Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Yay
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Hoping for things to go well, Sandra.
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Sandra,
Here's hoping that Lisa will be the "cure" for Mike, realizing the road ahead will be a rough one for Mike. He is shrinking!!!!
Hugs,
Di
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I have been out of commission due to my back problem.....for over a week.....going to the surgical center tomorrow to have a procedure & to have several injection into my spine by my orthopedic doc and I don't know what else but they scheduled me for an hour treatment where my disc was removed years ago, and is arthritic to the point I can't walk from the bed to the master bathroom.....crutches don't work well with FOOBS, so I have been using my power walking poles, similar to ski poles only with rubber tips, to get around.Friday I see my oncologist and then next week I have my surgery to take out these migrating implants and exchange for a different kind....a 4 1/2 surgery!
hugs to all
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Hello, Di. We've missed you. Sure hope you get relief from your back pain.
Hi to everyone else. Have a good Wed.
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Di! WTH? You are falling apart.... GEEZ, I just hate that feeling! I think the injections should help you.... I had back surgery years ago, and once I got over that, I was pretty good... It was a "double laminectomy"... causing so much pain from Sciatica, with those bulging disks pressing on that nerve. But I didn't have Arthritis with it. My Mom had Osteo Arthritis, but her back surgery didn't help her as much....
Are you using those Trekking poles? I have seen them.... and I tried using my cane, like one of the poles, taking two steps instead of just the one, and it worked... Would a walker help you more? It did me, when I was FIRST trying to get around with my broken hip...But my probem was with only one leg.
I don't know anything about implants... or what kind you have, but if yours aren't working, I would try something else also.... or just see what your surgeon says... would "new" ones make a difference? At MY age, they would probably tell me "Nope! Your skin is way too loose...".... Ha!
Sandra.... It's just beginning... a new adventure for all of you.... So much for all of you, and you are in my prayers! Hope is always in front of us... And as long as you have that, your belief will carry you through...
I don't know what I just said, but it made sense for a minute there.....
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Trials, temptations, disappointments--all these are helps instead of
hindrances, if one uses them rightly. They not only test the fiber of
character but strengthen it. Every conquering of temptation represents
a new fund of moral energy. Every trial endured and weathered in the
right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.James Buckham
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Sandra,
It is so nice to meet Mike's sister and all the hopes, prayers, love and positive energy is coming your way. If I recall, the stem cells were to be stored for awhile and then used if the chemo wasn't helping so much anymore. I'm so bad with informational details. Nice to get along the path another step and hoping it proves to me just the thing that is needed.
Di,
I'm so sorry to hear all your issues. While walking at the Rec Center yesterday we were walking with a man who comes there often. He uses/exercises with a special type of wheel-chair that is used I think in situations like that -- and it constantly reminds me of the blessing of being able to walk un-assisted. I will be sending huge amts. of positive energies to you in the hope that it will get you on your feet in a really stable way. You are enduring a lot right now with more to come with your surgery.
Just stopping right here to say I do often take for granted the blessings I have -- though a few quite minor issues --- far as I can determine, everything on me, eyes, hands, ears, feet, are working quite well. Don't think I want to tempt fate by wondering why me -- why am I this fortunate. I'll just try to remember it is as the gift it is and try to use it wisely. Here's to a nobler and stronger soul and it is what I wish fore everyone.
Blessings,
Jackie
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It's a year today since reconstruction and I'm so thankful that it is all in the past. No one in my family has had cancer and no one has had heart issues. Maybe I'm doing it all in place of them because I wouldn't wish either on anyone. Celebrating one year boob-day with lunch with my DIL and getting Easter baskets ready for my grandgirls. I made chicken veggie soup since it's another gray rainy day. We did have two days of sunshine and I want more! It's 10 so I guess I'd better get some make up on so I don't scare others in the restaurant.
Have a great day.
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Di, Best wishes for good outcomes. You have really had problems and I hope this will be the end of them. Hugs.
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I had a good day. Played golf with two other women I like a lot and had lunch with them afterwards, just the salad bar at our golf club. Then I went to the supermarket, came home and made stuffed pasta shells for dinner. Now dh and I are settled in front of the tv with our before dinner drinks. I'm sipping mine and he's sound asleep! He played golf this afternoon and is probably as tired as I am.
