Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Good Afternoon everyone! Half a day spent in doctor app'ts. First to BS for incision check...all ok. He encouraged me to participate in the clinical trial I found on EB-PBI which is my last ditch effort to avoid the six weeks of WBI. I called and they took my information but don't know if I will be accepted. At least I will know I left no stone unturned.
Next app't was with MO, and because of my excellent prognosis and low onco score, he said tamoxifen for five years which I said I would think about. He wouldn't even discuss Metformin...said if I wanted that, get it from my PCP. Real out of the box thinker:(
Jackie: I love Marianne Williamson...A Course In Miracles....listened to many of her tapes a few year ago...very inspiring.
Have a great rest of the day...I'm going to take a well deserved nap!
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Kaara, I'm sure you know that Metformin is an "oral antidiabetic drug"....So it MIGHT have more of a beneficial effect to prevent cancer if you are diabetic..... But generally it isn't used the same as Tamoxifen or Femara or Arimidex.....
If you are accepted for the clinical trial, is it "instead" of radiation? Make sure you talk to your MO about that....See if he thinks it is safe, and what it is all about.
Jackie, we have been buried about 7 times so far this Winter, Ha! And more coming in this afternoon into tonight! But right now the sun is shining.... but COLD out... Are you heading into the "Mud Season"??
Bought a new clothes rack, to hang some of DH's shirts and slacks on, because since he will not part with any part of his clothes, we must make more room! His closet was packed to the brim! And shirts getting wrinkled....I could sort these all out when he is gone, but he feels like I am getting rid of a part of him, I think! Like he just can't part with them. He never donates a shirt....no matter how old it is, unless it falls apart while on him! Then it becomes a "garage shirt"....for smoking his cigar, and working on the cars....
So the clothes rack is upstairs, in the "spare" room that used to be the girls room. Now he will be happy! The only time we use that room is when the boys or DD come for a visit. And still plenty of room... He must have over 80-90 shirts...some never even worn. But they look good!
Okay....I'll go finish working on this project.... At least there is a lot more room in his closet now, it got to where I could not push them back hard enough to hang an ironed shirt....
Onward & upward....
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Chevy: Funny story....usually it's the women who won't part with their clothes. I have trouble getting my boyfriend to even buy clothes...unless it's a golf shirt.
About the Metformin...it is a diabetic drug that's had very good results in reducing cancer even in non diabetics. According to my BS it binds to the estrogen the same way as tamoxifen and then starves it from energy. As for the trial, it is another type of short term radiation that only radiates the lumpectomy area, similar to mammosite, but externally. Some on the site have had it, but it's not offered here in Fl, only in clinical trials, so I am trying to sign up for one. It's called External Beam Partial Breast Irridiation.
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Kaara! I so hope you can get that! I can see how that would be possible! My Onco told me that a lot of advancements were coming as far as radiating the breast! She was young, as was my surgeon, and those gals really knew what was going on....
If you are not accepted into the trial, can you travel to another State for the treatment? It might be worth it...
Find out how that type is different than the regular measuring and marking they do for the longer radiation.....If it is "stronger"? for that short period? Are there advantages, other than the time difference?
I know when my surgeon implanted the first MammoSite device, when I went back to her a couple days later, she took that one out, & put in a "Prototype" of a different one.... Since I didn't see it, I didn't know the difference. So technology is always changing. All I know is that one cost a LOT more, like a couple thousand dollars more....The tubes inside is what makes the expense so much higher.... And the actual "seeding" treatments.
Oh well, I'm just glad it's all behind me now....
I now have at least 1/2 of DH's clothes upstairs, hanging so neatly.... I give up on trying to get him to part with any of his clothes or jackets.... Now the shoes!!!!!! Same thing! He "modifies" them to get them to the point where he likes them better....like a black magic marker...a little trim with the scissors, here and there, different laces....And he keeps them forEVER!
It's kind of funny, but at least a lot of them are upstairs with their co-horts! Mine? I got rid of my high-heels years ago....Now it's crocs and comfy shoes! Ha, ha! You cannot BUY a cute AND comfortable pair of shoes. Have you SEEN those cute, trashy glittery spike 6 inch high heels? Remember that old saying? I do, but won't say it. Man, they ARE cute, but I would fall on my nose just trying them on....
