Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
-
I agree that a female body without any estrogen just isn't a happy body. I wonder if my body isn't sneaking some estrogen from somewhere (fat cells?) since I'm not miserable taking arimidex. One thing you learn from having bc is to enjoy each day for what it is.
I had an interesting experience Friday night. My neighbor was hosting her Bonko group and invited me and some other female neighbors to join them. I had never played bonko, which is a dice game. It was fun but I wasn't very good at rolling the dice and getting the numbers I was rolling for.
Today I played duplicate bridge with a woman older than me (84). She was hard of hearing and couldn't see very well, but it was still kinda fun. Bridge is such a challenging game.
DH and I are watching the Nascar race on tv. He loves car racing.
Hope everyone had a good Monday.
0 -
That does sound fun Carol, perhaps socializing is the best medicine along with laughter. While I havent played that game throught about a couple of classes at local college, fun ones. Its almost free to go and renew some of the interests I had in my other life. Jackie said it right, fear, it was overwhelming and time to move on. Every little pain is not a bad thing we have them at our age. Vicodin helped me today, its a mood upper for me and felt like I wanted to stop cancer's butt.
Have a nice day everyone, going to get lots of rain in Kansas tonight and then Spring (like we have had winter)
0 -
Carole! You say NASCAR? I fell in love with that "sport" about 10 years ago! How do you like that "pack racing?" It is very exciting, but there are always so many pile-ups! Did you see Kyle Bush last week? He almost was wrecked twice, and pulled off to WIN!!!
The draft-racing is good, but not on a fast track like Daytona..... And that FIRE!!! I'm surprised the whole track was raceable after that. Juan Pablo M. could not avoid hitting that jet dryer with 200 pounds of jet fuel in it! I thought he would be toast. I fell asleep after an hour of that fire and cleaning, and woke up to another hour of cleaning before they raced again. I was just glad that Daytona is behind them....
I also agree about the Estrogen, and how our body does need it. Even at our age, we produce it with our Adrenal glands, breasts and liver....(I think) I looked it up once. I have recently look up quite a few articles on Estrogen after breast cancer..... I have even read where estrogen is always blamed for breast cancer, when it probably isn't. My Mom had breast cancer, and never had any extra pills or patches.....
www.womenshealthnetwork.com/default.aspx
Our bodies (this sounds corny) ARE our temple, we are born with perfect bodies, (usually) and it's up to us to take care of them. There are too many factors in our lives to just blame it on ..... Estrogen. No-one KNOWS why each of us get breast cancer.
One of our VIP's where I worked got breast cancer. They removed his breast, but he had mets, and didn't make it even with treatment.
Jackie...I love your attitude. I remember being over-whelmed like that also... Not from breast-cancer, but after my Mom passed away, then my Dad a year later, and thinking WHAT would my Brother and I DO??? We were both there, trying to just get through the last funeral....then their house, every belonging they had...
But we held hands one morning by the stove, and he did an "Affirmation".... we just cried, and went on fixing breakfast...then did one thing at a time.... just give me 10 more minutes without falling apart.... then do one more thing..... one more day... And we got through it all.
House was up for sale, car was given to his dearest friend, we left for San Francisco airport before dawn one morning, and I really did "leave my heart" there. Sometimes we have to be strong, just for survival.
Jennifer, sounds like you are doing better now.... I hope so..... Just one day at a time....!
Morning Marcha, munnybunny & Kaara! Talk to you gals later....xoxoxo
Edited by Mods to update link0 -
Remember, there are no mistakes, only lessons. Love yourself, trust your choices, and everything is possible.
Cherie Carter-Scott
0 -
Morning from my little home office.....gray outside -- boo. Well, our temps seem to be trying to stay up so all is not so bad.
