Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘lymph nodes’

The big L

Posted in Cancer, Fundraising, hair, lymphedema, radiation, work, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 20, 2012| 2 Comments »

The big L – that could be so many things, I’m not even going to venture a guess as to what you’re thinking! In my world right now it stands for lymphedema. Did you guess it? It’s not exactly a roll-off-your-tongue every day word, and I personally wish I didn’t know what it meant. But when I realized last night that the phlebitis had traveled into my hand and I held my two arms together, I had the feeling this might be happening. Then at work today my right arm was considerably more swollen than my left, and was confirmed by several of my colleagues. Off to Dana-Farber I went (hey, I had to be there for radiation anyway, so why not?) and it was confirmed: yup, lucky me, I can add lymphedema to the list!

It is early, so hopefully it will be contained. Without going into a ton of detail, I need to:

  • Wear my compression sleeve and glove during waking hours. Good thing I got it for the plane! Guess it’s not just for travel any more…
  • Keep doing the lymphatic massage that I learned last week at PT, as well as the exercises. Of course, this would be easier with a partner, but since I’m not with someone right now, it’s all me!
  • Ibuprofen – thank goodness I’m done with chemo and can have it again!
  • Warm compress

None of this is convenient or fun – especially this time of year when things are crazy enough. But it is what it is and I will deal with it and hopefully prevent it from getting worse. That’s kind of the name of the game right now – just deal with it. The daily trips to Dana-Farber for radiation – just deal with it. Taking the Tamoxifen (which I started Saturday) – just deal with it. The hot flashes – just deal with it. At least my hair is starting to grow back…

Oh! Speaking of hair, I got the sweetest compliment at work the other day: this older gentleman, who I have seen around but don’t really know, came up to me in the cafeteria and said, “I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I have to tell you. I’ve always thought you were an attractive woman, but now that you’re bald, it’s obvious that it’s not hair that makes you attractive.” It was so nice of him, I really appreciated hearing that, especially so randomly.

Now speaking of random (or not so random) acts of kindness: I know I said I was done soliciting donations for Dana-Farber, but this is too good not to share. If you haven’t finished your shopping, consider giving the gift of a donation in someone’s honor. Now until December 31 you can use this special link www.dana-farber.org/yearend and your gift will be doubled! It only works through this link, and only until the end of the year, so don’t wait! And I guarantee anyone you give this gift to will truly appreciate it… I know all of us who frequent Dana-Farber thank you!!!

Read Full Post »

The Never-ending Saga

Posted in Cancer, chemotherapy, Decisions, Discovery, family, lymphedema, Planning, radiation, recovery, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 14, 2012| 4 Comments »

I can be very stubborn. (I can hear the laughs and see the nods of agreement!) But I will listen, particularly when someone is using terms like “survival rate,” and it’s hard to argue with statistics.

Mom and I both went into this morning’s meeting with the radiation oncologists at Dana-Farber inclined to “just say no.” I was fairly sure I knew what the rates they’d quote would be, based on our initial discussion many months ago. What I didn’t realize was how much things changed when my specific details were factored in post-surgery. Everything from (you guessed it) my “young” age and the size of my tumor to the fact that it had spread to my lymph nodes and there was lymphovascular invasion (LVI) influence the recommended treatment.

So what convinced me? The numbers. The fact that right now my chance of recurrence is approximately 15% and by doing the radiation it brings down the chance of recurrence to 5-7% . That’s a lot more than the 3% improvement I was expecting. I can say no to a 3% improvement – but 7-10%? Even as much as I want this all to just be done, I can’t ignore that.

Tuesday is my last chemo session. But it’s not the end I wanted. It’s like the end of the last chemo session – it’s just the conclusion of another chapter in this never-ending saga. In the next week I will have to go to Dr. H and have him partially deflate my left tissue expander so it won’t get in the way of the radiation. Then the Thursday after Thanksgiving I’ll go in for the radiation planning session where they’ll tattoo marks on me to make sure they radiate the right area each day.

Yes, each day. Monday through Friday for five weeks – 25 sessions. Luckily they will only be a few minutes each time, so I will be able to continue to work through it. The biggest side effects are continued fatigue, redness and soreness. And, since my lymph nodes were removed, the increased risk that the radiation could trigger lymphedema. (I will be praying about that one – really don’t want that!)

And the biggest bummer of it all for me? Postponing the surgery I was supposed to have on January 2. I thought I’d start 2013 with surgery and pretty much be done, but now I’ll be doing radiation and have to wait six more months to switch out the tissue expanders for implants. Then a few months after that will be the nipple surgery and then a few months after that will be the tattooing. Oh – and then the five years of tamoxifen. It really is the never-ending saga…

But it’s worth it. To do everything I can to be cancer free. To fight every step of the way. To not have to look back and wonder, “if only I…” because I have, in fact, done everything within my power to get rid of it and prevent it from coming back. So I can continue to wake up each morning, breathe in and breathe out, and thank God for another day.

Read Full Post »

Sigh of relief…

Posted in Boston, Cancer, chemotherapy, family, prayer, recovery, work, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Just a quick update before I fall asleep (again) to let all know I am doing well! Week two of the Taxol went a million times better than week one. While I’m not 100% sure what caused the improvement, I think the heavy meds probably helped! I took (following doctor’s orders) three decadron and an ativan early this morning before heading to Dana-Farber.

Once at the hospital, it took a while to find a new vein to use – the one in my left hand is pretty well gone – last week’s infusion was incredibly painful from my hand down through my arm, so we decided it’s fried from all the A/C. (I don’t have good veins – they are small and I’ve never even been allowed to donate blood, so they aren’t loving this.) We can’t use any in the right arm, since all my lymph nodes were removed in surgery – can’t even have blood pressure cuffs on that arm ever again. (Note to self: must do better protecting that arm…) So after trying a bunch of things like hanging my arm down and making fists, covering it in warm, wet compresses, etc., we found a vein that would do – and it seemed to work well, with minimal pain.

After the labs (all looked good), it was back to Benedryl. Had 50 milligrams again and was not sick – yay! Then more Decadron and Ativan, Prilosec and finally Taxol. Throughout all I was pretty hazy, trying to be an active participant in mom and Tina’s conversation, but I honestly couldn’t tell you too much of what was talked about. Yes, they laughed at me somewhat swaying down the hallway when we were through, commenting on my high, but were also there to catch me when I stumbled, so I’ll forgive them! 😉 The main thing was I made it through without any of the major reactions/side effects, and then went home and pretty much crashed.

But tonight I had my energy back and mom and I even took a brief walk to the Brookline Booksmith, the bookstore around the corner, and was surprised to see a blast from my teen years: Molly Ringwald! What girl didn’t identify with her in at least one of my teen favorites, like Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles (Aw, Jake!) or The Breakfast Club??? So I had to do it – I bought her book and had her sign it.

Now it’s back to work tomorrow, and to bed now so I can say my prayers and thank God for such a good day. Two down, ten to go!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »