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Old 05-19-2012, 06:01 PM   #15
CoolBreeze
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Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 562
Re: Stopping Working

Thanks Karen. I love your intuition and I sure hope it's true!

I'm not a "sugar feeds cancer" believer but I have always, my entire life, believed in eating healthy. I used to complain to my mother because she gave me lunch meat for lunch and it had nitrites in it that caused cancer. Boy, was I prescient or what?

So, this love of and desire for sweets is a new departure for me, and it started right after c-diff, when I was only able to eat the opposite of everything I'd always eaten my whole life. When your colon doesn't work, you have to stick to processed foods and white flour and nothing with bulk and no vegetables. And, I was down under 90 pounds so my doctor wanted me to eat anything that would put weight on.

And now that is what I am eating still, but my colon can handle normal foods again. Right now I'm so tired; I get up, get ready for work, go, and people give me treats because they worry about my weight. (The school has a cupcake brigade and they bring me gourmet cupcakes!) I might bring a banana or something but that's it until dinner, which is usally take-out as I'm too tired to cook and my husband is not good at it. Then I eat ce cream, cake. I guess I never imagined myself doing that, but since I am severely underweight still I haven't stopped myself.

So, as soon as I'm done with work, I'll go back to healthy eating. I have been given a cookbook for cancer patients to review and I'll make some of the recipes and test them, and I will be the one going to the store and buying food and I'll be able to cook again, so I will go back to my normal mostly vegetarian diet and I'll manage this sweet tooth by allowing myself one piece of candy a day like I used to. And, I am going to buy one of those popsicle makers and make popsicles with protein powder and fresh fruiit so I can satisfy my craving that way. Funny how quickly a lifetime of healthy eating can go out the window.

You are right. I don't want to leave my job but I'm now accepting of it and looking forward to the challenge of creating a rewarding life without having a job. My son is 15, so I still have a kid to drive around - that will be good for me too.
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08/17/09 Dx'd.
Multifocal/multicentric IDC, largest 3.4 cm, associated ADH, LCIS, DCIS
HER2+ ER+/PR- Grade 3, Node Negative

10/20/2009: Right mastectomy, reconstruction with TE
12/02/2009: Six rounds TCH, switched to Taxol halfway through due to neuropathy
03/31/2010: Finished chemo
05/01/2010: Began tamoxifen, the worst drug ever
11/18/2010: Reconstruction completed
12/02/2010: Finished herceptin
05/21/2011: Liver Mets. Quit Tamoxifen
06/22/2011: Navelbine/Zometa/Herceptin
10/03/2011: Liver Resection, left lobe. Microwave ablation, right lobe - going for cure!
11/26/2011: C-Diff Superbug Infection, "worst case doctor had seen in 20 years"
03/28/2012: Progression in ablated section of the liver - no more cure. Started Abraxane, continue herceptin/zometa
10/10/2012: Progression continues, started Halaven, along with herceptin and zometa.
01/15/2013: Progression continues, started Gemzar and Perjeta, an unusual combo, continuing with herceptin and zometa
03/13/2013: Quit Gemzar, body just won't handle it. Staying on herceptin, zometa and perjeta.
04/03/2013: CT shows 50% regression in tumor, so am starting back on Gemzar with dose reduction, staying with perjeta/herceptin/zometa. Can't argue with success!
05/09/2013: Discussing SBRT with Radiology due to inability of bone marrow to recover from chemo.
06/07/2013: Fiducial placement for SBRT
07/03/2013: Chemo discontinued, on Perjeta, Herceptin and Zometa alone
07/25/2013: SBRT (gamma knife) begins
08/01/2013: SBRT completed
08/15/2013: STABLE! continuing with Perjeta, Herceptin, Zometa
06/18/2014: ***** NED!!!!***** continuing with Perjeta, Herceptin, Zometa
01/29/2014: Still NED. continuing with Perjeta, Herceptin. Zometa lowered to every 3 months instead of monthly.
11/08/2015: Progression throughout abdomen and lungs. Started TDM-1, aka Kadcyla. Other meds discontinued. Remission was nice while it lasted.

5/27/18: Stable. Kadcyla put me right back in the barn. I have two teeny spots on my lungs that are metabolically inactive, and liver is clean.

I’m beating this MFer. I was 51 when this started and had two kids, 22 and 12. Now I’m 60. My oldest got married and trying to start s family. My youngesg graduates from Caltech this June. My stepdaughter gave me grandkids. Life is fantastic.
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