Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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SV our big local joke is having Lark Scooter races on the hill we used to downhill ski.
ps. "Save the ta-ta's! " The rallying cry for our women warriors.
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feelings are runnin wild today...still workin on the transportation.or should i say again im workin on it.with all the money they have for this bc crap i still cannot find any org.that provides transportation that goes from county to county.would you believe??????? SOOOOOOOO AGAIN I ASK WHERE IS THE $$$$$$$$$.American Cancer Society will do a 1 time emergency.Cancer care has a special grant of $175.00 per yr.for taxi svs.that would be 1 vist.I know there is stuff out there..i did get med.transp.for surgery but i had to go in an ambulette on a stretcher.and that was through my insurance.im so angry...any ideas????ANYONE Oh Komen is gonna call me back.that should be another joke.im sad today.mad too.
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Granny Dukes One idea would be to request the annual report of each organization. It is probably available on-line but a hard copy could be interesting. Ask for a breakout of expenditures.
I was off yesterday. My sleep got so messed up. Finally, I was up at 8:30 AM today, perhaps I will sleep at a normal time tonight and be up in the AM again tomorrow. It is so easy for me to get my days and nights totally backwards. I love the early AM but don't seem to see too much of it unless I am up all night and that is not healthy for me.
I did speak to the coordinatoing nurse yesterday and told her of my weariness. She said for some people the steroids do that even when it has just been a bit here and there and not for months and months. Since my blood work is good that makes some sense. Also I am just so out of shape, just totally.
SV So sorry about your friend, surely a terrible event.
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SV - sorry to hear about your friends. Life is so precarious, unpredictable and seemingly unfair at times isn't it?
granny - let those feelings run wild - your heart and head need to acknowledge them and then maybe next time they will run a little slower or for a shorter time. The last thing you need when you are recovering from surgery is stress! - I hope you manage to sort out the transport problem soon.
twinmom - how lovely - 4 y/o twins! My fraternal girl twins are 20 now. I had a single girl 21 months later and had 3 under three for 3 months - all in cloth nappies! My SIL had fraternal boy twins 16 months before me. No history on either side before then but there is now!!! Enjoy them - they grow up soooo quickly.
My tennis club is asking us to wear pink when we play tomorrow - they are running a raffle to raise funds for BC awareness month. I am feeling a bit jittery about it to be honest - still touches a raw nerve - I just hope I am not bombarded with all the 'are you ok' type questions again.
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{{{HUGS}}}} SV. So sorry about your friend. How awful. {{{HUGS}}} to you too Rae, Jeez, I hear you about the 'are you alright' questions.
LC - good on you, putting up all those tomatoes. I used to do all that but now have a townhouse and a GREAT excuse. It had become entirely too much to deal with a house by myself (DH was a regular visitor but not the DH) so I sold at the top of the market (GREAT) and bought and the top (NOT so great). But the townhouse is big and lovely and 1/2 mile from the beach and on the intracoastal so life is good. I have no more worries about pool, dock, lawn, roof, etc.
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barbara - thanks for your hugs. The trouble is that now people think I am 'cured' the questions have stopped and I really don't want to go there again with people who are only acquaintances. I have even considered not going but that is just whimping out and I should be better at dealing with these situations by now. It is usually an annual thing but they didn't do it last year - probably out of respect for my feelings - so I will just have to go and be 'brave' and respect their kind efforts to raise funds.0
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SV, I'm so very sorry about your friend. I know it happens, but it's inconceivable to me that someone could hit anything and not stop! Glad you're gradually getting out of anesthesia fog-land.
Granny, the moods are absolutely normal after what you've been through! Hopefully your oncotype score will be low and that will relieve your mind some. I did have a low score, but like you I'd already decided I wasn't going to do chemo due to a reaction my sister had. There are only the two of us in my family and we both got BC. Don't know if our mother would have eventually gotten it or not because she died at 63.
Girls, I must have one of the sweetest husbands there is! Today when I got home after rad #10 out of 30, he had the table set with pieces of chocolate cake and coffee with sherry in it! Plus he'd made a little pennant that said "Congratulations! One-third of the way through" attached to a skewer and stuck in a plant on the table. Made me cry because I'd sort of smarted off at him before I left, too. I know something I need to remember is that he's going through this BC stuff mentally and emotionally along with me, and it's hard for him too.