My Husband would love for me to put on a pair of them, those thigh-high fish-nets, and 1/2 of Victoria's Secret stash! Now THAT'S a vision!
Okay, back to work..... xoxoxo
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You gals are way too funny. I'm off to my recliner. Started to get woozy from my long day....or maybe too much chocolate !!!!!
See you in the morning.
Hugs, Jackie
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I saved a few pairs of my heels for occasions like that:) Hope I'll get to use them again someday! My DGD wears the highest heels I've ever seen...with platforms! Don't know how she walks, but she says they are soooo comfortable...right!
The woman who made me aware of the PBI is from Dallas and I have relatives there, so I asked her to send me the RO's contact information. I could always fly there for treatment. Can't imagine why it can't be done here in Fl, but it's still only in clinical trials here..even at Mayo in Jacksonville. I'm going to call Moffit center in Tampa also to see if they do it. Now that I know it's out there I'm even more determined, but I don't have a lot of time.
A free day today without a dr. app't....don't know what I'll do with myself! First off it's to the gym to get my workout done and then probably to the grocery store to stock up on greens again. It's costing a fortune to go organic and do juicing...hoping it is working. We certainly feel better! Dr's are all pleased with my "lean body mass" as they call it. They say it reduces cancer risk, so I'll keep doing it.
Oh..I've also just given up coffee...my last vice! I'm drinking green tea this morning...not a big fan of it, but with some lemon it isn't bad. Personally, I don't think coffee is that bad for you if you don't do a ton of it, but it is aggravating my heart palpitations, I think, so away it goes.
Have a great day everyone!
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Chevy: I didn't answer your question about the PBI differences from regular radiation. It is not only shorter, but more targeted...just to the incision area, and uses less radiation overall, thus the name Partial Beam. I didn't qualify for the shorter three week version because it uses stronger doses of radiation to the the same amount in the shorter time frame, and it could possibly damage my heart and lungs...no thanks. This PBI seems perfect for my stage of bc, so hoping it works out.
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PJ, thank you so much for your tips on coping with radiation. I'm just halfway through my 4 chemo treatments, but 30 days of rads comes after that. I'm especially glad to know about wearing warm clothes, because I'm always cold, even in summer. Your tips are more useful than anything the RO tells you.
Jackie, so much wisdom you've shared with us. I agree with everything you said. I had 62 years of happiness and health and life was perfect when this BC hit. My husband and I had retired, we were traveling and bought a vacation home, and I have two young grandsons I adore. Then this! Like you, I feel I have only one chance to hit it with everything that's currently out there, so I chose chemo despite a low Oncotype score. Right now, it's hard to see the light at the end of this tunnel, but I have to keep envisioning a second chance at a beautiful life.
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Good Morning,
We had good news yesterday, Daughters PET Scan was clean. Praise the Lord. I had my port flushed, Hubby not so happy with his Lung Dr. he does not listen to him. He tries to tell him that when he is out of the altitude where our home is at around 6000 feet he feels good and does not have the breathing problems. Think he will go see his Famiily Dr. and request a referral to someone else. He gave hime Symbicort to try.
I started on my new Med today, we shall see!!!!
We are to have warm weather starting Thursday thru Sunday, that sounds good.
Take care and have a good day.
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Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.
Gail Devers
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mommarch: Good news for your DD! Peace of mind!
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Good morning everyone......I think most people know me here, but thought I'd just say....in my avatar picture...I am the one in the red shirt.
Also, we have gone over to the next page and since I am not totally certain how to keep this page and go back.....I'll just have to try and remember what I read.
Marcha.....so thrilled to hear your good news. If there is anything that tends to make life much more bearable I think it is being able to celebrate our children's good health. Hard to think of my own ( no matter what the condition ) if something is wrong with one of my kids.
Hoping as well that you do well on your next med. There is a good chance you'll barely notice. We just never know, and generally don't know why either.....they are all in the same class as far as what they do.
