Illinois ladies facing bc
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Isn't this the truth:
If you understand, things are just as they are; if you do not understand, things are just as they are. Zen Proverb
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Good morning ladies... it's cold and it's snowing. That's all I will say about the weather.
okay, couldn't resist a nasty little face to go along with it, haha.I've got a ton of stuff to do, so this will be really quick. But I did read through most of the posts from the past few days. A lot going on with everyone!
Jennifer - as Donna said, this is the toughest part. The expanders are what seemed to cause the most post-op discomfort for me, although those drains coming out was a great relief. I kept a journal & I noticed that when I hit the 6 week mark, I had a real turnaround. Everyone is different, some people feel much improvement after just a week or two.. so I will hope that you are one of those people
Blackjack - glad you were able to chill out last night. Now just keep doing that - you need that wonderful vacation & we want you to enjoy it to the fullest.
Irene - so glad surgery went fine & you are happy with results. I had to LOL when you said you went out the night afterward - you are a pistol, girl!!!!
Rita, Mich101, WendyK, Laura, Jackie, Susan, Donna... and everyone else, cuz I know I'm missing so many... big hello & hugs to you all!!!
Juliet
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Thanks Rita and Jackie! The info on chemo and all that you share, alleviates some of the anixiety. I am powerless over all of it and yet it is a good thing to have this chance to fight all that I can now!!! Healing is everything right now!
Juliet..You are so right about the 6 week mark! That is where i am and finally feeling ok! Went to yoga today for the ist time and did what i could and it is baby steps! Hope you continue to heal as well!!
Thanks everyone and hi to all here!
Donna
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Gotta share my good news! The surgeon called today and told me that all the pathology came back negative! There is no residual cancer!! It made my day for sure. I was so relieved! OH how relieved! I cried tears of relief and happiness. I was so hoping for these results. Now I just have to heal and get past all this pain! I am down to my last pain pill but going back tomorrow. Whew!!
My day was bittersweet in that I got my good news from my surgeon but also received bad news from the office - one of my good buddies just found out she has breast cancer now. It just doesn't let up!!! I wish we can find a cure for this stuff!!!! Enough suffering!!! I don't know what her path report shows. She is from the Litchfield area. I told them to tell her she can call me anytime. I am going to call her later if I don't hear from her. I am going to give her a little time - I remember I didn't want to talk about it at first either. It is like you have to let it soak in - you are in shock when someone tells you that. It hits you like a brick wall and all these emotions flood your system.
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Big congrats Jenn....what we like to hear. Sorry though to hear about your friend. It does seem that while once you only heard occasionally about someone having cancer, now it is putting in an appearance all the time, everywhere. It is scary that it is starting to seem so relentless.....and it does not seem to matter all that much if you DO everything right. Those people are getting it as much as the rest of us. Here's more prayers for a cure. It can't come too soon, that is for sure.
Here is something.....hope the link works that I thought I would share.
(http://www.quiltersofsc.org/artfullbras/artfullbras.htm)
It is quilters for South Carolina. See you all tomorrow.
Prayers and hugs,
Jackie
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Yea Jennifer! Fantastic news! Breathe in, breathe out and SMILE!!!!
I'm so sorry about your friend. We do need the cure....and the sooner the better. This is why I walk in the walks, work the benefits, and keep supporting the cure. One of these days somebody is going to stumble onto it! Somebody told me that a vaccine is about 2 years away. I hope that's true.
In the meantime, I'm so happy for you!
Rita
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Morning! Just a quickie drive-by...
Jennifer....YAY!!!!!!!!!! So sorry about your co-worker. Send her to us....when she's ready. We'll be here.....
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Jennifer..Awesome news for you number one!!!!This is what we need to hear as this disease obviously is very cunning and challenging beyond words. You are now needed for your friend and it is a different listening ear when you hear this news, knowing what it is for us!!! Before cancer.. not sure if i had the real empathy and compassion as we have now!!! So much cancer out there and it is just not something I will ever take lightly for anyone today!!!!
