I Travel In Elite Circles
Well I don ' t travel actually. But Lady Gaga of all people and I have something in common.We both have fibromyalgia.Her fibro is bad enough that she hascancelled the European leg of her latest tour. Because of pain and fatigue.Why do those terms sound so familiar to me?Think of it this way, if a famous personality who makes money by going on tour to sell more albums (or copies of songs downloaded - or however they count that these days) has to cancel, she must be in a lot of pain.I can relate. (I wish I had a European tour to cancel - as long as I went to a lot of beaches and my husband was there, and someone else carried...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 22, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: #LadyGaga fatigue fibromyalgia pain levels Source Type: blogs
Complications After Cancer Linger
My least favorite phrase is ' with your medical history we need to be sure ' . I have been hearing it since my first cancer diagnosis. Even though my two cancers, thyroid and breast, are not what are considered the most horrible kinds, they both could recur and kill me anytime they want.What it has meant over the year is that I have always been sent for more tests than anyone else. I need more blood tests and scans than anyone else. Now as I have developed more ailment such as RA, its harder to treat. One of the costs of my cancer treatment is osteopenia - in a family full of women with osteoporosis, all of a sudden I am m...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 21, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer history cancer treatment crankiness Source Type: blogs
Well, Crapola!
A few weeks ago, I posted about whatmy pain medication may hide, yesterday I found the truth. Call me slow about some things but I had to do some thinking.I have RA, fibromyalgia, bad back, etc - all sorts of nice things that cause pain. So I get the good drugs. I have this awesome pain patch that masks 99% of it. It wasn ' t until I was an idiot a few weeks ago and forgot to change my pain patch I had no idea how much pain.The thinking process I had to go through was what was all that pain from and why is it important? I know several people that have RA as well, my mother and an old friend. Both of them are on injected bi...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 20, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: aggressive ailments arthritis treatment medical crap rheumatoid arthritis Source Type: blogs
Being Breast Cancer Savvy
Buried in another article based on a woman doctor ' s problems getting screened for breast cancer by the UK ' s NHS, are three rules on how to be ' Breast Cancer Savvy 'You Don ' t Need to Examine Your BreastsAll women, no matter what age, should get to know their breasts. But experts have stopped recommending self-examination routines. Studies have shown that most women who find breast tumours do so during the course of everyday life: while dressing, or just rolling over in bed. The key is to know what looks and feels normal to you.I wholeheartedly agree with this. I am incapable of finding any lumps.Don ' t Ignore Sympto...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 18, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer cancer detection cancer screening mammogram Source Type: blogs
Beeswax and Helping
If you want to be a good friend during a medical crisis, ask how you can help. Don ' t say, ' how can I help? ' Ask ' Do you need anything from the grocery store? I ' m going later today. ' Mow their lawn. Pick up their kids from school. All those things. Anything you can do.However, its ' none of your beeswax ' on what exactly their health issues are so:Do not interrogate them daily on what ' s the latest from their doctor Do not tell the world every little detail you interrogated out of them. Its not your story to tell.Do not tell them your cousin ' s hairdresser ' s uncle ' s neighbor ' s son had the same thing and...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 17, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: diagnosis helping not helpful sharing Source Type: blogs
Your Decision, Not Your Doctor's
In years gone by, doctors were regarded as gods. They knew all, were not to be questioned and patients should obey unquestioningly. Those days are gone. Patients are empowered. They learn about their conditions, they question their doctors, and they make their own decisions. They may rely on their doctor ' s advice but clearly make their decisions.However, a recent study (because we always need more damn studies) found thatdoctor preferences for surgery type greatly influenced patient choice in early stage breast cancer surgery." Researchers surveyed more than 3,300 women with early stage breast cancer and 349 surgeons who...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 16, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient breast cancer treatment surgery uncertainty with doctors Source Type: blogs
What Does That Symptom Mean?
