Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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That's interesting Pam....I mean about walking like Bette Midler and how does the therapist know how she walks. I'm long legged, and 5"8' but with a very short gait....everyone out-distances me in no time at all. It used to be frustrating --- till I figured out what caused it. We are all unique and that is nice.
Hugs, Jackie
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Good middleofthenight Jackie,
I'm tall also (5'7") but tend to take short steps. My goal is to walk my three miles in one hour but can only seem to get it down to 1 hr, 5 min. Not too fast. I visualize Bette with short strides but fast with a wiggle. Course she is usually wearing high high heels and my knees don't permit that any more. Yes, everyone walks faster than me too. But I am still out there trying
And it is pretty hot here. I have to walk early or the heat and humidity is unbearable. It is about 25 miles to the nearest mall or I would be there for the air conditioning!Going to go TRY to go to sleep.
Pam
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I'm old, so I'm glad to find this forum. One question I've had since the outset of my BC but no one has answered - Isn't it harder for us to go through surgery and treament due to our age?
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Welcome nana. I would not say it is harder due to our age, but more due to our other health conditions. High blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, etc. We might expect ourselves to bounce back quicker or we have job and family obligations that make us anxious about recovery. But then, I have to say yes, it is harder because we do not have the energy or metabolism of a younger person. Our bodies tend to heal slower than a young person. However, I was up and at em before some of my younger friends.
How old are you? I am 63, live in the Washington, DC area. Widowed 6 1/2 years. Sold our house after 36 years and moved into an apartment 3 years ago, closer to our only son.
I am 5'9 and long legged and I take long strides, but am a lot slower than I used to be. Slow and steady is my pace now. Hugs for all, Nancy
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This is interesting... so far we are a tall group. I think I read a post on here that included being tall as a BC risk factor. Wonder if that is true.
Pam
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Morning all. Ah - nice to finally find someone like me with legs that only open so far to take a step. People tend to assume if you are tall -- but it doesn't always work that way.
Nanabolina....I think Nancy is really right. It is due I think to all the medical conditions we have as to how fast we heal/recover from things. At our age I think we have a lot of stoicism and know that "our miracle" of healing is up to us as far as accepting the responsibility of patience and hard work on our part to aid mother nature and our Dr.'s . This is not to say that the younger people don't struggle in their own way to get through everything, but we know that age and medical conditions will provide some extra challenge.
My surgery was a piece of cake....of course, it was only a lumpectomy and only took 45 minutes. I was in same-day surgery so shortly after "waking" I was dressed and on the way home. Followed all directions.....never needed any pain meds although I filled the script just in case...and was very fortunate that I never had one problem. Now chemo brought a real set of challenges, and there were times I prayed to just get through the next ten minutes -- so my life during that time was often ten minute intervals. I knew if God got me thru one that he would help deliver enough strength to get me through another and another till I was at a point where I could manage the longer time periods as my body started to heal and new cells regenerate. Also as well, some of us like Jo have some real difficulties as she is allergic to so much. That has to be a super challenge.
I think we do have spunk, stoicism, age and acceptance on our side and patience or in the words of a man I miss a lot -- Tim Russert --- Attitude - Attitude - Attitude. It is a tough time in life, but when I look back I feel contentment and I hope and wish that for everyone.
I hope whatever you need to do will go well.
Hugs, Jackie
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Pam - that's an interesting point about height. I think/hope when they finally find a cure ( I think it's a viral thing ) that there will be a definite "set" of factors and all the guessing games will be over.
I was the tallest girl in my grade school and I could really run.....so got picked for the relay team first....
but last for baseball as I couldn't hit. Sigh !!!! We tall girls can reach all the cabinets and top shelf in the closets and don't always need a tall ladder to paint and can often carry a little extra wt. without it showing as quick. But some of us have a real short gait. Oh well -- I'll learn to live with it in time.Jackie
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Good AM this time!
I didn't want to be this tall as a teenager and wasn't really. Everyone else just stopped growing at 16 or so and I kept at it. I like my height now as an adult. Can't imagine having to use a step stool for kitchen cabinets! And you are right, Jackie... painting is much easier. And we do carry our weight well
For me.... going through the breast cancer experience would have been much more difficult 30 years ago. But I have struggled much more emotionally than physically. I have not had a hard time healing from anything... but emotionally I would have had an even harder time as a younger woman. First, the fear of not being there for my children would have made me a wreck. I would have been consumed with worry where now I am only half consumed with worry
I only have one big responsibility now, my DH. Not even cats or dogs! I am still struggling with being disappointed in my body doing this to me and I am 62 when one might expect some bad things to come along. Can't imagine how I would have felt at 30 or 40. And, of course, I was working in those years. How could I ever have focused on taking care of myself like I am now. Even just exercise eats up a huge part of my day. And doctor visits!!! In the six months since I was dx'd (180 days) I have been to 93 different medical appointments! This for a person who went to the doctor every 5 years whether I needed to or not!!!
