Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
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Morning -- Dotti, as Pam says -- keep complaining. I had lumpectomy and wore a tight bra 24/7 for several weeks. Never took a pain pill and only noticed lots of discomfort when I was un-dressed for my shower. Otherwise I pretty much went on with things. The bra I think kept me from going too far. You do need to address the "size" difference.
Claudia -- glad you are finding your way upwards already. What a difference a day makes, huh !!! I have always said " it's amazing what you can do when you have no choice" -- it has saved me from the doldrums and total blahs so many times -- probably helped me not give in too.
Dh is back working on our furnace which is out again -- furnace man said it might do that -- we are waiting for the furnace man -- sure hope this does not take too long. It is always something it seems. Glad the sun is out -- will appreciate the solar power. Will keep it much warmer in here.
Onward and upward for the day. Will see you all later I'm sure. Hi sis.
Have a great day.
Warm hugs, Jackie
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Hey Kathleen we could do a "BC Calender Girls" if we could convince at least 12 of us to part take. LOLI have dibs on the back view with my gray headed face staring over my shoulder since I am BM! LOL, OH BTW thanks for keeping the planes a float as I may have been on them. I am sure many other appreciate it also. Carole could do a golf thing and Jackie can either do her rescue theme or be quoting from a book in the library. Isabella- well she can be surrounded by kitchen goodies, dogs and repairmen with DH grumbling in the background. You Kiwis' will have to come up with a theme for your selves.Spar you obviously have to do the Marilyn Monroe bed shot-
Control- I concede to the thought that it is probably SE as the ladies speaking here have gone through chemo and I have not.
I am concentrating on having all work cleaned up before my move as my coworker and best friend is going to get stuck with this job in addition to her own. If I were leaving it for a stranger- oh well- but never leave a mess to a friend! Must run- love ya
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Jo -- how perfect.
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Thanks for the replies ladies, it's still early morning on Wednesday here, but I will be the first phone call my G.P gets this morning. She is long term family doctor and friend, and I have great faith in her advice. I feel better now that you guys have let me know I am not being unreasonable.
Kathleen, what breed is your little white dog? Very cute.
Dotti
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Melissa you are a riot, i was thinking more of the little old lady in the rocking chair knitting topless. LOL (the knitting would cover my fat stomach) I can just see JO and all her ironing. Just too funny.
I had single mastectomy in 2004 but had reconstruction in 2007. Got tired of being a D on one side and flat on the other. Now I am an A on both sides due to tight skin already. I like being an A, they don't get in my way at all, of course there are a few scars but so what.
I know that golf is probably the reason Rita and Carol look in such good shape. I will be happy just to walk again. SOON!
Grandson called me last night from rehab so I am on cloud nine. He sounded so good and so much better.
Welcome to all the new posters. This place keeps me sane. Have a good day all you golden girls. Love you guys
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Melissa, I'll have a great big bunch of flowers - it will have to be large!! but set against some beautiful scenery. If you wanted a NZ theme it could be in the bush with silver fern.
Must go and get some bread then have to take DH for his blood test. Will be very pleased when he is able to drive again.
Big hugs
Alyson
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Hi girls...thought I would share a Christmas cracker story.
I have a thing about really good crackers, can't do with these cheap and nasty ones with nothing in. Last year I bought one box too many, and they reposed for a full 12 months, under a little TV table, in my dining room, gathering dust.
My G/son, just 13, would come along with DD most weeks to see me, and while we were busy nattering, he would shut himself in the dining room and watch cartoons.....no problem here you might say ! This year DH and I had our own Christmas dinner, after the family one, nice and quiet.
I got the crackers out, put them on the table, and we pulled one. Out pops a paper hat, a motto, and ....nothing. Pulled another one....still nothing. As these were expensive crackers I picked up the box, checked them out, and sure enough there should have been some very good little presents inside. Each cracker had been very carefully opened, the present removed, and shut up, put back tidily in the box. My little pest of a g/son had cleaned the lot out. I saw him this last w/end at a birthday party and had a go at him, the little so and so admitted it, I gave him a telling off ! DD overheard the commotion, came to see what it was all about, and I ended up being the villain. She will not hear a thing against this young man, I have big issues with him as he is so sneaky, and lies thru his teeth, so we are never going to see eye to eye over him.
