Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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I just found this.... 0 -
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klickitat--- We are all with you. When I hear things like you have said it brings to mind all the feelings I had back in late 2007. I was thinking of retirement and all the things I wanted to do. Plans swirled in my head almost constantly. I think someone once said something to the effect that " Life happens to you, while you are busy making other plans ".
Though in hindsight there was a little warning....it obviously was not strong enough to make me think there was anything to be concerned for, and all of a sudden....a whirlwind began. I know I went into the cornered animals syndrome for a while -- but these are things, times, and places where I always refuse to stay.
Now I am ( unfortunately -- not retired yet ) well, after having followed what seemed to me, the best advice I could receive from loving, caring Dr.'s and nurses and patient navigators and I feel blessed and full of gratitude every day for the restoration of a happy, healthy life.
So many find that cape and fly and I love that saying too...just like Chevy.
Hope you will keep dropping in now and then or daily if you like.....as we try our very best to push on through the negatives that always show up in life and try to find whatever is positive and sometimes if something is negative....this is a great place to vent -- to release it from your consciousness. We care about life, and we care about each other. None of us are islands. We need each other to lean on now and then because it sure helps us stand straighter.
See you all later. Have a wonderful day.
Hugs, Jackie
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So much courage and humor here. I know that many women around us every day have had these experiences, but it's not something people talk about. I'm glad to discover this place where we can share what's happening in our lives and get support from those who have been through it. I offer hugs to those of you who have had hard times with treatments and lots of side effects. You are all inspirations to a newbie. So far, my issues are simple and straightforward. I will not whine!
Chevyboy—I understand about modesty going out the window and also what you pointed out about the techs having seen it all. As of last week, i'm appropriately tattooed, folded, spindled & photographed in any number of unflattering poses. But, joking aside, everyone who has worked with me has been patient, gentle and caring and all 2,000 of my questions have been answered patiently.
IllinoisLady—Thanks for the encouraging words…I'm so glad you are well. I liked your remark about being like a cornered animal. My family always jokes, "when mom's sick, she wants to go under the porch, like the dog." Joining these discussions is far from under the porch!
Keep planning your retirement adventures! Put some of them on here…
I hope I can learn some of the abbreviations used on here so I don't have use so many words...0 -
Good Morning Everyone,
My morning has been interesting. Left the house at 7:30 AM with Grandaughter so I cold take her to her Paternal Grandmothers in Alpine, which is where I work 50 miles from home, her mother and my Hubby went to gather Yucca cacuts stalks for broom handles and walking sticks. I drove my Hubbies car it is new to him and of course I backed into his truck and broke the back tail light and cracked the bumper. I took Benedryl last night so I could get a good nights sleep, guess I was pretty foggy this morning. Called him on cell and told him what I had done, he was good about it, thought if he wasn't ,with all I am going through he could just not come home. Went to hospital for my weekly blood work, they were able to get it ok, but boy do I look like a pin cushion, bruises are not healing as well these days. The receptionist asked how I was and I said OK at least I woke up on the right side of the dirt. She got a laugh. Will run some errands after work, pick up GD and going to pick up some nice steaks for dinner, feel like I need a good piece of beef. It was 28 degrees here this morning at 6000 feet. The Elk had came down out of the high country to the rest stop on my way to work, what a beautiful site. We finally turned on the heat at the house to take off the chill. Hugs to you all, and welcome to everyone who has found this group.
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Ladies...I'm loving all your funny notes , cheerfulness and positive get-er-done attitudes. I'll be back later to check in after oral surgeon is done with me.....or I him.
Hugs, Jackie
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Hi, everyone from a very rainy NYC.
Chevyboy - That's so tough about your hearing. And I'd never even heard that deafness was a possible side effect from Tamoxifen! I am grateful for all the great cancer drugs out there but they all do have their side effects and this is a really bad one. Glad the hearing aids are helping some.
Klickitat - Good luck with your radiation. I found it to be really easy compared to chemo. Just a little tiredness toward the end and a very red boob of course. Hope you have as easy a time as I did.
Take care all.
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Back from the dental woes that did not happen. Dr. S just did not have time enough to fit me in. In fact, the office girl that told me he might....never told him that. I didn't push it....didn't see any need to get someone "talked too" over what could not be changed. He simply had too many patients for today.