I chose ( like I so often do ) a quote without reading any posts.....and it turned out great. I didn't realize it.....but lots of people probably live by a ten-minute rule. May not call it that.....but we all need some way to get by -- to hang in there.
jennifer.....I do think spending time around other people is a huge help for us and also....laughter is a wonderful medicine. I go into another cancer blog....and there is a woman there who teaches/shows people how to use laughter yoga. I think the website is Laughing Joyfully :::disclaimer here: I do not really know anything about it but just know it exists and am only mentioning it because I really do believe laughter is such a positive part of health -- I read somewhere that your body does not recognize or distinguish whether it is forced or natural -- and why not. It's not a hard thing to do and better yet....it is free. At some point, even if a bit forced, you might find yourself getting to a natural point.
We tend to get so toned into ourselves -- especially when we are having active treatment for something.....it is good to reach a point where you are experiencing others, or being with others in whatever way you choose. We continue to grow and growth is almost always good.
There is still so much not known about cancer. I feel that we probably do have estrogen running around through our bodies but maybe it makes some difference in amt. produced. For all these yrs. of work, tests, trials, etc. so many questions still out there. For me it comes down too ( since some of the answers don't seem forthcoming ) I did what I could when I had too, and now it is a matter of faith that it was enough to keep me safe and cancer free the rest of my life.
I'm, charging ahead to live life fully as I can most of the time and save worrying about things unless I absolutely find something to worry about......although I will have some apprehensions going until I get test results back.
Hope you all have a wonderful day.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Morning ladies!
Yes Jackie, I've had a lot of "life lessons" over the years, and I really do learn more from the things that go wrong than from the things that go well. I tried to impart this rule in business...don't be afraid of making a mistake, but be willing to admit that you made it and figure out how you would do it differently the next time around. I used to do this to my kids as well when they screwed up...if you had this to do over, what would you do? I didn't always get the answers I was looking for:(
I tried this tactic once on DGD's boyfriend while skiing in Co, when he made a scene outside a bar in Breck, fighting with DGD. I was quite annoyed that this had happened, but I kept my cool. I asked him the next morning that key question...What would you have done differently if you had a do over? His wiseass answer was... "I would have never taken the bit@# out in the first place"... (speaking of my GD to me!) Needless to say, I had a long talk with DGD about getting this hot head out of her life, and she since has. BTW she was asked the same question and was able to give a satisfactory answer, and I think to this day she has sworn off whatever they were drinking that night:)
We're not big Nascar fans, but my boyfriend's son is a huge fan, as is one of my sons, so occasionally we watch the race to make them happy.
It's another beautiful day in S. Florida. Today we're having lunch with boyfriend's kids and grandbaby that are in town from Vail. Haven't seen her since last summer when she was less than two months old.
Have a great day everyone!
0 -
CIhevy, how sad to lose both your parents in such a short time. How old were you and your brother? My father died in 1995 and I still miss him. I'm sure my mother does. She is 89 and is still living alone in their house where they raised me and my five siblings.
My husband did some stock car racing in his younger years and is a NASCAR fan. I watch the races with him on tv or at least I watch parts of the race. I've learned the names of the drivers. We went to a couple of races some years back, one at Rockingham (where they no longer race) and one at Pocono. You have to wear ear protection because the noise is horrendous. And the beers are BIG! One thing that really amused me is that the lines at the men's restrooms are longer than the lines at the women's! All that beer drinking!
Jennifer, hang in there. I remember how difficult the first six months after dx and surgery were for me But time passed and the horror lessened. I couldn't imagine at first waking up in the morning and not thinking about breast cancer but eventually I started to feel normal again. It is a "new normal." Certain odd things grew familiar, like the tightness in my chest as if I'm wearing an internal bra. This sensation comes from having reconstruction with implants. I'm completely used to it now.
DH went to an orientation today for the cardiac rehab program he's beginning. I'm so glad he's doing this. Three days a week he'll do an exercise workout while wearing a heart monitor. I'm hoping he'll get more conscientious about exercise and diet. He's 5' 11" and weighs 230, which is too much weight. He was overweight as a child and teenager. It doesn't help that he loves food. We both need to eat smaller portions. Actually our diet is healthy for the most part. He has always been big on using the salt shaker and he's trying to adjust to less sodium.
