Best Of
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
We arrived home about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. Traffic was probably the worst I've ever experienced but we had no close "encounters" threatening death. A few miles short of the tunnel in Mobile, AL, traffic came to a standstill and we inched forward for about 30 minutes. There had been an accident. At another point in the journey, traffic stopped again. I forget where.
Our visit was pleasant. We are treated well by dh's nephew and wife. We have our own guest quarters, bedroom and bath. Their home is modern and new. You step from the open concept living area out onto the pool pavement. Their living room furniture is a large sectional facing the fireplace with a huge tv over the fireplace. DH and I find the sectional very uncomfortable seating. We're happy to get home to our Yours and Mine chairs. LOL.
The meal was delicious, catered by Whole Foods. Traditional dishes. Now on to Christmas. We stay at home and drive a short distance to my younger sister's house for a meal with a small gathering. Not everyone in her family will be present. When my mother died, our whole-family gatherings ceased, as expected. She was the reason everyone made the effort.
The weather in the Jacksonville area of Florida was cool for Thanksgiving but mainly sunny. No dipping in the pool or sitting in the hot tub. Here at home we may get some rain today and the cool temperatures will continue into next week.
Hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving holiday season in one way or another. Now on to the pre-Christmas season.
Welcome to any newcomers. I caught up on posts but didn't take notes.
Happy Sunday.
Re: So...whats for dinner?
Waking up in your own bed in your own house is priceless. No conversation required.
We arrived home yesterday about 3:30 pm. Traffic was so heavy that it came to a halt a couple of times on I-10. We were fortunate with the weather going and returning.
Dinner was the 2nd Costco eggplant casserole in the freezer. Also a romaine salad. We both thought the eggplant dish was better than the first time. It was convenient having it in the freezer. I'll probably buy a replacement box of two casseroles when I go to Costco.
Thanksgiving dinner was catered by Whole Foods and, once again, the sides were excellent. Herb stuffing/dressing, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cauliflower and broccoli cheesy casserole. I had a small piece of dark meat turkey but skipped over the baked ham. We could have used your 2nd oven, Eric. Two slow cookers warmed up the mashed potatoes and stuffing. Another Thanksgiving in the record book. Surviving turkeys can relax.
Re: Life does not end with a stage IV diagnosis (really!)
@xsuzx You have a lot of questions that need to be answered by an oncologist. I am not claustrophobic. However, I find PET scans to be shorter in duration than MRIs. And, they’re not nearly as noisy. You don’t need to have a headset on or anything like that. So, overall, I feel a PET scan is less irritating, if not less claustrophobic.
Regarding pain: be sure to let your doctors know that you are having pain and the level of severity. They should be able to prescribe something that will help. Once again, I am so sorry that you are going through this.
And regarding anxiety: I asked for a prescription for lorazepam. I do not take it during the day. I don’t like feeling out of it. However, I do take it once or twice a week an hour or two before I go to bed. It helps me sleep through the night, which is very important. Something to think about if you feel it is necessary.
Hugs, Pam 💗
Re: Life does not end with a stage IV diagnosis (really!)
@xsuzx. Sorry you are here. My cancer came back after 7.5 years. I am sure you are feeling overwhelmed right now. Getting through the initial testing is the worst. You will find people in any topic will help you out and answer questions. My mets were in the pleural of my lung. Google had me dead in 3-9 months. So don't believe everything you read. That was 3 years ago. There are so many new meds out.
Did you have a biopsy. Do you know what your estrogen and progesterone status are? Did the tell you if you are her2 +/- or low. If you know those create a signature. It will help people better answer your questions. Also, share the meds you are on in the signature.
Find the chats that best fit your cancer and meds. You will find new members and veterans to this awful disease. The beginning is hard. The side effects to meds can be challenging but there is a lot to be learned from the members here so just start asking questions.
Last there is a search bar to search topics on meds, types of cancers, locations, etc
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
The day flew by. I slept in later than normal - I was shortchanged the night before, 7+ vs 5. SO slept in way beyond me. I had laundry done, and the robot vacuumed everything except our bedroom, because he was still in it.
I took a gf crockpot back to her house; she’s still in Illinois. I had used it on Thanksgiving, put it in the dishwasher so it was nice and clean. It was taking up space on my counter. They’re big and bulky, so ours is stored in the garage.