We always watch Jeopardy at 6 pm. Waiting to see if the current champion, whose husband was a winner on Jeopardy, will win again tonight for the 5th night. It's hard to believe these contestants have so much general knowledge. There are categories that I don't know a single one. DH is better at the game than I am. He knows a lot of useless stuff!
I have an apptment tomorrow morning to get my hair colored. Goodbye gray.
Wishing everyone a good evening.
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Well, I hope the healthcare.gov is better organized than last year. I got my letter from social services today that my medicaid expansion reapplication has been denied, so I called healthcare.gov to get the ball rolling as my medicaid expansion insurance ends the end of the month. The gal took my application on line, said I qualified for a $555/month federal tax credit, went over 3 of the silver level insurance programs and I went with the one in the middle. She said it takes 3 business days for the insurance company to process the application so I'll call them Monday morning to see where to send my check so that the coverage starts Apr 1. Last year they lost my application twice and it took 5 months before I had an insurance policy so I'm not holding my breath.
My friend who recently had a bilateral mastectomy goes to surgery tomorrow to have her infected expander removed. She'll have to heal for about 4 months, and then start all over with the reconstruction. Hadn't heard from another elderly friend in a couple days and she didn't return my phone call today so I emailed her son in California, he wrote back that Carolyn's in the hospital again. The doctor loaded her up on so many pills for her itching blisters that she ended up falling on the floor and waking up 2 hours later with her head bleeding. She called the ambulance and now they're adjusting her doses and she has $200 worth of meds on her kitchen table that she won't be using.I've been battling stomach flu since Sunday night. Finally settling down, have been able to eat some applesauce, chicken & rice soup, gingerale, a banana. Everything gurgles and churns after I've eaten but then settles down, but still don't feel like going to visit sick friends. Will have to stay in touch by phone.
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Puffin , he is really cute! Live, love and laugh. Shuf
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Hi everyone! I am doing okay, I think I had about 8 syringes in my back....only slight pain....and once pain down the front of my leg down to my knee...wide awake, and fully dress with only my jeans unzipped and pulled down a slight bit in the back.......while waiting for the doc come to the pre-op area my blood pressure was taken and it was 102/58.......not freaking out about the procedure at all!!!! (since I had it done last April) Maybe a happy dance tomorrow for my back!
Chevy yes they are like treking pole too...they have sharp under the rubber end if walking on mud, dirt etc I WAS a nordic skier and a downill (alpine) skier.cross county skiing/walking/trekking is great exercise....with poles it is the same movement,,,,keeping the arms at the same pace as the legs
Carole how are your feet? I feel your pain.....I had plantar faciitis and bone spurs on the bottom both heels....walking was HELL.....an orthopedic surgeon....tried injections.......but he found surgery was the cure....one foot at a time a time with 6+months recovery......my feet grew from an 8 to a 9 so this gal "walks on SKIIS" all the time (I am 5"1")
Welcome Jilly and other.....Sandra hope all is okay with you your sister in law.....and the break of relationship has been rekindle with Mike and his sister....sending love from the northwest!
Sending hugs to all
Di........
looking forward to my revision/exchange of implants and my new anatomical implants on the 26th of March!!!
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Di, there you are!! I had been wondering about you. Oh my goodness, girl, you are going through TOO much this year. Poor baby. Wish I were there to help - even though you have a wonderful husband who is perfectly capable of caring for you. Bless your heart. I hope your back surgery goes well. After that, the exchange to new implants will be a breeze.
Puffin, hope your belly has settled down by now.
Things here are ok. Mike's sister Lisa is adjusting to finding her way around an enormous military hospital complex and says the site of wounded warriors everywhere is so shocking. (It sure is but most of civilian-America don't see these amazing, heartbreaking young people, so they can kind of forget the sacrifice going on overseas.) It hasn't been completely smooth sailing for her. The tests to make sure she is in perfect health and that the procedure won't hurt her are going fine but her veins are not cooperating after being stuck so much for the past three days. Saturday she starts getting injections of the bone marrow stimulating agent that will make her bone marrow do two things. One is to produce MANY more stem cells than usual, and the second thing is to cause those cells to be pushed out into the blood stream. Injections last three days and they've told her to expect to feel like she has the flu, a headache, and have aching in her long bones. The docs have decided to put in a port on Monday, stem cell harvest day #1. They said her veins will not stand up to the harvesting procedure which will take about 6 hours and will likely be repeated Tuesday as well.