Wave....I think you are going to do fine. In honor of that I found the above quote. I think it helps so much to keep positive thoughts, actions, and especially pictures in our minds of good health and normalcy. We might have gotten blind-sided the first time, and no mistake, it was a major blow, but you have to keep what you want alive -- you have to give it a place of importance to you and continuing to see it just as you want it...... IMHO helps you with the ways and means of it all.
I hope you all are going to have a fantastic day......we had our big overnight storm.....and may have a bit more rain later.....but it looks better outside now than it sounded last night with the rain pounding into the glass of the window from all that wind. I'm on to a good day.
Hugs, Jackie
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So glad to share my experience with radiation. Going through breast cancer treatment is like being in a war... Well, it is a life and death battle, isn't it? For me the hardest part was not knowing how things were going to be in advance. At first it was like being on a train hurtling along, sudden screeching stops at stations where you got off, were prodded and probed, than back on at dizzying speeds till you reached the next station. No matter how carefully I plotted to maintain control at the next stop, the train would grind to a halt, a new conductor would call my name and I would be whisked off into the unknown before I could get out my list of questions and printed articles from BC.com.
I confess to being a pretty passive person. But even when I tried to be assertive it did not work.
I remember when I went for my stereotactic needle biopsy... I called ahead and said that I had questions for the interventional radiologist and would like to talk to him BEFORE the procedure. "not on the phone" I was told but you will be able to speak to him on the day of your procedure. On arrival at the hospital, "I want to talk to the interventional radiologist first, I have some questions." "He will see you before the procedure." Taken back to the room. "I want to talk to the interventional radiologist first, I have some questions." "OK, but while we're waiting, please disrobe and put on this gown." "OK, but while we're waiting let's get you up on this table, he'll be right in." "oh, here's the nurse anesthetist, we need to let her get you prepped." "Lie down on your stomach, put your left arm down, your right arm up, turn your face toward the wall, now let us lock your breast into this vice clamp and you mustn't move now." "can you hold this position while we move the portable mammography equipment under you?"
Drum roll.... Here is the doctor! Me, facing the wall, pinned to the table like a butterfly on a slide, "Doctor, I had some questions be......" "Please," he says, "no talking right now as it causes you to move." ARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!0 -
pj123: Yep...that pretty much describes what I went through...lol! Like being in a chamber of horrors.
At least we can laugh about it now.
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Thank God Marcha! I can understand how worried you were, with 2 Daughters of my own. I always think, how if anyone had to have cancer, I'm glad it was me, and not my girls.....Or my Husband. I thought I can handle this, but not if it were one of them.
I know a lot of the women on here have had to face that...I mean about losing a child or a partner, and I don't know how you get the strength to go on.....
pj, it's like you were on a train going downhill fast..... Geez, I was so lucky to have nothing memorable about that fast few weeks! I just did it and it's over.
Wave! Man, I thought I would lose this post by going "back" to the last page, but I DID it! I can see why you would choose the chemo anyway....even with a low Onco score. It just seems like that is more assurance this won't happen to you again..... Then comes the radiation..... I don't think it will be as hard as the chemo.... Just let us know how you are doing!
Jackie & sereral others on here have been, or on chemo now!
pj, did you ever get your questions answered? Try asking the same questions to someone who will answer, who isn't so darned busy! I did this with my surgeon.... I took my little note-book with questions, and wrote the answers down as she answered them.... I know it wasn't funny to you at the time, but at least you could tell us in a way that we could all have that same feeling...
At least you didn't run out of there with your gown flapping in the wind.... I've felt like THAT before. My Husband has too, when they came in and told him he was getting a "Pacemaker first thing in the morning".....
Jackie..... I loved that one saying on the last page! Something to do with going through something, and coming out on the other side, even better? And able to help others? I mean at least we came out on the other side, not always better, but doing the best we can!
I'm going to breakfast in the morning with "the gang" I used to work with! We try and meet every month.... So that will be fun! We meet at the same place, not only because of the good food, but because our waitress and us tease each other the whole time! The 5 of us are retired.... Have lost 2, but we can still find comfort and something to laugh about....
Talk to you gals later....Take good care!
