Laurie
1|1|Keeping your Mom in my prayers and sending hugs your way|teener|teenerzacsneenee@yahoo.com|06:02:57|02/17/2011|Well, Mom has been in the hospital since Monday. The Oncologist met with her today and said that he believes she has inflammatory breast cancer. This is a very aggressive and rare form of breast cancer that affects 1 - 5 % of breast cancer patients. They won't know for sure until tomorrow when they will do another Cat Scan and a biopsy. That Cat Scan tomorrow she believes will be for the lower abdomin to see where the cancer may have spread.
They believe the cancer has gone into the bone as well as her liver. We won't know what the treatment will be until after these tests. Please say a prayer for my mother that it's not as bad as it looks. I would love to hear that the doctor is wrong, but it's obvious that whatever Mom has, it is really serious, it looks horrible.
From what I can tell the survival rate for this type of breast cancer for 5 years is 25 - 50%. Mom is 57 years old (not 58, she was sure to correct me!).
I saw my Mom in the hospital today and we were able to spend some time alone to talk. We discussed how she needs to ask for something in the hospital if she needs it.
For instance, her stomach has been upset and she thought it was because of the medications she has been given. When she told me what they have been feeding her... I realized that they are giving her Brocolli 2x a day. Can you say Gassy! So I asked the Nurse for her if she could talk to the Nurse on duty in the morning and have them change her vegetable in her meal to green beans or something else. She told my mom to call the kitchen and ask them to change it and they would. The number was right on the board for her. I don't think she realized she could do this. I've seen this happen with my mother-in-law in the hospital before... so I knew it could be done.
She's also exhausted and said that no one will let her sleep. I told her to talk to the nurse and let them know that she hasn't sleep well in over a week and she needs some rest. I told her to ask them to give her a break -- when I was in the hospital once they put a do not disturb sign on the door for a little while so I wouldn't be interupted. But only because I told them how I was feeling! The nurses can really help if they know what she needs.
We discussed taking anti-depressants and many other options. Items which it would appear she doesn't feel comfortable talking to her Fiance about. Her Fiance hasn't been able to spend a lot of time at the hospital with her due to medical conditions of his own. I thought he spent all day with her while she's going through getting diagnosed, but apparently not, she said he's there for roughly 4 hours a day. So she spends 20 hours a day alone awake thinking about all this. So I told her all she has to do is let me know she wants me there for something and I will get there. It's a hour drive, but I can leave right away. I'll just take off of work. I'm sure they will understand, they told me to take whatever time I need for her.
I'm convinced that she needs me at the hospital more often to help her. I think she feels a bit alone and I know she is very scared. Her Fiance helps where he can, but no one knows my Mom like I do. We've always had a special relationship.
Thankfully, the hospital has someone there to help her with her Medicare and Disability applications. But I'm no stranger to paperwork... I do paperwork all day long at work... so this is all something I can help her with too. I told her if she feels to ill from her treatments, we can have a Power of Attorney drawn up so that I can help her with her personal affairs while she isn't feeling well and she can just forward me her mail. We will work it out.
I also told her to tell me what she needs as she thinks of it, even if it's the smallest of things. She said she will need Aloe Vera when she starts her radiation or Chemo because they said her skin will feel like it's burning. I told her to make sure she tells me these things and I will find a deal somewhere to get her what she needs. So does anyone know where I can get alot of aloe vera gel (without perfumes, etc. in it) relatively cheap?
I know I'm getting a bit ahead of where we are right now, but I want her to know that someone is thinking about all this stuff so that she doesn't have to. I'm usually a very extra sensitive person, but when I go into Crisis Mode.... I can get anything done.
I have a exam scheduled with my GYN on March 1st to make sure there are no issues here. They said they will start me on my mammograms right away since I have not reached 40 years yet and I have never had one. Ya know how you read the symptoms on something and you say, geez i could have that! I've been doing that and it's driving me crazy! And it's probably nothing, but I can't wait to get my testing over. I'm going to insist that they be very thorough on any testing and make sure they check for IBC as well which Mammograms don't always catch.