Wendy...THAT monkey is a stitch!!! I have a nick name for one of my goldens, for she is such a nut.. Chunky Monkey.. she has this name as she is so silly!!!
Have a Warm Day!
Donna
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Good Morning
although Mr. Sun might be muted much of the day.....not sure they say high clouds. At least we are on our way to much warmer weather starting tomorrow. Maybe luck will sneak some in today but I sort of doubt it. Sigh !!!!! Nothing much going on for me today, or maybe I should say pretty much my usual. Off to work to pick up my check and go to the bank. Maybe see Maggie for a bit and check on her. Hope you all have a wonderful day. Bj, Leesa, Jan Claire, WendyTY,Little C and all I haven't named....hope you are well and doing fine. Think about you all often.
Prayers and hugs,
Jackie
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I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge -- myth is more potent than history -- dreams are more powerful than facts -- hope always triumphs over experience -- laughter is the cure for grief -- love is stronger than death.
-- Robert Fulghum0 -
Jennifer - WOO-HOO! Whew too! Isn't NED great?
Jackie - I was so surprised you posted the link to the Artfull Bras Project! I am just finishing up on my creation of a bra to summit to them for inclusion in their collection! I started a thread in the Moving Beyond Forum - Artfull Bra Project, check it out (I posted a photo there at the start of my bra):
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/7/topic/728299?page=3#idx_74
I will post a photo of my masterpiece (lol) when I finish it later today.
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Good Morning neighbors! Hope you all have a nice day! My mom and my niece Nicole are here for two days - we went for Japanese food last night - my fav! We're getting ready to make corn pancakes for b-fast! Yum!
I here there's a warm spell on the way...YEAH!
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Wendy...you must have seen our farm and yep, it would put you to sleep :-). We live just outside of Rock Falls city limits and I bet you were dissapointed when you arrived! I love it though that you and the hubby just jump in a car and go. I'm too much of a planner and I hate being lost! Geez, I need some adventure in my life!
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Laura, a bc friend from Chicago ( not on any cancer blog anywhere ) sent me the Artful Bra pics link. She and I have corresponded since I joined this thread. I gave her the link once but she is apparently much more comfortable with just three or four people. I thought she'd love getting all the input.....on lots of subjects.....as well as so many to cry with or celebrate with.....but it's ok. It just isn't her thing. I didn't ask her where she got it. Maybe some of her other friends may well be using bc.org or ????
Susie --- I love to go investigate ( if not too big ) cities that surround my little part of southern Illinois......known for eons as Little Egypt. I always find it interesting and a little exciting and sometimes think of all I would do if I lived somewhere close. The truth is though that I'd be hating it in no time at all. I am far too used to waking up to the gentle sounds heard in fairly rural areas. We live near a lake.....so not much for hustle-bustle car noises or anything you'd think of as city sounds....whooshing of pavement, horns, etc. We are not close to any real working farms, but often hear geese or ducks etc. overhead. Sometimes a couple of dogs and sometimes just the wind blowing through the trees or rain thumping on the roof.
I have learned out here to watch for the harbingers of Spring...or any season for that matter and it is always a thrill. As well I am only a short two miles from town as well as less than an hour from super major shopping if I so desire -- which I don't very often. I just think of nearly having it all and when I come home....to my little home in the woods I really can shut the whole world out and relax and refresh my energies. As a much younger person I couldn't really see and feel all of this.....but it's perfection personified to me now. Hope I can stay here forever.
Jackie
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Evening all! Well...my furnace is okay but I was warned that since I bought a spec house and didn't upgrade the furnace I have the "builder's special" and at best it will only last 10-12 years and I am at 8. Oh goody.SusieSwan, Rita...I hope you guys don't think I was making fun of small towns. It's just that I picked Rock Falls off the map, then googled it and the website had me picturing something QUITE different! And of course everything was frozen solid so nothing looked good. But the McDonald's burger was quite tasty! On our way W on Rt30 we went right past Lake Shabbona and when I got home I checked that out...we could have had lunch at the Pookanooka Cafe, home of the world-famous Pookanooka Burger. Darn. We will have to go back.....hey...maybe a lunch bunch??????? I really do like small towns tho...I like the slower pace. So...I do apologize if you thought I was making fun of your home. Let me know and I will meet you at Pookanooka's (OK...maybe I am kidding you a bit....)
