Best Of
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
I don't get here everyday but two earlier posts caught my eye -
Jackie, remember to keep hydrated with the heat. A lot of medicines that we older folks take can also lead to dehydration so when the temperatures go up, it adds to the risk. You certainly don't want to fall. I also carry ice water in my car, even if I'm not going far.
Betrayal - I'm laughing at your "disappearing husbands" as I have one too. I have a marriage certificate that says my gg grandmother married a second time after her first spouse died. However, in 1900, she lists herself as a widow and he is back in New Hampshire (where she originally came from too) with another wife. I've never found a divorce certificate and am still looking for more proof that there was a divorce or that he really was a bigamist. You're right! We lost a lot when we lost the 1890 census.
Sounds like a lot of hugs are needed. Holding you all tight. I had a bad winter but am feeling both physically and mentally stronger now and I hope that all of you who are troubled right now will feel the same way soon.
1946taco
Re: how about drinking?
Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday! Yesterday's tour didn't go so well. The building is very large, with lots of walking between the apartments and the common areas. I was really surprised that the independent living dining room had assigned seating. I was even more surprised to see a full sized tub/shower instead of a walk in shower in the one apartment we looked at. I was not surprised to hear that they do NOT have open apartments like we've been told. Unless the openings are in assisted living, and at $300 a day, that is totally out of reach. I'm going to put Mom on the waiting list, but I doubt anything will open up there any quicker than at the place she wants to go to. I'm going to work on getting her signed up for any more places that I can find, too, and hope something opens up soon, as Mom wants to get out of the current apartment and way from the landlord, who has been avoiding both of us for the last couple of weeks. Then we went out to lunch and then Mom got her hair cut, and on the way home we ran across a Farmer's Market. We picked up some really yummy and BIG cinnamon rolls, Mom got some apple butter and rhubarb, I got some peach jelly. Got to chat with some really nice people, too.
Had the first thunderstorm of the season this ayem, if you can call one roll of thunder a storm! Got some pretty good rain, too. Temps back in the 50s this ayem. Gotta love the weather rollercoaster ride!
Illi--WOW, what a nice snack and great view! The peach wine sounds really nice, too! Thanks for sharing.
Maggie--I agree!
Miriandra--I like an occasional Dark and Stormy, too. I don't think I've tried an Old Fashioned, yet. Need to do that someday soon.
Illi--I can see where a few rules would be worth the view in your situation. It must be something to see. Do you ever see the Northern Lights at the cabin or are you too far south?
Miriandra--beautiful blossoms, especially the snapdragon!
Cactus Flower
Ingredients
• Tequila: 2 oz(60ml)
• Pineapple juice: 2 oz(60ml)
• Lime juice: 1 oz(30ml)
• Agave nectar: 1 oz(30ml)
RecipeFill a shaker with ice.
- Add the tequila, pineapple juice, lime juice, and agave nectar.
- Shake well until the outside of the shaker becomes frosty.
- Strain into a highball glass filled with ice.
- Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry.
From
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Happy birthday, Cindy!
Taco & Cowgirl, glad things are beginning to to look up. Carole, I remember grousing at the end of May about not yet being able to put my puffer jacket away. Be careful what you wish for: until today the heat index was over 100, and will be again on Sunday (severe storms, too). Canarycat, we're glad to see Toews rejoining the NHL (after 2 years recovering from CFS) but crushed that he's spurning the Blackhawks for his hometown Winnipeg Jets. When he lived in Lincoln Park he was the neighbor of my late friend Maryjane—and was so helpful to her after her mobility began to take a nosedive. The Blackhawks tonight drafted a mountain of a guy from Sweden, said to have the best shot in this year's draft class.
Betrayal, I don't know how you do it—with limited ROM in your knee, gardening so amazingly!
Today was our 54th anniversary. Went to Morton's up in Northbrook, and despite being very careful not to over-order we still hauled home leftovers. I'm eating a bit less these days (not just because of Zepbound) because I'm on Keflex, which gives me a hair-trigger gastro-colic reflex. I'm supposed to hydrate more than normal, but evey sip of anything sends me dashing to the loo. This is all because an epidermoid cyst I've had on my upper back for over a year—and was asymptomatic as recently as 6/6 so my derm said "if it doesn't bother you we wont bother it"—suddenly enlarged, got itchy and reddened over the past few days. Urgent Care put me on Keflex (and has me doing heat 20 min. on, 4x/day) but warned me that sooner or later I'll have to return to the derm to have it (ugh) incised & drained. Just what I need now, what with beginning to ferry stuff from here in Lincolnwood back to our house and sparring with contractors & subs. Last thing I need is having to worry about dressing changes (in an inaccessible place), popping sutures, and further infection. Hoping to hold out till we're finally settled back in. "Deja vu all over again" (a Berra-ism): last year at this time I had a biopsy on my upper arm that turned out to be squamous cell—but had to wait to have it excised till we'd fully moved from our hotel to here. (And that move was just a few suitcases, boxes, and the kitties).