Thanks.
Laurie
1|1|Keeping your Mom in my prayers and sending hugs your way|teener|teenerzacsneenee@yahoo.com|06:02:57|02/17/2011|
>Posted on Feb-17-11 at 00:34 AM (Eastern)
>by 76.101.225.143Well, Mom has been in
>the hospital since Monday. The
>Oncologist met with her today and
>said that he believes she has
>inflammatory breast cancer. This is
>a very aggressive and rare form
>of breast cancer that affects 1
>- 5 % of breast cancer
>patients. They won't know for
>sure until tomorrow when they will
>do another Cat Scan and a
>biopsy. That Cat Scan tomorrow
>she believes will be for the
>lower abdomin to see where the
>cancer may have spread.
>They believe the cancer has gone into
>the bone as well as her
>liver. We won't know what
>the treatment will be until after
>these tests. Please say a prayer
>for my mother that it's not
>as bad as it looks.
>I would love to hear that
>the doctor is wrong, but it's
>obvious that whatever Mom has, it
>is really serious, it looks horrible.
>
>From what I can tell the survival
>rate for this type of breast
>cancer for 5 years is 25
>- 50%. Mom is 57
>years old (not 58, she was
>sure to correct me!).
>I saw my Mom in the hospital
>today and we were able to
>spend some time alone to talk.
> We discussed how she needs
>to ask for something in the
>hospital if she needs it.
>For instance, her stomach has been upset
>and she thought it was because
>of the medications she has been
>given. When she told me what
>they have been feeding her... I
>realized that they are giving her
>Brocolli 2x a day. Can
>you say Gassy! So I
>asked the Nurse for her if
>she could talk to the Nurse
>on duty in the morning and
>have them change her vegetable in
>her meal to green beans or
>something else. She told my
>mom to call the kitchen and
>ask them to change it and
>they would. The number was right
>on the board for her. I
>don't think she realized she could
>do this. I've seen this
>happen with my mother-in-law in the
>hospital before... so I knew it
>could be done.
>She's also exhausted and said that no
>one will let her sleep.
>I told her to talk to
>the nurse and let them know
>that she hasn't sleep well in
>over a week and she needs
>some rest. I told her to
>ask them to give her a
>break -- when I was in
>the hospital once they put a
>do not disturb sign on the
>door for a little while so
>I wouldn't be interupted. But
>only because I told them how
>I was feeling! The nurses
>can really help if they know
>what she needs.
>We discussed taking anti-depressants and many other
>options. Items which it would appear
>she doesn't feel comfortable talking to
>her Fiance about. Her Fiance
>hasn't been able to spend a
>lot of time at the hospital
>with her due to medical conditions
>of his own. I thought he
>spent all day with her while
>she's going through getting diagnosed, but
>apparently not, she said he's there
>for roughly 4 hours a day.
>So she spends 20 hours a
>day alone awake thinking about all
>this. So I told her
>all she has to do is
>let me know she wants me
>there for something and I will
>get there. It's a hour
>drive, but I can leave right
>away. I'll just take off
>of work. I'm sure they
>will understand, they told me to
>take whatever time I need for
>her.
>I'm convinced that she needs me at
>the hospital more often to help
>her. I think she feels a
>bit alone and I know she
>is very scared. Her Fiance
>helps where he can, but no
>one knows my Mom like I
>do. We've always had a special
>relationship.
>Thankfully, the hospital has someone there to
>help her with her Medicare and
>Disability applications. But I'm no stranger
>to paperwork... I do paperwork all
>day long at work... so this
>is all something I can help
>her with too. I told
>her if she feels to ill
>from her treatments, we can have
>a Power of Attorney drawn up
>so that I can help her
>with her personal affairs while she
>isn't feeling well and she can
>just forward me her mail.
>We will work it out.
