Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Bright sunny day now, but this morning it was 30 degrees. We were all shivering. Not a lot of progress today, but that is okay. It will get better. MC I feel for you. I loved the book I have ( I think it is around here yet somewhere ) about Corrie Ten Boom hiding Jewish people. I am/have German from my father's side( Grandma Shinkle ). Anne Frank was another author that I felt deeply while reading. I think Anne Frank died the yr. I was born in 1945.
Corrie ten BoomWriter
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom was a Dutch Christian watchmaker and later a writer who worked with her father, Casper ten Boom, her sister Betsie ten Boom and other family members to help many Jews escape from the Nazis during the Holocaust in World War II by hiding them in her home. She believed her actions were following the will of God. They were caught, and she was arrested and sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp. Her most famous book, The Hiding Place, is a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she found and shared hope in God while she was imprisoned at the concentration camp.Nothing special planned tomorrow, but work. I go to Marion again on Tues. to see the Podiatrist. Since my PET can was 'normal' I do not have to see Dr. Dave the Pulmonologist. That appt. was re-made to August but I will have another CT before I see him. All other appts. having to do with Mammograms etc. will happen during the summer months. I also will have to continue -- more like starting over fresh now -- with the Urologist to make sure the bladder cancer stays gone. Sigh !! It is what it is, but you have to do what you have to do -- just hope to do well and have some sort of slightly better social life that while I am grateful for them, does not include Dr.'s.
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I have heard of Corrie Ten Boom. Even saw her speak.
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I am a real fan of historical fiction and often wonder if I would be as brave at helping the oppressed or belonging to the underground as I know many are. There are so many profiles in courage. I cannot imagine getting on a small ship to cross the Atlantic or the Arizona dessert in a covered wagon either.
My BFF loved to tell her story of throwing bacon out of a meat case. It was dated and she had called it to the manager's attention earlier in the week. Needless to say, it was gone the next time she visited.
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If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.
If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,
prosperity would not be so welcome.
- Anne Bradstreet
In the depth of winter I finally learned that there
was in me an invincible summer.
- Albert Camus
No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
- Hal Borland0 -
Love today's quotes, Jackie.
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This past week we've had sunshine and warm weather, then rain that turned into snow. I took a walk with a gf along the Hudson river, boy was it cold! I think we got in about 3 miles, and I was warm by the end. GF told me she has been dx with prediabetes. I think she's hoping to lose some weight with the walking. This year of no gym, and covid has made us more sedentary than we'd like.
I had a good news and bad news event. I bought a rower from my trainer. Bad news is he really didn't want to sell it, but needed the money. I did pay him $200 more than he asked, he's like family and I know he needs it. Plus I told him he can come by and use it whenever he wants. I hope I use it!
A birthday party tomorrow held outside with a pony, baby chicks, and a lamb or two. Our 11 PM news says 48 with Sun and clouds. In other words, bundle up and stay in the sun.
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Good morning, ladies. It was about 37 when I got up. Now it is 55 and going to 70. Looks bright and sunny. Now that my thumb is working, again, I have been working on my favorite hobby of jewelry rehab, or creating new out of old. Just finished an old brooch with tons of rhinestones. It turned out pretty good, one mistake, but all in all I am happy with it. I remade a necklace that I am very pleased with any will put it on ebay today. I will post a picture later.
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If I want to feel younger and look younger, then it's only natural that part of my daily routine is to laugh more. Laughing gives the muscles of my face, chest, and abdomen a workout. A hearty laugh stimulates my heart rate, causes me to breathe deeply, and releases happiness hormones, my endorphins. Laughter is one of the ways I express my gratitude to God. As I laugh, I release the gladness of my soul into the environment--creating something that's good for me and good for all those around me. -unattributed
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Cindy, how great to help a friend. Makes life worthwhile. I hope your friend's circumstances will get better . The birthday party sounds great and I hope ( but know how it goes ) it is a mite warmer. Good news though that there will be sun. That and hopefully the excitement will keep everyone warm.
Like petite we are starting out fairly chilly and getting warmer today. In the high 50's. During the week we will start staying warmer at night and getting into the 70's during the day. I hope this is the start of a nice spring now and some of the drama ( weird un-expected temps ) will ease out. I'm being a little selfish since I want it to be good. Good for someone my age is not too hot, and not too soon, while not too cool. Oh the days when I was pretty okay with anything as long as it didn't rain too much.
Not too much planned today, but glad to have the week-end to work pretty much un-impeded by having to work somewhere else. Have to look for a desk for Dh's new ( my old computer room ) bedroom. He will likely end up with a really nice room I think. I'm having to continue to caution him about scaling back furnishings. He has had the second big bedroom since we bought and moved into this house. That will go to daughter and sil. We also will have to get Dh a new tv for the new room. He will be happy I think -- the smart ones are an excellent price now. So it should be a good day. I am loving the sun outside but sounds like it could be a bit breezy.