We had an early dinner tonight because DH has a woodworkers' guild meeting. So I'm home alone and enjoying the coolness. I turned on the AC after he left! It was 80 degrees here today and humid. I have missed having some cold weather this winter. The azaleas are starting to bloom and the trees are leafing out. Nature thinks it's spring and I guess it might be.
Hope you all have a peaceful evening.
0 -
Carole.....if you ( I did it ) go I think it was at least 15 days without something.....like sugar or salt, you will lose your taste/addiction for it. Sugar was the hard one for me. When I was weaning from salt.....I could use other spices, but mainly I just loaded on the pepper. It was difficult.....but I just went without sugar ( how I learned to drink black coffee ) for the time period and since that time....I do sweeten with Splenda ( still have black coffee )....but table sugar doesn't always taste good to me now.
I also can eat something ( like a few French Fries ) with regular salt and it does not seem to reawaken the craving. Our salt shaker sits on the counter till I notice it looking odd.....sort of chunky etc....and pour it out and put in some fresh. We keep it for guests mainly. I think once you become non-dependent on these things you REALLY realize their use is somewhat of an addiction like many others, smoking, alcohol, sodas.
That being said...I still enjoy wine and a soda ( usually ginger-ale ) now and then, but I can go for months and not think of them. I broke these addictions a few yrs. before I was diagnosed....so it was probably 2004 or so.
I hope your hubby does well in his program.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
I will say this about being an optimist: even when things don't turn out well, you are certain they will get better.
~ Frank Hughes
0 -
Good morning all --- hope you are all well and came through the weather last night. We had lots of thunder and some rain.......tornadoes all around us but none reported here. I guess we are officially in the season now. Something else that needs to go on the prayer list. Will be in the 60's today and sunny......that doesn't have a bad ring to it at all.
So....I am hoping you are all fine and will stay that way. See you later.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Morning gals...Carole..... My Dad passed away Jan. 1, 1999....My Mom, 1997. They lived in the Bay Area, and I would always love to go see them....but it's really hard when you can see them just doing less, and less....not wanting to walk.
But they did the best they could.... We had a large funeral for Mom.... so very hard. So when dad died, my Brother and I just said no.... too hard. So we had a graveside service, just his closest friends....One of his buddies from the bar, even brought a military flag, & said a few words, because Dad was in WW2..... then we went to the little bar that Dad loved, and we all had a drink for him..... Much easier, than a large funeral, and reception.
But when my girls went back home, it was just me and my Brother.... We asked my Dad's best friend, to tell the neighbors, and we had open house, so they could take whatever they wanted. I was in a fog. I remember Dad's old stained pants were hanging in the closet, & when I took them out I just fell across the bed and sobbed..... The neighbors were all told to leave. My Brother and I were better off....alone.
So a whole lifetime was torn apart...everything sold, or donated, and we put the house up for sale. Did all that within 2 weeks. Yes....I miss my Dad especially... I thought he was a drunk all his life.... (well, I guess he was.) But after Mom died, he changed so much.... he was so lonely, and he finally realized I could love him....and I did too! We became so very close....talking every day....I would fly out to see him every few months. But I think he died of a broken heart. So I learned to really love and care for him...at least I had that time with him...right?
NASCAR! Carole, I went to just one race 10 years ago in Phoenix...It was "okay"....but I didn't know anything about ANYthing.
Since then I have learned all about it...their names, cars, personalities...etc! And I love it! I can't imagine driving in a pack bumper to bumper at 200 miles an hour! I don't know how anyone can do that! I don't go over 70...or so.....Ha! And that's in my neighborhood....... JUST kidding!
I even have a piece of the Daytona track, from when they tore the track up to re-surface it! My GS's girlfriend worked there for something, and brought me a piece of the asphalt! I have a little Daytona plastic name thing, and a little car glued on it...Ha!
Jackie, the sun is out her today too! I love it! Talk to you guys later...xoxoxoxo
0 -
Hi All- Thanks so much for your help and comments around continuing exhaustion. I'm going through testing now for possible adrenal fatigue, MRI head scan, etc.... CBC blood tests all within acceptable ranges, so once again praying they find "nothing" with the further testing. Hopefully, it's just taking me a longer time to recover....but that elephant keeps creeping in. LOL I'm also on aromatase inhibitors, so could be some reactions are to those.
