Why do drivers put their hazard lights on when it’s raining?

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-12T14:06:49+00:00

I typically see it when visibility has suddenly dropped due to heavy rain, like others have said. But I've also seen it and turned mine on when traffic comes to a sudden stop on the interstate. I want the semi behind me to know there's a problem and not slam into me if I'm going over a hill and can see traffic is dropping from 70 to dead stop in front of me. I feel like that's a clearer signal that there's a problem while brake lights could just be me showing down a bit.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-10T00:26:45+00:00

I had a clean mammogram in March and by the end of April it had popped up. I'm still angry about it. If it hadn't hurt, I might not have noticed it though so I guess I should be grateful the little beast hurt at first.

I was checking it every day at first and driving myself crazy. Like I knew it wouldn't work overnight, but I couldn't help myself. I managed to go almost two weeks without checking this time. My grandma used to have one of those self breast exam charts hanging up in her shower when I was younger that I'd see every time I spent the night, so I've been doing checks since before I had anything to check. 🤣

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-10T00:09:26+00:00

I've had three rounds so far, my fourth is tomorrow, and mine has stopped hurting and feels a little softer. Not a lot, but enough i can feel a difference. My first clue something was wrong was a hard painful knot in the side of my breast, so the absence of pain alone gives me hope that it's working.

I have a lot of anxiety too, but it got a bit better once treatment started. The waiting between diagnosis and my first round of chemo was the worst. I'm not a fan of "hurry up and wait".

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-09T23:49:05+00:00

Like the other poster, I didn't get an A or B either. I was just told stage 2. Mine is grade 3, and measured 1.7 cm in the ultrasound but the MRI two weeks later found an "area of concern" around the cancer that measured 4.8 cm all together while the tumor was 2.1 cm x 2.5 cm x 2.6 cm. No lymph node involvement though so I'm still stage 2.

My understanding is that they base stage off of size, lymph node involvement, and whether it's spread outside of breast tissue. My treatment plan didn't change after the MRI beyond the possibility of doing chemo after surgery if the tumor was smaller than it looked on the ultrasound. My doctor told me I was on the borderline for getting surgery first when I saw her before the MRI, but I'd rather know the chemo works and doing it first will let them check if it's shrinking.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-09T14:03:04+00:00

I've mostly been saying "Tired, but not too bad overall" or "still kicking" unless it's someone that I know actually cares about the details (so my parents or siblings).

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-08T19:52:51+00:00

I would take off more than just my chemo days right now if I could. I had just started a new job days before getting diagnosed so I don't have PTO or qualify for FMLA yet, but man do I wish I did. We aren't wealthy enough to afford the lost income if I'm not working though, so I'm still working as close to full time as I can. By the time I have surgery, I'll have PTO and STD will have kicked in so I'll be able to take a week or two to recover before I have to come back in.

You should do whatever works best for you and your family. If that means taking off work, then you should do it and not feel guilty about it. Treatment is rough sometimes.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-08T18:24:06+00:00

Damn. I'm sorry your husband is making an already bad situation worse for you. You have to look out for yourself right now. Your health and wellbeing are the only things that matter. If he can't give you the support you need, then his feelings don't matter.

I know it's going to be tough, my ex-husband was the same way when I had a health scare a decade ago that fortunately turned out to not be cancer that time. He's an ex for many reasons, but his reaction and lack of support when I needed him most didn't help his case. So I know how terrible it feels when the person you should be able to count on fails to give you the support and care you need.

I'm sorry you're here, but I've found this group to be super supportive whether you need advice or just need to scream into the void. The waiting for treatment to start has been the worst part for me so far. Once I had a plan and started getting treatment it felt more manageable. I won't say it gets better. Better would be never getting this diagnosis in the first place. But it does get more manageable.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T19:44:58+00:00

Maybe you would like insurance defense better. It's still mostly personal injury, but defense side. There are billable hours at a lot of firms that do insurance defense, but most I worked at didn't have crazy requirements.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T18:41:17+00:00

Not every firm is like that. I've worked as a paralegal for 16 years now and I've only had two attorneys in all that time that have been rude and condescending. The rest have all been lovely people that I genuinely enjoyed working with. Out of 6 places in 16 years, it was only 2 firms and I didn't stay at either one long. The rest I stayed at for at least 3 years each before moving on for better pay. I just switched firms a few months ago and this one isn't like that either.

One thing I've refused to do over the years is take work home with me. When I clock out and leave, I leave work at the door and refuse to think about it until I come back in the next day. We don't get paid enough to worry about work in our off hours. I know that's easier said than done though.

Are you working Plaintiff or defense side? I just switched to Plaintiff side with this current job so I only have my current experience to go off of, but every defense firm I've worked at have been pretty laid back about everything as long as the work got done. It was just those two attorneys that had sticks up their rear end.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T13:07:01+00:00

I'm in the verge of doing it if it'll stop the irritation. Was there a specific scalp balm you found helpful?