Hope you all have a good day.
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The crazy weather continues - we had planned to have our Sunday brunch outside (just our usual 4some) and it's supposed to over 95. Back to plan 2.
Happy Easter to those who are celebrating.
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Mary, you did not offend me. I was simply too busy to post on every one of my "favorite" threads every day--much less all the other online communities to which I "belong."
Happy Easter to those who celebrate it. We are going to have brunch (hopefully outdoors) at our favorite (for 15 yrs now) neighborhood restaurant that emerged from hibernation last month; we have a reservation at a "WI-supper-club" type of place in nearby Lincolnwood for dinner tomorrow night, but if it looks too crowded--Cook County is being laxer than Chicago--we'll just order our meal for takeout instead. We still are a little chagrined over the fact that the restaurant in Evanston where we & the kids ate last night--Tapas Barcelona--seemed to have booked every table. (Chicago is still only allowing 40% capacity, and some places are refusing to open indoor dining until all their staff gets fully-vaccinated).
Over on the "so what's for dinner thread," I am regarded as scandalous because I don't refuse to go to restaurants. It appears that I dine out "night after night" (as one person put it), but the truth is I don't usually post about meals that weren't wonderful--especially if I cooked them. We do much more freezer-foraging, leftovers-repurposing, and ordering out--because I am not about to cook something elaborate from scratch if I don't know whether Bob will be home for dinner. Because I'm also low-carb, I don't bake or cook pasta. So I am NOT being profligate (yes, we can easily afford to eat meals I didn't cook, and I refuse to apologize for that) nor suicidal. It's only since late Jan. that the city allowed indoor dining at all--at 25% capacity, at that--and even then, we ate out only in vented tents and heated patios, masked & distanced. My first indoor restaurant meal since last fall (and last fall, we ate inside only when bees or bad weather forced us to--and that was maybe once or twice) wasn't till late Feb., the week I got my second shot. I truly resent that over on that thread they're comparing me to the maskless libertarians in TX or FL. (Some of them are tsk-tsking me for even doing outdoor restaurant dining--sometimes I get the feeling there's a lot of one-upmanship going on there in that regard).
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Wow, Sandy- very hard for me to believe anyone could regard you as “scandalous." I'm aware of how careful you have been and of Bob's risk axiom which I repeat to friends. That being said,I find this eating not at home a conundrum. We have not gone inside a restaurant and I sort of shake at the thought. However, once or twice a week, we eat in the dining room downstairs. We've- everyone at Mather- has been vaccinated, except the wait staff at only 80%. So that seems a little tricky to me. We do eat outside at restaurants and try to stay “ far from the madding crowd." This week, for my birthday, with son, Tony and his wife, both of whom in January jumped the line and got vaccinated and 12 year old grandson,who isn't, we're searching for an outside tent or something comporable. So we don't go inside. However, on our morning coffee Zoom, at least, 10 old people here go inside and have been to both Chicago and Evanston restaurants and are not at all worried. The contradiction for my inside dining worry is that next week we are flying to Key West for 9 days. We stay at a wonderful 17 room place- we have a little cottage with a big front porch and comfortable lounge chairs, so we can isolate there and I can read the new Philip Roth biography. We wll walk the lovely side streets and all the restaurants will be outdoors. So, while I won’t go to Tapas down the block, I will go through O’ Hare. We’ll fly first class, be the last to board and hope for the best . Even vaccinated, I’m aware it’s not 100% safe, and who knows, without a spleen, how many antibodies, I even have. But want to breathe Key West air one more time.
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Sandy, I read the What's for Dinner? thread daily and usually post. I am aware of no criticism of you for eating out. Any negative comments must have come through Personal Messages.
It's a pretty Easter Sunday here. I have many memories of attending church in a spiffy outfit and memories of Easter Egg Hunts on the church grounds when I was a child. But today is just a nice Sunday here with no plans to go anywhere.
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We plant seeds that will flower as results in our lives, so best to remove the weeds of anger, avarice, envy and doubt, that peace and abundance may manifest for all. Dorothy Day.
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A bit of jealousy??? can be a mite ugly or whatever is going on. I too am jealous Sandy, but not to the point of making a big deal of it. I'm glad for people who have done well and no one I know would apologize which is just what I admire. They ARE who they ARE. I think we all learn from one another -- no matter what station we have in life. If your station is better, then there is something more to reach for. If we" reachers "don't get there -- then a we are not suppose to. We are learning on our OUR level while you and others like you are learning on yours. Just meaning -- we all have our place and while we may be envious to a degree we can't forget -- while you may be say monetarily better off, you likely have problems we would not want at all and perhaps would have no idea how to begin to deal with them.
