Illinois ladies facing bc
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Hi Mama Jama: I too hope someone will come on here to help with your question. This is a relatively quiet thread, and I think more are inclined to come earlier in the morning hours although I am guessing on that. I am usually the lone poster on here but Sandy sometimes checks in here and she is a fount of information so I hope you are patient. Sandy ( as are so many of the posters at one time here ) is from the Chicago area. I am 4 hours away to the South.
I stated posting on the thread in 2007 so it has been here a long time. I'm wishing you well and hoping you get answers that will go far in helping you with this important decision.
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I would suggest the oncoplastic surgeons in the NorthShore system, particularly David Winchester, Katharine Yao and Kate Kopkash of Evanston Hospital.
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The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things in life like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people in life recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation. For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday,and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you. -Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Hi All,
I read often but do not post much. I feel al the concern, support, info from the posts. Close each time I am on here hoping this disease
can one day have an end and at least for now everyone can have good positive results!
I am looking for a new oncologist in Will or Cook County. I would be so grateful for any suggestions both Oncology and Integrative Oncology.
Thank you,
Bootsie7
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We are in need of you again Sandy. Of course, any of the ladies who once posted regularly here could offer advice/suggestions all well.
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Bootsie, the only onc I know near Will County is surgical oncologist Barbara Krueger at Advocate Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn (my friend in Minooka had DCIS and a bilateral mastectomy--but no need for a medical onc as surgery, done by Dr. Krueger, was her only treatment). My med-onc, Teresa Law, is up at NorthShore Evanston Hospital, as is her colleague Douglas Merkel (who sees several BCO sisters). If you can go to the west suburbs (Maywood), Kathy Albain--who helped pioneer the use of OncotypeDX, and was a resident at UIC along with my husband Bob--is at Loyola; she is consistently listed among Chicago Magazine's "Top Doctors." At Rush, so is Melody Cobleigh.
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Bootsie, I second all Sandy’s recommendations.I’m one of Douglas Merkel’s BCO sisters- didn’t know there were others here. And there is the wonderfully skilled empathic Kevin Bethke at Northwestern.
On another note, on another forum, Sandy, about USPS, almost none of our mail is reaching us from Evanston to Glencoe. Very little that is forwarded gets to us. And my Eagle Pharmacy shipment of Arimidex from Florida, sent USPS July 13 has not arrived. I have been calling in vain, writing damning notes on Eagle’s Facebook page. Finally, a young woman at Eagle, named Shantasia, called and arranged to have Eagle overnight me a 60 day supply. I paid the $120 med charge, they the overnight UPS. I’ll have to call again tomorrow and try to get a $180 refund for the missing, presumably lost, 3 month supply,
And, because, as they say, it’s one thing after another, I have two small, but Squamous Cell Invasive spots on opposite sides of my forehead that must be removed by a Mohs procedure. So I need a Mohs expert and a plastic surgeon. The surgeon has a coordinator who will arrange the scheduling. Obviously, I hate all this, am not totally vain, but imagine my Zoom friends will be horrified when they see Frankenstein stitches across my forehead and maybe a skin graft. What makes it worse is my tendency always to blame myself. Though for years I’ve been sun careful, I have used the iRestore Laser Light helmet because Arimidex thinned my hair a little. Now researching it, I’m convinced it’s the cause. Must just accept that stuff happens and that I am in control of very little.
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Goodness has to come from the heart, that's one thing I know for sure. I also know for sure that not everything that comes from my heart is goodness, and that's something I'm working on. Goodness has to be pure in intention, and I know that my good acts aren't always intended solely for the good of the recipients. I'm working on that, too. When I truly do good, there's a very good chance that no one ever will notice it, and I'll never be recognized as someone who has done something good. When I can live with that and be at peace with it, I know that I'll have reached a very high level of living. -tom walsh
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Judy, so sorry to hear about the squamous spots. My BFF's DH had Mohs surgery a few months ago and the scars have faded considerably. I will ask who he used. My derm at NorthShore is Luzheng Liu, up in Lake Bluff (I used to see her in Skokie, but then she moved).
The USPS slowdown is no hoax and no joke. I have "Informed Delivery:" it sends me a daily e-mail of photos of the envelopes of mail that is allegedly en route to me--among other things, ballot applications, Bob's PartD premium bill (he's a Luddite who insists on paper statements and mailing checks), and a letter from UIC Hospital--dunno if that's my biopsy report or merely instructions on how to set up a MyChart patient portal (they're finally transitioning to the EPIC system). I should know about the biopsy by Wed. at my followup...if the UIC nurses haven't gone on strike by then.
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Hi Sandy and Keywestfan,
Dr. Krueger was my surgeon for my Mastectomy at Christ Hospital. I would certainly recommend her!
My Med-Onc left practice so I am searching for new one. Not so easy.
I am by Silver Cross Hospital and Presence Saint Joseph.
I will research these recommendations. I may have to travel a bit farther.
Thanking you both so very much for your kind reply,
Bootsie7
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Bootsie, wish I knew anyone on staff at Silver Cross or Amita (ex-Presence) St. Joseph of Joliet (the Amita St. Joseph I know is the one in Lakeview, where my late PCP practiced...and died as a COVID patient),
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Listening is the oldest and perhaps the most powerful tool of healing. It is often through the quality of our listening and not the wisdom of our words that we are able to effect the most profound changes in the people around us. When we listen, we offer with our attention an opportunity for wholeness. Our listening creates sanctuary for the homeless parts within the other person. That which has been denied, unloved, devalued by themselves and others. That which is hidden,,,
In this culture the soul and the heart too often go homeless.
