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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 206
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Re: Finally 2021
Hi Becky, how lovely it is to see you there and hear that you are 16years NED. I am just waking up to the fact that it is that time of year again: 6th January 2014 was my wakeup call: sitting with a top radiologist called in to check what the young radiologist had seen on my ultrasound and was very worried about. So treatment, survival, thinking it is all behind me and maybe it is. A few hiccups on the way: I missed my final 5yr checkup with my oncologist/surgeon last September 2020 because of Covid 19. I did have a large melanoma cut out by my right collarbone on my previously non-hacked around side of my chest in June/July 2019, which got deeply infected and landed me in hospital twice. Accumulating scars, fighting back. Luckily it was only Grade One, no roots, all gone.
And here I am today, ringing around to book in for an ultrasound of my uterus because I have a worrisome little polyp poking out of my cervix, and I am told may well be an endometrial polyp and given my breast cancer history, they want to check what is going on in there. My physio told me to see my GP, may be nothing but let's be sure. My GP tried to remove it but said it was a bit thick stemmed, so let's send you to a gynaecologist. I went to my family planning GP who told me a bit more about everything. She said that because I had breast cancer, and am now using Vagifem with a pessary, I could be seeing a metastases to the endometrium. She said it came from a long way up the cervical canal. She said they need to check my uterus/endometrium: I may have a cluster of polyps there, or not, and what is there may be benign or not. It was good being told what she was concerned about, but I had a sense that I was only half taking it in, and not asking the questions I should. She wants me to have an ultrasound, and she will advise once the results come back whether I am fine or not or may need further investigation just to be sure from a gynaecologist.
Now this uterine thing. Hmmm. So, my friends I am back asking for a bit of support. I no longer have a supportive daughter: she went weird on me when her first child was 2, and declared war on me and was so savage and cruel. We speak, I am as helpful as I can be and take care of my little granddaughters each Thursday, but she is no longer close, or available. My husband is not someone I can talk to either. So this is hard and lonely.
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 1997-2004 many cysts, many MG & U/S: polycystic breasts.
Sept 2013 found lump,Cyst?? forgot lump.
Dec 2013 GP check, Referred for U/S, MG,FNA.
7 Jan 2014 Radiology: Radiologist turned screen away from me. When asked she said "Not a cyst, very suspicious.See your GP asa results avail."
Cancelled my psych clients for the week.
8 Jan 14 GP: 2.2cm IDC in 6cm DCIS field. FNA=malignant cells. Referred to Surgeon.
Cancelled my psych clients for the month.
13 Jan 14 Surgeon said L mastectomy not lumpectomy, offered neoadjunctive trial, agreed adjunctive chemo after surgery a good choice for me. Booked Body scan and bone scan for staging (both fine) Surgery for16 Jan,
16 Jan 14 Surgeon also agreed in preop meeting to also remove 6cm fatty cyst in job lot. Good job done.
19 Jan 14 discharged home with 1 drain.
22 Jan 14 drain partly pulled out overnight, serious seroma (600 ml reducing removed every 2 days for a month) Serious staph infection because nurse said wait 3 days for yr surgeon appointment.
26Jan 14 pathology: 2.2cm Grade 3(3,3,2)ER-, PgR-, HER2+2 so to be confirmed by Sish test. Node negative. No vascular or lymphatic involvement. No metastases in scans.
30 Jan 14 HER2+ high amplification, 13 gene copies per cell.
21st Feb 14 Began 3wkly TCH adjuvant treatment at The Mount Hospital Perth, with 3monthly MUGA heart tests +Oncologist or Surgeon full physical check-up.
Cancelled my psych clients for 6 months.
Feb 14 First MUGA test: 71%,
First C15.3 test: 20
7th March 14 began Neulasta self-applied injections 24hrs after each TCH treatment. Bonepain helped by spa, heatpacks and Claritin, reflux/indigestion helped by Somac.
July 14 completed docetaxol and carboplatin, ongoing herceptin to 12 months. Severe cognitive deficit/fatigue after 1pm daily.
Sept 14 Second MUGA test: 69%
Cancelled my psych clients for 2014
Dec 14 Third MUGA test: 70%
Second C15.3 test : 20
Cognitive fatigue delays return to work.
March 2015 Tachycardia pulse 168, night in hospital. Cardiologist says no heart disease, ALIVE ECG attachment for my mobile phone now regular monitoring.
July 2015 Worktrial, up to 8hrs per wk. Fatigue ongoing
Aug 2015 Heart good, no evidence of cancer, just Fatigue.
May 2019 Melanoma 1.5cm Stage 1 by right collarbone(was present as large freckle in 2014 and cut through by breast surgeon to remove fatty cyst at same time as mastectomy.) Melanoma removed leaving scar from shoulder to breastbone. In hospital twice for IV antibiotics. Told catagorically this could not be BC mets.
Dec 2019 Still NED, still fatigue in late afternoon, but have my brain back in the early mornings. So most days I watch the sunrise and hear the birds morning chorus in my bush backyard and am glad to be alive and to be me still.
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Years NED
Hybrid Mode
