had wls, recently diagnosis with breast cancer

Hi, I have not been on this board yet but looking for some advice from someone who has gone though this, I had my wls in feb 2010 and then in april I found out I had breast cancer, I have had the masectomy in may and know I m heading into chemo.... and it scares me to death... with all the side effects and no way to to know what is going to happen as each person *****cieves chemo is different.  also concerned about add weight loss be cause of the chemo.  any words of help greatly appreciated

kathy

as one survivor to another I will tell you that eat as healthy as you can and get plenty of rest.
I went through chemo first then rads and then mast. I have not had the surgery, as I was getting my paperwork ready and I was diagnosed and had to stop.

KATHY,
How are you feeling? Do you have rides to treatment>?  I use to work for a major health org... "ACS" I guess I can write that... there are a lot of programs and services that are free. I do not want to push.. but I still can acess a lot or resources for you if you need. Let me know.

I am a survivor just not of breast cancer...

Kathy

I can answer any and all of your questions, I have been through it all. I went through chemo, radiation, mastectomy and recon. I will not sugar coat it, chemo is not easy. I did not get sick just very tired. I worked through the 7 months that I did it, and it was tough at times. What drugs are they going to give you? That alone makes a big difference. I hate to tell you I gained weight during chemo, but I was also diagnosed with an auto immune disease at the same time. I was on steroids for a long time, and with those you gain weight.
Please send me a PM with all of your questions and I will be happy to answer them.

Hugs to you!!

I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer as well only mine occurred backwards somewhat. I had the mammogram, ultrasound, MRI and biopsies...no cancer. Had the bi-lateral mastectomy as a preventative measure due to strong family history. The pathology report showed cancer was, indeed, in one of the tumors. Went back in and had 8 lymph nodes taken out and they are negative. I see the Oncologist in the morning. The General Surgeon feels sure there will be some chemo but probably no radiation. I too am terrified of the cancer treatments which is why I elected to have the mastectomy to begin with! I am already below goal and trying to quick losing. Unfortunately, the worry has me sick at my stomach most of the time. Maybe it will be better after tomorrow as I will know and won't be speculating. I have to work through the treaments as I was off work for 4 months due to complications from the VSG (don't freak out if you haven't had the surgery as I was an exception not a rule!). My boss is a great guy but he needs me here or he will have to replace me. He wouldn't fire me but would have to put me in a lower paying position. I didn't work my but off to get to where I am to go back down.

Please let's keep in touch. Maybe one of us will stumble onto a secret that will keep our heads above water :O)

I, too am a breast cancer survivor. I will tell you, that if your Chemo. treatments cause nausea, you need to have a good meal before the treatment to give you the nutrition you need (in case you don't feel like eating afterwards). I found that cold, FLAT (shake up to remove the bubbles) lemon-lime soda got me through it.
 Do you have a "Chemo. Bag"? If your treatment takes long (mine was about 3 hours each), you may like the comfort of having a bag to help wile away the time. Here are some suggestions for what to take, if you want to:
Chemo Bag:
book, magazines, water (need to stay hydrated), dry cereal or crackers as snack, radio or game to play (in case you don't feel like reading), sleep mask (many people sometime sleep during treatment), knitting or other such hobby, paper and pen to write information that Dr. or staff tells you.

You will be amazed at how fast you will settle into the treatment routine. Best wishes. You are NOT alone!

Everyone here has given you good advice....but I'll add a couple of things:

Chemotherapy drugs may cause constipation, so be proactive...  I usually started taking stool softeners the day before treatment....

Chemotherapy drugs may cause depression, don't be afraid to talk about it....and it's very OK to have tears for what seems like no reason...

Best of everything for your treatment!!!

Hi, I am new here to the OH, but I have been through the WLS, (DS) and am a breast cancer survivor, I was diagnosed March of last year.

I opted for a lumpectomy and sentinal limphnode biopsy.  I had chemo and radiation. I found that nausea was a problem so like others have said be preventative! I was very cold and brought a couple of sweaters with me when I went for treatment.

Packing a bag to take is a wonderful idea! I always made sure I had hard candy to suck on as the treatment made my mouth taste very metalic. For me the worst part was the fatigue!

Does your city have any cancer programs? I'm in Canada and my city has lots of support programs. They served me well. One even helped me get a couple of wigs for free! (I now keep my hair {which came back in curly} short so I can still wear them!

I had an issue with vomitting the first couple of times so they changed my pre-treatment meds  They addressed my WLS by having the dietition help me with extra ways to add protien to my diet.  I found that I was not hungry and went back to my protien drinks but doubled up on the amount of powder per drink. This helped alot,

They will monitor you closely so if you loose to much they will help you out. I dropped 13 lbs the first week! The changes the dietition suggested slowed my weightloss back to normal. as I was still in the loosing part of my journey,

Remember to ask lots of questions if you don't understand anything  at all Just take the  time to listen to your body and you can't go wrong.

 Hang in there!  Sending good thoughts your way!

Susan