Hi PJ Hamel,
Reading your articles about breast cancer has been such an inspiration to me throughout my treatments this past year. Thank you. I am one Herceptin treatment away from completing all my treatments. I will check into what plans my Hospital has for Cancer Surviorship; I too am left with numerous physical challenges as a result of having Cancer. Thanks again and keep writing.....
Tamara Donnelly
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma 10/2006 HER2+
hi! i've read your response to my question and i blieve you're right coz i don't have the pain in my left breast now, maybe it was just because my period had just ended for some time when it occurred. and since it's not swollen or red either, i'm now quite assured that i don't have d cancer...i guess for now i don't need to see a doctor for that. i think i was just been too worried because my grandma had it before. again, thank you.=)
PJ
I want to thank you for your committment to this website and all of the women & men that you are helping by this site alone. That doesn't include all the other programs you have gotten together and are working on & I dare say you will continue to do so. I feel the same way about the long term effects of chemo & radiation & the aramosin I am taking. They all have side effects we will have to deal with the rest of our lives. I do feel there is very little information & or help out there for those of us left dealing with those continued health problems. I also feel that sometimes we as women are so busy taking care of everyone else & their needs that we don't take the time to stand up and speak out for ourselves either health wise with doctors or with family members who can't understand why you feel bad all these years after cancer & you are cancer free.
That is why this website is so important. While we are so busy trying to be brave we don't either want to or can't tell our loved ones the things we are going through.
Even if we did how could they understand? Thanks again PJ for this website. Vickie
Thanks, Vickie, for your wonderful support. I love contributing to this site, which SO many people make possible - all the women who post, who ask questions, who comment, and especially the wonderful folks at thcn.com, whose behind-the-scenes work is just never-ending, and invaluable.
I hope your hospital or cancer center has a survivorship clinic - if not, give them a nudge! I just called and made an appointment at ours. It's totally an idea whose time has come. Good luck with the Aromasin and all the side effects it carries with it - luckily, the chief of which is preventing cancer recurrence!
Good karmam Vickie- PJ
That centre is such a terrific idea! So many people need help in figuring out how to live long-term with a chronic illness, especially once you're in maintenance mode.
It's only recently that I realized it sometimes takes more guts to ask for help that to keep handling it on your own. And you certainly have had your share of crap. Glad you have a place to go now.
Lelen, thanks - you absolutely get it. "I'M FINE I'M FINE I'M FINE" (no i'm not no i'm not). It's like when you first have cancer and you don't want to burden your family by confessing to any distress or fear or anything - you want to spare them. Later you feel like you no longer have the right to any distress... you should be "over it by now" (Laura Zigman wrote a great post on this...) - Thanks, Lene-
I find myself so melancohly dealing with the post treatment health issues. Perhaps this becomes easier? The follow up doctors appointments, I'm having my first set of diagnostic mamograms next week and this was the first time I had follow up blood work, etc. It's been extremely trying for me. I try so hard to stay upbeat and positive and then I find myself still so exhausted (finished radiation on March 3 after 4 months of chemo).
The recent disclosure about Paul Newman having cancer sparks additional anxiety for me as well. Do any of you do that?
I thank you for your help PJ. I thank you for your involvement and dedication to this website and to all of us. These CARE centers sound perfert and I know that I would take advantage of one in Chicago. Something I need to check into.
Kaye, trust me - it gets easier as time passes. You are RIGHT at the end of some very trying months... it's understandable you'd be emotional, down in the dumps, and not feeling yourself. Feel the emotions - realize they'll gradually pass and fade - and don't get down on yourself! Just think - from now on, things will get better. Best of luck to you, Kaye - you can do it, I know you can! PJ
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I've never known which doctor to see for my health issues. The oncologists I've known are right on top of any symptoms that might be a recurrence, but seem less interested in dealing with long-term cancer side effects like lymphedema and neuropathy. My family practice doctors haven't always had the knowledge for the cancer aspects of my health. So often I'm the one interpreting the judgment of one doctor to another and hoping that I'm translating correctly! This clinic sounds like a great idea.
Exactly, Phyllis. We never know quite who to go to with our ongoing issues. I'm planning on accessing our new survivorship clinic soon. Thanks for chiming in. - PJ