Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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The life of the individual has meaning only insofar as it aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful. Life is sacred, that is to say, it is the supreme value, to which all other values are subordinate. Albert Einstein
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Feeling thankful this morning that the violent weather cells stayed north of us yesterday. A tornado touched down in one area near the Mississippi border and destroyed buildings but no loss of life has been reported. We had a hard downpour that left puddles on the lawn but I don't think the rain spoiled the azalea blossoms that are about to pop into full bloom.
This morning it's cool outside, 58 degrees now, and sunny. Looking like a beautiful comfortable day.
I plan to catch up on laundry.
Happy Sunday to all. Chris, let us know how you're doing.
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Carole, glad you escaped the storms. We are having another gray day with temps in the 60's though. There is a slight breeze but I haven't been out of doors yet. We need some rain and they keep predicting it but so far none. Perhaps later today they will blow in because high winds are predicted for later. St. Patrick's Day parade today so hope they can finish with no rain.
Trying to get someone to tell me more about this PET/CT stress test and was told by the cardiology office staff, a nurse, who will be with me during it, will reach out. In the past, this meant the day before, so this is not helpful if I have to either reschedule PT for another day or cancel it. I need every day I can get to prepare for surgery.
I did move it to later on Friday but after consulting Dr. Google it seems there is some post-procedure radioactivity that could harm others. So need to know is important. I don't want to harm anyone at the PT office and its not like I can ask them about their pregnancy status. This would not impact the patients, just the staff who are all in childbearing years.
Fingers crossed the results do not mean I have to cancel TKR. I have PAT the day before study and I don't want that trip to be a waste. Especially since they will draw blood and I am borderline anemic again. It seems the post-op complications of my abdominal surgery continue to haunt me.
Got the bedrooms dusted and have organized what needs to be rehomed or donated. I thoroughly cleaned the interior and exterior of my old jewelry armoire so it is ready to go as well. It is in relatively good shape and can become someone's new treasure with a refinish or coat of paint. Should finish sorting today. DH can then make trips to Green Drop this week.
DH went through his closet to sort through his Dockers to decide which ones needed to be tossed. I was surprised because normally I need to spearhead this. We tossed any with wear on the hems, some are okay to wear around the yard and the rest are fine to wear when we go out.
Today's usual chores are done. I need to sweep floors by bird cages since even with seed nets, they manage to still get seed on the floor. Why I have animals who shed, moult, and generally make messes surprises me. They do provide lots of companionship or joy so that's the price I pay.
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Carole glad to hear you didn’t get hit with those storms!!! Yesterday I was supreme slug. It rained it was sunny it rained etc. today I got up late 930. But out on my walk by 11! Stopped at a place called Siral cafe. Very quaint. I like the staff and of course the coffee. They make a breakfast vegan cookie so that’s my breakfast. I never buy cookies for home just when out. Haha. My first treatment time got changed again. Same day now 1250. Ugh fortunately my massage is earlier in the day.
doing some purging of old sundries like deodorants and skincare crap that’s likely expired by now. Cats always like helping when I open the cupboards. I think Tipper secretly thinks I’m making her a new hidey spot. You can see her white tip in her tail.
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oops Spiral cafe I need to double check spelling before I hit post.
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Canary, that coffee looks so very highly drinkable and massively enjoyable. I think your kitties are typical ones. Anything that is opened, door, drawers, boxes etc. all invite our cats to participate to the fullest we will allow. So, we seldom buy cat toys anymore. We bring home boxes from Aldi's. They save their boxes for customers groceries. We always have a few available here.
I also love the name Tipper. Reminds me of our cat name Tiny — a female Tuxedo. I should have know better when we named her. She was fairly tiny when we got her from the lady who had her. They don't stay that way here. But, we always have hoped. We did have a couple — so small when they wandered up to our house we thought they were lost kittens. They were actually starved adults that had been so for some time.
I'm also thrilled that you got by-passed for severe storm activities Carole. We had the same alerts, but nothing but wind and rain here thank goodness.
Betrayal that is the darndest thing. Always a bit of a hitch — just when you think all will come off just fine there is the radiation. I hope this can all be adjusted so that you can move through everything smoothly. I vaguely seem to recall having something with radiated material and had to only be careful with bathroom. I think they said to use a 'spare' bathroom if possible but maybe I shouldn't say anything since it is only a vague memory, and I can't tell you anything else.