Kathy
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YAY FOR KATHYS HUSBAND.THATS NICE FOR A CHANGE.DH.GOOD FOR YOU
LETS HAVE A GROUP HUG FOR KATHYS DH.....OK
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AWWWW, QCA!!!!! Kudos for the DH!!! How lovely!!!
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I would have cried too QCA! You have a wonderful husband indeed.0
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QCA, your DH rocks! Who said chivalry is dead? Not at your house!
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Granny: You want a group hug for Kathy's DH?? Sorry, I am too busy trying to "choke" my DH! Maybe another day! Good for you anyway Kathy. You actually got one worth hugging!
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Medigal....there are good husbands out there...they are few and far between.dont kill yours...the sistas will have to come to bail you out...ha.
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GD, WE have a cancer outreach program with a social worker and they pay for mileage to and from your treatments and doctor appointments. Anything like that in your area? And kathy-AWWWW-your DH!!! How sweet is that! Welp, the dam broke in my gut after anesthesia shut down my bowels and yeehaa-what a day i had on the thrown. So at least it is all over and i can leave the procelin behind (so to speak) and hopefully go play tomorrow. God I need a day on the beach!! And Rae-oh man, I would have a tough time getting thru that one-it does hit such a raw nerve and noone can understand what it is like standing on the other side of cancer and treatment-UGH! LC, plz tell me why anyone would want so many bottled tomatoes?? Yikes, you are a brave woman! Very restless today and cannot pin it down-I just don't seem tobe able tomake a decision about anything. Looking at the perfect camera outfit at the perfect price and i cannot commit to buying it and I don't know why. FEAR is the big thing-I don't want to start up my business again and get whacked with a recurrance of cancer. I wish I was more brave than I am. God I need therapy!! WAAA! CB and Isabella, are you in hog heaven over the races-seems like they are on every cable channel or are these are reruns? Isabella, I am truly ready to try to get my passport (a debacle with Homeland Security in place) and ready to come visit the UK farm. I just have to see this ram of yours and I really want to know if you are a secret hoarder-I mean how many dogs do you have in the house? TeeHee, Sweet dreams all, SV
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isabella, i cleaned house for a coupla guys who bred King Charles puppies. they are the cutest!! kiss your little ruby for me..jackie, your guy is adorable, as well. we have two chiuahus here, black and white girl, brown little boy.. they're 6 and 8 ish. not pups anymore.. have them both certified as service dogs. she's gone blind since then, and really cant be around strangers, less i hold her. she can snap out if scared. otherwise, they are our babies. got to see GS this wkend. the 1st thing off, he told me we HAD to go to "butterfly" world,cause its' been YEARS since we took hiim. we, of course, did as told ,and walked the day in the heat. he walked DH pushed me in wheelchair. then off to lunch,and then my house. bought a sky vine, and a pagoda tree at butterfly world, so he helped me plant and water them. then off to his house. DIL still acting strangely...but...her father died colon cancer 5 yrs. ago, and her mom is not feeling well, doing dr. rounds. so, she has a lot on her plate right now. my son will only "LET" me see GS when he needs me to sit, but i'm just taking whatever i can get right now. i miss GS &GD so much.we plan on "sweep in" visits this wk...surprise..or like Fischer says" TA DA " that's his favorite trick right nowBarb, we woant a full report of cruise when youre back. and pics,if you know how to...i'm in the same boat as isabella..it just wont stick to my brain!! light and love, 3jaysmom0
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3Jays - what on earth are you doing up 2AM? Get to bed! So glad you got to see the GS. I will give a full report (this isn't until Jan 22-28) and will surely post pix as well as a link to my website where the rest of the pix will be.
Isabella, would love to see your Cavalier King Charles fur kids. I'll PM you.