Listening creates a holy silence. When you listen generously to people, they can hear the truth in themselves, often for the first time. And in the silence of listening, you can know yourself in everyone. Eventually you may be able to hear, in everyone and beyond everyone, the unseen singing softly to itself and to you. -RachelNaomi Remen0 -
ChiSandy,
Sorry your PCP was a victim of Covid. Between the virus and the horrible violence in our Beautiful Chicago
and so many cities across the states !! it has shaken life to the core.
Saddens my heart.
I hope your recent eye surgery gives you a positive out come.
Thanks again,
Bootsie7
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Thanks, Bootsie. The violence that truly bothers me is young people shooting at each other, with innocent victims caught in the crossfire. As to the looting, it's not just the injustice and frustration that causes rage to boil over, but the opportunists and outsiders (who are not sympathizers but just the opposite--those looking to foment unrest for its own sake and even more sinister motives, which I will not specifically address in this forum, as that'd be against BCO rules).
My eye surgery was to implant radiation seeds to (hopefully) kill a melanoma. Ironically, the vision in that eye was perfect, and the tumor was discovered by accident: in early July, I went to a retinologist (a close family friend) to rule out a detached retina as the cause of a sudden large floater in my other eye. Because the pandemic had closed my regular ophthalmologist's office (and most eye doctors' offices) I was unable to timely get my annual dilated eye exam in April--then, by the time elective procedures were allowed again, he'd retired. I was overdue for the exam, so I let the retinologist dilate both eyes, and he discovered the tumor. He sent me to the top ocular oncologist in Chicago at UIC, who did imaging and confirmed it was a melanoma. Internal radiation (brachytherapy) is the treatment of choice: external radiation, even proton therapy, has too many side effects; and surgery to remove the tumor can, ironically, cause it to spread faster. In years past, the eye had to be removed--but brachytherapy has identical recurrence risk and overall survival. As of July, CT scans and bloodwork did not show any spread.
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Every decision you make—every decision—is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do. -Neale Donald Walsch
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When I found I no longer had the stamina to work long hours clearing the fallen limbs in the woods around my house, I began to bring a lawn chair and a thermos with me. I still work in the woods, but stop frequently to sit and have a cup of tea. I've identified birds I didn't know lived here and evidence that a bobcat shares the property. Since I've slowed down some, I see things I never saw before and find that quiet solitude is not lonely but nurturing, allowing my heart to open to the signs and lessons of nature that surround me.
Sallirae Henderson
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Pessimists see only the dark side of the clouds, and mope; philosophers see both sides, and shrug; optimists don't see the clouds at all -- they're walking on them. -LeonardLouis Levinson
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In this world, the optimists have it, not because they are always right, but because they are positive. Even when they are wrong they are positive, and that is the way of achievement, correction, improvement, and success. Educated, eye-open optimism pays. -David Landes
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Strength is a capacity for endurance. One of the dividends of suffering is the universal discovery the we possess a strength within us we never knew we had. Navigating through a difficult episode not only shows us that inner strength is there but convinces us it will always be there to serve us in the future. Overcoming gives us an assurance of personal confidence and value that far exceeds what we thought we possessed before our struggles began.
Dennis Wholey0 -
Whatever noble aims we may have, paths we may be on, or necessary efforts we may make, our only real freedom is to awaken now, this very instant, to the mystery and miracle of being, to the spacious awareness that we are. It is only this immediate awakening to the deepest levels of ourselves, to the conscious source that connects us all, that will enable us to experience and manifest real harmony, intelligence, kindness, love, and compassion in our lives and bring about the transformation in the world that we all wish for. -Dennis Lewis
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A friend is one to whom we may pour out the contents of our hearts, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will sift it, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away. -Arabian saying
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Life is not a competition with others. In its truest sense it is rivalry with ourselves. We should each day seek to break the record of our yesterday. We should seek each day to live stronger, better, truer lives; each day to master some weakness of yesterday; each day to repair past follies; each day to surpass ourselves. This is, simply, progress. -C. Smith Sumner
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Come to the edge
We can't. We're afraid
We can't. We will fall. Come to the edge
And they came. And he pushed them
And they flew
- Guillaume Apollinaire0 -
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. -Leo Buscaglia
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Free will is not the liberty to do what one likes, but the power of doing whatever one sees ought to be done, even in the very face of otherwise overwhelming impulses. There lies freedom indeed.
George MacDonald0 -
A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.
unattributed
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There are some things that we never should compromise, especially our ethics and our values. But such a compromise means that we're making a decision to do something that directly contradicts what we know to be ethical. Compromise can be one of the most powerful tools available to us in our quest to lead a full life, as long as we can learn to recognize when compromise is appropriate. Compromise means that our happiness isn't tied to a certain outcome or course of action, which frees us up to be ourselves, and to let others in our lives be themselves, too. -Tom Walsh
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True success is bringing joy to yourself and to others.
Success is measured in lives bettered, not in money or power.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Nature made us individuals, as she did the flowers and the pebbles; but we are afraid to be peculiar, and so our society resembles a bag of marbles, or a string of mold candles. Why should we all dress after the same fashion? The frost never paints my windows twice alike. -Lydia Maria Child
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Only when life is difficult, are we challenged to become our greatest selves.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0