Yesterday we went up to Abt to try out beds—I insisted Bob lie down on them. He hates the mattress in this house because it's so firm. We ended up buying an open-box Beautyrest split-king medium-firm with adjustable base. (The whole shebang, including protector, cost less than a new mattress right out of the box). The other three mattresses—second BR (used to be Gordy's room), daybed in front room, attic guest room—are twins; only the one in the second BR needs to be high-quality plush-top. That one we'll probably buy from Hassle-Less; the other two from Macy's or Bob's Discount (or even Ikea).
Tomorrow at noon I have a guitar gathering up in Algonquin—friends from the Acoustic Guitar Forum. I'm usually the one pressed into service doing vocals.
chisandy
Re: How long have you been Stage IV?
Ive been metastatic for 13 years and was de novo. I was 56 years old. Im still going strong with my kids, grandkids, DH, travel and friends and family. It’s been a good life and I look forward to many years ahead, thanks to Herceptin, which I’ve been on the whole time.
lynn1234
Re: I say YES. YOU say NO....Numero Tre! Enjoy!
Something does not become a fact just because you yell loud enough. We are being run by evil clowns. I just called my Congressional delegation for the third time this week. I, for sure, be going to the gulag when the takeover is complete…..
ruthbru
Re: I am not grateful to my oncologist and care team
Thank you so much for all your comments. All of them are helpful. Writing that post was cathartic for me (it just came out of me, and I am not a writer) and I feel much better today. I am not in pain, though I know the pain will return. What I forgot to say was that I have an excellent care coordinator through my employer who has already made some of those suggestions and is available to help me find the resources I need. I have a great therapist. Unfortunately, my primary care clinician, a wonderful nurse practitioner, is retiring. So, I will need to do a search for another, a scarce resource. I think my major struggle form here on will be to let go of the idea that I will completely heal. The ability to heal seems to be tied into my identity in a surprising way. Recognizing that is the first step to acceptance, and perhaps a new definition of healed.
mgradie
Capecitabine - Side Effects
I went threw 6 rounds of chemotherapy and 2 rounds of Keytruda. The Keytruda was damaging my lungs so I was not allowed to take it anymore. After having several rounds of the same chemo I developed a allergy to it which caused me to end up in the hospital. I will be finishing radiation on July 3rd and starting Capecitabine on the 14th. What side effects are people having and what should I be prepared for?
I am not grateful to my oncologist and care team
I am facing my last treatment for triple positive breast cancer next Thursday. I had heard that ending treatment can be difficult and I have been trying to prepare myself by building other support outside my care team. However, I find that the biggest problem is the reckoning with what has happened to me. There have been 5 components of treatment: lumpectomy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, and an aromatase inhibitor. Each of them has taken a piece out of me, and I find myself incredibly diminished. I have neuropathy - my ears ring, my lips and tongue tingle, the palms of my hands and bottom of my feet are numb and sensitive and my right leg hurts. I had an outside consultation last week, and that oncologist told me the sensation would not be coming back and all I could do is manage the pain. My oncologist keeps telling me to wait and see. I have pain in my breast that is unpredictable. It comes and goes and sometimes I have sharp pains. My nipple is very sensitive. It is so distressing that I have mentioned to my nurse that I would consider having the breast removed. No response or help, which I interpret as there is nothing they can do. I have lymphedema, not too bad, but it contributes to the breast pain and requires daily self-care. I have joint pain from the letrozole. It is manageable, if that was the only thing, but it is one more thing added to everything else. My hair is the least of my worries, but it grew back gray after the chemo and my hairdresser (and the outside oncologist) told me that the color won't come back. My care team kept telling me it would revert to my previous color. I lost my best friend of almost 40 years who I discovered is constitutionally incapable of providing comfort and reassurance and took offence when I asked her to stop mocking my fears. To be honest, I had known there were some problems there for a while. Still, it has been distressing, and it's a loss. All of this contributes to a sense that I don't know this person I have become, and what I do know of her, I don't much like. But the worst is that I cannot maintain my home (I live alone) and I am struggling at work. Between the ear ringing and the breast pain I cannot concentrate on work. When I started treatment, I told my team that my goal was to be able to continue to live independently, but now that is at risk. I don't have the financial resources to have someone do the things around the house I can no longer do, like yardwork. I don't want to see my care team next week. Physically I look good. My labs look good. The oncologist and nurses all tell me I am doing well. None of my deficits are visible. But they are painful and debilitating. I am angry that this has happened to me, and although I am aware that they didn't "do this to me," I can't pretend that I am OK with my outcome. Are my care team expecting me to be happy that my treatments are over? I think other people are expecting some sort of joy from me, but there is none. I'm devastated.
mgradie
Re: Tiffany`s Twenty Terrific Tips for TC
tshire, I remember when you were just starting treatment. Here you are on the other side of chemotherapy giving back to others. Bless you.
MsP