new to this group

lgw

hi, i found this site several weeks ago and have been really thankful to all of you for all your heartfelt words and advise.
i had a double mastectomy in sept, 1.7 cm, er negative,grade 3...
i have just finished an agressive chemo of CAT.so i am still acheing all over , i'm told from the taxol. the expanders are still in from reconstruction (what fun) and need to make a decision on implants by march.
although i feel very blessed compared to a lot of you, the anxiety and sometimes depression is there sometimes.
there are so many common threads between all of us, so any advise on dealing with symtoms of menopause brought on by chemo, long and short term effects of chemo, weight gain ,reconstructuion and most of all the fear of recurrence are welcomed. it's nice to know i'm not alone in this journey, THANKS

ktinkey

Hi,

Welcome. You have come to the right place. Although we don't have all the answers, there is someone who has faced what you are going through. As of last week, it has been 14 years since my mastectomy and reconstruction. I did have a recurrence and am now in my fifth year since being at Stage IV. Everyone is different, so my best advice is take one day at a time. Don't dwell on what might be, just take care of yourself and live each day. Talk with your doctor and ask a lot of questions and then ask us for advice. As to the menopause, again each one experiences the symptoms in a different way. Hot flashes are there. Mine are manageable and I have learned to laugh at my flushed face and dress in layers, so I can start stripping in public and still be decent! Right now, depression is common. Let yourself go through the stages and don't beat yourself up. You will come out on the other side, usually much stronger and compassionate than you went in.

I opted for silicon implants and am very happy with my decision. Your plastic surgeon should be able to allow you to talk to some of his/her patients and get their feedback on their choices. Do your homework. Ultimately, you are in charge of your healthcare, so get as much information as you can and then discuss all the options with your doctor. Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. We are here for each other.

God Bless,
Kathy

blossomtime

Welcome. This is a wonderful place. I was diagnosed 18 months ago with stage IIb, hormone receptor neg, her 2 pos 3+, and 6 nodes pos. I have just finished my last part of reconstruction. I also had expanders at time of mastectomy and had saline implants one yr later. Most recently had areolar reconstruction and I am very happy with the results. Yes there are up and down moments, so hang in there. And as always if you need a place to vent or get an answer to a question this is a good place to start. Take care, Sharon

lgw

ktinkey said:

Hi,

Welcome. You have come to the right place. Although we don't have all the answers, there is someone who has faced what you are going through. As of last week, it has been 14 years since my mastectomy and reconstruction. I did have a recurrence and am now in my fifth year since being at Stage IV. Everyone is different, so my best advice is take one day at a time. Don't dwell on what might be, just take care of yourself and live each day. Talk with your doctor and ask a lot of questions and then ask us for advice. As to the menopause, again each one experiences the symptoms in a different way. Hot flashes are there. Mine are manageable and I have learned to laugh at my flushed face and dress in layers, so I can start stripping in public and still be decent! Right now, depression is common. Let yourself go through the stages and don't beat yourself up. You will come out on the other side, usually much stronger and compassionate than you went in.

I opted for silicon implants and am very happy with my decision. Your plastic surgeon should be able to allow you to talk to some of his/her patients and get their feedback on their choices. Do your homework. Ultimately, you are in charge of your healthcare, so get as much information as you can and then discuss all the options with your doctor. Hope this helps. If you have any specific questions, please feel free to ask. We are here for each other.

God Bless,
Kathy

thanks kathy, great to have a folks who are willing to share.
i will pray that you contiue to do well, living each day to it's fullest and not projecting will be what i will strive for. any experience with side effect from taxol?

lgw

blossomtime said:

Welcome. This is a wonderful place. I was diagnosed 18 months ago with stage IIb, hormone receptor neg, her 2 pos 3+, and 6 nodes pos. I have just finished my last part of reconstruction. I also had expanders at time of mastectomy and had saline implants one yr later. Most recently had areolar reconstruction and I am very happy with the results. Yes there are up and down moments, so hang in there. And as always if you need a place to vent or get an answer to a question this is a good place to start. Take care, Sharon

thanks for the input sharon, glad to hear you are satisfied with saline implants i am hearing mixed reviews and that is the way i was leaning.
best of everything, lin

live42day

lgw said:

thanks kathy, great to have a folks who are willing to share.
i will pray that you contiue to do well, living each day to it's fullest and not projecting will be what i will strive for. any experience with side effect from taxol?

Taxol caused muscle and joint aches for me. I would have a treatment on Fri. and Sun. a.m. my legs would start to ache. I would start pain medicine, but it also made the bottom of my feet feel like I was walking on sharp rocks. It took a while to get past that, but it will soon be 2 years since my last treatent and I hardly ever have any problems anymore. My oncologist told me it could take up to 2 years to get past the side effects. I also had some peripheral neuropathy in feet and hands, but received medicine to help with that and it too has passed. Side effects are not fun, but they are worth the end result.
Hang in there!
Janet

chrissi

Welcome lgw, you've come to the right site. I had a double mastectomy with expanders July 2003, 3.5 cm, er neg, no nodes. I just finshed AC chemo in December and have just had my expander replaced with silicone implants. They feel so good after the expanders. I will have the nipple recon done in the spring. I am not having tamoxifin as I'm er neg. I didn't stop having my periods until after the chemo...go figure..now I don't know if they will return or not. My oncol. thinks they might.I am experiencing hot flashes and night sweats though, so who knows. I have also been told that I'm at high risk for ovarian cancer due to tumor size and family history of cancer. This I was not expecting to be told...I'm not sure now what to do. Were you told this?

I wish you well lwg. My prayers and hugs go out to you. You are not in this alone. Love Chrissi

bestill

Hi, just wanted to send a hug and let you know that I am 11 years post treatment for stage 3 - ER negative, positive lymph nodes, cancer attached to my chest wall - pretty scary. Over the years, I've learned to minimize (not eliminate) my fears through yoga and meditation. At first, I thought it seemed a bit too "New Agey" for me and then I let that go and sort of went with my intuition - cause nothing else was working. Through these practices, I've learned to live much more in the present moment and to bring my focus back to the present when my mind starts to go into reverse or future worrying! I was 40 when diagnosed, kicked into menopause by chemo and still have all kinds of crazy meno side effects - flushes, etc. But, by and large, life is good. I'm a Reach to Recovery volunteer and have gotten a lot of great encouragement from other survivors. Glad you decided to touch base with all of us. It can't be said enough, things DO get better,in some very amazing and unforeseen ways. Peaceful, healing thoughts. Bev