Another bad start to the year
Hi guys I was diagnosed last week with Breast Cancer after my GP did a boob check at a routine Pap Smear in Nov. She sent me for another mammogram in early Dec (altho the July 2017 one was clear ...
Forum Discussion
Hi Ladies
I had my first appointment at Port Macquarie yesterday & will be going back in a day or 2 for mapping. hehe, I'd never thought of myself as a 'full breasted woman' - but apparently I am!! LOL I asked about the Mepitel - and she didn't think it would suit me - I got the impression it suited mastectomy patients rather than lumpectomy patients?
I HOPE to have it started by late Feb or early March, so it be all over by Easter Friday .... and will still have time to recover from any side effects - possible blistering, tiredness etc, in time for my week in Norfolk Island in April.
There could be some permanent side effects to the boob texture & even the shape and size of it (cos it cooks it, I guess - but if it cooks the randoms as well - that has to be a good thing, right?)
They talked about me possibly participating in a trial which would eventually help them with minimising treatment for 'new' patients who, like me, the tumours found early, successfully removed & not spread. However, I would not know if I am being given the 'golden bullet' or a placebo - and if I got the 'real one', it would probably only exacerbate many of my existing conditions - arthritis, aches & pains, vaginal atrophy and worse (and hot flushes would return!) - so basically going thru menopause all over again (and it is not as if I enjoyed menopause that much the first time - mine started in my mid 40s & lasted 10 years or so!) - and of course, if you DIDN'T have the 'real one' - you'd be worrying about whether it would increase the chances of it coming back again!! I seriously didn't think it would suit me - so I respectfully declined. I will be going with the radiation Mon-Fri for 3 weeks plus a 4 day 'booster' the following week & still have the option to try Tamoxifen (the golden bullet) afterwards ..... So long as it doesn't make me ill - in which case my surgeon has already said to stop it - as it would really only make a minimal difference to my long term survival anyway.
We'll be staying at the Rotary Lodge on the Hospital grounds (a 2 minute walk to the Cancer treatment Unit.) There is an upfront fee of $175 for the 16 nights/20 treatments and the rest is taken care of by IPTASS. So $11 a night - bring your own food/drinks - they have basic microwave/jug equipment in the rooms and a full kitchen in a big common room/library/gathering area. We'll go home on weekends. I must admit, driving back yesterday, with all the idiot drivers on the road - I would NOT enjoy going up & back, daily, as I am the driver.
SO - I will be having a 'new position' for my treatment - Prone Breast Radiation ... where I will be lying face down on a table with a gap in the top section, with my 'full breasted' boob hanging down (and everything else is tucked away on the table) and the rays will be doing the work (I guess) from under the table, instead of having it beaming down from above and the side. This way, there is less chance of the rays hitting the chest/ribs areas where you don't want collateral damage .... so it makes sense. With the conventional 'table top face up' treatment, the ribs may be 'rayed' & possibly become brittle. There may also be continual pain in the chest area & and general discomfort - tho this could also still happen with the Prone Breast Radiation as well. Time will tell.
http://www.igrt.com/breast-therapy.html
I am really pleased with the direction that it is heading - initially she was not 'that' keen to go ahead straight away - she wanted me to go away & think about it & even wait until after my trip to Norfolk Island!! If I had to wait til May - it would have impacted my holiday & seriously 'done my head in' - and my birthday is the end of May & I want it all OVER WITH before then! 🙁 I would NOT be in a good space if I had to wait for treatment.
I am also hoping to get out in my kayak sometime this week tho it depends when I get the call to go back to Port for the mapping - and I have 2 fishing expeditions lined up in March that I also still hope to be able to participate in as well.
Keep doing what you love, ladies - it will be the best therapy for you!
I just had a blast at the Blue Mountains Ukulele Festival last weekend - 15 of our members (including me) got up & entertained the crowd for 20 mins & we had them dancing in the aisles!! SO much fun!!
I had my first appointment at Port Macquarie yesterday & will be going back in a day or 2 for mapping. hehe, I'd never thought of myself as a 'full breasted woman' - but apparently I am!! LOL I asked about the Mepitel - and she didn't think it would suit me - I got the impression it suited mastectomy patients rather than lumpectomy patients?
I HOPE to have it started by late Feb or early March, so it be all over by Easter Friday .... and will still have time to recover from any side effects - possible blistering, tiredness etc, in time for my week in Norfolk Island in April.
There could be some permanent side effects to the boob texture & even the shape and size of it (cos it cooks it, I guess - but if it cooks the randoms as well - that has to be a good thing, right?)
They talked about me possibly participating in a trial which would eventually help them with minimising treatment for 'new' patients who, like me, the tumours found early, successfully removed & not spread. However, I would not know if I am being given the 'golden bullet' or a placebo - and if I got the 'real one', it would probably only exacerbate many of my existing conditions - arthritis, aches & pains, vaginal atrophy and worse (and hot flushes would return!) - so basically going thru menopause all over again (and it is not as if I enjoyed menopause that much the first time - mine started in my mid 40s & lasted 10 years or so!) - and of course, if you DIDN'T have the 'real one' - you'd be worrying about whether it would increase the chances of it coming back again!! I seriously didn't think it would suit me - so I respectfully declined. I will be going with the radiation Mon-Fri for 3 weeks plus a 4 day 'booster' the following week & still have the option to try Tamoxifen (the golden bullet) afterwards ..... So long as it doesn't make me ill - in which case my surgeon has already said to stop it - as it would really only make a minimal difference to my long term survival anyway.
We'll be staying at the Rotary Lodge on the Hospital grounds (a 2 minute walk to the Cancer treatment Unit.) There is an upfront fee of $175 for the 16 nights/20 treatments and the rest is taken care of by IPTASS. So $11 a night - bring your own food/drinks - they have basic microwave/jug equipment in the rooms and a full kitchen in a big common room/library/gathering area. We'll go home on weekends. I must admit, driving back yesterday, with all the idiot drivers on the road - I would NOT enjoy going up & back, daily, as I am the driver.
SO - I will be having a 'new position' for my treatment - Prone Breast Radiation ... where I will be lying face down on a table with a gap in the top section, with my 'full breasted' boob hanging down (and everything else is tucked away on the table) and the rays will be doing the work (I guess) from under the table, instead of having it beaming down from above and the side. This way, there is less chance of the rays hitting the chest/ribs areas where you don't want collateral damage .... so it makes sense. With the conventional 'table top face up' treatment, the ribs may be 'rayed' & possibly become brittle. There may also be continual pain in the chest area & and general discomfort - tho this could also still happen with the Prone Breast Radiation as well. Time will tell.
http://www.igrt.com/breast-therapy.html
I am really pleased with the direction that it is heading - initially she was not 'that' keen to go ahead straight away - she wanted me to go away & think about it & even wait until after my trip to Norfolk Island!! If I had to wait til May - it would have impacted my holiday & seriously 'done my head in' - and my birthday is the end of May & I want it all OVER WITH before then! 🙁 I would NOT be in a good space if I had to wait for treatment.
I am also hoping to get out in my kayak sometime this week tho it depends when I get the call to go back to Port for the mapping - and I have 2 fishing expeditions lined up in March that I also still hope to be able to participate in as well.
Keep doing what you love, ladies - it will be the best therapy for you!
I just had a blast at the Blue Mountains Ukulele Festival last weekend - 15 of our members (including me) got up & entertained the crowd for 20 mins & we had them dancing in the aisles!! SO much fun!!