I go back this coming Wednesday.....so glad it is for 10:30 a.m. We were all day taking care of this...... and by the time we stopped and got a sandwich supper, did some light shopping at Wal-Marts, got home and started chores....it is not almost 8 p.m. We left at 1 p.m. I'm sure this coming week will be better and not eat into our time like today did.
Hope you all had a really good day.
Hugs, Jackie
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Hi
I've just been writing in my "cancer" journal. It's pretty ridiculous...I do it to dissipate anxiety, plus, not to mention I tend to be full of words... I also fill it with drawings of various indignities etc. Fortunately, it's not really meant to be seen by anyone and I hate to tell you it's up to 43 pages...yikes! Well, if it makes me feel better, so be it.
It's great to see all your descriptions of daily life and know that the sun rises, the birds sing, autumn leaves fall wherever we are, and dentist appointments can be problematic. It reveals the beautiful rhythms of life that go on whatever else is happening.
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Morning gals! Going to take DH... (Dear Husband) for his 6 month reading on his Pacemaker... We STILL think it is like a miracle, that his life goes on, just like before he first had one "installed" almost 81/2 years ago! It was replaced this past February, and we are off and running.
klick! That's great that you are keeping a journal! I just saved everything I found on the Internet, all of my reports, and I always ask for a print-out of blood-work, etc..... Just so if I ever have to change Docs, I will have the information with me. It's all in a binder, with sweet cards, etc. that were sent to me.
It's so great at the hospital where I get the mammograms...Because after waiting for a few minutes, they come get me, haul me in to a little changing "spot" and wrap me up in a warm blanket! So I sit for a minute, then the "picture gal" comes for me, and we get this done as fast as we can....She shows me the screen of the Mammogram, and I can see what she is looking at.
Then I go back to wait, & she comes back in after about 10 minutes, & hopefully gives me the signal that "all's well!" They read it right there, & I don't have to wait for the results!!! That means so much...so that you don't have to wait days for the results.
It's just such a load off of your little mind. I'm going next month for the smash-boob appt.
Jackie...why don't you and DH just tie string to those rebel teeth of yours & tie the other ends to a door handle, & slam the door? Or there is always pliers! I swear, when the Dentist pulled out my last 8 upper teeth, he put his knee into my chest to get a little leverage. Well, I THOUGHT he did.... Teeth can be so troublesome sometimes!
Mommarch...(Marcha)....How fun you get to spend time with your Grand-daughter! And you picked WHAT for WHAT??? Do you guys make them yourselves? Can you post pictures? It sounds so interesting!
And I KNOW!!! I just hate when I accidentally screw something up! Dang! Oh well....It will get fixed.
epgnyc! I FIGURED you were from NYC! I have only read about it & have seen beautiful pictures...Do you live in the city? Our oldest Daughter has been there a couple times, and LOVES it! We flew over NY once, when our flight landed in NJ on our way to Orlando, & we saw the Statue of Liberty! It looked surreal.... We are land-locked here in Denver, so the vast expanse of any water/oceans is always amazing to me....
Our higher Mountains are really beautiful now....topped with snow, so the leaves have already dropped, but here in town, and the foot-hills, the colors are just magical! Bright splashes of yellow, red and gold leaves, & some still green, hanging on till the last minute!
And yes, if anyone ever loses their hearing, just go to Costco...Those ENT's charge you way too much, just because they can... My hearing aids were less than 1/2 for the same kind, that you can buy from a "referred" ENT. And the test is free. I can't "hear" like I used to, but at least I can hear....I don't talk about it much on these forums, because soooo many women are taking Tamoxifen, for the added re-assurance cancer won't return, & chances are, it might not happen to them anyway. It could have been worse... I think the gals going through chemo are having a much harder time, than I ever did... So I can thank God I'm still up and running....
okay gals....have a great day! xoxo
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Marcha! I found something! Is this picture similar to the 'brooms" you mentioned?
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Good morning everyone,
Chevy...you are too funny about how to get rid of my teeth. Can't believe how "costly" removal is these days. It is all a part of trying to keep healthy but I'll sure have a Jack Sprat purse for a while. My middle name is work-work-work. I'm not really complaining......but will have to catch-up again quite a bit to hear the little jingle of coins after this coming Wednesday. As my Dad would say....work --- it builds character ---- probably honestly, perseverance, fair play, and who knows how many other growth-defining attributes. That just can't be a bad thing.