Glad you mentioned the incident so I can work on my jealousies that I think most of the time are fairly slight since there should only be enough to make me want to work a little harder for my own improvement. I don't want to be 'holier than thou ( need a lot more work on that ) but I feel sad that many of us have a part of us that has a bit of a cruel streak that needs taming so we don't build ourselves up at the expense of others. As noted in your story -- if we only knew it, it likely doesn't end up doing much for us.
Beauty of a day today. Our warmth begins -- something perfect for Easter -- high 70's and maybe even up to 80. We are never for sure which is okay since all our days are holidays. The entire week is going to have great temps. Not going to consider rain but knowing it could appear.
Hope you all have a beautiful day.
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Happy Easter. Here is my remade necklace
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petite1: That necklace is absolutely beautiful. You really have a creative side and a good eye. Lucky the buyer of that one.
Happy Easter to all. It is sunny and in the low 60's here. Buds on the Japanese maple so it will be leafing soon. About 15 years ago it took a direct hit when we had a tree fall (yes, we have had more than one tree strike but less damage then) and I lost over 2/3's of it. It is resilent and is now back to being a good sized tree whose branches touch the ground in an umbrella shape by early summer. It is right outside the bay window in the kitchen eat in area so I get to watch it evolve over the seasons. Just love this tree. The daffodils and grape hyacinths under it are in bloom.
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I'm jealous of all that fine weather. It's mostly cloudy here with a high of 50 predicted. It will go up the rest of the week, but not as far as 60. Rained last night but stopped this morning early. Our yard is packed with daffodils, hyacinth, anemone blanda, and some kind of stalk with blue bells (possibly squill) and a early orange tulip. Makes up for the cloudy skies.
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Wow --- those yards sound so pretty. I've mentioned before that every thing gets mowed here so I have very little. Sort of a shame which such a big yard. I'd love ( I think ) a Magnolia tree and Wisteria and have always loved the old fashioned Lilac bushes although the flowers are not real long lasting. I've tried to grow vinca minor groundcover and it hasn't done so well. I think I will have to start over -- lay a mound and plant on the top of the mound and then it will end up spreading in all directions. I also love daisies, but they end up being eaten by the mower. Have a couple of ground covers which have done well because they are too low for the mower to get but they don't flower much. Just another of those 'one of those things' from here.
Also meant to say that necklace is just stunning.
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Petite, that necklace is beautiful!!
Sandy, glad that I did not offend you. Note the next paragraph.
I am going through a bit of depression. I just started another round of counseling. I don't want to go out walking with the dog. I don't want to resume working out at the gym. I want to take a nap whenever I feel like it, so what if it messes up my sleep. I intensely care about what others think of me. I would rather marinate in my sad feelings. But at least I can recognize what I need to do to pull myself out of it.
I worked in my garden today. Really need to use my sewing machine. But I don't want to. Laughing at myself.
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Mary - glad you are getting the help you need. This year has just plain hard and I'm sure even harder for those don't have a partner to share the stress. I know I have put off many tasks this year that wouldn't take long if I would just "do it" but I don't seem to.
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(((((Mary ))))) Not to minimize in any way but I too ( after a tremendously big sigh just now ) have to admit that I've been putting a few things on the back burner that should be done. Taco is so right. Coping these days has some steep ups and downs and harsh circles. I'm glad your personal awareness is high. Hope the hugs help.
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Lovely Easter weather and day here. Thank you for the greetings to those who shared them. Sandy, I'm on the dinner thread and was also unaware of any judgement and am sorry you experienced that. I enjoy all your stories and it has seemed you do normal, appropriate things for these times. I also dont post many meh dinners. So call me befuddled. 😕
Mary good for you taking this depressed time and trying to work through it. I have been sewing a baby quilt for ages. I'd like to finish it before she goes to college 🤣
Petite agree with all - lovely necklace.
Have a good week all.
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Petite, the necklace is beautiful. I'm impressed. You are talented.
Mary, I'm sorry you're battling depression. I don't recall whether you mentioned taking any medication. I started taking low dose Effexor when I stopped taking hormone replacement in 2009 following diagnosis of my bc. I have continued taking it, and it takes the edge off all emotions, not always a good thing. I attempted to wean myself off it several times and wasn't successful.
Today is another beautiful day. I plan to go outside and do some yard chores. Once I get myself out there, I don't mind the work so much.
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Over the years I have come to believe that life is full of unchosen circumstances, that being human has to do with the evolution of our individual consciousness and with it, responsibilities for choice. Pain and joy both come with life. I believe that how we respond to what happens to us and around us shapes who we become and has to do with the psyche or the soul's growth. -Jean Shinoda Bolen
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Oh, yeah. I have been on Effexor 12 years. LOL. Been told it is a for life thing, I don't mind. I guess wearing the ankle brace and being sensitive about it and facing the summer when I will have to shed the jeans (yes, elastic waist and wide legs, granny jeans) which cover it will be tough.