DD and I are still very touchy about his last escapade, which was just before Christmas. The police arrived at DDs door a few weeks ago saying they had had a complaint about g/son and a friend. They'd been seen kicking a frog around like a football. DD immediately sprung to his defence ( yes, we spell it that way !!) saying 'her son would never do such a thing', and the police backed off and let the two youngsters off. THEN g/son admitted he had done it. I was in my car and over to tear a strip off him, I cannot believe a g/son of mine would be so cruel. DD and I nearly came to blows, she will not discipline him at all, but I really knew I had to get to him, and I did. I had the little devil in tears, but whether it did any good I don't know, but DD hates me to get at him. I wish I had had him alone I would have given him a right old fashioned slap, which he sorely needs.
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O.K. Spar............Jo's going to be the ironing queen in the calendar and you're going to be the little ol' topless knitting lady. Since I can't knit, I guess I'll have to be the topless little ol' lady who's reading her book in her recliner. That gives us three months.........we need 9 more calendar girls! LOL
Hang in there, Spar. You'll be up and going soon! We're all "rooting" for you!
I'm off to see what I can throw together for an evening meal before I head out for yoga. Have a great night ladies!
Rita
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OK - I will be the bridge player with the playing cards --- the really really really big ones.
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Hey .....I'm in with the calendar idea...I can be Dec. and wear my snowshoes......sounds like a great plan....definetly count me in......CLAUDE
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Hi,
I would put you all in a calender of support and knowledge. Visited GP this morning, she rang surgeon who will see me on Monday morning, meantime the breast care nurse came to my home and aspirated the breast. Not all clear yet, but feeling better that I am making progress.
Thank you again
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I was just waiting for the call to do the centerfold but I like the calendar idea so much better. I am happy to participate but you might as well have Maxine pose - believe me, I won't look much better!
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I couldn't resist this!
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Oh my Kathleen! That pie graph describes my life exactly! YIKES!!! lol
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Recently, in a large city somewhere in the world: ,a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym.
It said, "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"
A middle-aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by the gym.
To Whom It May Concern,
Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans.)
They have an active sex life,
get pregnant and have adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp.
They play and swim in the seas,
seeing wonderful places like Patagonia ,
the Bering Sea
and the coral reefs of Polynesia .
Whales are wonderful singers
and have even recorded CDs.
They are incredible creatures
and virtually have no predators
other than humans.
They are loved, protected and admired
by almost everyone in the world.
Mermaids don't exist.
If they did exist,
they would be lining up outside the offices
of Argentinean psychoanalysts
due to identity crisis. Fish or human?
They don't have a sex life
because they kill men who get close to them, not to mention how could they have sex?
Just look at them ... where is IT?
Therefore, they don't have kids either.
Not to mention,
who wants to get close to a girl who smells
like a fish store?
The choice is perfectly clear to me:
I want to be a whale.
P..S. We are in an age
when media puts into our heads
the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my kids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver, and a piece of chocolate with my friends.
With time, we gain weight
because we accumulate so much information and wisdom in our heads
that when there is no more room,
it distributes out to the rest of our bodies.
So we aren't heavy,
we are enormously cultured,
educated and happy.
Beginning today,
when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, Good grief, look how smart I am!0 -
Dearest kind souls- Allison, Leslie and Melissa ( and countless others I'm sure)... thank you so much for your input. My mother is hanging in there. She saw her oncologist today who frankly is concerned given the difficult course my mother has had to date and also given concern that she might be neutropenic despite preemptive neupogen, neulasta. She was not neutropenic when admitted with pneumonia and her CXR today showed resolution of that.YEAH! Her cell counts drawn today are pending and my mother is home febrile on flagyl to cover the possibility of this c. diff infection which runs rampant in those hospitalized on antibiotics. All of these issues can occur in those not receiving chemo but when they happen in a woman who has never been sick a day in her life and who sailed through her mastectomy, I personally ascribe it to the chemo. One could argue both points. In my estimation, if my mother is neutropenic despite having received all the right shots then I think she should go to plan B- radiation and Arimidex. Her PET scan and tumor markers were negative. I certainly understand that the chemo increases her odds of a better outcome as it regards breast cancer but if in the here and now, which is all we really have, she has acquired infections that compromise her and potentially risk life then I think plan B makes more sense. ..only the kindly invisibles really know. Her oncologist, my friend, is a feisty size 0 petite gal with a size XXXXLLLLLL personality/ opinion and she's expressing concern and saying that this has not been her experience with others of similar age. Previously she expressed no doubt about the rational of chemo. I'll keep you posted and so very much appreciate your input and advice. It is my mother's choice to make but she looks to me given my medical degree and her wish to alleviate my fears and worries.