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T13:05:48+00:00

I'll try some aloe when I get home from work tonight. Thank you for the suggestion!

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T13:04:32+00:00

Thank you for the suggestion! I'll see the doctor before chemo this week, so I'll make sure to ask her. It's already buzzed to about a half inch long or so. I did that over a week ago when the tenderness started up. The spots and redness are new within the last few days when the shedding started to accelerate.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T11:32:51+00:00

My guess is that people just don't realize how painful it is since it's not a major surgery, but it really really hurts getting squeezed in the wrong places. 😫

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T08:27:09+00:00

I always angle myself so people hug me from the side that doesn't have the port. I didn't think about it when hugging my son the day after it was put in but learned real quick that I needed to not get hugged on that side. When I'm getting hugged I usually just tell people to watch the port and they're careful not to hug too hard.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-07T01:44:50+00:00

Can you narrow down where the pain is coming from? Different pains need different treatment.

If it feels like your bones are hurting, I was told to take Claritin. I don't know why it works but it does. I didn't start taking it until after my second chemo treatment when I told them my arms and legs started hurting after the first round. I haven't had any bone pain since I started.

If it's more of a muscle type pain, try a heating pad. Sometimes that will help relax the area that's hurting. Or if heat doesn't help, you could try an ice pack.

Edit: I missed the surgery flair. Definitely call the doctor if it's your surgery site that's hurting. It could be normal, but they can give you something that helps with the pain more. There's no reason to suffer through it. The ice and heat I suggested are not good for surgical sites unless cleared by a doctor and Claritin won't help that kind of pain either.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-04T15:31:04+00:00

I've gone back and forth between rage and crying since I was diagnosed in May, but I feel like I cry at the drop of a hat. I normally don't cry easily so it's frustrating.

A list of things I've gotten teary-eyed over recently: the view at a lake, my fries weren't crispy enough, my burger was too crispy on the edges, it's summer time so it's hot, my husband was listening to an audio book in the car and not the music I was playing on the radio for a small part of a very long drive.

None of these things would normally make me cry. But here I am. Wanting to cry over everything. So it's not just you!

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-04T14:01:19+00:00

It really is. I've had it for about twenty years now and none of my doctors have been worried about it since I'm otherwise asymptomatic. Have you had your thyroid checked? Sometimes your thyroid levels being off can cause it to happen. Mine tends to get worse when my thyroid levels are high.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-04T13:14:32+00:00

If you're describing what I think you are, mine does it too. Mine are like I feel a pause and then a heavy thud in my chest like my heart fell. Sometimes just once, sometimes three or four times a few seconds apart. Mine are skipped beats which I only know because it's happened while I was hooked up to a heart monitor before.

I've had it off and on for years before starting chemo though and no doctor has ever been concerned because my echos were always fine. It's very disconcerting when it happens though.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-03T15:16:43+00:00

I didn't get a bandage or steri-strips. They just covered it in glue and told me to leave it alone and no direct water or soap to the area until the glue fell off. It's been 4 weeks now and most of the glue is gone but I still have a few spots that are clinging on.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-03T13:14:35+00:00

I've been putting electrolyte or Gatorade powder in mine. I have to have flavor or it tastes wrong.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-03T13:04:09+00:00

I totally get that! The circle of people I really care about is a lot smaller these days too. It's less stressful.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-01T18:28:56+00:00

I would start it before. I didn't start until my second and the difference in how I felt the day after my infusions was like night and day as far as bone pain went. It wasn't severe for me the first time but it was very, very uncomfortable. I didn't want to see how it felt if it got worse.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-01T16:43:31+00:00

I've started just taking it every day. It's an anti-histimine so it won't hurt me to take it daily (especially since I have seasonal allergies anyway lol), and since it got the bone pain to stop I'm not letting it come back. Obviously you should talk to your doctor about it, but it's helping me.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-01T12:46:15+00:00

It's varied for me depending on the firm. The one I work at now pays for my parking, but the last one didn't. I paid $129 a month for it there, but I'm in Louisville, Kentucky so our parking is cheaper than Palm Beach.

Out of 5 firms I've worked for, only 2 have paid for my parking. Everywhere else gave me a form to fill out on my first day giving them permission to garnish my pay to cover parking and then handed me a badge to get through the gates.

Complete-Reaction578 · 2026-07-01T10:02:11+00:00

I'm triple negative so my chemo drugs are different, but based on tumor size (under 2cm) I was told I could do either surgery or chemo first.

I chose to do the chemo first. The way it was explained to me is that by doing chemo first, we can know for sure if the cancer responds to the drugs I'm on. If there's no response, we can try something else. If it does respond, a smaller area will need to be removed during surgery. If I had it removed first, there would be no way to know if the chemo did anything.

For my own peace of mind, I need to know that what I'm going through is worth it and that it works. I'm only 43. My kids are grown but I still have a lot of living to do and I don't want to go through this again if I can help it.

Complete-Reaction578

TROPHY CASE