Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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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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Fireworks were a little less prevalent here than I had anticipated. Someone on a neighboring street put on quite a show with ones that were similar to professional displays. We had a nice view over the trees and stepped outside to enjoy. Could see peeks of others above the trees, here and there. The M80s are the ones that bother me the most, as they just make noise. All was quiet here by midnight.
Lovely quote today Illinois Lady.
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The heat is still on here and it is a bit muggy. Even my Sandoval cats did not want to go out to the screened in deck today. Usually Aug. starts our more intense weather so it may just stay hot now.
We heard fireworks last night but didn't go outside. Our dog Bill doesn't do well with loud noises outdoors. He hates thunder now and hides in the closet. He didn't seem as bothered as when thunder comes, but still seemed a bit on edge so we chose to just stay inside. We live in trees so it is often hard to see a lot of the neighborhood type fireworks. It has been a quiet day today as I guess most people are relaxing and likely staying inside.
I hope you all are having a nice day.
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Good morning, ladies. I hope everyone had a pleasant 4th. We sat by the pool and grilled out. The neighbors had some fireworks, but nothing like previous years and no city or county display. It didn't even bother the cats, too much. No one under the bed or behind the couch. Some rain today, which we needed.
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Massive amts. of fireworks & explosives yesterday, from well before sunset till 1 am. The city threw its hands up and blocked off both ends of our block & alley so the stuff could be detonated in the middle of the street w/o endangering traffic. Many more fireworks this time--before yesterday, the M-80s and cherry-bombs-in-coffee-cand were the annoyances du jour.
We had Gordy over for grilled steaks last night. Temps went into the high 70s and we have a nice wide patio table, so distancing was easy. Wish we could have hugged, though.
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ChiSandy - be grateful you can see your son. I don't think we'll get to Maine at all this year so Debbie will turn 50 without us. (She says she just isn't turning 50!). She has a house full of foster kittens as well as her own 2 and we have Mutz but we both would like a person hug too.
Stay safe everyone.
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We hit 90 today. Hung indoors until 3 pm, 78 inside. Then we got busy with the power washer - deck, back section of garage, and the white vinyl fence - always covered in bird poop! It was a lot of work but we were both cooled off from the spray.
Calling a tree removal guy or 2, tomorrow. We want a tree removed that always dropped leaves etc in the pool. Pools gone, now to get rid of the tree before next pool is installed. Also might look for a new grill. Saw an ad for Ace hardware where they put it together and drop it at your house for free. We have 2 cars, no truck or SUV, delivery is a plus for us.
Enjoy the day Monday!
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Hi everyone we had a nice quiet Fourth weekend. Grilled flank steak and chicken pesto (homemade!) with lots of salads. Our community's pool is open now with a strict reservation system that seemed to work well. It was nice to do some laps and just relax at the pool today. I'm on a relatively restricted eating plan right now so I've not been as active. I am down about 7 lbs. So far. Have a good week ahead everyone. Keep well. I go to the Dentist friday if I don't chicken out.
A few pics from the weekend.
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We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men and women; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.
Herman Melville0 -
Good morning, Ladies. Husband has a cardiology appointment today. They said it will be a telephone appointment. That's strange. How can they do an EKG, an Echocardiogram, or ultrasound, as they usually do on his annual visit. I monitor his BP, so we can give them that information. I would like him to get the the handicapped tag so he can park in the close spaces. I am afraid he will soon require a scooter. He has CHF and hypertension. I start the new Levothyroxine dose this morning.
ChiSandy, That sounds scary. I worry about you. I have only been to Chicago twice. Once about 1990 for an antique car show. It was in a large field on the outskirts. The second time was in a suburb or a bedroom community. I don't recall the name. That was about 2010. I was working on a health and aging project for NORC. The only time I went through the actual city was coming and going to the airport. Downtown by the waterfront was fabulous. I certainly hope things settle down.
CindyNY, That sounds like a lot of work, but it should be nice when the new pool goes in. Last year I we bought a grill from ACE and they delivered it and set it up. It is the best grill I ever had. Love it.