She is taking all this well and doesn't seem worried about having a port put in or discomfort & perhaps pain from the medication she'll receive. I suppose they will take the port out after a few days once they are sure they have enough stem cells. Because of HIPPA privacy laws, we can get no information from the hospital about what the next step is for her. She even has a separate doctor from Mike. Lisa tells us what's happening, but we wish we knew more. She leaves at the end of next week on Saturday. Often the stem cell harvest is done one day and the patient gets the stem cells the next day. But since Mike is doing well on chemo and since the bone marrow stem cell transplant is fatal about 50% of the time, the docs want to wait until he absolutely MUST have it. We are all hoping to get another month or two before the transplant but the doctors warn that he could suddenly take a turn for the worse like he did in December and again in January. So it's a waiting game and they are watching him closely.
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Enjoying a few before dinner margaritas at Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant this evening with daughter Allison on left and Mike's sister Lisa on right.
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Sandra wow, praying 4 her that all goes well, she is verybrave
Hru
How r things with the girls7
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Morning gals.... Puffin! Rice soup reminds me of "Congee".... It is this Asian dish.... a rice soup, made with scallions, chopped ginger, diced anykindofveggies and rice! Even chicken broth, or cooked WITH Chicken.
But it's about 1 cup of rice, and 6-8 cups of water... cooked for about 4-6 hours on simmer, until it is real creamy.
Then you can add in a beaten egg, like drizzle, stirring constantly, just until the egg is "set". But in Thailand and Viet Nam, they eat that for all meals...
I just read a Danielle Steele book.... "Message from Nam".... THAT was a long drawn-out involved book, with so many "stories" in it, that I thought it would never end! Too much heart-break and descriptions of that war....
Now I can give that book away and read something a little happier!
Di... Hope you are feeling better today! I still have to put up my exercise bike, to make my legs work harder....
Sandra.... Such a long process.... but it will be worth it.... Thankful that his Sister is going through this with/for him.
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Sitting at beauty shop while my mother is under the dryer. I had my appointment earlier at a different beauty shop and no longer have gray hair. I like the beige color with some streaked effect. Looks very natural.
The color is a little lighter than the former base color so the gray roots should blend in as they grow out.
Puffin, hope you feel good soon.
Sandra, that's wonderful that Mike's sister is on his team. Is the clean room finished?
Di, I tried snow skiing in my late 20's and had an accident that sent me off to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder. Skiing looked like such fun.
Hi to all.
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Feeling like myself again, scale back to normal so think I'm caught up on fluids.
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Good news Puffin!
Carole, sounds beautiful... can you post a picture?
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Don't fight against time.
Develop a comfort and friendship with time.
Time enjoyed is never time wasted.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Good Morning everyone,
It is grayish this a.m. but I don't think that is going to last. We will get our sun back --- and of course, I'm anxious for it. Lots to do today, but nothing tedious so it is all right. I think of that saying 'idle hands are the devil's workshop so better for me to have some chores to keep me out of trouble.
Di, 8 needles in the back just sounds to me like all my teeth would be rubbing/grinding together big time. Well, sometimes it takes what it takes to get relief and if that is the end product, then well worth it. It is just the thought. Some things just can't be window-dressed. You definitely were not freaking with that blood pressure. I think it sounds almost perfect. What we should all wish for. Good for you.
Sandra, somehow I missed ( found it just a minute ago ) that picture of you and your family. How good that you got out and had a bit of Margaritas cheer. You have had quite a time lately --- so I hope you did relax big time. Only thing we can ever do about anything is our best and then let it go ( yeah, easier said than done ) and with that in mind --- a little liquid cheer could be just the ticket.
Carole, your hair color sounds really, really pretty. I've started to think more on 'my' hair issues and wondering if the next perm maybe I'll try jut a body perm --- with the idea of graduating into a somewhat less curly style. The ultimate ( how many more perms, who knows ) transition being to straight hair with some color for body. Just not sure -- but thinking of starting with the above adjustment and seeing where it goes. This comes because despite having "mentioned" to the gal that does my hair that I prefer curls --- even right after a perm, she tends to make it look rather straight. Sigh !!!! I'm not good at whacking people with hair dryers and think it is not nice to do anyway, but when you say it four or five times -- it hasn't gotten through for some strange reason so I either have to change shops again ( something I really hate ) or learn to live with it. I think the last statement sums it all up. I'll live with it. With the last shop, I had a gal who did great work with putting the perm in but I had to keep going back to have her "correct" the hair-cut. After three times -- I gave up. She was the third girl in the shop ( I really don't think my hair is THAT difficult ) so I really felt it was time to move on.