Right now I am contemplating the additional pain I have been having in my fingers/hands and toes/feet recently. I do not expect I have hand/foot cancer but that my rheumatoid is doing funny things. I am not researching online, I am going to send my doctor a message. That is the mature adult thing to do.Normal people think that headache or scratchy throat is nothing. But to cancer people a headache is a brain tumor and a sore throat is esophageal cancer. Along with your cancer diagnosis you learn that Dr Google and Wikipedia are not your friends for medical information.But with cancer, every little symptom gets a new m...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 15, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: google rheumatoid arthritis symptoms Source Type: blogs
Narrow Mindedness
I realize that a lot of academia, where medical research often happens, primarily uses Apple computers - desktops, iPads, and iPhones. However just because they use iPhones doesn ' t mean anyone else does. Hence the problem.I received an email recruiting women for a study by the Army of Women on theRelationships among Cognitive Function, Lifestyle, and Exercise after Cancer Treatment (ReFLECT+). I said great. Let me see if I can sign up. I greatly appreciate what the Army of Women does and support them wholly. But I can ' t believe the narrow mindedness as part of their study.As they recruit for non-white participants, the...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 14, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient clinical trials medical research Source Type: blogs
Surviving Life With Ailments
What is the best way to survive ailments? First of all, one step at a time. And take as many breaks as possible to have fun.That is what I did today. I may have my feet up recovering but I had fun, with my husband.Today we went to a museum and out for lunch looking at the ocean. My feet are really tired. My knees hurt. My hips are speaking up too.But by spending a few hours out doing something outside our normal activities it was a nice break. I didn ' t have to think about any of my medical ailments (until my feet started to hurt) or upcoming medical misadventures - which includes knee arthroscopy in a couple of weeks.It ...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 13, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient enjoyment fun Source Type: blogs
How Much Do Cancer Drugs Cost?
The line from the pharmaceutical manufacturers have always been that it costs billions to develop new drugs. And they have to recoup their costs for the drugs that don ' t make it. This is why we have cancer treatments that cost well over $100,000 each year.But now the truth is out.Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development conducted a study ondevelopment costs of cancer drugs.What they found is a much lower total for development of a cancer drug." A new analysis finds the magic number is $648 million, which is substantially less than an earlier albeit controversial estimate of $2.6 billion for the cost to develop any ...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 12, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer costs medical research medication costs Source Type: blogs
Oncology Anxiety
It doesn ' t matter how many years out it is but a visit to the oncologist always is uncomfortable. Its unsettling. Its alarming. Its distressing. Its ominous. I can ' t come up with enough words to describe it. And its today.I had my annual mammogram back in July and then saw my surgeon. Technically, I am supposed to be followed by my breast surgeon for life after treatment ends. But his office was difficult to schedule with so after a few years, I dumped him. I also dumped my rads onc a few years back. She was pretty useless too. She used to tell me things like I should stop working so my husband could support me since I...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 11, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer treatment doctor appointments follow up oncologist Source Type: blogs
Living For Now
I am a big supporter for living for now. Sometimes we are so focused in living for the future - saving for retirement, a rainy day, or whatever. We plan our future for ourselves and our family members - education, get a good job, etc. Our culture tells us this. It seems like the biggest reason we have jobs is to save for retirement.However once you have cancer a time or two, you start questioning this saving for the future business. Why are we doing this if we may not be here to use it? We save up to 10% of our salaries or more.... And cancer? It could take us any time.When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was my sec...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 10, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: living with cancer planning Source Type: blogs
Wait A Minute, Back Up Please!
A new study shows "How a Chemo Drug Can Help Cancer Spread from the Breast to the Lungs" . Really? How does that work? Why are they telling me now instead of before chemo?" Researchers at The Ohio State University studied the cascade of events that lead to metastatic cancer and found clues to why it happens, opening up the possibility of one day interfering with the medication ' s downsides while preserving its cancer-fighting properties in breast tissue.The front-line chemotherapy drug paclitaxel sets off a variety of molecular-level changes that allow breast cancer cells to escape from the tumor. At the same time, it cre...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 8, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: chemotherapy side effects Source Type: blogs
What Does Your Pain Medication Hide?
Last weekend I was a total idiot and forgot to change my pain patch for so long my RA was causing me agony. But I also felt pain in other places that I did not expect. My RA pain was definitely the worst of all.What this little spurt of idiocy tells me that my pain meds, especially my pain patch, are working and do take care of my pain. This is a very nice thing to know. I am not living in pain (most of the time) because of them.But then what concerns me is what are my pains caused by. Okay, I am no idiot but I do know that what I felt in my hands and feet is caused by my RA. But then I have pain in other places that I did...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 7, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: doctor questions pain levels pain management Source Type: blogs
Breast Cancer Treatment Benefits
Recently it was announced in a draft proposal that the UK ' sNHS would not cover faslodex to treat estrogen positive metastatic breast cancer. While this may be disappointing to some, at this point I agree with the decision.The reason given for the decision is:" While NICE [National Institute for Health and Care] Excellence acknowledged that it can stall tumour growth by up to three months compared to aromatase inhibitors, it said early evidence isn ’t strong enough to show that the drug extends survival. "What is the point of spending millions of dollars on patient medication if it does not extend survival? Th...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - September 4, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer treatment metastatic cancer quality of life Source Type: blogs
