Good news for a Stage 2 and a Stage 4

AngieD

After a routine mammogram in late Dec, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 T2 N0 M0 highly aggressive Triple Negative BC. From Jan til June 5 I was on chemo. On Thurs.June 28 I had a lumpectomy and the initial path report looked good. Last Sunday (!!!) my surgeon called to tell me he had checked the computer for my final path report and it was all good--clean margins and the 3 lymph nodes he took were all clean. Yay!! As soon as I'm healed, I'll have 6 weeks of 5 days a week radiation. Any tips on this from those of you who've been there, greatly appreciated!

Between the end of chemo and surgery, we were able to visit our son, DIL, and their 5 girls. And meet the twins who were born March 2!! All are doing great including Ellie, the twin who had to have open heart surgery when she was 1 month old.

My husband Larry was diagnosed mid-June of 2011 with Stage IV EC T3/N2/M1. Since mid-March, he and I had been going every Tuesday for Taxol infusions. He had a CT the first part of June with very good news:
"Enlarged lymph nodes in the lower neck/supraclavicular space improved dramatically with only small residual nodes present. No new, enlarging, or pathologic adenopathy by CT.
Mixed lytic and sclerotic osseous lesion involving the posterior elements on the right of C7 appear stable. No new or progressive osseous disease. I suspect this represents reparative change." He feels well and eats whatever he wants. Our MO has ordered a PET for the first of Sep, and Larry will be chemo free until then--God willing. We're praying for another good report.

So, after our year of multiple "whip lash" moments, we're feeling pretty darn grateful and happy. And we have sure learned not to sweat the small stuff!

Angie

bingbing2009

Great News!
Angie, it is so great to hear all of your good news, from you to your husband to those beautiful twins! I think a lot of people here are ready for this kind of uplifting post!
Thanks so much for sharing. You and your family will continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Melinda
DX October 2009: T3N1M0
November and December 2009: chemo (Cisplatin and 5 FU) and radiation
February 2010: Ivor Lewis surgery

TerryV

Woo hoo!
So right - very ready for good news here. So glad that the good news comes from ALL of your family.

Prayers and positive thoughts will be with you for a chemo free summer for Larry. As far as your radiation, Nick found that using an ice bag on the radiation target for about an hour before rads helped minimize the "burn" feeling. Hope that tip helps you as well.

Terry
PROUD wife to Nick, age 49
lost battle to FEC on 06/19/2012

paul61

Great to hear that treatment is going well for both of you
Angie,

It was so nice to read your good news about both you and Larry. I am glad that treatment is proceeding positively for both of you. After the last year you both certainly deserve a break!!

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
Grand Blanc, Michigan

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
Two year survivor

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

Bermudagirl

paul61 said:

Great to hear that treatment is going well for both of you
Angie,

It was so nice to read your good news about both you and Larry. I am glad that treatment is proceeding positively for both of you. After the last year you both certainly deserve a break!!

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
Grand Blanc, Michigan

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
Two year survivor

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

Granddaughters heart defect
Angie,

So glad to hear that you are doing well. You have really been put through the ringer, and reading your post was helpful to me today as I was feeling a little overwhelmed and sorry for myself. EC truly is a family affair! But what also caught my eye was your granddaughter. Just curious as to what her defect is. 23 years ago my daughter Kelly was born with a single ventricle, and after 2 open heart surgeries, several closed procedures, and most recently an 8 and a half hour heart catherization, she continues to do well. This last procedure will "hold" her for another 10 years, but she will need a heart transplant down the road. My life has been stressful, but I know that we all have challenges we need to meet. As I like to say, it's not the problem per se that is the challenge, but how we handle it. Of course some days are easier than others. I hope that you and your husband continue to do well.

Sandy

JReed

Your news is so wonderful Angie!
Wow!

What a treat to read your post after the week from hell. You, Larry and the twins are always on my mind - I especially loved the picture of the twins you showed us with their little fists pumped in the air!

I hope you have the best relaxing summer possible (with just enough rain to keep the flowers beautiful!)

Best of luck to you with your treatments and continued positive mojo for Larry and the littles!

Love and FEC,
Judy

mardigras

Great news
Hey Angie, If anyone deserves some really good news, you do.
I am so happy for you.
God Bless you and all your family.
Prayers and hugs,
Marci

AngieD

mardigras said:

Great news
Hey Angie, If anyone deserves some really good news, you do.
I am so happy for you.
God Bless you and all your family.
Prayers and hugs,
Marci

Thanks for your responses,
Thanks for your responses, Melinda, Terry, Paul, Sandy, Judy, and Marci!

