Wait times have been adversely affected by the Covid mess; the facilities have had to scale down the number of appointments for "social distancing." Then the power outage fiasco a couple of weeks ago has had them scrambling, so hopefully things will smooth out and wait times won't be so long. It's not terrible as the waiting areas are large and have comfortable recliners and heated blankets; very relaxing. I did not have to drink the barium with my PET; they injected the radioactive stuff into my arm. I had to eat low carb the day before and nothing after midnight except water the day of the test. I hope it goes smoothly for you. I have not discussed my indexes or any projected survivability scores with my doctor. Honestly I'm not interested in hearing a bunch of statistics based on decades-old data. IBC has a high recurrence rate among breast cancers but that doesn't necessarily mean I will have a recurrence. I am neither "triple negative" nor HER2 positive, and likely won't receive any hormone suppressant therapy after my treatment. I have read that a full determination of stats is not done until the mastectomy and testing of the cells in the tumor(s), plus a calculation of how the cancer reacted to treatment. Also, some hormone markers change with treatment. I will have scans done on an ongoing basis for the rest of my life, which I'm sure will be another anxiety-producing exercise. I don't kid myself that this is something that is going to go away. I just hope it can be controlled and give me a reasonable quality of life for whatever time is left. I'm glad I received this diagnosis as an older woman, and not at 30 with my whole life ahead of me. In other news, I have satisfied my "out of pocket" expenses for this year in 2 months, so the rest of my treatment will be provided by Aetna and Medicare, and I appreciate it very much.
Hi @Beth Gallagher just checking in. Wow, I am so glad to see all the support you're being blessed with.
@Terry Coywin -- thinking of you today. Is your procedure still happening tomorrow? I know you will be glad to get this over with and have some answers. I hope you get good news, my friend. As for my Cancer Diary; I have had 3 chemo treatments and will have the 4th (of 12) on Tuesday. So far, I am actually feeling pretty normal with only occasional weirdness. Nothing that has been debilitating or keeping me from a normal life, and I'm thankful for that. Some people have a horrible time with chemo side effects, but for me the absolute worst has been losing my hair so I'll take it. (I now own a wig and a nice little collection of hats and scarves. ) The muscle cramps have dissipated; they were short-lived thank goodness. I have read that chemo has a "cumulative" effect so I might be facing harder times ahead, but we'll see. My blood pressure seems to be back in the "what's normal for me" range... slightly elevated. Also my heart rate is still faster than normal but not terrible. All in all, I feel much better than I imagined I would.
I'm so glad that you're side effects have been minimal. Keep up with the positive attitude. Wishing you the best. Tony
@Beth Gallagher So glad you are feeling and carrying on fairly normal. Hoping to see a photo of your hat and scarf collection someday as it grows. Scarves can be such fun to collect and display. I love hats also but have a soft spot for scarves as my mother wore them daily after she retired. I have yet to wrap and tie one like this. I wonder if this is a special cut scarf? This is my all-time favorite look.
Wow, that's quite a complicated look, Faye. It would take a really long scarf for sure. Honestly, I'm more the "babushka" type (where's @Lulu Moppet ?? ) I like the simple cotton bandana "do-rags" best because they are lightweight and soft; tied in back of the head and not under the chin. I can go with grandma look or biker chick. Silky scarves actually slide around too much without hair to "anchor" them in place. I thought I'd like hats best but so far they annoy me. Right now my hair is about 1" long all over and is easy to spike or fluff. Lots of pink scalp peeking through, though. I am so grateful that I feel so well; I was terrified of chemo because apparently I have watched far too many movies. It is stressful, but definitely doable (at least for now!)
Tell me more about the irradiated barium procedure. I am not familiar with it. I always try to keep up with things. One of my wife's best friends has been diagnosed with breast cancer and has gone through her irradiation and chemo and apparently is in remission. The man she is married to lost his first wife to breast cancer 10 years ago.
Don it is like the regular barium they make you drink for a G.I. series only they add radiated tracers to it so that it can tell the radiologist if indeed the node on my lung that has gotten denser is indeed cancer. The oncologist is a radiation expert and when she saw it, she told my pulmomonologist that it was far too small for a biopsy, but that the density had increased which makes it suspect. If it is malignant they will shoot beam of radiation into it to burn it out. Nonetheless, I am nervous because I don't know if there is any lymphatic involvement. If so, that's a different can of worms altogether.
It was pretty good, TC! The weather is absolutely gorgeous so I was able to get out in the back yard and work on some plants; very relaxing. Is tomorrow still the day for your scan?
Great. It's still cold and wind up here. March winds, you know, but we are looking at 60 degree weather by the middle of next week. Yes tomorrow at 2:30. I just drank the one half bottle that they wanted me to have after dinner tonight. Now, just sips of water and as long as I eat by 8 a.m. I can have bacon and eggs only with water. doesn't sound appetizing at all. What kills me, no coffee in the a.m. I'll survive, let's hope I survive the diagnosis. We shall see. The test itself doesn't bother me, I've had Pet scans before, and they really are a cinch. It's the results that have me on edge. Keep the faith, kiddo.
@Terry Coywin I hope your test comes out with a good result. Preparing and then waiting for the result are stressful times. I use to dread blood tests but after cancer and all the tests, I don't even think about them.