Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
-
Okay little Marcha....Boy you sound just fine, with your hair & it deciding to leave the premises! I know you were expecting it. But good that you will ask about the little bumps. My friends hair DID come back thicker and curly, when it came back in! So you never know!
I used to wear wigs and hair-pieces in the 70's....just because I liked them, and I could style them myself, with all those barrel-curls...Ha, ha! And they sure were easy to just throw on, & not have to do my hair!
Does it get very cold where you live? I could send you a crochet cap that I make, if you would like one....but by then, you're hair will probably be coming back in....
Hugs & kisses to you! xoxoxoxoxo
0 -
Hi Jacki, everytime I see my avatar, I think about changing it, but when he died last year going on for 21 yrs, I found I like to see him still.
My daughter will be 34 next month, although she is developmentally stuck at 14, she is my best friend these days. I dread to think how devastated she will be when this disease gets me. Thankfully, she has three brothers who will look out for her.
Sheila.
0 -
Dearest Sheila.... I remember reading about you on one other thread.... You really are a treasure, not only to your family, but to us!
What a comfort it must be to have your Daughter so close to you... I'm thinking you must be her most special Mom, like she is to you..... My prayers will always be with you.
We had our Australian Shephard dog for 14 years....And his memory is still with me every day. His name was Chevy. But now we have little Lacee, a 7 year old bundle of fur & hair flopping around on her little Sheltie body...Ha! Now THAT girl is what they call "high maintenance"...Ha! She gets so much brushing and trimming, that she barks to be put on the picnic table, & get "groomed"
Okay Sheilah, Hope to see you posting soon....Tell us how you are.... Take good care...xoxoxoxo
0 -
Sheila...a quote for you:\\~ The world talks to the mind. Parents speak more intimately -- they talk to the heart. ~
Hain Ginott
0 -
Good morning everyone. Sheila, I have read your bio and your path has had a great share of difficulties. You seem to have borne them so well, but I know that before acceptance of WHAT IS and what seems unchangeable you end up walking many emotional paths. It is tremendous that you have your daughter and yet that too has its own path.
I have read of many women who go onto different chemo regimens to control their Stage IV and have many, many years available to them. I hope this is the case with you. We all hope that all the research that is done will yield some answers while we might still make use of them.
All of my beloved animals friends live on in my heart. I have pictures of them all and feel they were a gift to me and hope I was one to them.
Marcha.....glad that you seem like you will be able to "lose" your hair and take it in stride. It is part of our identity and for some it is a difficult loss. It went ok for me but I did realize that as difficult as my hair was....thin, fine, and very, very straight.....I still looked better with than without it. But....you can do almost anything if it is just for awhile. I knew it would come back so I toughed it out. Now it just seems like an interesting stage of a journey that I did not expect. I may not have always done it very well......but I got through.
Hope you will all have a wonderful day It's going to be very hot ( 102 ) here and quite humid with it. I'm going to be swilling ice tea every chance I get.
See you later.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
I may be able to walk through fire after today....it is awful outside and I don't usually complain. It is the humidity really.....very unpleasant. I hope anyone out in the heat anywhere is cautious. I drink lots of liquid through the day....so I'm not worried about getting faint.....just hate to think that anyone needs to be out.
Will return later. Time to make lunch for my fellow.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Hi everyone. Did you think I dropped off the end of the earth???? So much has been going on with my kids coming from Chicago, one nephew in town got married and the other came with his family from Prague. Then we all went to the beach for a week. Big, big fun and I hardly ever thought about the big "C". We played in the surf with the kids all day, got too much sun, viewed old family slides laughing until we cried.
I had an appointment with another well respected and not a "Dink" surgeon. I have jumped ship and will have surgery on my lymph node on the 25th. They will take a conservative approach and remove only the diseased ones, doing frozen sections all along the way. I am still going to have to choose between the 2 medical oncologists and the 2 radiation oncologists. I am not clear at all about that. I am so eager to get this going! Get the surgery behind me, drain, heal, do the radiation and then begin the dreaded Aridemex....or however you spell it. I hope I don't have to do Tamoxifen. The said one of the S.E. is weight gain. I'll pretty much hate that.
The next batch of nieces are coming from Houston on Thursday. They will bring their 2 college daughters. It will be fun and exhausting.
I also have 3 new commissions and I have to get going on them. It is a huge amount of work to do and I have to get going while I feel great.
I loved "seeing" your voices when we returned to Atlanta. I have pictures in my heart of all of you and pray you do well.
xoxoxo,
nancy
0 -
Shelia,
You are a brave soul. I will pray for you and your daughter. God and her brothers will be with her. All will be well.
0 -
Hi Nancy....I think we had the search light on quite a good deal. How great that you were able to have such a rousing good time with family and forget for quite some time that your medical life has THE famous bogey-man. It is possible to force it into the background.....that truly is being in the NOW because we are always so much more than a diagnosis.