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Good mornin gals.....have to jummp in on the grandkids thread.......I also agree that grandkids are the joy of our lives.....Only 2 live close... 50 miles away.....the rest all live far and I do feel sorry for myself sometimes that they have to live so far.....will be leaving on Sat. to see my granddaughters in MI....700mile drive one way so not to excited about all the driving.....We are almost to the 5 yr. anniversary of losing our 5 month old granddaughter Gracie.....it was a medical mistake which made it pretty hard to deal with......We still are not over it and I am sure we never will be......She was a beautiful little angel and she stayed with us a lot as we watched her when her mom and dad worked...Ryane's funeral was two days ago.....shed many tears....so very touching.....The whole community went out in full force with a couple of thousand at the ceremony.....The schools let all the students out k-12 for the procession two days earlier which I thought was a great experience for them..well must go get my mom from the nursing home as I am her only caregiver so keep very busy with her.....kind of sounds like I'm looking for sympathy doesn't it ?????haha hugs all around...Claude
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Good Morning Ladies
- I am new to this discussion. I am 68 years old and was diagnosed 9/2006, had a modified radical and now I am looking for info to help in a decision. I have one flat side and one triple D on the other side. Uncomfortable and hot in the summer in Texas. Did I mention I also take Arimidex and sweat like whatever. My dilemma, do I have an 8 hour surgery for reconstruction and reduction or have a prophylactic mastectomy? I lean to the latter. Need input from others. How do you handle it, falsies, prostheses, or nothing. Any thoughts on glad you did it or regrets. Nothing you say will make my decision, just give me more info.
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I as sorry I don't post here ofter nor do I have time to read all the posts to keep up to date. I mostly post in the aug chemo 2010 group as I am going thru this now. Last nite i noticed my eyebrows really thinning. I panicked and purchased some fake ones on ebay but now am wondering if eyelash glue and eyelash glue remover that I could get a sally's beauty supply would work or do I have to get the eyebrow glue from headcovers? Has anyone used the fake eyebrows? I went to LGFB but don't think I could draw on eyebrows if my life depended on it! Pennypk chose to have a bmx with no recon and have not regretted it. I have the silicone prosthesis but they are too heavy for my port side so I just wear the microbeads from tlc for now.
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WELCOME Penny and Zenith....glad you are here....Penny I also had a large cup size and had a masectomy with all lymph taken out so I was pretty caved in on one side....At the time of surgery I didn't want to deal with thinking about recon. as I had 6 months chemo and I was pretty sick....I chose to wear a bra with silicone pad built in....it was heavy and hot and I really didn't like it....After I was done with my chemo and I was feeling good I found that I couldn't stand to even shower as I looked so terrible...I dedcided at that time to have an implant where you had tissue expanders put in first....They made my good breast the same size and after tatooed a nipple....I have been extremely happy with the results and to be honest I did'nt start to heal mentally until I had the procedure....everyone is different but for me it was the complete answer.....it made me feel like the cancer was gone and I could look good in clohes again....hope this helps....Love to all ... Claudia
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Hi pennypk - sounds as if we are in a similar position. I lean away from any more surgery of any kind - just don't enjoy it much although I don't rule it out.
Meanwhile, I wear a very light "foob" that my daughter knit for me with a sports bra. My two favourites are one that is filled with quilt like stuffing - very very light, and the other is filled with silicone beads from a craft store. The latter is a bit heavier but has more fluidity in its shape. Both are much better than the heavier plastic rubbery thing that I bought in an early post surgery fog and never wear. If you knit or know someone who does, I can send you a link to the pattern.
With the significant difference from one side to the other, I feel it is a bit of a public service to make them more alike.
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hi penny, I have had a prosthesis now for over nine years...I think I made my decidion...lol
I went to the grocery store today and noone told the roses it is fall..they still blloom
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Oh Lisa gorgeous pix as usual-you have to do a calendar or a book or something!! And welcome Penny and Zenith-I don't have the issues yet on the mastectomy tho they now want to do a double mastec. if I do it, i likely will go along as i am. As to being bald and chemo damage, I just went bald and hairless-no eyebrows or lashes. I simply cannot get used to fake stuff no matter how good it looks-that is just my personal quirkiness. and (((((Claude)))) for Rayne. Very sad! Short note, hello to all and big hugs all around! SV
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Hi all, Lisa beautiful pictures,
SV, I am glad to see you back to your old wonderful self.
Penny, I had a bmx in 06 with ca only on right side but didn't want to be lopsided. I was 59 at the time. I have never regretted it. I had no recon nor prosthesis. I may be a little different but I had worn a bra since I was 8 years old and had deep grooves in my shoulders. I threw away all my bras and never regretted it. I have a chainsaw chest because of two more surgeries after bmx for infection and wound revision but it is smooth now and I can live with it. I hope you make the best decision for yourself.