>I also told her to tell me
>what she needs as she thinks
>of it, even if it's the
>smallest of things. She said she
>will need Aloe Vera when she
>starts her radiation or Chemo because
>they said her skin will feel
>like it's burning. I told
>her to make sure she tells
>me these things and I will
>find a deal somewhere to get
>her what she needs. So
>does anyone know where I can
>get alot of aloe vera gel
>(without perfumes, etc. in it) relatively
>cheap?
>I know I'm getting a bit ahead
>of where we are right now,
>but I want her to know
>that someone is thinking about all
>this stuff so that she doesn't
>have to. I'm usually a very
>extra sensitive person, but when I
>go into Crisis Mode.... I can
>get anything done.
>I have a exam scheduled with my
>GYN on March 1st to make
>sure there are no issues here.
> They said they will start
>me on my mammograms right away
>since I have not reached 40
>years yet and I have never
>had one. Ya know how you
>read the symptoms on something and
>you say, geez i could have
>that! I've been doing that
>and it's driving me crazy!
>And it's probably nothing, but I
>can't wait to get my testing
>over. I'm going to insist that
>they be very thorough on any
>testing and make sure they check
>for IBC as well which Mammograms
>don't always catch.
>Thanks. Laurie
4|2|keeping your mom and you in my thoughts and prayers|kellysp6637|frugalk76@aol.com|07:02:14|02/17/2011|
I know your mom appreciates everything you are doing for her. 2|1|Will keep you and your Mom in my prayers. May God Bless her.|flapper|joyphalen@yahoo.com|06:27:06|02/17/2011|
Posted on Feb-17-11 at 06:27 AM (Eastern) by 67.247.231.51
When I was doing chemo, I used the Aloe Vera, and I had gotten mine before starting chemo and I got it at Walmart, I honestly don't remember what I paid for it. But I wasn't really looking for bargains at that time with being scared and the head was swimming. So Price wasn't a priority. But try Walmart and then Walgreens if you have them near you.
Bless you both. My Dr. told me I had a 50-50 chance. But with prayers and mind over matter. I beat it. She has to put the scared aside and think positive. One thing I highly recommend it eating lots of liver sausage while on chemo as it helps builds up the white corpusles and that's very, very important as chemo destroys them she needs something to help the body fight it. Some people don't like it. But I was told it was so very important to eat it. I put it on crackers, little pieces of bread, as you lose your apetite so you have to force yourself to eat. Also eat brocolli, I know it's gassy, but that and spinach helps the body to fight. And aspargus is the most important of the vegetables. Eat as much as possible during the day, at breakfast also. I had a receipe that you have to puree it and take it several times a day, but as much as I love asparagus, pureeing it didn't taste good. So I just ate it, Raw or steamed.
I pray it's not as bad for your Mom.
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Garnette member 3|2|Thanks.... if...|jdlaurie|savethosepennies@aol.com|06:30:05|02/17/2011|
Liver sausage is Liverwurst, I know my Mom likes it. So I will mention it to her.
She hasn't started the Chemo yet, which is why I'm trying to find the aloe vera cheap. Obviously when she needs it right away, I'll just buy it anywhere we can find it! But I figured if someone knew where it was cheap and without perfume, I would start there.
Thanks.
Laurie
5|3|Check your health food stores|teener|teenerzacsneenee@yahoo.com|07:40:05|02/17/2011|
>Posted on Feb-17-11 at 06:30 AM (Eastern)
>by 76.101.225.143Liver sausage is Liverwurst, I
>know my Mom likes it. So
>I will mention it to her.
>
>She hasn't started the Chemo yet, which
>is why I'm trying to find
>the aloe vera cheap. Obviously when
>she needs it right away, I'll
>just buy it anywhere we can
>find it! But I figured
>if someone knew where it was
>cheap and without perfume, I would
>start there.
>Thanks. Laurie
6|3|I'm glad she likes the liver sausage, It comes in a roll and not sliced which makes it easier to handle. Some call the sliced liverwurst and some call the roll, liver sausage, but it's the same thing. Tell her to eat lots of it. I love the liver sausage so that helped me too. Good Luck|flapper|joyphalen@yahoo.com|12:00:20|02/17/2011|
I prefer no fee paypal, but will accept cc, stamps plus postage
Thank You
Joy User name flapper
Please leave your user name for feedback and mine is above.