Laura...I will have to check out your bra! The link didn't work for me.....
Blackjack....are you behaving?????
Donna...glad you are feeling better. When do you find out what type of chemo you will be doing? I did Taxotere and Carboplatin and a year of Herceptin. I was the poster child for chemo. Except for the Great Hair Exodus and a bad, yucky dirty penny taste for a few days each chemo...that was it. No nausea, no fatigue. Nothing. Nada. My counts fell so I was getting Neulasta inj's for the WBC's and the Procrit a few times for low RBC's but I felt just fine. Yep...I was extremely lucky and I am hoping to send some of the same luck your way.
Rene23....how are you doing?
Jennifer...did you get the drains out today? That should help quite a bit.
Susan...where you been? How's that darling baby?
Smerf....how was LV?
Nothing much else going on....see we have a few BD's coming up....aren't BD's nice to celebrate. Getting older means a whole different ball game now, doesn't it!
Have a great evening everyone and a pleasant night...see you all in the AM!
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Hi gals! It sounds like everyone is doing well today!
Have you ever had one of those days where the hours flew by and you didn't know how fast the time had gone? I bowled this morning and then met some famiily from Macomb who were in my area for lunch. I met them at 11:45 at an Irish Pub in Normal. We walked out at 4:30 and weren't even drinking....just sitting and talking, and talking, and talking, and laughing, and laughing.....until we walked out and had $10 parking tickets because we'd exceeded the 2 hour limit. LOL
Jackie, you're right! Spring is on the way!
Wendy...I thought the Rock Falls story was funny. You would have been a bit more impressed in the summer, I think. And as for places to eat in smaller towns.........just ask the locals. They all know the best spots! :-) Like I said, next time you get the urge to take off, just head for Bloomington. LOL
Well, I still have a lesson to plan for tomorrow's youth group. Catch you all tomorrow afternoon.
Rita
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Ohhhhh, Wendy, you are always in tune with people. I am MIA here because I am struggling with the "damn back" again. I am icing and heating and hoping to stay with the routine at school as we are doing standardized testing (your DH will get that). I have not missed a day of ISAT this week, but man, I am hurting. Like BJ, I could give into it and stay home, but I know that I need to do what I need to do to feel better in the long run.
Thank you, Wendy, for wondering about me.
Susan
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It's just after midnight... that means it's PRINCESS JULIET'S BIRTHDAY! Love, The Queen
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Happy Birthday, Princess Juliette!!!!! And...many, many, many more! And may they all be healthy and happy ones! Hugs to you, sweetie!Rita....I still want to go to the Pookanooka Cafe! I think too part of the problem was that we arrived around 12:30 and all the restaurants that we passed were jammed...I'm thinking after church goers. And summer would have been a much better choice...I agree!
Susan....yep, I know all about ISAT week. Boy, do I know about that. So sorry re: your back! I hear you on that one as well. Ice, heat, anti-inflammatories etc. Have you tried a few weeks of PT? I was amazed at how much I DIDN''T know about core and protect-the-back exercises. I've kept them up since last summer and ...knock on wood...nothing too bad since August.
Gotta scoot....I hope you all have a wonderful, sunny and warmer day! Tops down, fists up!
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wendy...thank you for sharing such positve news on the chemo!!!! I would love for that to be me!!! I am not sure of the protocol yet and will keep you posted once I know!!! Still have some fluid collecting, yesterday was 25cc's and gets better weekly. This week is 6 weeks post op! My whole sub conscious though is what it will be like to do chemo and that is really getting to be enough already! Thanks for sending me the good vibes on chemo being ok for some!!!!!!!
Sister in Pink
Donna
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Happy Birthday Juliet!! Best of good health, happiness and lots of love this yearr!!!