Quilting meeting on Weds. I have one I am working on. Had a pile of higher priority stuff, like marinating, really ought to get to work on it.
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Mary, Good for you realizing you need to work on the depression. I'm on Wellbutrin for life after several major depressive episodes puts me in the highest risk category for another. So far it's really helped.
Carole, Effexor is one that is difficult to decrease without nasty symptoms. It should be the slowest taper possible with the possible goal of reducing the dose rather than eliminating. PS I am definitely not a doctor.
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Mary, thank you for mentioning your depression. I'm a lifer on meds and every now and then they need to be changed around slightly. They really help.
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Judy, how wonderful that you get to return to Key West! Some day....
Mary, glad you've recognized your depression and are getting counseled for it. Nothing wrong with "Effexor-for-life." In fact, I had a full year of postpartum depression (with anorexia for the first 7 months--not a recommended weight-loss method) starting about when Gordy was about 8 weeks old. Because of the meds I was on (after trying several different ones, a combo of Xanax & Desyrel), I had to stop breastfeeding him, and I still feel so guilty about that. I was okay w/o meds for the next 6 years, regaining all the weight I lost and then some, losing again on Jenny Craig and then beginning to regain. I then learned that Prozac sometimes caused weight loss, so my primary put me on it--and then Redux, which worked very well. Then I was hit by a car, and shortly afterward, Redux was pulled from the market. I tried Effexor (which for me was "side-Effexor") and eventually went back on Prozac, and a year later Wellbutrin--which I'm still on 22 yrs. later.
My doctors have all told me that of all the meds I'm on, antidepressants would be the last one they'd have me discontinue. My shrink (actually the family shrink) retired last year after open-heart surgery; haven't felt the need yet to find a new one. If I do, I'd like it to be an oncopsychiatrist. This past year has been a bit of a rollercoaster, especially since the melanoma dx. It sometimes causes insomnia (especially if I've forgotten to take my 1/2 mg. of Xanax at bedtime) because I obsess over the "what if it spreads?" fears. (Unlike cutaneous, metastatic ocular melanoma doesn't respond to drugs or immunotherapy).
I got into a bit of a kerfuffle the other day over on WhatNext (an all-cancers blog/forum, though breast is far & away the most common over there). There are a few hardcore Evangelicals on there, and yesterday one made a post saying "Whatever your faith, the Message of Easter will lift you up, because history shows Jesus walked the earth, helping, healing & teaching." I gently (at first) responded that it was a cancer forum, with no sub-threads for various interests & spiritualities like we have here on BCO, and that it was not an appropriate place for proselytizing--especially because it made those of other faiths uncomfortable and that not everybody regards the Bible as history. I was tempted to ask what exactly "the Message of Easter" is, but I didn't have to, because...
She and several others shot back that Easter is all about "love," which "everyone can get behind." One took issue with the word "Easter" because to her it refers to a pagan holiday (she posted a YouTube link as "proof"), and snippily said "true" Christians call it "Resurrection Day." Another said she would never be offended by a post that did not fit her faith, and besides, where was my proof that Jesus didn't "heal, help & teach?" I replied that to many Jews (especially the majority in Jerusalem before the Crucifixion), many of his teachings were offensive--especially the one commanding followers to leave their parents and cut all ties with them unless the parents were true believers, which to many Biblical scholars was a rejection of the 4th Commandment ('honor thy father & mother").
I also explained that to many Jews--especially those of us with roots in the Pale of Settlement--being evangelized to about Easter is a trigger. Too many of our (including my) ancestors were terrorized, persecuted and even killed in the name of "the Message of Easter," which all too often was an excuse to rampage through the shtetls & ghettos, wreaking revenge on the perceived "Christ-killers." (Christmas isn't anywhere near much of a trigger, as it was never used as a justification to commit violence). I said that until either people stopped proselytizing on the site or there was a subforum designated for doing so, I was leaving WhatNext (which IMHO devolved since the death of its founder GregWP from head & neck cancer earlier this year). I don't need it--I have all of you here (plus my three bc mentees and ocular melanoma mentor at Imerman Angels).
Sorry if I offended some here (I may likely have), but I had to vent about what Easter sometimes means to me (and many Jews), other than new beginnings, Peeps and biting the ears & butts off chocolate bunnies.
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Sandy - I haven't been on WhatNext for a few years. I"m sorry to hear that Greg passed away earlier this year, but I knew that he was battling his nth round of cancer. You are much braver than me for speaking up - as much as I'm involved through work with equity etc, I avoid religious comments with people who you can't reason with such as the people who gave you such grief!!!
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