Hopefully your second surgery/path report will be very telling as far as putting a plan into place totally for the MO's and RO's. Just have to choose who really are the lucky ones. It is Arimidex. That is what I take and I have done well with it....though I did have cholesterol shoot up as well as sugar. It came down though.....wt. was stubborn too, but I have and am losing wt. Was 220 #'s when I started chemo in early 2008 and am now 169 #'s and still working on going down more yet. I'm not in a hurry. People are surprised that have not seen me for awhile. I am tall.....so 220 wasn't great, but most people never guessed that I was so over wt. I have long bones too.
Anyway -- hooray, you are back and all, well most of it anyway is well.
Keep up the good work....you have a winning attitude you know. Hugs to you and to a family that makes you happy.
Jackie
0 -
Morning everyone! Wow Nancy, FINALLY!!! Ha, ha! We were going to send out the troops looking for you! But how fun that you were having such a great time with family! It doesn't get any better than that!
About your new team! Yes, that's what they should do.... While I was in surgery, the surgeon took out 3 nodes....had frozen, analyzed, and called back to her, to tell her if they were benign or not. If they were not, she would have gone for more.....until they came back clear. She then took out the lump, with large margins, sent that back to be frozen & analyzed, and they called back to say the margins were "clear".
You don't have to make a decision until after you talk to the Radiologists...Or the Oncologists. You will know right off which one you like. Just stay with one that will "listen" to you, and not seem to be in a hurry to shuffle you on your way.... And ask each lots of questions as to what their plan would be for you, and WHY!
Jackie takes Arimidex, and I took Tamoxifen for awhile....But there are also others, that you can take if the SE's are not what you like. The SE's depend on YOU, and how you are made up, and your age, & if you have other stuff going on.... You can always try something else, like if the hot flashes are too much trouble, or joint pain, etc....
Okay, so now you have a plan, and how FUN that more family is headed your way! And you are getting ready to carouse around town again, Ha!
Just take care of yourself.... ! Talk to you later! xoxoxoxo
0 -
Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and simple, in itself an ecstasy.
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
0 -
Thinking about you Marcha.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Thanks Jackie,
We have our bag packed and ready to go to Odessa tomorrow afternoon so we will be there Thursday morning for my 2nd chemo and ONC visit. I hope it will all go as well as the first one. I do realize I may be more tired than the last, will deal with it the best way I can. I hope this finds you and all your animals well. We have a minature dachund a red dapple. A friend of our daughter's bought it and decided she did not have time for her, so she gave it to us. Her name is Rosie and she is the sweetest thing. We also have a loso and basset hound mix. His name is Casper He has long white hair a big black button nose and apricot spots. He is precious and then there is our Blue Russion cat. He is a mess his name is Spaz. I will be out of pocket for a few days, I may not feel like getting on the computer when I get home. Take Care. Hugs
0 -
Thinking of you Mommarch! You will have your fur babies home waiting for you to cuddle with! xoxooxo Take good care.0
-
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama0 -
Good morning.....after an early evening pour down. My did it rain......one of those where it was hard to see anything. May have rained more through the night. Fortunately, I sleep so soundly....even though I get up to go to the bathroom, I stay groggy enough that I don't always "realize" what is going on outside.
We have have more rain this afternoon....which is ok with me. At the temps we were having 102 degrees yesterday before the rain, I worried that we could get crispy ( trees, bushes, and lawns ) way early. It already seems with the heat that much of summer is going fast.....if we get a bit cooler it will seems hopefully otherwise.
Marcha....yes, chemo is cumulative so the se's last a bit longer each time and each time you may get a different se ( side effect ) but each time also gets you closer to the last time for it.....and that is what keeps us going. I had 8 all together so the count seemed very slow at first, speeds up a bit toward the middle and the last couple were it seamed slow again. I'll be thinking of you and wishing you well for round #2.
Hope all of you have a wonderful day.
I'll be checking back in later.
Hugs to all,
Jackie
0 -
Jackie! That was a beautiful quote! I liked that!
Yes, it POURED here last night, and not only Lacee was afraid, I was too, Ha! So much lightening, just constantly, thunder & monsoon rain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank heavens it only lasted about 1/2 hour! A lot of fog this morning, but the sun is out, & everything is sort of drying out.
Just met my older friends for Breakfast....Steak & eggs, and it was really good!
Okay talk to you guys later! xoxoxoo
0 -
. "Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste
a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed.
The fact is, most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most
children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages
require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more
often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old-time rail
journey-delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts,
interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and
thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for
letting you have the ride." -Jenkins Lloyd Jones0 -
Something a little light for tonight and then I'm off to my recliner....a long day and a longer one tomorrow. See you then:
The Smile Virus Russell H. Conwell
Smiling is infectious,
you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today,
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
and someone saw my grin
When he smiled I realized
I'd passed it on to him .
I thought about that smile
then I realized its worth,
A single smile, just like mine
could travel round the earth.
So, if you feel a smile begin,
don't leave it undetected
Let's start an epidemic quick,
and get the world infected!0 -
Play with life, laugh with life,
dance lightly with life,
and smile at the riddles of life,
knowing that life's only true lessons are writ small in the margin.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Count no day lost in which you waited your turn, took only your share and sought advantage over no one.
