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Oh No | Health insurance issue
I lost my job in August and started a temporary insurance plan Sept 1. At the end of Sept I had unexplained pain and ended up in the ER and got my diagnosis. I honestly still don’t know what they will cover in the end. I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.
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Decision Point | Hospise or chemo in vein again
Had port put in twice and went throu vein chemo twice and horrible side effects.Been on Ibrance then Xeloda for years but don't work anymore so another port in right side, where cancer was original and had 13 of my lymph glands removed so worried over lymphoma but 2 cancer dr. said it wouldn't affect it so decided to try…
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Celebration | Anniversary
Eight years ago today, I went for that fateful CT scan that showed I had stage IV lung cancer. I remember as clear as day driving to the testing site, not really concerned at all ... certainly not concerned that they might find lung cancer (I thought maybe we would find thyroid cancer since I was having issues with weight…
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Loss | loss of independence and told I will most likely never be able to stand up straight, that it
This is a issue totally unrelated to my recurrent cancer. I had an MRI several months ago and even though I am stage 3 kidney disease, I did what 2 doctors told me to do which was have the contrast dye. This was my 2nd MRI in the last 2 months. My oncologist and pain specialist both had my MRI's and they both said the same…
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Chemotherapy
I did 2 weeks of chemo, (pills), and quit. The strongest side effect I had was red hand/red feet. I had the same side effect 19+ years ago when I had pancreatic cancer. If I ever get cancer again I will not do any type of treatment chemo or radiation. Never again!!!
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Radiation | External radiation
The initial treatment isn't bad if you really adhere to applying aloe and burn cream hourly. But the long term effects are bad. The muscle and skin are completely altered. Mine are so tight they pull my body out of line. My implant wasn't able to drop into the pocket because the skin and muscle never relaxed., I have…
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Celebration | Finished treatment
September 11,2019
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Decision Point | Go alone?
Sometimes I feel like I want to go to my first oncologist appointment alone, but a family member insists on going. It makes me feel anxious.
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Celebration | Relief At Minimal Treatment
After thinking initially that I would have to undergo radiation, that was off the table when we decided to move forward with mastectomy. After getting news that there was no evidence of spreading to the sentinel nodes, that was another relief. After the Oncotype DX score came back low and my oncologist said we would just…
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Procedure or Surgery | Sentinel lymph node biopsy
Sentinel Node biopsy was done at the same time as the mastectomy. I really didn't know people did it at another time. So I just thought it was part of the deal with the mastectomy.
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Clinical Trial | inhibitor of cyclin D1/CDK4 and CDK6
Started Sept 2020. This is a trial of ribociclib combined with Femara. Only side effects so far are fatigue. 2 women are on this trial at our facility; the other woman had to reduce the dosage due to her lab values. As of Oct 22 Pat's labs values are still reasonable., CA-125 reduced from 327 to 307---not great, but down.
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What to do next...
What to do next
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Targeted therapy
All TACE Procedures (N=3) were uneventful. Post procedural complications ranged from minimal to rehospitalization x 1 wk.
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Procedure or Surgery | Liver transplant
At 10 months post transplant, doing ok now. Not an easy road but worthwhile.
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Oh No | Just Diagnosed
Just diagnosed with GIST in the head of the Pancreas. Dr recommends Whipple procedure and Imatinib. Part of my trouble making a decision for the surgery is that I have no symptoms and am not suffering in anyway. This recommended surgery and drug seems like a difficult life-changing decision.
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Other Care | Doctor visits
I still have to go see my oncologist about every 3 months and I still go see my surgeon I don't know how long I've got to keep doing that and I still yet to keep my appointment to get my Orthopedic breast with bra so I still have a lot to do
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Celebration | Finished treatment
Yes there's celebration because I live through something that have killed a lot of people but God saw to let me stay here so I'm still here in my hair is growing back slowly the discoloring of my skin is coming around but I'm still worried about my stomach but I thank God everyday that I still have life and can move around…
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Side Effects | Fluid in the abdomen (ascites)
I had several side effects from neuropathy to hair loss to I still believe that there is something wrong with my stomach because it is still swollen and hard and I don't know what that is but I intend to find out it burned my skin some discolored all around it was not easy on the body with the chemo
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Chemotherapy
The chemo was very strong it burned my skin on my arms and my hands and it cost neuropathy and I was very weak from it but I still try to go to work despite all of those things but I'm glad it's over I still have the neuropathy
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Oh No | Cancer is back/Recurred
I have been cancer-free for nine and a half years and then I get told that I have breast cancer again this time stage 2 triple negative
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Radiation | External radiation
My husband had 35 sessions of targeted radiation to his neck for stage 2 laryngeal cancer and the only word to describe is brutal. He was in so much pain near the end it hurt to swallow his own saliva.
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Drug or Chemo Therapy | Chemotherapy
My husband did 6 weeks of cisplatin and it was really hard on him, his energy level was a constant zero. He was nausea always and had a hard time eating.
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Procedure or Surgery | Bone biopsy to confirm that metastases were from original breast cancer
In 1997, I had multiple biopsies, mastectomy, lymph node dissection, implant chemotherapy port, Flap reconstruction
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Oh No | Cancer has spread/Metastasized
I was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. I underwent unilateral mastectomy, clinical trial of high dose chemotherapy, radiation, and finally reconstructive surgery. I was followed for 10 years with no recurrence. This past year, I started having hip and low back pain and went to see an orthopedic surgeon,…
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Side Effects | Stomach distended and hard and will Not go away
I just had a bilateral mastectomy on the 29th of April 2020 and my drain stayed in for about 4 weeks but after I was able to move around I noticed that my stomach was like really hard and round exceptionally round like a beer gut and I was thinking it was because I didn't have breast anymore but it's not that, it is still…
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Celebration | Cancer is shrinking
Randy had his first CT after his third round of chemo today. Dr.'s nurse called to let us know it showed a 40% improvement. It was the first good news we have had. We will get more in details on Wednesday before next round of chemo, but they wanted to call with the good news.
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Side Effects | Weight loss
When I was initially diagnosed stage IV RCC, I weighed 191 lbs. Two years later I weighed 204. Following that I started slowly losing weight and now stay in the mid 130s.
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Side Effects | Vaginal dryness or irritation
Once I stopped taking the hormone replacement therapy in approximately 2016, I lost all sexual desire and became very dry and easily irritated.
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Side Effects | Skin changes
I seem to bruise quite easily and they take a couple of months to disappear. I am not on a blood thinner which many people ask me when they see my arms. I don't know the cause.
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Side Effects | Pain
I started having bone and muscle pain about 1-1/2 years into treatment which eventually became quite severe. It is now well controlled with the use of Morphine.