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Petite, I would think your DH would only need to ask for the sticker. My Mom was eligible for one for the same conditions but refused to get one because she didn't look disabled. Hopefully people now are more aware that not all disabilities are visible.
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Petite, I don't see why your DH's doc wouldn't sign a HC permit app. Many docs even keep blanks in their offices. I used to have one when my obesity made my arthritis unmanageable. By the time it expired, I didn't need it.
City pools and beaches still closed indefinitely due to crowding concerns. (10 bars & restaurants were cited over the weekend for mask/social distance violations, and a party boat company had its license yanked and was fined $10K). Discipline flies out the window when you're drunk, especially indoors. No way am I dining indoors at a restaurant until there's a vax or a surefire treatment.
My HK's DH's dialysis line clotted and they couldn't un-clog it and dialyze him today. His potassium level rose as a result. So she has to drive him to the V.A. first thing in the a.m., when they will first de-clot, then yank it out and replace it, then dialyze him. Here I am complaining about having to be a "cat waitress" and go downtown tomorrow, when she will have a brutally long and stressful day.
No scan results yet. It is what it is. Xanax (1/4 or 1/2mg), CBD, melatonin, and CBN get me to sleep at night; but I can't take any of that during the day, so no naps--the pulsing in my ear drives me nuts. If the cause turns out to be something harmless but untreatable, I will have to keep 2 sets of Bluetooth earbuds fully charged for my white-noise app, because they run out of juice after 6 or 7 hrs. (Found that out on a flight from Amsterdam to Tel Aviv).
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Good morning, Ladies. DH's telephone appointment went well. The doctor did do some medication changes. Of course. right at the moment he called, people came to give an estimate on repairing the ceiling, so I was not able to listen in. DH won't ask for the disability tag. (pride?)
The contractors will be repairing the ceiling and then hopefully house issues will be done for a while.
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That's what we're here for: to make the world new. We know what to do: seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly, treat every person as if he or she were yourself. These are not complicated instructions. It's much harder to decipher the instructions for putting together a tricycle than it is to understand these. -Nancy Mairs
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Petite1- never fails that you'd get called away from the phone call.
Sandy - we had 2 places lose their liquor license. One place had 600 tickets sold to an event on July 4th. Then had the nerve to "blame" the state for shutting it down. I think my area now allows gatherings outdoors of 50 people, still social distancing. Some people never listen, it's profit over lives. I think the loss of license and a substantial fine might keep them in check for a little while.
I've mention before, with the pool down there are things I want done before new one goes up. Tree removal service - I called 2 yesterday, leaving messages. One called back, he can swing by for an estimate on July 15. Home service industry, with all of us at home, is busier than all heck.
This same company came by last year and told us to call the town, the trees might be on their property. Called the town in October. Town said someone would check; November we were in FL, they had my cell number, never heard a thing. I did call them again yesterday. Recorded message about short staffing for yard waste pick up, then I left a message. With COVID, I'm guessing I'll just pay the piper and hire private.
Overcast, ok temp 76, but humid. I go for a wrist followup this afternoon. And barring any rain, in for swim at GF house w my 10 yr old niece. Enjoy the day ladies!
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It hit 96 today, but here by the lake it stayed below 90. Hoping for another lake breeze tomorrow. Sticky, though.
Got my MRI scan results back tonight and talked to my ENT. No tumors or stenosed blood vessels, thank goodness. Not a patulous eustachian tube either. Turns out the cause of my pulsatile tinnitus is that on each side I have an extra blood vessel ("of uncertain, posssible fetal etiology"--did I originally have a blighted twin and the vessels continued to develop instead of resorbing when the other embryo died?) that runs close to the internal auditory canal--and closer on the L than the R. So what I'm hearing IS my pulse, but of normal velocity (not more forceful flow due to hypertension nor narrowed arteries or veins). The radiologist also noticed a tiny (1mm) "outpouching" in one artery on the L, but unlikely to be an aneurysm--more likely just an anatomical anomaly (again, maybe a remnant of my fetal days). Suggestion is to get it imaged annually. But also, to see an ophthalmologist to rule out any intraocular hemorrhage or mass. There's no treatment for the pulsatile tinnitus, but there are workarounds (CBD/CBN/Xanax before bedtime, masking-noise generator app & earbuds, just getting used to it). Knowing it's nothing that can kill me is a comfort.