Hello to all the newcomers. When I started this journey more than a year ago, I never would have made it through the nights if it wasn't for the ladies you will find on these pages. Hugs to all!
0 -
I turned on the A/C tonight. I wouldn't mind the temperature in the 70's but the high humidity makes the air sticky. The azaleas are blooming. It seems like spring is here.
0 -
We got up to the low 70's today. Last night's big storm by-passed us....though more may come thru tomorrow night. I'll worry about that then....but we had a gorgeous day full of sun. There were tornadoes that touched down around us and I am sad for their losses. It happens in this part of the country -- no one likes it, but I think no matter where you live there are negative weather events.
We lived in southern California for 25 yrs. so put up with plenty of earthquakes --- did get a good shake-up out of it a couple of times. No point in losing sleep.....I may need that energy, but seriously.....we don't seem to get much here at the lake.
Hope you all had a wonderful day.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Carole: I think weather is like a game of chance - I'll match you & see you one. Houston got to 83 today. Shorts & T-shirts.
Chevy: Are you talking about San Francisco Bay area? If so, I was raised out there - lo these many years ago. My parents too died out there in 2004 & 2007
Illinois: You're the guru of quotes. It's amazing how you find such good thoughts. Hope it's OK if I share one that my son sent to me.
If you're not prepared to look stupid, nothing great is ever going to happen.
0 -
Terrible weather in the Midwest this time of year. It is just tragic what those tornadoes do to people's lives. We deal with hurricanes in Fl and they can certainly do a lot of damage, but at least you get a good warning and can get boarded up and out of harm's way. I pray for those poor people.
Off to the eye doc today to see what's going on with my macular degeneration. My left eye is pretty bad and is distorted when I cover up right eye, but overall I can still see clearly, so I'm not complaining. Wish there was more that could be done...another disease of the elderly that's ignored.
0 -
Morning Minus! Yes! My folks moved out to Oakland when we became engaged, & I didn't want to move from "him"...Ha!
Got married in 1957! My folks moved to Richmond, & stayed there until they passed away. I LOVE that whole area...and our trips over to Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39....eating at Aliotto's...Ghiradelli Square....So many memories.
I went there again about 8 years ago with our two grown Daughters. We stayed right on the wharf, walked all over the area again! Drove around wine country, drove past their old house, and had lunch at Spenger's! We love Berkeley, and that area where you walk around by the campus! Then we drove over to Sausalito one day...
And later drove down the highway to Monterey and stayed there a night... Was that 101? Such a beautiful drive, and close to the ocean! Oh well.... I can almost remember the "smell" of the bay area....always that cool wind...and the "sounds" coming from the bay & the ocean.
But the traffic became so BUSY! Ha! I loved the climate there... Where were you raised?
Jackie, so glad you are alright! I didn't know what area you live in!
Carole, no Spring here....but at least it hasn't been so cold. I noticed some of my tulips thinking about poking their noses through the leaves!!! They are pretty hardy, so that must mean something.
Fortis....Hope they can figure out why you are getting so tired! Did you mean an MRI on your head? Is that the one that sounds like a freight train coming through? Let us know.....
0 -
It is not genius, nor glory, nor love that reflects the greatness of the human soul; it is kindness.
Henri-Dominique Lacordaire
0 -
Chevy, your recollections make me want to visit the Bay area! Your trip with your daughters sounds delightful.
Kaara, one of my great fears is getting macular degeneration. Eyesight is so precious.
The A/C will stay on in this house because the air outside is full of pollen. And I'm not a devoted housecleaner. It's one thing to let fresh, crisp air into the house but when the outside air is humid and warm, what's the gain? I take allergy med year round but in the spring I have to double up with a 2nd med.
Today is Thurs., Mamma Day. My mother has a hair apptment at 10:45. Afterwards we'll probably pick up some Bears poboys for lunch. Bears is a great hole-in-the-wall restaurant in nearby Covington and makes fabulous poboys. A lot of folks beside me know that! So it's always busy.