Di, sure glad you made your pic, your avatar picture. I really like it.
Puff, you sound like you are mending well -- just as Spring is showing its pretty face. Good timing !!!
Wren, Mommarch, Teacher and anyone else that I didn't mention -- I am thinking about you and hoping Spring is either with you or coming really soon.
Blessings,
Jackie
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I'm hoping no one, but no one takes any offence but in several pages of pictures I sort of noticed that some were really large and thought maybe you'd like to know how to edit the size a little. If not --- please totally ignore and excuse me. You maybe already know and just choose to leave it the size it appears.
Anyway, after you have dropped your graphic, picture or whatever in........you can either do it then, or later, go back to what you have put in, hit the edit button and when the entry re-appears, go to the bottom rt. area of whatever it is....and move up towards the top of the page. You may have to play just a bit with it -- but it will move and can be made smaller.
If you put in something that is sort of small -- you can en-large it just the same way. By grabbing at the left side and pulling downwards.
I almost always change my sizing on things -- though I don't put as much in here as I do some other places.
Jackie
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You mean like THIS, right? Hah! Just teasing you Jackie....
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Thank you, Jackie, for that information. I did not know about editing photos. I'll give it a try.
Chevy, I'll take a selfie after I shampoo and blow dry my hair. My good golfing friend Norma said today that she liked the color. It always takes me a while to get used to any change. I was a little surprised that gray hair made me feel older when I looked in the mirror. I like the beige hair better even though it probably looks "colored." What matters the most is what we like or don't like about our appearance. The truth is that nobody probably cares that much!
I enjoyed my golf outing today even though I continue not to play as well as I did a few years ago. The course was pretty wet which means it plays longer. The ball doesn't roll for extra distance. It was an enjoyable day to be out. Partly sunny with a breeze now and then. I didn't sweat a lot and that's always a good thing.
I need to go to the post office and mail off a tax return to my friend Sylvia in Texas. I've been doing her taxes for about 10 years. I started before she moved and she has continued to mail her info to me. It's easy since her finances aren't complicated and I save her some $$. Turbo Tax allows me to do more than one return.
We were planning to go out to dinner tonight at our club so that I could "spend" a free meal coupon for my birthday month. But the couple who was going with us had to cancel because of illness so I cancelled the reservation. We'll eat at home instead and maybe go next weekend.
Hi to everyone not mentioned. Hoping you are having a good day.
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Speaking of photos - Thanks for yours Jackie & yours Sandra. Loved them both!Prayers for Mike & his wonderful sister who is doing so much.
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Carole.... I know! When my hair really needed coloring, I would pull it back, and the gray really showed.... I thought MAN! I don't FEEL as old as I look.... Ha!
So if you FEEL like you look better.... that's all that matters! It really makes a difference.... Same as when I look in the mirror when I get up, I think Good Grief Gertie! Get some make-up on that face!
And DH just gets up, washes his face, combs his hair, and looks good to go! They don't have to do ANYthing to "get ready".....
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Hi all, sitting here watching the snow fall. Happy Spring! At least it seems to be melting on the roads.
Carole, I had plantar facitis also, cud hardly walk, esp. when I first got up. We were on a cruise and I listened to an acupuncture talk. Decided what cud I loose , except some money. So, with a lot of reservations, I gave it a try. Day one , nothing, OK, it didn't work. Day 2 it was gone and after a year and a half I still don't have it any more! If it returns I'll do acupuncture again. You might want to give it a try.
Went to have an electro sonogram cardio gram today and saw the cardiologist. After being off ALL Caffeine for 3 weeks havent had any more tachycardia episodes. I tried it 20 years ago for palpitations, no difference. Decided on my own to try being caffeine free. I only drink ice tea for lunch and dinner about 12oz, and maybe a cup of hot tea sometime during the day, plus the treat of a Lindt Truffle, or a piece of cake off and on. Not a real caffeine freak, but it seems to have worked, may add some back in , to see what happens. Sure glad to have tachy let up, it was getting sooo frequent and longer duration.
I feel I look younger with my hair colored too. I'll keep doing it til I can't any more. I agree our hubbys are lucky, easy upkeep. Yes, Chevy, I scare myself in the morning!
Sandra, glad to see you enjoying some time out.
Guess I shud go get us some dinner.
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