But this morning I developed a new floater in my L eye. At first it looked like a gnat, then enlarged to the size & shape of a mosquito, and now it's a bent thread that flips its orientation when I move my eye and pay attention to it. Fortunately, we have a dear friend who is a vitreo-retinologist, so I will see him tomorrow. (Been 18 mos. since my last eye exam--and the ophthalmologist who did my cataracts and refractions has since retired). So he will check my fundi and my intraocular pressure too, per the radiologist's report.
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Wonderful MRI results, Sandy - you came with extras as a baby. Sending magic charms for same happy retina results.
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Looks pretty out but I'm sitting in my house -- I know it is already toasty outside. All those great temps. I think are now in the past and likely we will continue with mainly heat. We have had the threat of rain for awhile but none showing up. We will be okay, but I won't be anxious to do many outdoor things right now. Early morn or evening maybe.
My surgery is scheduled now for July 16th. Plans are to take the kidney and clean the ureter. Two days in the hospital is the plan right now. Usually people go home the next day, but I think the Dr. wants an extra day in there. That's okay with me. Sounds like about a 4 hr. surgery. I'll just be glad to have it done. I have things to do. I will have to have other tests done later on -- so for now I will have to keep going to medical appts. My social life. It's okay -- but not exactly socially thrilling.
Hope you all have a beautiful day.
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Good morning, Ladies. It is raining, so contractors will be late starting.
ChiSandy, Great news.
CindyNy, Hope all goes well with tree removal. It would be nice is the town did something. It took a week before the county got out here to sign off on the roof. LOL COVID probably has government workers working from home.
IllinoisLady, Thoughts are with you.
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Sandy -good MRI results, your mind will be at ease. On floaters, 2 yrs ago in FL I had one show up. Called insurance co and was sent to ER. They did an ultrasound on the eye, a first for me. They could see the floater and also knew retina was not detached. Best of luck with yours.
IllinoisLady- I'm marking my calendar, your surgery is next week. We'll be in your pocket, wishing for speedy recovery.
The tree: a few calls up the political town ladder, and a man came by today. They'll mail us a form to fill out authorizing removal of 1 possibly 2 of the trees. Which would be done in February or March 2021 - guessing no growth or leaves, but by then it's full winter here, who knows. But my tree back by my pool causes no problems. So on 7/15 private company estimate, I'll request just that tree get taken down. Second company has yet to call me back.
We are having a heat advisory. Brutally humid is what the weatherman said! Big lightening storm headed our way, may have power outages. I miss plain old high 70's to low 80's, I still need to restain that deck! Hope your weather is better than mine.
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I don't envy your really hot weather, but I sure wish it would get above 70 here and have some sunshine with it. One of the rants in the paper was about the stores doing their summer clearance sales before it's even summer here. And it's true. Everything available pretty soon will have been turned down by lots of people, so not even fun looking (if were even safe to go looking).
Sandy, Good news on your MRI. I hope your eye exam is good as well.
Nancy, In your pocket for your operation. I think they let older people stay a little bit longer in the hospital because it takes longer for them to get over the anesthesia. You'll also be better able to care for yourself. Get all the rest they'll let you.
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Sandi, my floater, similar to yours, was diagnosed as a vitreous gel detachment. Fortunately, it did not pull on the retina. May yours go as well. It also happened in the other eye, but much less dramatically!
Wish I could share some hot weather. Our overnight low was in the 80s and we are predicted to be in triple digits most of the next week.
Illinois, in your pocket for your upcoming surgery and prayers that all goes well.