I'm having a lazy day, but that's okay. I think I'm still catching up on some sleep. Been waking up around 5 a.m. most mornings and getting up then. But in part that is because I do not watch much tv anymore. It just isn't interesting to me. Dh and I have many of the same tastes, but he is sort of stuck in his and I have others that I like — like documentaries and travel shows. So, I do some extra on my computer and ready to snuggle in for sleep around 9 or 10.
Hope you all have a great Sunday.
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Here are some photos from our Amazon cruise. Enjoy.
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Here's Misty in her favorite place, an empty box. She is still petite and her favorite perch is unfortunately on top the parakeet cage, so it is good she has remained petite.
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betrayal Misty is so sweet!!!
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great holiday photos!!!!!! I’m having holiday at home this year. Busy watching hockey and doing spring cleaning. Slow process. lol.
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Thanks, canarycat. She is one of my 2 cats. I will try to catch a photo of Leo. He is less social due to being abandoned several times before he came here. So visitors may only get a glimpse of his butt as he makes a hasty retreat. Misty, on the other hand, thinks she is the Walmart greeter and "dogs" visitors whether they like cats or not. She is a cat that truly fits the saying that we are their servants. She is quite vocal about being brushed and wants it done in the morning so she will follow me and vocalize until I cave in.
There is nothing wrong with a staycation. I am also trying to get a leg up on spring cleaning. I'd like to get the windows upstairs washed as soon as the rooms are finally done. The space between the screens and the windows traps all the dirt washed off over the winter so I'd like to get that off. There are 11 windows to do and they do tilt in which makes it easier.
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Canarycat - you have some lovely cafes in your neighborhood. What a wonderful treat.
Carole - happy to hear the storms bypassed your area. It seems so early in spring to already be having so many large tornadoes.
Chris - how are you doing?
Illinoislady - hope you are taking care.
Betrayal - I do hope you get a complete explanation regarding the PET/CT stress test. I find the lack of communication from providers frustrating. Your pictures are great. Looks like a fantastic trip. We had planned to take a break from cruising after the trip to Norway and focus on land trips. However, we did receive a future cruise voucher from our last trip due to missing most of the ports. Of course, it’s great marketing from the cruise line - if we don’t use the voucher, it costs them nothing. If we do use it, we will still likely be spending some money with them. We need to book in the next year but do not have to sail in that timeframe. If we use it, it will likely be sooner rather than later as we don’t know what the future holds in terms of health.
DH and I went to Wisconsin today to watch my brother’s grandson play futsal (soccer on a basketball court). It’s a fast paced game and lots of fun. I got to see most of my family and then have a late lunch with my brother, nephew, nephew’s wife and grandson.
Cindy, Sandy, Petite, Taco and anyone I may have missed - hope you are doing OK
Wishing everyone a good week.
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Great pictures Betrayal and CanaryCat! Travel while you can, everyone. One day it becomes too hard.
DD has finally decided to come for my birthday in May but I have spent way too much time trying to find decent flights. With the 3 hours time change and a plane change, one needs to either leave VERY early in the morning or arrive VERY late at night. Trying to use up some frequent flier miles so I can cancel those credit cards which added to the challenge.
I am feeling less anxious about the future than I was. We made several financial changes this week, including making me the bill payer and putting more money in an account for Debbie and me that wasn't in the trust.
Beautiful day today and I enjoyed golf with friends. Carole, Ken and I used to play every Sunday. I really missed that when he had to quit playing.
Spring is coming but winter doesn't seem to be done with us yet. Eighteen vehicle crash in northern AZ this week due to blizzard conditions - terrible winds evidently.
Have a good week, everyone.
Taco
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Real success requires respect for and faithfulness to the highest human values--honesty, integrity, self-discipline, dignity, compassion, humility, courage, personal responsibility, courtesy, and human service.
Michael DeBakey
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Will be a sunny day here but starting out real cool. Due to get to 70 it says. I hope so.