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Happy Happy
Sunny, Sunny Birthday P. Juliet. Hope you have a scrumptiously marvelous day. Susan/Zap....so sorry to hear about your back....not to play into it, but I know from my Taxotere that it can be a pretty debilitating problem. Here's hoping you soon get a handle on it and start some smooth sailing. Giant hugs.
Donna, I think lots of us were envious of Wendy's good fortune while being thrilled that it happened that way for her. Some of us struggled with it, but the important thing is to get it done and it is doable -- and I don't know anyone brave enough to gamble their life by not doing it. In my mind.....there was never a question that it was the thing to do and come h*** or high water I made up my mind in an instant that I was definitely a coward and too sensible ( at least in this case ) to even consider not doing it.
Wendy....I think you should make a Documentary about the Pookanooka Cafe for You Tube and then we can all enjoy it with you and Rita. Yay.....starts in the making.
Love the sunshine today as it gets into the 50's. I'll be loving it. See ya'll later.
Prayers and hugs
Jackie
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Far away in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them and try to follow where they lead.
Louisa May Alcott
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HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRINCESS JULIET...ENJOY YOUR DAY..EAT LOTS OF CAKE
HUGS TO YOU.
BLACKJACK
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Happy Birthday Juliet! You won't get the fancy graphics frrom me since I'm so technology disabled but I'm send a big birthday wish for a great day and many,many more! CELEBRATE!!!
Hey Wendy! The Pookanooka Cafe, eh? Sounds like the perfect road trip!!! LOL
It's lovely outside today in Central Illinois! I think I'll go outside in a little bit and pick up some of the winter "sticks and branches" that have fallen. It's still a little early for putting that top down, but I'm getting the fever!
Susan, As a person who suffers quite a bit with lower back problems, I sympathize with you. I've found that gentle stretching helps in combination with your hot and cold routine. Hoping that it's better real soon!
Rita
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My back is 100% better. I know that sounds weird. If I follow this routine (ice first heat second, back with ice all night) and two alleves in the am, it is actually better in 24 hours. I always fear that will not happen, but so far I can trick it back to wellness. I think it is all about inflammation. I always know the second it goes out of whack...just some stupid movement. The stretching is something I need to do everyday. So I am back in the saddle again and look forward to a weekend. The testing has the kids so bottled up that I feel they will explode.
How are you doing Blackjack? Are you doing bed rest? Are you feeling better?
Susan
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Yes,Jackie.. So true!! There is no choice but to do the dreaded chemo!!! I realize how fortunate to be able to have a chance before it is an incurable cancer etc. Also good to know that it is doable for that helps so much!!!!
Zap...Hope you continue to heal with your back.It is never fun! Keep yourself resting here an there and that way nothing else will occur unexpectedly!
Enjoy thie weather all!
Donna
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Happy Birthday PRINCESS JULIET!!! Hope it's a wonderful day!!!Blackjack I hope you are still resting ....as the DR said!!
Donna just to reinforce what has been said....I did chemo ALL SUMMER 2 years ago..AND worked full shift the whole time! I always jokingly (?) said " With a 14 yr old w/ permanent PMS why would I want to stay home??!" LOL Just remember to take your meds as you are told , Don't wait till you feel yucky and then take them.
Wendy, no one would ever think you were making fun of small towns, I'm sure you are old enough to remember when S Elgin was almost nothing!! Had to drive to Elgin for everything!!
Carol, hows treatment? Only one more?
Hugs to everyone, time to get back to work!!
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Happy Birthday Juliet! Hope you and dh (and Buster) have a wonderful day - enjoy!0
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A very very happy birthday to you Juliet !!!!!!
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Hi all,
I had a much better day today. I got rid of 2 drains yesterday and it has made a difference! I only took like 4 pain pills today instead of the max dose. I believe it is the drains that is causing me most of my pain. The other 2 are suppose to come out either next Tuesday or Thursday depending upon the amount they are putting out. I am so looking forward to getting rid of them.
Beautiful day outside today - sunshine and warmer weather helps too.
Happy Birthday Juliet! Hope you had a great one!
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