Marcha.....I love that part you mentioned about waking up on the right side of the dirt. These things become so comical because they are SO true. Thank goodness for a good sense of humor through so many of the "cancer" trials of life.
Which brings me to Klick. Good for you and keeping that journal. This is something I so wished I had done. I didn't do that, nor did I keep record of any of my tests or anything else. I think it is common now for most offices to keep everything on computer.....and the V.A. definitely does this. Guess I thought it would be easy for anyone to get what they needed because of the electronic storage.
At any rate.....while that may be true.....I still wish I had journal-ed. To me, this is not much like anything else that happens to you. I felt I changed in many ways.....very much so my awareness of everyday life. I had become I think.....too busy to notice much of anything. I was not THAT busy, but I think you get used to the daily treadmill of life and don't even always realize what you don't think about and consider. I was pushing always to get from point to point --- and no longer always SAW and definitely wasn't counting my blessings. Every morning...just climb up on that treadmill and get going....missing so many of the gifts along the way.
I do feel so fortunate to be where I am.....even if it is working-working-working. So I guess I have more of a mental journal now, but it will be wonderful I think for you ( I know many of the feelings I had in the beginning will be lumped together now and not defined very well ) to look back and find where you were.....and where you are a yr. or two out. I envy you for it....even if it may seem silly or somehow not useful in some way. I'll always wish I had done it......if not totally for me, maybe for my daughter.
nyc.....I have never been to New York either. It always seems like a romantic place.....and the minute anyone mentions it....I think of Central Park. Jackie O lived there. John and Oko Lennon too I think......sort of historical too.
Well, time to get my lazy derrier' up and get going. I hope you all have a fantastic day. I'll be checking in late --- after work. See you all again then.
Hugs, Jackie
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Had my 6th Taxol today am half way there. I just took my 2 benedryl and pain med.
Chevy, those are my husbands brooms. Go to www.davismtbrooms.com and you can take a look at our shop. My husband had a long bout with mental illness after he lost his 16 year old son in a car accident when we lived in Carbondale, CO in 1980, our 8 year old son was with him and was crittically injured, however he pulled through. The 16 year old was from his first marriage, he got custody of his 4 children in his divorice and we married 2 years later, so we had his 4 and then 2 or our own. Anyway after a bad Dr. shrink we finally got him to a good Dr. and he pulled through the mental illness and in 2000 learned how to make brooms from our GD's paternal Grandfather and it was a life saver for him. Really changed his life. It was a miracle.
Hope everyone has had a good day and evening. Hugs
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Good evening—
Lots of interesting conversation today.
Illinois Lady, I can relate to teeth right now. I haven't been for a long time and have to go on Monday for x-rays & to get my fangs cleaned. I hope the news will be good. I've had teeth pulled in the past…yerrgghh!
ChevyBoy, I like being "Klick". So much easier. I see you're from Denver. My husband & I lived in Fort Collins for about 14 years. Colorado is so beautiful. I'm glad your husband's new pacemaker is a success. I remember the altitude there could sure make me pant.
carolehalston I like your ironing story. I made an illustration one night after I'd ironed until midnight. I'd put it on here, but I don't know how to do it...you'd think I could figure it out (I'm a computer illustrator.)
epgnyc—I read about triple negative, that it's more aggressive. Sorry you have to "do it again." You sound pretty plucky, though. I'm envious of you, living in New York. I lived in midtown for 2 years and loved it. My office looked down on Grand Central Station and our apartment was 2 blocks from Times Square on W 42nd St.
marcha, I'm sorry about your fatigue. I'm really afraid of that…I start my first radiation of 34 next week. I'm arming myself with all the information I can find, but info can't make you "un-tired".I'm lighting a candle to all of us tonight.
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Good morning friends! Marcha...I am so sorry about the Son you guys lost! Words could never be enough to help someone through this.... I can understand how we could just "lose it" under these circumstances. Your Husband should be very proud that he came through this.
I've seen grief just eat up a person's soul..... And to then become so creative with the brooms? That is amazing! I DID visit your web-site... And on Google Images I found lots more information and pictures of these brooms! Also the history connected to some of them...like being used for "Alter" brooms... Anyway....I'm impressed!
We visited Carbondale one year...well it was 4 years ago. Our Daughters took us to Redstone, and we all stayed in a beautiful cabin, for our 50th Anniversary! We fished in Marble, at Mirror Lake, & went into Carbondale for lunch one day, & to shop around. Sorry about your memories there.