DH is playing golf so I won't have to buy a poboy for him.
Now I must move my lazy body and go for a walk on the street. Everybody have a great Thursday.
0 -
Good morning from the very tip ( which is basically where we are ) of southern Illinois. A lot of people don't really consider we are from southern Illinois....but the southern part of the state begins ????? so we here view it as having so much more of the state above us than below us. Also......this little section of the state is lovingly referred to as Little Egypt. Our local newspaper....the Sentinel even has a logo with the words " Little Egypt's Greatest Daily. ". This is mainly due to a little pocket where in general we have milder forms of the weather that is going on all around us. We do get it all.....but hopefully and generally we don't get the hardest hits of whatever it is.
Minus -- I love that quote ( but have to admit there are really few I don't ) and have seen a couple of variations. I also think how true most of these quotes, along with that one really are. Have to remember that little rule.....in 50 years how much will something matter. I especially think of Dh. The times are becoming fewer and fewer with our age......but he used to get out on the dance floor and be quite enthusiastic.....however, he was not then, nor is he now a good dancer. Still, he got out there and gave it his best --- and I did not sit out the dances. So it is with needing to be willing for many outcomes to things. I may have mentioned it before but also reminiscent of this little poem:
Mistakes are made, we don't deny,
But they are only made by those who try.
I do not remember the author to that.
Chevy....well I am so glad you answered Minus as you did. Suddenly sitting here in little ole' southern Illinois I re-experienced some of our time living in southern California. Waves crashing against the rocks at several areas along Hwy 101. The breezes carrying the smell of the ocean and the ever-present seaweed...it was a sorta of salty/briny odor. It always evoked something in me which had a far away feeling that was mostly stimulating in a gentle way. I could look for hours at the waves and sometimes they could carry my "troubles" far, far away until they just dropped off the horizon. I was always feeling a little refreshed after. Yrs. later when I delved deeply into spiritual studies....found that water is very spiritual and calming. I miss the ocean, but at least do have our lake here......though it is not directly behind our house.....it is near.
Kaara....sure hope you are able to get some help with your eye difficulties. I think there are two kinds of Macular degeneration....one is rather quick....and the other slower --- or did you say that sometime before about this problem and I am just recalling that.....but I do believe there probably isn't a lot of research going on for a "fix" for either kind. I mean it is not a life-threatening thing, but still you'd like to think that you would not have to go through most of your life only to lose your sight. I would imagine there are foods ( isn't it tomatoes -- as in Ketchup ( sp ) ) that are full of luetein in. I don't know that it would help that particular problem, but I know we do have remedies that do not always come out of pill bottles.
I hope you are all going to have a fantastic day. I'll be checking in later on this evening. See you then.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
Jackie...........I have 2 grandsons who moved to Chicago to go to work for J.P. Morgan Chase, when they graduated from college............1 right away, and the other 3 years later after fulfilling a commitment to JP Morgan in the Philly region............
Of course when I heard tornado's in Illinois, still realizing it is a huge state, I panicked.........I immediately text one of my grandsons, and he said "Nan I didn't hear anything about it"......I said in Harrisburg, Il..............he laughed and said "Nan the only Harrisburg I know of is in Pa...."........
I am so thankful that it was nowhere near them, and so sorry for the people it happened to.........those things scare the hell out of me, just watcing them on Storm Chasers..........I have a horrible phobia about all kinds of bad weather.....................Guess that is why I'm not moving out of the Phila area.............they say we are in a "valley", and a lot of the weather problems that plague everyone else, does not come here because of having to cross the Alleghany Mts....................don't know how true that is............but a thunderstorm scares the shit out of me, so I could never live in an area where they got a tornado.
Hopefully your all ok, and many prayers for the people of Harrisburg, so sad..............