So breast cancer has shook up my life, for sure. But I think I am a better person for it. Really. I think I used to "say" the right things to people with illness but I did not understand what they were feeling or going through. And I reach out to people more now, like on this site. I am rewarded by the touching displays of concern and sympathy from acquaintances and sometimes a little disappointed in others who do not "get it." But all in all I have grown so much in this experience. Of course I would have preferred to read about it in a book!
Hugs to everyone! (And I used to not be a hugger!)
Pam
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Another tall bc survivor here! I'm 5' 7" and walk with a long stride. In my 40's, I did 12 min. miles, occasionally 11.5 min. Other walkers would kid my dh and me that we were breaking the speed limit when we breezed past. Now I'm walking 15 to 16 min. miles but the important thing is to get your heartbeat up. It's really true that exercise helps to soothe many aches and pains, will energize you and lift your spirits. At least I find that to be true.
I walked 2.2 mi. this morning, came into the house dripping with perspiration. Tomorrow it's supposed to be less humid as a little front moves through. Looking forward to getting up one day and putting on my jeans!
Enjoyed the DC discussion. Visited our capital once quite a few years back. Attended a writer's conference and stayed at the Mayflower Hotel. Slept in the Gene Autry room! With my husband. Gene wasn't there.
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Wow, CaroleH! You are a real walker! That is so good. Does your DH walk with you now? I can't even get it down to a 20 minute mile
If I could walk faster I would not make myself walk as far but I am compromising. I am packing the car for a trip to Tulsa. We won't go as far as New Orleans on I-10, turning north about Mobile. But we are really looking forward to a little cooler weather. It will be nice to walk and not return dripping wet! Except maybe from the rain... I guess we might encounter a little. It will be nice to escape the cares and woes of real life. When I get back it is a new round of doctor visits and CT scans. Ugh.How about everyone pipe in with their height? We may be on to something here!
I remember Gene Autry. And I loved Roy Rogers! We are going to Tulsa for a HS reunion of my husband's .. one of his classmates was a nephew of Gene Autry. Weren't those simpler times? The plots were so simple and you always knew who the bad guys were! Black hats, of course.
Pam
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I am 5' 2" ... most don't consider that tall....
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i used to be 5'9'' but now am 5'8'...but I have short legs..actually I wear a petite length...so it is an oxymoron when I get Xlarge petites...I am walking better now...
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Ladies:
I need your prayers. Well, they are not exactly for me, however, I am affected my each person I am going to ask you to pray for.
Pray for the Arthur (Sonny) Bowles family. Sonny died on Friday. My daughter, Luci, is married to Sonny's son.
Pray for Keith Eden. He is my sister's baby son. Yes, he is grown, but they will always be our baby. Anyway, his gall bladder is very infected and he has some gall stones, they also think he may be a diabetic. He believes in Jesus Christ, and he serves Jesus. We are all worried about him, but like I told my sister, we have to trust the Lord to take care of him, but prayers really help.
Also pray for Ronald Rogers, he is married to a lady who is a member of my church. Yes, he was doing better, then he got a fever and they put him back in the hospital, they had been staying in a lodge near the hospital.
If I'm not on here the next couple of days, you'll know why. My husband is suppose to be a palbearer tomorrow. They are suppose to operate on my nephew this afternoon or in the morning, whenever they can get the operating room.
And, I want to let you all know we are suppose to be out of town the 13th thru the 23rd of October.
When the devil gets on his rampage he goes as hard as he can, but by the grace of Jesus Christ, he will not win.
I thank you each and everyone for your prayers, and I hope and pray the Lord blesses everyone of you.
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I am not tall either at a little over 5 feet but yet am a very fast walker................... who knows about these things
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I'm another shortie, 5'1"....it drives me nutty. Always having to look for some steps before I can reach anything in my kitchen cabinets.....and I absolutely hate walking as well !! I will jump in my car to go 100 yards !!!
Isabella.
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Well, you shortys have blown my theory to bits. I thought I was on my way to a Nobel prize!
Pam
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sorry about that Pam
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Ditto on the Nobel prize.................... someone I work with was diagnosed with BC a few weeks before me and she like myself is short too.
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Well, I'm 5'7 and although I'm a displaced New Yorker, I don't walk very fast. You want to see people who walk fast, visit midtown Manhattan midweek/midday. Wow!
Motherof7 - will pray mightily for you and all your requests. God will not take you to... without seeing you through!
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4' 11" here. And shrinking.
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Hmmm, I think the Nobel Prize is definitely going elsewhere Pam. Wasn't there a song about short people several years back ( like at least 3 centuries or more for me ) which was one of those you would just sort of start singing with because the tune just had that sort of "lilt" to it. I did not realize that walking for short people could be a challenge in and of itself. I shot up I think in grade school to most of my full height then, and so felt like a "giant" for a long, long time. Very envious of the shorter gals ( they were shapelier than me too ). I had trouble getting up to 100 pounds and if you are 5"8'....that means you have to turn around at least three times to make a shadow and there was no shape -- unless you can call straight up and down a shape....because that is all their was......for a long, long time.
