish up my reconstruction surgeries and get back to living life!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok all, sorry to have to post this, but I've got a detour in my recovery plans. My second opinion on the pathology report came back with some discrepancies which are going to affect my treatment. Good points first - both pathologists agree that there were no signs of invasion and my lymph nodes were clear - so no chemo for me and still an excellent prognosis.

However, the 2nd opinion found I actually had a small spot of cancer (DCIS) on the RIGHT side, which was supposedly clear per MRI, US, mammo's and the initial path. The margins on this were small: less than 2 mm.

2nd opinion on the LEFT side felt there was DCIS behind the areola that they spared during the surgery (1st path felt it was "atypical ductal hyperplasia"). This was a "dirty" margin - meaning no healthy tissue noted between the cancer and the edge of the specimen. In addition, they found that the close posterior margin on that side was < 2 mm.

So, what does this mean? Local doc's recommendations:

1) another MRI and mammo's of the reconstructed breasts (ouch!) to further assess the situation, see how much breast tissue remains, etc.

2) additional surgery to completely remove the areola on the L

3) radiation for BOTH breasts due to the close margins

It is very unusual to have to have radiation after mastectomy, let alone after bilateral mastectomy. They are recommending this due to the close margins. This facility is a nationally recognized cancer center (only 40 in the USA are recognized by the National Cancer Institute), so we feel they are on the cutting edge of research and treatment and will be following their advisement, even though it certainly isn't what I want to do.

I'm most concerned about the radiation, and it's potential long-term effect on my heart and lungs. They do have a special machine that does what is called respiratory-gated radiation - so that I will be radiated only when my heart is lowest in my chest...but still, so scary to me. Also, they can't avoid radiating a small thin slice of both of my lungs due to the curvature of the chest and the line of radiation. The radiation oncologist tells me this won't affect my lung function and exercise capacity, but I'm worried about it still.

Even so, I will forge ahead, b/c I don't want to be second guessing myself someday if it should recur. When DCIS does recur, 50% of the time it comes back as invasive. I certainly want to avoid that!

I'm hanging in there...ready for this all to be over soon, but apparently this is gonna be something I have to deal with for many more months. Still, I just keep focusing on the fact that I have an excellent prognosis and my situation could be MUCH worse. I don't need chemo and my risk of dying from this is extremely low. Gotta keep things in perspective!

 

[W2R]

Yikes! That must been a shock to hear, SG. Glad the prognosis is good, but still.

On the other hand, after all you have been through already I have every confidence in your inner strength as you go into this next phase of treatment.

Keep us updated - - we are all on your team, so to speak, and we'll be cheering you on from the sidelines.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Sorry about the ongoing obstacles, SG. Forge ahead - there is a light at the end of the not-so-long tunnel.

I wouldn't worry about future radiation having any significant effect on lung function - I am not a radiation oncologist, but they are very good at sparing uninvolved tissue.

 

[Rambler]

SG, pls take very good care of yourself. Be careful with the radiation at the site of the surgery scars. My sis went thru this about 4 years back, and ended up having problems. The radiation on the scars was too much to handle, and she ended up with a couple of spots that would not heal. She had to have a skin transplant from her thigh to replace the damaged skin. This was well over a year post surgery and rad. All of that said, sis knew she had a problem...kinda hard to miss a grapefruit sized tumor, but did nothing about it from the time she figured out she had a golfball sized mass until it was grapefruit sized. Then when the skin was having trouble healing, she also put it off and put it off. So, take care of yourself, and don't be afraid to check in with the doc at any hint that somethings not right.

R

 

[Sarah in SC]

Bummer city. But, I think you are right to proceed, because you don't want this coming back! I know this isn't at all what you had in mind, and I'm very sorry.