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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Breast Cancer / November 2006reconstruction date
Hi all, sorry about delay in replying . I now have a date for surgery...28th Nov.........yes Pami.....we go under together !good luck my dear, won't be thinking about you , as i'll be too worried about myself !! ha ha . Moz, haven't you been brave !! you must e-mail me and tell me all the biz !! Tamara, are you hoping to have similar work done, do tell us ! Alex,don't put me on the spot to explain free tram, I believe its when they take a little muscle with the vein as opposed to carefully removing the vein from the muscle....therefore no muscle is transfered. The op is a long one, as Moz has said, not a pleasing thought. I am doing all I can this last month to be as fit and healthy as poss . Lets all keep in touch ! Kathleen > Hi all, > sorry about delay in replying . > I now have a date for surgery...28th Nov.........yes Pami.....we go under > together !good luck my dear, won't be thinking about you , as i'll be too > worried about myself !! ha ha . Nothing to worry about! It's just a job, you're getting what you want! > Moz, haven't you been brave !! you must e-mail me and tell me all the biz > !! > Tamara, are you hoping to have similar work done, do tell us ! > Alex,don't put me on the spot to explain free tram, I believe its when > they take a little muscle with the vein as opposed to carefully removing > the vein from the muscle....therefore no muscle is transfered. I feel sick ... :-) > The op is a long one, as Moz has said, not a pleasing thought. I am doing > all I can this last month to be as fit and healthy as poss . Good for you! That's important for your attitude as well as your bodily health. You'll be fine. > Lets all keep in touch ! Don't leave those who aren't having surgery out! We all count :-) I'll be thinking of you and Pami, let us know a.s.a.p. how it was. Mary Hi Kathleen, Hoping that all goes well for you and you are quick to heal and happy with your result. Best wishes! Barb I'm also having it done on the same day ... Pami Thankyou Mary and Barb for your good wishes ! kathleen > Hi all, > sorry about delay in replying . [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > Lets all keep in touch ! > Kathleen > Hi all, > sorry about delay in replying . [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > >Hi Kathy, Wow - just a week away! I'm really happy for you and I hope all goes well. I'm hoping on a free tram as well but I've lost some weight since I was seen by plastics and hopefully the belly is enough! I won't go for another visit until the spring since I had radiation but I will keep everyone in the loop. Best of luck with the surgery. Tamara Thankyou Tamara, don't leave it too long though, where abouts are you in the world ? I initially met my PS in May, then had numerous meetings until now, my final date. I had all the usual tests yesterday, blood ,heart and photos done.I even requested a set of pictures for myself ! Also spoke to a women patient in the hospital who was 4 days out of surgery.....reality struck home !! Will post again when its all over and I am back home. Keep yourself well Tamara ! Kathleen >> Hi all, >> sorry about delay in replying . [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > > Tamara Good going!! I'm not nervous yet...I just want it all done and over with. I am staying overnight.... Pami Best of luck Pami, it will be over, dusted and sorted before we know it ! Kathleen > Good going!! I'm not nervous yet...I just want it all done and over with. > I am staying overnight.... > Pami Thank you Kathy and good luck to you...I hear we will feel pressure more than pain...time will tell...hehehe. I had my CA level test...and I was a 31 so I am now listed as no evidence of disease...I went out to dinner on that!! Pami > Thank you Kathy and good luck to you...I hear we will feel pressure more > than pain...time will tell...hehehe. I had my CA level test...and I was a > 31 so I am now listed as no evidence of disease...I went out to dinner on > that!! > Pami What's a CA level? Mary >What's a CA level? I'm guessing it's either CA 15-3 or CA 27.29 - the two blood tests for breast cancer antigens. Some cancers oversecrete proteins that can be picked up in a blood test - not a good way to diagnose breast cancer but the numbers can be useful in determining whether treatment is effective in a metastatic setting. Both antigens are produced by healthy breast tissue but can be overexpressed if breast cancer's present. Only about 75% of folks with breast cancer have elevated tumor markers and each disease is different. The numbers vary a little from lab to lab but a reference range for someone who's never had breast cancer is 0-38 for CA 27.29 and 0-31 for CA 15.3 Hope this helps ;-)  Signatureallan we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are. -- Anais Nin >>What's a CA level? > > I'm guessing it's either CA 15-3 or CA 27.29 - the two blood tests for > breast cancer antigens. So CA is breast cancer? Spouse recently had surgery for prostate cancer and he's been tested for PSA - Prostate Specific Antigen. Is CA the same kind of thing? > The numbers vary a little from lab to lab but a reference range for > someone who's never had breast cancer is 0-38 for CA 27.29 and 0-31 > for CA 15.3 I don't understand that ... :-( Spouse's pre surgery PSA was 17, now it's 0.05 ug/L (= undetectable). I'm assuming that what's referred to a CA n is something similar ... > Hope this helps ;-) Doesn't really matter, it's always a pleasure to be answered by you :-) Mary >>> What's a CA level? >> I'm guessing it's either CA 15-3 or CA 27.29 - the two blood tests for >> breast cancer antigens. > > So CA is breast cancer? I believe the CA stands for Cancer Antigen, but yes it is specific for breast cancer. > Spouse recently had surgery for prostate cancer and he's been tested for > PSA - Prostate Specific Antigen. Is CA the same kind of thing? Very much the same idea, except that small prostate cancers are difficult to detect by any other means, so there is more interest in PSA as a diagnostic tool, although this use is controversial. The CA's aren't really suitable for that, the levels are generally only significant when the cancer has spread extensively. They are fairly good as a measure of the volume of cancer present, and so are mostly used to judge the response to stage IV therapies. >> The numbers vary a little from lab to lab but a reference range for >> someone who's never had breast cancer is 0-38 for CA 27.29 and 0-31 [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > I'm assuming that what's referred to a CA n is something similar ... Yes, they are all measures of concentration of the antibody being detected. The CA27.29 and CA15.3 tests latch on to different protein sequences and have different hit-rates. The units of measurement are a bit arbitrary, but basically a reading of say 10 is good and a reading of say 1000 is bad, the dividing line being considered to be in the 30's. For PSA that line is somewhere around 10. The problem with all these tests is that some quantity of proteins containing the target sequence is always present, perhaps they occur in some other normal body chemistry at a low level, and the background level varies very much from person to person even in absence of cancer. Consequently cancer is only detected when it is producing much more than typical background levels, and this generally means the cancer is rather larger than we would like for the purposes of detection. Tim When I see CA Level , I think of Calcium level. Hypercalcaemia is common in advance breast cancer especially with mets. >>>> What's a CA level? >>> I'm guessing it's either CA 15-3 or CA 27.29 - the two blood tests for [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > > Tim >>>> What's a CA level? >>> I'm guessing it's either CA 15-3 or CA 27.29 - the two blood tests for [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > I believe the CA stands for Cancer Antigen, but yes it is specific for > breast cancer. Right, thanks. >> Spouse recently had surgery for prostate cancer and he's been tested for >> PSA - Prostate Specific Antigen. Is CA the same kind of thing? >> > Very much the same idea, except that small prostate cancers are difficult > to detect by any other means, so there is more interest in PSA as a > diagnostic tool, although this use is controversial. His wasn't small but we know about the problem with PSA levels. > The CA's aren't really suitable for that, the levels are generally only > significant when the cancer has spread extensively. They are fairly good > as a measure of the volume of cancer present, and so are mostly used to > judge the response to stage IV therapies. Ah, I see. >>> The numbers vary a little from lab to lab but a reference range for >>> someone who's never had breast cancer is 0-38 for CA 27.29 and 0-31 [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > say 1000 is bad, the dividing line being considered to be in the 30's. > For PSA that line is somewhere around 10. But some men with no prostate cancer have been known to have PSAs of 200 or more. Exceptions prove rules - sometimes. > The problem with all these tests is that some quantity of proteins > containing the target sequence is always present, perhaps they occur in > some other normal body chemistry at a low level, and the background level > varies very much from person to person even in absence of cancer. Exactly, see above :-) > Consequently cancer is only detected when it is producing much more > than typical background levels, and this generally means the cancer is > rather larger than we would like for the purposes of detection. Prostate cancer, its types, diagnoses and treatments are even more variable than breast cancers, we've learned. And as fascinating! Mary > Tim Hi Kathy, Well, I would love to have it done as soon as possible but the soonest is 6 months after radiation and today is one month post rads for me. I'm in Pittsburgh. The hospital here does the surgery but I'm considering going elsewhere. There is a center called the Center for Microsurgical Breast Reconstruction in Louisiana where I understand the procedure was created. If anyone has stories - good or bad about the center or dr's there, please let me know. The reason I'm thinking of there is that they do about 300-400 per year there vs. the 100 that the plastic dr' at the hospital here does. Also, here you have a mandatory 1 week ICU stay and according to their website, some patients have been discharged by then. I plan to check into them more after the first of the year when I can then plan a trip down. Have a great Thanksgiving! Tamara > Thankyou Tamara, > don't leave it too long though, where abouts are you in the world ? [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] >> >> Tamara I am only staying one night. Pami Good luck to both of you........hope you have great results. Alex |
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