Taco. glad to hear your daughter will come and celebrate your birthday with you. Whew, the plane issues sound a little daunting. Not just early or late but having to change as well. I can see why your daughter felt a little hesitant and un-certain. I sure hope it ends up going well. Glad too that you are feeling a bit more in control now that you are re-arranging bill paying and other monetary structures.
I hear you about all the storms and issues caused across the country. It does seem weather has changed and not particularly for the better. Storms more intense, snow or hot temps longer than usual and coming at odd times etc. So far we have been fairly fortunate here, but every yr. does seem just a bit worse and I wonder where it will end up. Especially since we are out of the loop again in combatting climate change. Grrrr.
I'm sort of for traveling if you can — but then that is when I get to travel too. There is a time though. I do agree we have many, many things here in our own country to see if we would like. I was on a website once ( I sure loved it too) where it highlighted once a week all the out of the way and little-known sights and interesting places a person might go in Illinois. I lost the site and was never able to re-connect — drat.
Betrayal, I would love to see/meet Leo too. Hope you do finally manage a pic. Lucky you to have the tilt-in-windows which are the only kind to have for sure in an upstairs if you can. I only have one and they are so very nice. The rest of the windows here are the old Anderson 'crank' windows. They once were so desirable that they were sometimes listed on sales flyers from real estate offices — but I detest them. The cranks stop working, and the windows won't close all the way, and the screens become highly loose fitting. There is almost nothing about them that I do like. If I had the money — all our windows would be the tilt kind — even though we are all on one floor here. They are just so much nicer, and the bonus is that you do inside and out all at the same time while standing in one spot.
Hope everyone has a really good day.
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Very colorful photos. Thanks for sharing, Betrayal.
I have an ultrasound of my ovaries today at 10:30, recommended by my gynecologist. She also recommended a cancer markers blood test that Medicare doesn't pay for. I decided to skip it. If my bc dr. doesn't recommend it, I'm skeptical about the necessity. I'm sorry today I scheduled the ultrasound. I'll go dressed for the gym and go there afterwards but I'll miss my 11:30 class with Ed.
Today is my brother Brian's birthday. He's the baby of the family and in his 60's. He's counting the days until retirement.
Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone.
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hello everyone. I have a neighbour friend who is starting to irk me. She plans walks then cancels at the last minute. Tomorrow is the new ( third time) walk date. I’ll let her know I can’t book any walks the next several weeks. I hate crap like that!! Getting ready to go on a walk anyway as I need to dump some weight!!
I rowed for 7:38 minutes last night during the Utah vs Canucks hockey game. I row for 1000 m. Upping this to 2-3 times a week. I discovered my walking app has indoor exercise routines so no more slug excuses. Yay.It’s always nicer to go out when the sun is out. We had rain late evening but sunny now. It’s 10 am on the Westcoast. Have a great day everyone!
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If you aren't in the mood to hear me vent, please skip this entry.
I am not a fan of discourteous people so I hear you about your irksome neighbor. I have one who is childless but was always telling me how to raise my children. I tuned her our and shut her out after that. Her mother who had Alzheimer's would visit her and want to see my children. She couldn't remember her daughter but could remember them and enjoyed their company.
Today the sun is peeking through and the temp is 56 degrees. It's nice outside and I ran to PT today. I changed my appointment from Friday to Thursday since I don't know how I will feel after the stress test. I have PAT at 12:30 and PT at 3 PM so I will be running from pillar to post.
I have been exchanging emails with the cardiology office nurse about the test and the lack of information about the test being provided other than the "don'ts" which they provide as a handout. She puts me in touch with a nurse who works in the stress test lab and she says the test takes 1 hour and I would need to have both arms above my head for the entire test of 30 minutes. Not sure I can do this, so the compromise is one arm. I'm not sure I can do that either but will give it a go. It makes me short of breath to have my arms above my head and also causes flash backs of radiation therapy which I found to be traumatic. I so want BC to be in my past but just when I think I'm past it, it rears its ugly head in an even unrelated situation.
Now I have this to deal with and to put it mildly, I am really angry that I cannot escape these unwanted medical issues. I just want to get my knee replaced, have a smooth recovery and can't do that until this test is over. Right now that surgery remains in the "maybe" category dependent upon the stress test results.