I'm still in awe of anyone that is going through chemo, and then posting here like it is just a little bump in the road....I would think it would consume my every thought...So you gals are really such great "forgiving" women... So strong.... And yes..."Miracles" are what keep us going! We can find so many of them in our lives everyday... We just have to get out those "brooms" and sweep away all the "messes" along the way, so we can appreciate what we "find."
Klick! Yes, We are both natives of Denver.... We moved to this little house in 1964, when our youngest was 3, and we've fixed it up to be just the way we like it. We live in a little Victorian house, built in 1886, and we love it. We live near where Elitch's used to be...that's also where I used to work when I was 15, AND our Daughters did also, ha! I grew up just a block from here.
Ft. Collins IS beautiful.... And growing fast! The Altitude here IS high! I feel so much better when I would visit San Francisco, or Orlando! But I'm really glad we live HERE....You just get used to the "thin air" AND the cold snowy winters...ha! Our youngest Daughter, (50) is here, so I wouldn't like to be away from her....
Isn't it funny, that no matter how old they get, it's like she is still "my little girl?" Klick...maybe if take a picture of your illustrations, or ANYthing, then install Picassa on your computer, then upload them to an "album" on the web, you can post anything you put there.... Once you have any photos in your Picassa program, you can upload anything, and "share" them to your friends, or "copy" and "paste" to the forum here.
Morning Jackie....So you haven't gone up to someones door, and tied the string to the door knob, & one end to your tooth, & rang the bell? Oh man, that would hurt!
Okay gals....have a fun day....take good care...xoxox
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Good morning—
4:30 AM and I'm up with a charley horse in my calf. It's been back 2 or 3 times tonight. Too much walking yesterday, I guess. I went to the kitchen for a banana (someone told me they are rich in potassium), but there are none left. A certain person ate them all.
Chevyboy— your description of Denver has whipped me into a frenzy of nostalgia and Marcha's in CO, too—I've been to Carbondale. We used to criss-cross the area around Grand Junction, Del Norte, Alamosa, La Veta, Creede and thereabouts. So beautiful. Plus, thank's for the advice, I'll experiment with uploading the photos.
Marcha—sorry I missed the part about your son. I have 7 grandchildren and I can't even imagine losing one of them. Sorry about your TAXOL fatigue…going to work is an act of fortitude. Love the brooms.
My leg cramp is gone…I'm heading back to bed.0 -
Everything I Needed
Poet UnknownI asked for strength and
God gave me difficulties to make me strong.I asked for wisdom and
God gave me problems to solve.I asked for prosperity and
God gave me brawn and brains to work.I asked for courage and
God gave me dangers to overcome.I asked for patience and
God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.I asked for love and
God gave me troubled people to help.I asked for favors and
God gave me opportunities.I received nothing I wanted
I received everything I needed.My prayers have all been answered.
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Good morning.....gosh, Marcha, I too am so sorry to hear about you and dh's loss of his son. I know much of our life is negative but someone ( and it was probably someone, somewhere on here ) talked about knowledge doesn't always ease so many of the burdens we have......it just takes time and effort on our part....sometimes I think trial and error, until the worst of the pain fades and we can start to remember many of the good things.
Just like a cancer diagnosis having a different impact on us than other diseases, so it does seem that losing children early in life seems to create havoc in us. I'm glad your hubby had you to help him through and learn how to go on in life.
Chevy.....yes chemo is quite a bump in the road.....often pretty un-pleasant in ways, but there are all kinds of bumps.....and if we hear about them, we sometimes think we could not manage them but we all handle what comes, easy or hard, pleasant or not ---- because with the majority of us, QUITTING is NOT an option. I also think some sort of study ( why do I never SAVE these things when I run across them ) was made and when people were given a choice to handle some one else's problems.....in the end almost to a person they took their own back because they seemed easier to do. I think there is a spiritual side to that as well
klick -- I think maybe quinine takes care of cramps. I think most of the time potassium has to actually build upin our systems, but I am so frustrated those times when I get a cramp that I tend to look for peas and bananas and anything else handy -- just on the off chance. I suppose you could google potassium rich foods as I think there are foods that have more than bananas. Anything that will help. I needed to take potassium during part of my chemo.....wow - they were huge, but I got them down. I was glad when I finally got to stop though.