Claude, I am so sorry for you losses. I lost a grown son in 03 and losing a child of any age (or grandchild) is something you never get over. I asked a friend of mine who had been through the same thing a few years previous to my loss if it ever gets better and she said no, just different.
Love to all and hope I haven't said anything to offend anyone. Darla
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Hi Penny. I am more or less the same as Darla. BMX in '03, RHS 'Bad' boob !!! I go about my day with a flat chest, BUT only at home. Always wear foobs when I venture out...wish I had the courage to just throw caution to the wind, but I haven't.
Claudia...hope you are coming to terms with the funeral...it'll take some getting over. I lost my Aunt just over 3 months ago...she was 86, and had had a good life until overtaken by illness....but 22 was no age, no life had been lived really. It has made me think of drawing my G/sons closer to me. Any excuse and I am with them, or they're here.....MY boys....always wanted G/daughters but only one keeps close contact...can't teach the boys to knit and sew !! Am working on the 2yr old G/daughter, as I have her a lot now. Am looking to buy her a little French knitting bobbin, tho' I know she's too young.!! 18 yr old G/son ....AND DD are laid up, both came out worse when DDs new horse got the better of them both. DD bought it with a view to it pulling her around in a little cart, but seems the horse had other ideas !!
I've been there, done that with the horse thing, mainly because DD was horse mad. We had 5 horses, and a donkey, between us a few years ago. I lost interest, as horses are just not my thing really. DD is up and running again...(well not at the minute !!!) she now has 5 horses. I keep telling her 5 horses, and only one backside, you DO NOT need that many horses. But, does she ever listen ???? Both her and G/son are off work with swollen knees and legs. I am missing G/son, and his help around the place this week.
SV pleased you've 'been' That is the most awful trick anaesthesia plays on us. I was ready for going to ER after my BMX, just no-one warned me about laxatives.
This is just a quick in and out tonight, with not having G/son to help me out I am having to be outside more, and am tired. Hard work is not me anymore !! I hadn't realised just what he had been doing for me.....will have to grease his palm a bit more. I give him cash with one hand, then bellow at him for smoking with the cash he earns ...just wish I could make him see sense.
Lisa, such lovely pictures, as ever, just wish I had your talent. I went to the camera store yesterday, for a cable, to join my camera with my pc, and was told this was out of date now !! I was sold a card reader....never heard of them before, but I grasped how they work, now the thing is remembering how my camera works !
I am a step nearer to being photographer of the year, but don't expect big things! I have lost the instruction books to 2 of my cameras, so I will now have to find an hour or two to sit and figure out how they work. SV, if you're good at photography get the money spent, don't sit looking at pictures.
Isabella.
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Hi Ladies! Sorry I've been gone lately and missed all the news and stories. I have been so depressed I couldn't bring myself to do much of anything. It's not like everything else isn't hard enough already, then my 18 year-old pretty little cat Barbie died on the 10th, and my other cat Itty Bit disappeared the same night. We don't usually let our cats out, but Itty Bit peed on the floor right in front of us, so I smacked her bottom and yelled at her and put her out the door. She galloped up the driveway and I haven't seen her since, so it's been 9 days that she's been missing. Barbie wasn't even sick - she just laid down, didn't look well so I picked her up and held her and she died in my arms about 10 minutes later. I feel SO guilty about Itty Bit - it's like I yelled at her and sent her off to her death. Another cat in the neighborhood is missing, too, so I'm afraid a coyote got them. I keep hoping she will come back - my brother's old cat disappeared for 3 weeks and then just showed up, so I'm waiting and hoping but this is really like an endless grieving process.
Anyway, love the pictures SoCal! SV is right - they look like they belong in a calendar. And SV, you should get back into photography. We can't shape the rest of our lives around the possibility of this crappy cancer coming back. We have to live like it won't, and deal with it if it does! (I'm saying that for my benefit, too - I really understand what you mean
Take care, everyone. I think I'm going to try to do something productive for a change...