On another note- a point to make regarding alternative MDs- I am not opposed to their usefullness in the supportive care of patients. HOWEVER, if you see one, and there is a risk that you may be neutropenic, you must absolutely refuse any rectal exam as it can seed your blood stream with bacteria. That also goes for an orthodox MD that wants to do a rectal exam. My mother did see an alternative MD who diagnosed her with yeast on the basis of putting his hands on her abdomen and did a rectal which is an absolute no no. Just an FYI.
OK, guess I'll shut up now.
Thanks again for all your input.
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Yikes! I didn't mean to not thank Jackie. Definitely not too much information. Mom's oncologist does not wish for her to give herself the neulasta and has not yet advocated doing them on a daily basis. I did mention that I could give my Mom the shots to avoid travel time but she did not wish to take that approach. I will raise the issue, especially if Mom is neutropenic. She may end up hospitalized, if that's the case. The agnostic ( me) has her devotional candle lit in hopes that Mom's cell counts are normal.
Funny story about lighting church candles...when Mom was first diagnosed I went to the National Cathedral with the soul purpose of lighting a candle for my Mom. Well it turns out that there have been budget cut backs and there are limited candles available and all were either lit or had no wax remaining. I kindly asked the church lady to find some more! She said that she would but then went to get her dinner. I asked another! That resulted in success and I lit an inferno before leaving. Since then, I have ordered devotional candles that burn for days and so far they have worked nicely to get my mother out of tough spots!!
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Oh how I love a bunch of fun women! Jo- you get all the ironing, I can see it now, maybe Sept. as that would be back to school month? Alyson what month does white fern look the best? you can have all the flowers you want and or need...maybe you will pick or you can hold some of each persons favorite. Spar you can have a rocker, knitting and three or four kittens playing with the balls of yard at your feet. Kathleen do you want to be behind a mountain of worry beads- your caption should read "Leave your worries with me, 25cents each-and you will have a grand pile in every color.Carole and Rita can be carrying their golf bags- June maybe? Dotti my husband was in Wellington in 1970-winter-LOVED IT! Are you in on the calendar?- I am gona be NEKKED walking through a HIGH feild of wild flowers looking over my shoulder-all the men will imagine my boobs are as big as my ass and Patoo- won't I look SMART?
We should have fun with this as we paid the piper all ready!
Love ya, keep tuned in.
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Can I be the bingo gal? I Have quite a few dabbers I can hide behind. I usually play 9 cards, but we could line up 18 or 27 to fill the picture... LOL.
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C Freak -- While your Mom could give her own Neulasta -- you usually only get 1 of those -- the day after your chemo infusion. With Neupogen, you start the day after infusion and administer a shot for the next seven days. It sounds like you are keeping up fairly well. It is a tough decision to be sure and I do so wish you well, whichever direction turns out to be the right one for your Mom. Such a tough thing because the BEST answers are the ones you don't have -- that no one has yet. Your Mom is in our prayers for the very best outcome possible.
I'm trying to think of what should be on my calendar -- animals are taken so since I have such a thing for clean cars -- maybe I'll have to be at the car wash with lots of soap and bubbles around. As long as my bubbles don't pop -- I'll be ok.
My car looks the dickens right now -- with blackened lumps of salted snow hanging on. I need to run through the car wash --- but time, I need a few more hours in the day.
Furnace was out again for several hours today but is humming along once again and keeping us warm. Hope we have it really "fixed" now. This furnace taking a dive in zero weather is definitely not where it is at.
Late and have to think about that sweet recliner. See you all in the a,m.
Warm sweet hugs to everyone,
Jackie
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Good morning everyone -- I shared this on the other blog, but it seemed so apropos to me that I decided to hang it up here as well.
Play with life, laugh with life, dance lightly with life, and smile at the riddles of life, knowing that life's only true lessons are writ small in the margin.
- Jonathan Lockwood HuieThis must be why I have so much trouble getting it now and then -- I'm forgetting where to look. Going to be warm today and that is welcome. The sun the past few days has been bright enough to start our meltdown in advance so I do envision good old fashioned mud in place of the snow. That has some drawbacks too -- was here that I already said the mop would have to be kept handy.