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Beav, that was my diagnosis too--a whole lotta nothin'. I figured that since I had not had an ophthalmic exam (much less a refraction) in 18 mos. I might as well let my friend the retinologist dilate the R eye too. No symptoms, neither vitreous nor retinal detachment, but.....he saw a 3-4mm "abnormality" behind the lower edge of the R iris. Uh to the oh. Could be just a structural anomaly, nevus, or granuloma...but he couldn't rule out melanoma (though my eyes are browner than they are hazel, I have fair skin) or even IDC mets. So he's referring me to a super-specialist at Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary (UIC) where he trained. In case this guy isn't taking on new patients, he has two more suggestions but feels this one's the best in the Chicago area. He also feels that the absolute best anywhere are the Drs. Shields at Wills Eye Hospital...in Philadelphia. Nope. Not getting on a plane--none of the epidemiologists interviewed by the Atlantic would. Could drive--but would have to be paranoid about public restrooms, because the seats don't have lids to prevent contaminated "flush plume." (Still haven't used one that isn't in a doctor's or dentist's office or hospital). Bob thinks that if it's malignant we should take the gamble and drive; my feeling is that COVID would kill me in a few weeks to 2-3 months (painfully and alone), but asymptomatic eye mets or ocular melanoma would give me 3 years, most of it still feeling good.
I understand eyes are a very rare mets site for T1N0M0 Luminal A IDC (OncotypeDX low)--that bone or liver are much more common. But some people "beat the odds."
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Good morning, Ladies. Not much was done on the ceiling repairs, yesterday. Hopefully more today. They said they should be done by Friday.\
ChiSandy, Hoping for the best for you.
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The wise man in the storm prays God, not for safety from danger, but for deliverance from fear. It is the storm within which endangers him, not the storm without.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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((((Sandy ))))
Another scorcher today. Well, I do get to go get my hair cut or permed or something today. I'm looking forward to it. Last perm, now several months ago it was left longer due to our continued cold weather -- and of course, at the time no idea that we'd be in covid lockdown when it was time for a haircut . That came two days before my appt. I think I'll be deciding at the last minute with Beth who does my hair.
Otherwise, a pretty normal/regular day here. The Moose is back open for Wednesday taco nights. Just so happened that we could keep distance fairly well but I did feel reluctance to go. I think a lot of people don't know that it is back on.
Petite I do hope your ceiling gets done soon.
Hope you all have a really nice day.
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Sandy - Sorry for the news about the need for an eye consult. Hope you can get an appointment in Chicago soon. In total agreement with you about planes and road trips.
KY Governor's 4 pm news conference just mandated masks and I am glad for this. Just not sure how grocery/retail stores, etc. will "police" this and of course this is bound to cause an uproar with certain individuals/factions.
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Right now, I'm more worried about my MO. She's been "out of the office" since early April (doing e-visits), but now she isn't even answering patient portial messages (the portal says "urgent messages will be handled by office staff"). The message I sent yesterday was forwarded to her colleague Dr. Merkel. He said that in 30+ years as an oncologist, he's seen only 3 cases of ocular mets from bc, and all of them had been later stage or a more aggressive "footprint" than mine. He used the phrase "extraordinarily unlikely." But he agreed I should press forward with further investigation.
From what I've been reading, intraocular melanoma of the iris can be diagnosed by sophisticated imaging (more sophisticated than my hospital can offer), and that proton or gamma-knife radiotherapy or even laser ablation might be possible.And often "watchful waiting" is the first course of action after dx. It's usually visible from outside, but it took a deep dive into my eyeball for my retinologist to find it. But it's also possible that the "blob" might be related to the hemorrhaging I had after my first cataract surgery--if so, It may not warrant doing anything unless it affects my vision. Fingers crossed.
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Sandy, fingers crossed here, too! Having your vision threatened is just too scary. Hoping it is all benign.
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When I was young, I admired clever people.
Now that I am old, I admire kind people. -Abraham Joshua Heschel0
