Information and opinions on Breast Cancer from Jolene Boyd at MyBreastCancerNetwork.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421 http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/24853/couple Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:27:00 -0400 Jolene Boyd Things have quieted down in my world as a breast cancer survivor...I guess that's a good thing!  I'm still getting used to that new "title," honestly. I felt like I had won a sort of victory when my psychiatrist contacted an oncologist at the Mayo Clinic regarding the antidepressant I was taking and was told he would not recommend continuing on it due to the potential for interference with the effectiveness of the... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/24853/couple http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/21506/tamoxifen Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:15:00 -0400 Jolene Boyd Just wanted to post an update about my progress on my medication issue (i.e. my concern about anti-depressants in general, and bupropion for me specifically) inhibiting the metabolization of tamoxifen (and, as a result, potentially its effectiveness, as well.).  I met with my psychiatrist yesterday. She had booked an hour for me (almost unheard of for psychiatrists these days!) I brought a stack of the most relevant (my opinion) research... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/21506/tamoxifen http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/21367/60-miles Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:05:00 -0400 Jolene Boyd Hi everyone, Just wanted to let everyone know that I have decided to walk in the Breast Cancer 3-Day this year in the Twin Cities (MN)!  This will be my third time...I walked in '05 and '06.  I decided not to awalk last year (I rationalized that it was hard for me to keep asking the same people to donate year after year...)  Ironically, if I HAD walked last year, I would have received my diagnosis on the very day that... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/21367/60-miles http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/19382/info-worth Sat, 19 Jan 2008 18:21:00 -0500 Jolene Boyd I have been doing a little research and happened, quite accidentally, upon some disturbing information. Apparently there is a decent amount of research out there (from as far back as 2003) that discusses a problematic drug interaction between tamoxifen and many antidepressants (mostly the serotonin-reuptake inhibitors-SSRIs-but also bupropion and some of the trycyclic antidepressants.) Turns out that these antidepressants (and not a short list... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/19382/info-worth http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/18769/progress Sun, 06 Jan 2008 00:10:00 -0500 Jolene Boyd I am halfway through radiation treatments now...14 sessions to go. Six regular treatments and then 8 "boost" treatments focused just on the tumor area. The doc said my skin is holding up pretty well, despite the fact that I got a heat rash of sorts within the first 4 sessions. Doctor says it's "just inflamed hair follicles." I go through period when they itch like mad...just about makes me crazy! Then it subsides to a... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/18769/progress http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/18768/living Sun, 06 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500 Jolene Boyd Been a while since I posted anything...emotionally I was having a challenging time of it. In part, at least, because I am covering for an employee on maternity leave at work, I had to get ready for traveling and celebrations for the holidays, and I had to finish up a graduate course that I had fallen behind in because of all the appointments and such. In the midst of all of that, I made my decision not to have chemo. The truth of the matter, I... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/18768/living http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/16580/good-news-dx Sun, 18 Nov 2007 23:14:00 -0500 Jolene Boyd I got my results back this past week--got a score of 11 on the Oncotype DX test...well within the low risk category.  That means chemo has not been shown in research to provide significant benefit to hormonal therapy alone.  I had the option of participating in the TAILORx study, but decided I wanted to forego the chemo and once I decided that, I didn't want to give up the control of that choice. Of course, here I am 3 days... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/16580/good-news-dx http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/16174/low-dx-test Fri, 09 Nov 2007 17:02:00 -0500 Jolene Boyd Hi everyone,I wanted to ask about a test called the Oncotype DX. My oncologist (and several articles I have found and read) has said that research suggests that people with my specific type of tumor (smaller than 2 cm, ER+, HER2-, no lymph node involvement) who receive "low" scores on this test have not been shown to experience any added benefit from chemo in addition to hormone therapy. I find out my results this coming Tuesday and am... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/16174/low-dx-test http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/15605/test Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:56:00 -0400 Jolene Boyd I met with my oncologist last week for the first time (I like him very, very much!)  I went in expecting to leave with a treatment plan and schedule, fully expecting to be starting chemo within days, or weeks at most.  Instead, the oncologist talked to me about a test (Oncotype DX) that is being used in some cases for people with the specific type of cancer I have (Stage I/ER+/HER2-/no lymph node involvement).  In short, he said,... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/15605/test http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/15115/taxol Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:50:00 -0400 Jolene Boyd Hi, Just wanted to share some info my brother passed on to me.  I can't verify it's legitimacy (looks like it came through Yahoo News), but thought it was rather intriguing...interesting, at least.  As I told my brother, the research is probably too new to expect that it would be applied to my treatment, but I am going to at least see if my oncologist has heard of the research.  Here are the... http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/5421/15115/taxol