Hope you are all having some sun and warmth. See you all later.
Hugs, Jackie
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Good morning cutie patooties!
ControlFreak - I, too, am a control freak. It is so hard to give up control (although, in truth we are not controlling anything to speak of and certainly not people). I have to mentally slap my hand when I get that feeling to not get involved in everyone else's problems.
Melissa - sure I will be the worrier!
Jackie - Mud is a little tricky if you have balance issues. Love the quote. You know, one minute you are walking the straight and narrow and in the next minute and the you notice you seem to have wandered off the road and don't have a clue as how you got there!
This morning I woke up with a cold - I am only thinking positive thoughts and "willing" it away. Last cold I had lasted over 4 weeks.
Love to all my friends.
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good morning my golden friends. I want to be a whale too! Melissa, I think most of us are really smart if you tell my our butts. LOL I bet we could make a fortune off a calendar like that and get a lot of people in the world to laugh a lot too.
Kathleen, we gotta kick that cold right out of your head. Vit C, sip on chicken noodle soup, honey with lemon squeezed in it, cough drops with vit c in them. Hope you get better fast.
Jackie, gotta keep that furnace going. Hope you keep warm.
Patoo you crack me up so does Melissa. what a great bunch of women. I can just see Rita and Carol topless carring their golf bags or taking a swing at the golf ball.
Cfreak, here are some devotional candles I lit for your mom that will never go out.
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I am a whale -- my name though is not Orca.
Hugs, Jackie
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Kathleen my DH was distracting me last night and I wanted to comment on your pie chart- I spend time every morning and several times during the day looking for my keys and such, things that I put in a safe place, That is a safe place from ME!!!! Perfect.
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Spar2- Those are beautiful devotional candles and your gesture brought tears to my eyes, although perhaps it was the thought of going for a run shortly :-) We're in a wait and see mode. Counts are pending. I will say that Mom looked quite perky this morning. Perhaps it's the flagyl kicking in or maybe it's the discussion of a plan B last night, or perhaps our devotional candles...It was nice to see a twinkle in her eye and a level of alertness that had faded return.
Jackie- Thanks so much for the info about the Neupogen. I'm learning!!
Kathleen- I hope you feel better. I find that sleep helps me the most when I'm sick- that and nutricious things to eat. Nothing like pureed kale with garlic to chase the beasties away!
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Spar, it's good to hear from you! I've been wondering how you're getting along.
I had fun yesterday getting out and playing 9 holes of golf with dh. We used our pushcarts and walked instead of riding in a cart, so we got some exercise that helped to warm up the muscles and joints. Today I was on the golf course again, playing a little ladies event that was followed by a luncheon. It was good to socialize with some of the golf ladies that I haven't seen lately since the weather hasn't been suitable for outdoors sports.
Hope everybody had a good day.
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When I checked in today, there was just one post from Spar. Then I scrolled backwards and read the discussion about the calendar and saw the pie chart. Loved the pie chart! It comes close to describing my daily routine. Will definitely participate in the calendar. Glad to carry a golf bag or maybe an ironing board and iron with cord dangling and twisted around my legs! Forget topless, though.
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ALYSON this is Dar, Having had a single mastectomy, did you have radiation? I have to be on hormone therapy( I still dont have all the abbreviations down yet) I keep reading my Susan Love Breast Cancer book. My surgeon said there is like a 3% chance of the cancer occuring in the other breast. I was told there is a lot of calcification in the other breast but have opted to have the single mastectomy. I have a spot on the pelvis, having a bone scan but dont think its anything. I sure want to get into this calendar thing . I used to play the accordion as a child, think that would be good with he calendar. Used to be a mermaid now a whale and loving it.
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OK OK, I have missed out on a lot, been out of town a couple of days and now I find out that you crazy girls are all into making a calendar, Count me in. If Jo really wants to do a month with the ironing pile, I can do one with a washing machine, but not a ringer washer, cause I really did get one caught in a ringer many many years ago. I could be "washing the blues away" cause that's what all of you do for me.
Patoo what do they call a whole herd of whales, cause that's what we have here?
Saw the oncologist today and she wants me to take Femara, read about the se 's and wonder what you all know about it?
Carolyn
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