Robert Brault quotes
0 -
So far 2nd chemo has gone well also. My energy level is beginning to run down today, time to take a nap. It is 1:00 PM CST. ONC thought I had done very well. He was concerned about my lossing 5 1/2 pounds in 3 weeks, told me it is no time to diet, I told him I wasn't that I just don't have much of an appetite. He said just try to eat health, which I think I am doing. My daughter buzzed off my hair yesterday afternoon. It feels much better. Sores and cleared up by the time I got to Dr. I had started putting alovera on my scalp, it helped the soreness and itch. Dr. said it could have been from the chemo or it could have been some small skin cancers that the chemo cleared up. Anyway it is better. Take Care & Hugs. Nappy time.
0 -
Eeeeks Marcha! You are facing it straight on, aren't you! Wow, girl, how very brave of you! So glad your Daughter is close....and glad you had her give you your buzz-cut..... I'm sure it must feel much better. Glad your scalp is responding to the Aloe Vera....You know, I was just thinking, you can also make smoothies out of Aloe Vera juice...... I buy it at Walmart...like $7.50 a gallon, & you can add it to hot tea, or I like it mixed with home-made smoothies.... My Husband used to drink it plain. It helps all kinds of stomach problems, and is a great natural healer!
When do you go in for your next chemo?
I'm getting ready to go out & water one of my gardens....really getting hot, but I'm going nuts just ironing, & cleaning drawers....ha!
Hi Jackie! Hope you aren't working too hard cleaning that house! I think I have a lot of energy, until I read what YOU do....
Have you seen that show called "Hoarders?"..... Man, after watching that, I always get up & figure out what ELSE can I get rid of...Ha! Those people are un-believable....and hell-bent on keeping all the junk and trash they have. It's really pitiful sometimes..... It just tears their families apart.
Okay gals....gotta get busy....
0 -
Hey, hi everyone. Marcha glad that #2 went down well for you. I think you may just get through without much of a hitch. Sure hope so. I basically only had one hitch.....that was when they switched me from A/C to Taxotere......and even though it went in fine.....I had super bone pain the first time out.....but then I was also busy getting esophageal thrush.....so I think the bone pain got really magnified from that. Once I figured out ( overnight hospital stay ) that the thrush was causing problems and do care of it.....the bone pain went away and did not come back so last three rounds of Taxotere were uneventful.
My appetite was also weird during chemo.....I lost 38#'s total......but my numbers were always good and I never missed a chemo. In fact, outside of the thrush incident....I never had so much as a sniffle and I went out daily in the cold winter and deep snow and fed feral cats.....sloshing around in boots with snow falling in the tops of them. I wouldn't recommend it for most, but it worked that way for me.
Speaking of wt. I got on the scale just now and it said 166......I am so thrilled. When I started chemo in Jan 2008 I weighed in at 220. I have not been in a hurry, but wanted to make some good come of the rotten way I lost wt. doing chemo.
Glad too that you took the bull by the horns and got your hair done. It does feel good ( you'd never have that thought basically any other time ) to have it gone. I was thrilled that I had mine first cut quite short and then buzzed. It made me feel that I was in charge over something that caught me so off guard. Restored some power back to me
Just remember....naps are good.
Oh Jeannette....I worry about being thought a hoarder too. I'm not as bad as I lot of people I know but my goodness I still feel like I have enough to two households. I'll get back to doing something with some of it.
Anyway....I'll see you all in the morning. Have a great Saturday night.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing & appreciating what we do have." - Frederick Keonig
0 -
"The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live."
Flora Whittemore
0 -
Good morning everyone.....it is going to be scorching hot here today and the humidity is going to take it up a few notches more. We will have this heat advisory going on now the rest of the week so if you are there make sure you get plenty of water and stay inside during the hottest parts of the day.
I have plenty I can do inside and when I run out.....there is always a dog or two that likes to grace a lap. They all three had their baths last night so that won't be a big problem.
Hope you all have a wonderful day.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Since I have not been on this board for awhile I did not see your ?'s regarding my BS doing the new procedure of cutting a nerve after removing 38 nodes. This surgery was on Feb 1st and have had zero problems. I will email him and ask him the name of the procedure.
0 -
Morning Panama....I'm sorry, but I don't remember your question about "cutting a nerve"... Oh wait! Was that to keep you from getting Lymphedema? And it worked, right? And you still are having no problems! Wow, that is great!!!! You probably won't then!
Just always take care of that side, because I read where this can happen even though we are years out from diagnosis...Except you might not have to ever worry! Honestly I have never heard of that procedure to fix a problem before it ever started.... So I was baffled when you posted something about it.
How is the weather in Panama? I have never known anyone living there...I was born and raised in Denver...
I'm just glad to hear from you again... and so happy you are doing good! Have a fun day....
xoxoxoxoxo
0 -
As human beings we all want to be happy and free from misery... we have learned that the key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion, while love and compassion and a sense of universal responsibility are the sources of peace and happiness. Dalai Lama0