Prayers ( lots of them ) Mother of 7.
Need to go help a friend now. I'll talk to all of you later.
Hugs, Jackie
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'Evening Chooks
Mother0f7: Got your six--you and your family and friends are on my prayer list. Please take care--remember you are still healing, too!
Height: I'm 5' 1.5"
Some good news--Onc. nurse called and the MRIs from last Thursday show "only" age-related problems--bi-laterial bursitis in the hips and degeneration in the 5-4 lumbar area. So, no mets to the bone--I can deal with age!
Finished 23/36 rads this afternoon...blistered and very sore in the armpit, so going braless.
Seems there was something else I wanted to say...sorry, it's gone. Have a quiet, peaceful evening. Take care. Helen
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I am 5' 8" and walk a bit quicker now that chemo is done.
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lassie 11,
I did a happy smile for you reading that you can walk a bit quicker.
)CatbirdC
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Helen....great news that you have no mets to think about or deal with and only age is rearing up to make itself felt. Well, we will celebrate and be thankful for you --- I like that you can scoff at age and take care of it.
Funny that we can be thankful that it bursitis and age and not anything else. Do hope though that your Oncology team can come up with something super quick for that underarm as you have a few rads to go.....and boosts are in there I assume. Must be something that will work to keep your skin in decent shape. I did not do too bad during my seven weeks of rads -- last week was boosts....so hopefully someone who had rougher time will chime in here and give you some ideas.Catbird...just saying hi to you. Don't recall seeing you before.
Have a nice evening everyone. Thinking of all of you.
Hugs, Jackie
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Jackie - it is all a question of relativity. I got so angry when I would have arthritis or bursitis pain. After BC it seems like such an innocuous pain.
Motherof7 - I also will pray for your 6 plus you.
Pam - I skew the whole thing - I am 5'5 and one half! I used to walk fast now I can hardly walk!
In our family everyone is aging that when I try to think of some family member to life something heavy or move furniture I am at a loss - we're all falling apart!
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Helen, pleased with your MRI results....bet you are heaving a sigh of relief !
I go for an MRI next week, and am winding myself up tighter and tighter...what the mind can do you ! I am not religious, but am just about on my knees praying for bursitis and degeneration ....I can live with that !
Isabella.
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Yes chooks, I too, am also a member of the 'short arse' tribe, as they are commonly called here. I get tired of all the cupboards built by 6ft tall men. First house we had built, the vanity mirror in the bathroom was so high I couldn't see myself unless I jumped up and down. It's hard to put lipstick on while doing that.
I learnt many years ago, that if you have children and you want privacy go to the bathroom. I don't know how many times I tried to walk from the bathroom to bedroom with just a towel around me, only to find my four, plus half the neighbourhood children, between the bedroom and myself.
This current house is an older house and used to have verandahs around three sides. Over the years the verandah's were enclosed and I walk out of my bedroom, at the front of the house, through french doors, along the verandah, to the only bathroom at the back of the house. After being 'surprised' in near or fully naked state by sons chasing after each other, either playing or fighting, through my room, I decided to use the bathroom for all dressing functions not long after we moved here. The fact that the bathroom (unlike the bedroom) had a lock and key also made it more 'user friendly.'
My BC dx was delayed by the fact that I could not see my chest in that vanity mirror too. It was another 'too high' unit installed by tall men. If I had seen the dimpling on my breast sooner, I would have had an easier time of it, I'm sure, and I might not be in the plight I now find myself.
Sheila.
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Prayers, hugs, and warm thoughts to all of you.
Hugs, Jackie
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I decided to take a day out today. We are forecast our first frost Thursday night, and rain for the w/end, and 'becoming colder' from next week.
Todays forecast looked good, I think it will be one of the very last of the best days left before winter sets in. I rushed thru my work, and managed to leave at 11am, and I just drove....up hill and down dale ! I went across to the other side of the country, calling at a little country pub for a meal somewhere I don't know where ! Kept stopping to take in all the lovely views (and to read the map to find out where I was, I don't know how to use these new fangled satnavs! ) I even managed to get lost in quite a big city in the evening rush hour, but got myself extricated, and back on the right road. I love to drive off like this not having any idea where I am going.
I am completely tired out, have driven nearly 400 miles...goodness knows what that's cost with the price of petrol at the moment, its getting scary, it seems to go up every week.
Just settled down all my animals, had a shower, lit the log fire, watched a little tv, and am now off to bed. I shalln't need a sleeping pill tonight ! I shall hardly be able to climb the stairs I ache so much. Tomorrow I pay for this...will hardly be able to hobble round, but its been worth it.
Isabella.
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