It takes 48 hours to get the results but given it is scheduled for Friday, I won't have anything much before Tuesday at the earliest. Asked if there was a cardiologist on-site, was told in office building next door and but not in the trailer where they perform the study. I wanted the name since I only know my cardiologist from this practice and it took 2 emails to get that.
Spoke to the nurse who said they normally wait until 2 days or day before to contact patients about the study. She agreed they should provide some details about the study but felt as long as I had the "don'ts" that was enough. Don't agree with her and told her as much and that patient-centered care includes the patient in details of any procedure so they can make informed decisions. I am unhappy with the state of health care today because it is more about wealth than health. Meanwhile the nurse I talked to will not be there on Friday, it will be another nurse on duty. So fingers crossed, everything is okay and surgery can progress.
I do appreciate my cardiologist is concerned but why didn't she order this before I went on vacation. We had discussed it briefly at my last appointment, she knew she would need to do a cardiac clearance at this visit and springs this on me. The timing is the real issue because it could cause a domino effect like my routine mammogram did in the fall.
Grumpy today so I need to find something to do to take my mind off my health. Wish I was back on the cruise.
Carole, I hope your test is negative. Taco, while I am glad to hear you have made decisions about handling money and bills, it is a hard decision to make. Glad DD is planning on coming for your birthday. Chris, hope you are healing well and have any pain managed.
Hope everyone has a better day than I am having. Be safe. Waving hello to harley, Sandy, cindyny, illinoislady and anyone else I may have forgotten.
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Betrayal, I'm sorry you're plagued with all this anxiety and irritation. I've had a couple of stress tests where I walked on a treadmill while hooked up to wires leading to machines. DH has had the other kind, which he hates, where you get injections that cause you not to feel "normal." I hope everything goes well and you get your clearance for surgery. You've definitely had more than your share of navigating the medical world. I don't think it always helps that you're a nurse and have some medical knowledge.
My ultrasound of the ovaries was a nonevent. I don't think it was necessary. My gynecologist has her patients who have had bc undergo this ultrasound annually and also have a blood test for cancer markers. I think that blood test has fallen out of favor because of false positives but don't quote me on that. The technician doing my ultrasound said my ovaries are tiny as they're supposed to be. I'll be interested to see what Medicare pays.
I was finished and on my way in plenty of time for Ed's Silver Sneakers class. In fact, I did 25 minutes on the upright bike and got some cardio in before the class.
It's a gorgeous day with high pollen count.
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I walked just shy of 7000 steps. Getting better every day. I hear you about lack of patient in patient centred care. Drives me cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
I have received no instructions for day one of radiation. Typical. Just to show up and bring my card. I think they assume nurses know what to do. Wrong. Oncology is not my specialty. Good thing I can sift through documents and know what’s salient and what isn’t. If it weren’t for the librarian at BC Cancer I’d have no handouts. Ack.
here’s a bird on my walk with his price’s possessions in his beak
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Being a nurse is a blessing and a curse at times, but I know when they are giving me BS or when they just don't know what they are talking about. I will call them on it at times because I can't imagine what they tell lay people. In medicine, ignorance is not always bliss.
So wrong to confabulate and we have always been a respected occupation because we are expected to be truthful. I was always willing to say "I didn't know" but would get them an answer because to be caught in a lie means that patient will never trust you again. So I don't trust just based on the "title" but on how they treat me, talk to me and tell me what I need to know to make a decision. This includes physicians big time since I do not buy into their "trust me" philosophy. I don't accept that from car dealers or lawyers either.
If you would rather be left in the dark and just trust, that's okay, too. Just a personal choice.
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Yeah, I am doing well. Eager to get rid of this surgical bra. The groomer came over yesterday and finished his haircut. I wish I could do it all, but my hands are not quick enough. Soon after she was finished, and we were talking about his buttons, he hit the "all done" button.
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Love the "all done" button. He is really cute and super smart.
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Chris Tippy is one cute dog and as Betrayal says — oh so smart. I'm so glad you have him. It sounds like you are both enhancing each other's days.
Glad to hear your procedure went well. It sounds like you will be the 'you' you have wanted to be. Now lets see if I can get another U in there somewhere.
Hugs to Tippy from Lil' Red.
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What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life's pathway, the good they do is inconceivable.
Joseph Addison
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