Garnette member 7|1|Keeping your mom & you in my prayers. :)|maraj|maraj64@hotmail.com|13:31:24|02/17/2011|
Fact of life: After Monday and Tuesday..even the CALENDAR says...
W..T..F..
Please identify yourself in 1st email w/name/username. Due to recent problem trades, if I haven't traded w/you before, I will probably require you send your end 1st or I'll need LEGIT trade references/feedback. I will be happy to provide the same. IF you plan to hold your end til you've received mine, I will need to know that IMMEDIATELY, BEFORE trade is finalized.
8|1|Laurie, my prayers are with you both....if there is anything I can do, please, please do not hesitate to email me! One suggestion I have is in regards to a topical treatment for her skin during and after radiation treatments....have her ask her oncologist/radiologist about using Silvadene cream...it is intended for burns, and seemed to help my SIL immensely when she had radiation burns. You are a fabulous daughter to be so supportive and caring of your mom in her toughest time....big hugs to you, my friend!|saint6811|waylan@comcast.net|13:36:56|02/17/2011|
" You'll get what's coming to you ... Unless it was mailed."
9|2|PLEASE TELL LINDA I AM THINKING OF HER...DON'T EVEN KNOW IF SHE REMEMBERS ME, WE USED TO TRADE ALL THE TIME|JOYHAPPYONE|DAIDOLA5@AOL.COM|14:12:14|02/17/2011|
---------------------------------------
TO BE OLD AND WISE, YOU FIRST HAVE TO BE YOUNG AND STUPID...........
10|1|Laurie, I will keep your mom and you in my prayers.|Ranalt|ainebailey@gmail.com|21:32:46|02/17/2011|
Life is like a cup of tea,
It's all in how you make it.
Lisa
11|2|Sending prayers and positive thoughts out|BusterBrown|srfreezerqueen@hotmail.com|21:44:16|02/17/2011|
one thing i can attest to is do not try to take it all in in one day, you and she will both be overwhelmed and very stressed....take in what they tell you in pieces over the couple of days after they tell you something.....yes, you do need to react, but too much information is not always a good thing....I know i was overwhelmed at first til i got a grasp on it all, then took it day by day... 12|3|please send me your mom's mailing info|angNC|memawang@nc.rr.com|22:03:04|02/17/2011|
I would love to send her a card.
I will pray
13|1|Another Update: Some good news today|jdlaurie|savethosepennies@aol.com|13:31:07|02/18/2011|
Posted on Feb-18-11 at 01:31 PM (Eastern) by 76.7.92.154
We at least had a bit of good news today on Mom. The cancer has NOT spread to the liver as they had originally thought. The Cat Scan that they did yesterday confirmed the liver is fine. She is going in for a bone scan today to see what we are dealing with there. So please keep praying for her! This is a lot more optimistic, since she has had the ct scans of everything now, at least we are NOT dealing with cancer throughout the body! Breast and Bone is MUCH better than Breast Bone and Liver!
She's being a trooper, but is still having a hard time with all this as you would imagine.
If anyone is looking for me, the have a satellite computer in the room, but I can't get my personal email from here. I've been spending all day here and then going home and helping the kids. I have hardly been online otherwise, so please email me again.
Thanks
Laurie
14|2|Oh, Laurie That is such good news. Will keep praying, by the way what is your Mom's name so when I say my prayers I can mention her by name.|flapper|joyphalen@yahoo.com|13:44:49|02/18/2011|
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Garnette member 16|2|Continued prayers for more good news! |saint6811|waylan@comcast.net|15:52:46|02/18/2011|
" You'll get what's coming to you ... Unless it was mailed."
15|1|Hi Laurie, I just saw this. I will keep your mother in my thoughts and prayers. |jilda|vze4gj4m@verizon.net|13:51:22|02/18/2011|
I'm so sorry to hear about this.
jilda