Terry, thanks for the tip that Nick used for rads.

Sandy, I'm so glad your daughter is doing well after all she has been through. When my DIL was pregnant with the twins, tests indicated a problem with Ellie and the docs thought it was Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), which would require a number of surgeries. They researched pediatric cardiac surgeons who specialized in this and decided to deliver at Stanford. When Ellie was born, it turned out not to be HLHS, but severe aortic stenosis. 2 of the leaves of the aortic valve were stuck together. Open heart surgery was done to separate them and it seems to have solved the problem. You really do have a lot going on in your life. You and your loved ones are in my thoughts and prayers.

Angie

goty2001

AngieD said:

Thanks for your responses,
Thanks for your responses, Melinda, Terry, Paul, Sandy, Judy, and Marci!

Terry, thanks for the tip that Nick used for rads.

Sandy, I'm so glad your daughter is doing well after all she has been through. When my DIL was pregnant with the twins, tests indicated a problem with Ellie and the docs thought it was Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), which would require a number of surgeries. They researched pediatric cardiac surgeons who specialized in this and decided to deliver at Stanford. When Ellie was born, it turned out not to be HLHS, but severe aortic stenosis. 2 of the leaves of the aortic valve were stuck together. Open heart surgery was done to separate them and it seems to have solved the problem. You really do have a lot going on in your life. You and your loved ones are in my thoughts and prayers.

Angie

Gives me hope
My very first post in any forum about this. Initially diagnosed 10 days ago (a few weeks after my 50th birthday, and told today it's stage 4 (reached liver) and surgery not an option now. This update gives me some hope - and I'm off to look for more. Thanks so much.

tclem

Stage 4 treatment
Angie, I am glad to hear things are going well. My father has Stage IV EC so I am curious as to your husband's treatment. While he doesn't have any new growths, the dr. was comfortable stopping chemo for a few months? We were told that wasn't an option because of the risk of the leftovers firing back up. Hope both of your treatments continue to go well.

Tracy

5002dblane

paul61 said:

Great to hear that treatment is going well for both of you
Angie,

It was so nice to read your good news about both you and Larry. I am glad that treatment is proceeding positively for both of you. After the last year you both certainly deserve a break!!

Best Regards,

Paul Adams
Grand Blanc, Michigan

DX 10/22/2009 T2N1M0 Stage IIB
12/03/2009 Ivor Lewis
2/8 through 6/14/2010 Adjuvant Chemo Cisplatin, Epirubicin, 5 FU
Two year survivor

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance!

Ivor Lewis Feb 23, 2012
Helloe there! My husband has Ivor Lewis in Fef 23, 2012. This week is his 5th month from surgery. He was diagnosed Stage 2, of the 13 lympnodes removed 1 was affected. Tim is recovering well- no dumping problem no swallowing problem. The only thing that worries me is that he has not gained weight since. He was 185 lbs down to 156-157 which is his optimun weight for his 5'11 height .On his 3-month anniversary, his oncologist deemed him not strong enough for chemo treatment so we are on OBSERVATION mode. Two previous chest X-rays are clean, CT scan is scheduled in Aug 15th. Inasmuch as you went thru Ivor Lewis, how long did it take you to get back to your pre op strength? Tim still gets easily out of breath but he is back to work full day , 3x a week, mows the tard, works on the boat and other light chores. I do eveything to get him fatter but he can only eat so little so we end up just eating frequent meals. Pls help. Any advise is appreciated.

AngieD

tclem said:

Stage 4 treatment
Angie, I am glad to hear things are going well. My father has Stage IV EC so I am curious as to your husband's treatment. While he doesn't have any new growths, the dr. was comfortable stopping chemo for a few months? We were told that wasn't an option because of the risk of the leftovers firing back up. Hope both of your treatments continue to go well.

Tracy

Tracy, yes, our MO is OK
Tracy, yes, our MO is OK with waiting until Sept to do another PET scan and go from there (a bit scary for me) He is seeing her again Monday and is supposed to let her know if anything unusual comes up. There is one reason I'm somewhat comfortable with this plan and didn't object. He was on chemo from last July until mid-Dec and was supposed to start Taxol the 2nd week in Jan. The day before he was to start, he had trouble breathing and a trip to ER showed he needed quadruple bypass surgery (had no history of cardiac issues) He sailed through the surgery, but was not allowed to start chemo again until mid-March. So, that was 3 unplanned months off and the CT just before he started chemo again in March was actually slightly improved from the previous one.

I hope your father is doing well with his treatment.

Angie