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This is so pretty....
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Jeannette, that was great and I want you to know I'm old enough to love and appreciate each and every one of you and I do with my whole heart and soul and it may be the only time you hear me say something this smarmy --- but it sure feels good right now.
Hope your night is wonderful and that when you dream tonight it is about your good health.
Hugs,
Jackie
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Storms make oaks take roots.
Proverb0 -
PJ, LOVED your story about trying so hard to get questions answered before your biopsy!! Sad but so true...
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Wavewhisperer,
You are from charleston? Just love charleston. Such beautiful homes. Please say you live in one of those historic houses near the bay? After a three day visit, we came home and modified our two story beach box of house into a Charleston single. It only required moving a door or two, we already had the long gallery side porch so just added the "door" structure that people approach from the street. The door from outside to outside porch raises a lot of questions but we love it.
Jumping back to Chevy's and was it Kaara's discussion of high heeled shoes.... I bought this really cute pair of ankle high boots with pretty high heels, higher than I wear anymore. But loved the boots. Beige with a roll of cream fur around the top. So one evening I was wondering if I really might be able to walk in them. I already had on my pajamas, short bottoms, sleeveless top (it was a hot day a few weeks ago) so I put on my boots. The sun was setting, the inside lights were on, I had not closed the blinds to the gallery porch yet but the windows face the water and there is never anyone out there...a real fish bowl setting. I was walking to and fro when suddenly...there was the UPS man walking past the windows to set a box beside the main entrance door! Too late to duck and run! I have not had to sign for any deliveries since then, thank goodness. Still have not had an occasion to wear my boots for real but they were surprisingly comfortable. BTW, DH barely noticed
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Oh man, pj....If DH saw me in a pair of spike heels, he would go nuts! He used to want me to wear nylons with seams, high heels & a teddy! I haven't dressed up in that stuff in years, Ha! But it was fun at the time...
So what did your UPS man say? Ha, ha! Anything? He'll probably try making a trip again to your house soon! Just to catch you in those cute boots!
I don't have many calls to see me running around in my crocs and sweatshirts!
Maybe I'll try putting on my suede black bear-paws with the fur trim, and a little teddy!0 -
Loved stockings with seams! No one even wears pantyhose anymore. I have to if I dress up. My feet are so tender I can't tolerate shoes without some kind of socks, at least hose, but mostly my legs are veiny, splotchy, bruised, scarred, and worst of all, the hated sock line! I look like I have been wading in Clorox... White feet and brown legs. I've tried the tanning products to even up the color but I think the disparity in color is too great.
That makes me want to ask: has anyone found the skin on their feet is more sensitive since treatment for breast cancer? I know that sounds weird and I can't imagine why it would have anything to do with it. But I practically have to wear socks with sandals anymore. Well, maybe not out in public but I really do around the house! Socks with my crocs even. Otherwise I end up with blisters and sore spots.
Is it just age?0 -
Pj....I think ANYthing is possible with all the treatments we do! I just wear some sort of socks to keep my feet clean...but they really don't bother me.
Oh, and remember garter belts?
You HAD to with those stockings...But with my crocs, in the summer, I don't wear socks... Our one Daughter lives in Orlando, and all those gals wear is cute little sandals, or flip-flops.....
So WINDY here all last night, and STILL this morning! But it's amazingly warmer...almost 50 degrees, already...(4:30 a/m)..... DH woke me up a little while ago, asking if I heard the wind!!!
Is he kidding? Maybe if i was out in it, but nope....or unless a tree blew onto our house.... I heard last night, that around Boulder, they were getting up to 80 mph winds.....
Did you gals watch American Idol? I didn't think I would be interested in it this year, but I thought it was good! Especially the back-ground stories for those kids! The judges are fun too... What IS it with Steven Tyler? He is sort of good looking in a wierd sort of way... and he can still rock it! He has a fun sense of humor....
Jackie, I loved your last saying... Your whole attitude about life, is contagious....thank you for that! xoxoxo
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We watched American Idol last night....although we said we wouldn't because we don't like to get caught up in shows that draw us back each week. We've got enough of that with The Bachelor and Dancing With the Stars! Yes, those stories made it more interesting. Sorry, I don't feel the same way about Steven Tyler...I never thought he was good looking...even in his younger days.