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Heartnsoul, I'm so sorry to hear about your kitties. Hopefully the little one will find it's way back. Don't get too productive, you will make me feel guilty. LOL Darla
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ohh heartnsoul... sorry 'bout your kitty.she died right where she was most comfortable: in your arms. it's heartbreaking anytime, but suddenly wow! i'm praying lil' bit just got a high from finding freedom, and will come back soon. my best...3jays
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Morning gals! Hi Penny! Have you decided on what to do yet? Before they did my surgery in December, I had wondered about the same thing. I DIDN'T want cancer again, but having both breasts removed didn't sound very logical, when the Surgeon said I only needed a Lumpectomy! So I listened to her AND a Radiologist before I even went in! I knew the plan of action before they even started....Also I was told I would get radiation AND take Tamoxifen for 5 years.
SV...weren't you & I the same? We both had a Lumpectomy, 3 nodes removed, all clear..... But then you had chemo, & I had Radiation. If my Docs wold have told me, after doing the Lumpectomy, that "I needed a double mastectomy" I would have thought they were nuts! We don't get a double mastectomy after that, just because there is a "possiblity" of cancer coming back. Nope, I can't buy it. So many women HERE didn't get a choice! To stop their type or grade or size of cancer, their breast had to be removed! God, this is all so heart-breaking for me to think about what you women have gone through! And each of us, has to decide which road we are going down! Penny, I just wish you much love & hope you find your answer!
With all of us, "Attitude is Everything!" We just have to get beyond what we have been through! It's like "Been there, Done that!" And we go on, & make the best of the rest of our lives.
Sure I HAD cancer, but I don't anymore! Most of us on this thread are so lucky, & thank God that we are PAST it now.
Heartnsoul....I am also so sorry about your kitties! Heartbreak just comes in droves! You are also right....about we can't shape the rest of our lives thinking that there is a possibility of cancer coming back! So what? If we get it again, we deal with it! There is also a possibility that we will have heart problems! Or an accident....But we don't have to let these thoughts consume us.
You women on here amaze me...you can talk about losing your breast/s, radiation, chemo, reconstruction, and I have told you this before....your attitude has brought you this far...you are all my hero's! To have been through so much, & STILL have this wonderful outlook onlife! I am just so proud of all of you! I look up to you!
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Chevy....I agree totally with you. There is to my knowledge little reason to go farther than lumpectomy if it is not needed or indicated. My surgeon ( a wonderful gentle lady ) explained to me that if I wanted her to remove my whole breast --- she would do that. However; she said Dr's today would rather do breast sparing surgery if possible. The treatment afterward is roughly the very SAME --- so why put someone through a much longer, much more involved healing process. Your chances of recurrence are the same no matter which surgery you choose.
I did get thrown into 6 mos. of chemo and 7 weeks of rads as during surgery Dr. Ryan found a second ( my first tumor was a very lazy papillary one ) very aggressive lg. ductal tumor -- and of course am and have been on Arimidex. Few problems with that but I find for the most part it is minimal. There was very clean margins and of the three Sentinel nodes.....all were clean as a whistle. I too wonder and hope you will tell us SV --- why are you in need of double mx. You know we ask these questions because the information helps all of us----UNDERSTAND and the more we understand......the easier to move on in life.
I guess I too am one of those that have to just grow up and get over it. I had two years of txs and worry and fretting over every little thing......while I went through active treatment. I have given enough to canser now and it is time to move on and to help others. I have faced some other things in life, but I just don't have the time or the patience to live with those things every day.
They may be a part of my life resume' but they are over. I did what I could, when I needed to, to get to the best outcome possible and now I must move on.Heart&Soul, as a HUGE animal lover and caretaker, I am so sorry about your kitties. Things happen and we don't know why. I have lost many and this is not minimizing your feelings, but it has helped me a lot knowing that I gave them a life off the streets, a warm home, daily food and fresh water and Vet care when needed. That does not mean Dh and I don't cry when one must go to the Rainbow Bridge. We bawl like there is no tomorrow which is how it seems at the time. They have pretty short life spans and I am also convinced that they accept ( far, far easier than we do ) the leave-taking of this life. It is much more a natural event to them.
As to the other.....I had a cat return to me after two months. I am not hopefully giving you false hope, only saying that anything is possible. I will pray for your heartbreak to get better. It is never easy but the burden does get lighter. Hope you are there soon.
Hugs, Jackie
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