We called Norton, computer security, to do a tune up on SO’s laptop. I still need to buy a SSD drive, before they can do my laptop. I was told by them my HDD is full. My computer skills are limited, so I may buy an external SSD and put all my photos on it - basically empty file storage on to it. Maybe a cyber Monday sale will help me out. I barely use it, but I do our taxes on it so by February I’ll want to use it. SO’s is running super fast now, he’s quite pleased. Total for calls, being transferred etc, was 55 minutes.
Tomorrow we’ll pack for PR. I’ve started a list, and will buy whatever we forget to take. I’m hoping it’s super relaxing. I looked up the Don Q rum tasting in old San Juan, and it’s closed. But we can take the ferry over to Barcardi, and enjoy the ride. I did see online Casa Barcardi now charges for the tours ($40), they’ve added a rum tastings ($80) and even a self pour to make your own bottle ($198) - all to increase their profits, which was inevitable.
Bloodwork results were in very early this morning. Everything is good. Cholesterol 184, but the PA notes say my LDL was high. This is my normal, a low hdl offsets my higher ldl; some ratio thing. She wants it retaken around 2/28, and include a urine. I laughed - test my A1c after Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years - that should be interesting. (wire my jaw shut lol)
That’s my story. High today was 79 but didn’t feel hot. There was a breeze, rolling clouds moving through. I sat for a bit reading in my driveway, letting the sun light up the page.
Hope you all have a good weekend.
cindyny
Re: Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Martyccrn - Glad you found us. "Age is just a number." It's my understanding that this group started mainly because we weren't raising children and were looking forward to or already retired. Anyway, we do chatter about a lot of things but will try to answer any questions you have on this journey. Fingers crossed that yours will be a false alarm. Waiting is one of the hardest times.
We had a nice Thanksgiving Day. I played golf in the morning and then we had dinner at a friend's home. We took a family corn casserole and pecan pie. Had leftovers last night. Beautiful weekend - morning lows in the early '50 and days in the '70's. I played golf again this morning. Ken just turned on the Northwestern/Illinois game and it reminded me why we suffer through the summers.
Low-keyed weekend for us. I've been researching Mom's family line but plan to switch to Dad's in 2026 so doing some last minute clean-up. Also looking for pictures to add to our StoryWorth account.
Hoping your football team wins. I've about given up on mine!
1946taco
Re: Faslodex Girls Thread
I get a generic brand called fuvesterant. I haven't heard that the brand name was being discontinued. The generic will continue. I am in the US.
Re: Faslodex Girls Thread
Fulvestrant shot yesterday. No reaction this month. No pain no adhesive reaction etc. Had to have been the result of the flu shot.
Re: My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
@eleanora - Thank you so very much. Seems like I've had a lot of problems with electrolyte imbalances and now a "possible" uti (test was negative, but I have some vague symptoms). No one has really been able to put their finger on this. I've been talking to my oncologist, been to the ER, been to urgent care, and also am working with my PCP, but no real definitive answers at this point. I'm seeing the oncologist again this coming Tuesday. Just lots of low energy, brain fog, aches and pains all over. Getting some of the electrolyte imbalances corrected seems to be helping some, but now I'm taking an antibiotic (macrobid/nitrofur….sp?) for a possible uti and that too seems to be making me feel a little bit better after a day or two, but it also seems to have mounting side effects that aren't pleasant. I don't know this particular antibiotic but seem to remember it being given to me many, many years ago, and I stopped taking it midway, due to side effects. We shall see. I didn't have a chance to discuss this with the PCP, as he just phoned it in to the pharmacy and I got a message later. Since I hadn't had it in so long, I decided to give it another run. Fingers crossed that this will do the job! I'm also getting a break now from the Zometa infusions, and I recently read that those can cause electrolyte imbalances and uti's as side effects, so gotta wonder … Hope things have been going reasonably well for everyone here and that this week-end is a pleasant respite for all. I miss my routine activity here.
Re: Life does not end with a stage IV diagnosis (really!)
@xsuzx So sorry you are on this journey, but as all of the others have said, this is a great place to gather information and friends. I was originally diagnosed 16 years ago with stage 1, no lymph node involvement. Last year I had pain in my upper sternum that turned out to be stage IV BC. I have now been on treatment for over a year. I, like you, was terrified at first. But, now, as you can see from my signature, I’ve been through quite a few things, and I am currently in remission.
Wishing you a smooth journey. Do let us know your specific diagnosis and keep us posted on how you are doing. We are all praying for you!
Hugs, Pam 💗