We are trying to get tickets to see Kenny Rogers who is coming to our Hard Rock Casino in a couple of weeks. Here's some trivia....Kenny was my high school boyfriend! We went to Jeff Davis HS in Houston, Texas. We dated off and on until I ran off and married someone else! He grew up in a family of 8 kids..two sets of twins. His brother was his manager for many years. He was a great singer and musician, even in HS. To me, he still sounds the same, but I hate his new look...he should have just grown old gracefully! I was such a good girl...never slept with him....so I can't write that tell all book!
OK, so much for my trip down memory lane! Today I'm off to the new RO to see about this new radiation EB-PBI. I can get it done externally in five days, same as the mammosite. Wish me luck!
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Kaara, did you find someone locally to do a shorter radiation therapy? Or are you packing for a trip? I wish you success in finding someone who will work with you.
Yes, definitely preferred the old Kenny Rogers! And what has happened to Dolly Partin? Wow, I wonder if THEY think they look good? Just goes to show there is a fine line between tweaking and disaster. I love the ads by Debbie Boone for Lifestyle Lift. Everyone looks fabulous. But I "know someone who knows someone" who has had it done and she says she can feel the apparatus within her facial muscles. I don't think I would think it was worth it.
I still wonder how Stephen Tyler could have such a pretty daughter, Liv Tyler, who kind of looks like him! But in a good way.
It is hard to appreciate that famous people started out as regular people. Will you try to see Kenny backstage, Kaara? Of course he would remember you and I bet would love it! What a cool story! Yes, times now are different. The big story now would be that someone dated someone and did NOT sleep with them.
Not watching any reality shows but our lives revolve around PBS Masterpiece Theatre's DOWNTON ABBEY. We are in series 2 and apparently there is even going to be a third series! This is th show that just won Best Series on the Golden Globes. If you haven't been watching already it's probably too late to get in to it but Netflix has all of series one and may have series two already.
Hope everyone has a great day!0 -
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.
Henry David Thoreau0 -
Jackie: Love today's quote!
pj123: I did find a shorter treatment for rads and am going today to see if I meet the criteria. Hard to say I'm excited about rads, but would like to just get this over with quickly!
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Morning.....Kaara, so interesting about the rads possibility. New things are coming in all the time. Gives many of us hope ( taking the 5 yr. pills at present ) that once we reach that 5 yr. mark....something better will have come along or perhaps it will be known for sure if there is value to doing them anymore.....or if we should concentrate on something else.
I am pretty much in line with all of you.....bothers me to see the "stars" who have toyed with their looks because they look to me as though it is a strange clone of them that didn't turn out so well. The only people I've even known that had cosmetic surjury did so from disfurging accidents. Makes me wonder if the stars are actually happy to have some of the lop-sided looks they now sport. And don't even get me started on Joan Rivers. When she first had hers done.....I wondered if she could even close her eyes. I thought it was horrible.
Neat to have gone to school with a star. Sort of relative then....who could have been for sure how it would turn out. Interesting....here is a bit more trivia. I was John Travolta's cleaning person...and hey, no big deal. Soon talking to him was like talking to my next door neighbor so later ( after I moved back home ) when people asked me.....I think it was dissapointing to them. A great gift....being able to relate to people so you were NOT memorable all that much even though you were famous.
Pj.....we have such a crazy schedule at our house.....we don't get into any series type shows, but it sounds like something I would really like otherwise. I hate to say....our t.v. is an expensive sleeping pill. We often don't make it through a whole program until we are half asleep or more....so after futile attemps to stay awake....we get up and go to bed. I haven't had the t.v. in my bedroom on now for months.
Forgot to say....hope you all have a really nice day. Cold here, but I don't think snow or rain is coming....just cold.
Hugs, Jackie
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Jackie: John Travolta...wow! I would clean his house any day! He seems like a really nice guy! Remember him in Saturday Night Fever...my DS has that same cocky walk! The girls love it.
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