Also, thought I'd tell you.....I'm nearly hopeless on a computer but Chevy talked me through downloading Picasa ( such an easy program ) and using it to post pictures. I was never able to actually make albums.....but all my pictures are in the Picasa format area and the only thing that happens is that each time I want to use one.....I have to go through all I have.....instead of finding an album that is titled for certain things....like birthday cakes for instance.
Hope you are all going to have a beauty of a day....I'm staying alway from door handles.
Hugs, Jackie
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sample for klick:
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Okay, I have Picasa and will try to upload. Trial and error, I hope it doesn't blast my ironing pic into the stratosphere...
Oops, don't have time, gotta go.
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Okay Klick....After you fool around with it for awhile, let me know....we can help you do this! Also, whatever pictures you have saved on your computer, should go in your Picassa program automatically.... So if you do lose one, it is always in other picture albums on your computer...like Windows Live, or Windows photo gallery.... I like Picassa, because you can "edit" your photos...and do all kinds of stuff....
Yes Jackie....All is possible with enough coffee, unless you have so many heart palpitations, you fall over into a shaking blob...Ha! Man, I can't have regular coffee after noon! I love a Starbucks iced coffee, but it has to be in the mornings.... And I can't sleep until after midnight if I have coffee in the afternoons! My Dad used to loved that strong San Francisco coffee he used to drink. I told him "You could take one teaspoon of this & make a regular pot of coffee!" He even liked it warmed over the next morning, after drinking it all day! Oh well....fun memories...
xoxo
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If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
- Mother Teresa0 -
What a great Fall day and Saturday morning. Due to get up to 70 today. Sure hope it does. I'll be loving it.
Klick....hope you are doing fine with Picasa. You can pm Chevy if need be. She walked me through all of it ( had to go over some things more than once ) and was so patient. I'm not electronically minded and it is a wonder I was even able to USE the cancer blog -- let alone much of the rest of it.
Now you know....people who drink enough coffee don't seem to be as susceptible to Alzheimer's, and maybe a couple of other things as well. But....like everything else we do, I think moderation is a good standard to go by. I drink 3 or 4 cups a day and with that amt. don't seem to have any problems. I have gotten to where I can drink a cup around an early dinner time and not be wakeful later, but I wouldn't push any more than that. Don't do it all the time either.
Hope you all have a wonderful day and that it is nice where you are. Happy Saturday to all.
Waving hi to Nancy.
Hugs, Jackie
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Hey gals! I'm just drinking a chocolate coke....It is sooooo good! Been cleaning out a lot of storage dishes, baking pans, & things I just won't ever use again. It seems like everytime I look on those shelves, I think..."I will NEVER use that again"...and it's easy to just donate it.
I had a huge cast iron dutch oven....the kind with the type of heavy lid where you can also put the hot coals on there, so when it sits on hot coals, and more on top it bakes a huge roast or cake....Gave it to my young friend who can not only LIFT the darn thing, she will use it! I made a pot of beans in it once...cooked them all day...but it was too hard to lift, so you have to empty it, THEN clean it!
Also my Daughter knows I am getting a Mammogram next month, and she asked me why I am not getting "Thermography".....So I sent her this web-site, & maybe you gals can look at it too.
http://www.iact-org.org/patients/breastthermography/mammography-vs-therm.html
I have never had a Doctor recommend this, but I think I'll trust the Mammogram, because that's what found my very small cancer...Have any of you had this?
Klick.... if you want to add a picture to a post, go to Google Images....and type in ANYthing you want, and pages of pictures will come up, then click on one of those, to enlarge, then copy and bring it to your post & paste! That's where I found the last few....I have that site in my Farovites, so I can just bring it up anytime.
Okay...take good care. xoxo
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Yep...worked just the way Chevy said it would. What fun. I think I had this printed on a magnet and it is probably somewhere around this house.....just like a zillion other things that I could do without.....guess I'd better be following your lead Chevy.
See you all later. Have some work to do but I'll be back.
Hugs, Jackie
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If you surrender to the wind, you can ride it. ~Toni Morrison
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Good morning and it is a pretty Sunday morning here. There was some left-over evidence that we had a few sprinkles at some point....but I don't see any rain outside now. Hope it stays that way. I have lots to do as always.....but there is joy in being busy and useful. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.....but I do feel that most of the time.
I will be checking in later and hoping everyone has a fine day. Maybe today is a good day to make some good memories....or just be grateful for all you have. See you all later.
Hugs, Jackie
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