0 -
My visit to the eye doc was pretty much what I expected. He referred me to a retina specialist that I have to see next week. He thinks my MD is progressing from dry to wet which is the bad kind. That's the bad news, but the good news is that they now have new treatments that can slow the progression like eye injections, which will be about as welcome as a root canal, but the alternative would be worse. Again, like bc, it is what it is, and now I just have to deal with it. It runs all through the family on my father's side. My grandfather lived to be 106 but he was blind from MD. In the meantime I'm eating and taking all the right things like kale, spinach etc. all of which have lutein in them.
Have a good afternoon everyone!
Now I'm off to my naturopath to get my vitamin infusion which is supposed to keep boosting my immune system. I'm hoping it's working...I threw off the cold pretty quick, so that's progress I guess.
0 -
Whew !!!! So glad to hear there is some treatment. Your right....it really is what it is.....and we each have that to consider in life's lessons --- the yin and yang, right and wrong....good guess, bad guess. Just glad that there are good ways to buy time.....even if they don't sound too pleasant....it really is getting something that works.....then worry about the other parts later.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
I had a pleasant day with my mother. She and my dad always played cards and she misses not playing. So after lunch we got out a deck of cards and played Casino, a very simple card game. She beat me 5 games to 2 and was tickled.
Tonight I made home-made pizza for dinner and it was delicious. Not loaded with sodium and fat like the bought variety, which I do enjoy when I indulge and eat it. But the salt always makes me blow up like a balloon.
It was in the 80's today, hot and humid. DH just cranked down the A/C in preparation for going to bed. I'll be wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt to play golf in the morning. Tomorrow afternoon I plan to try out another bread recipe in The Italian Baker. This one is olive bread. I love my new Kitchen Aid stand mixer.
Good night to all.
0 -
Oh Chevy !! I miss the ocean. I know - Galveston, TX is an hour away but that's not the Pacific (or even the Atlantic for that matter). I was raised in Palo Alto (Stanford). We spent many Easter vacations in Carmel - long before Clint Eastwood. I had an uncle in Berkeley and an aunt in Livermore. Did you ever eat at Tadish Grill in the business district? I took the train in to SF by myself at age 12 & my Dad took me to special lunches. I left in 1962 but my folks were still there until my Dad died in 2007 - at age 96 no less. Once child rearing was done, whenever I got time off from work in the last 20 years I was there taking care of my Mom or Dad & usually didn't even get to see the ocean. My son lived on a sailboat in the San Francisco marina for several years. Fun but chilly. Now they are in Novato - Marin County wine country. I planned to take lots of extended vactions driving up and down Coast Hwy 1, eating sourdough bread & fresh fish & Crab. I did finally did get on the Alcatraz tour and spent a couple of days at Bodega Bay, but BC had other surprise plans for my time. Big sigh for all of us. Maybe in 2013.
0 -
MinusTwo, your memories sound wonderful, like Chevy's. Especially eating the fresh fish and crab. And enjoying the ocean. I hope you realize those plans after you've licked BC.
0 -
If you share your light with the world, truth and goodness will be your constant companions.
Micheal Teal
0 -
Good morning! Everything looks a little brighter today. I did my research on my MD and it looks like the treatment options are varied and can work well. There are many new options on the horizon, even a little telescope that can be implanted in the eye to correct the central vision. I'm going to keep the app't with my retina specialist that eye doc referred me to, but I am also making an app't with Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, one of the best in the country, for a second opinion. They have a facility in the town right next to me. There's always a light at the end of the tunnel....literally:)
Today is a me day....I'm going to do whatever I feel like doing, even if it's nothing!
0 -
dx in dec...surg in jan..mammosite radiation in jan...going to chemo dr at 3..does n e 1 have any suggestions on questions i should ask i have written a couple down...thinking of taking my ipad and video recording it
0 -
Bunni! I didn't have chemo....will they do the Onco test? That is supposed to determine if you need it. And also our age plays into this......
Just ask why he thinks you need it....and if so which type! There are so many variations on chemo. Ask what side effects, and if they have something to give you FOR them!
Jackie can help you out more.... Oh geez~ You are already THERE!!!! Sorry....Let us know what he says, before you do anything.... Thinking of you.....
0
