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Good evening, so many wonderful posts today
Erin and Alice ~ a warm welcome to you both here. I ditto what others have said, you can feel safe talking to us here and we meet every Friday at 7pm PST (10 pm EST).
Erin ~ you are a year younger than my daughter and I am so sorry that you have to deal with this disease this young. Have you had any treatments yet?
Traci ~ soory about Delilah, I thought she was doing better. You said that you gave her antibiotics, and us humans get the runs too from antibiotics, what do you think she's lacking now? My sister was visiting for 2 weeks and her pooch also had the runs because the dog's food got switched from home cooking back to dry food. He's a bit better now, poor dog.
Theresa ~ thanks for posting St. Andrew. About my Xmas dinner, I can handle a couple of dishes and my DH and daughter would be helping
we are not 100% sure yet, but at least we are thinking about it.Michelle ~ I ditto what Mary said, I will freeze on the podium too but I think you will do great and we will all pray for you
Janet ~ you are right about not having any leftovers, it is better that way, less temptation
Tori ~ we have been texting each other and although she's tired, she's ok and a bit weepy. She's managing to eat something and staying inside the house instead of going outside for walks.
Sheila ~ she emailed me 2 days ago and she's doing a little better on the smoking. She's going to bed earlier and getting more things done. She is getting a bit fatigued and hot flashes. Pain wise doing ok.
Laura ~ how is your LE ?
Ellie ~ sounds like he's got potential
PAA ~ I hope your worries are lifted now
Apple ~ I ditto what Janet said about leftovers. And that is also a compliment to your cooking
I hope I didn't leave anyone out. I have been having a weird headache everyday for the past week now. Always on the same spot and ears ringing too. I am a little worried and hope it is not METS. I am a bit paranoid
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Paula
THe headache could be from the Tamox. I have heard of this side effect before
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Love the activity! I of course fell asleep when I got home, but it was lovely
Michelle,
What an exciting time for you, and your fabulous project (the word project is doesn't do it justice.) It is very intimidating to think of speaking in front of people, BUT, this is different. This is a labor of love, and comes from the heart. Allow yourself to enjoy this time, and bring a little water. Try a few jumping jacks of run up and down the stairs to get the extra energy out before hand. Did you know that some speakers take a beta blocker (cardiac med) to help blunt the fight or flight response? It works. So we will have you in our prayers for sure. And again, how fabulous!!!!
Paula,
Thanks for the updates on Tori and Sheila. I'm sorry Tori is feeling weepy, bless her heart. She has been very brave. Please send my and our love to her. I was just thinking, I know we would all take shifts with each other if we could take someone's pain away. Please send Sheila my and our love too. That's great about the smoking and getting to get earlier, taking good care of herself. I hope when things get more balanced, we get her back a bit. I miss her.
Sorry you have been under the weather. Make sure you are staying well hydrated, K? IT is incredibly hard not to think scary things, and it does get better as time goes on. There are plenty of bug a boos going around, so hopefully you can get a lot of rest after tomorrow. I wish I had taken some more time to rest, so if you can, treat yourself.
so Delilah...yes, she's got the double whammy of antibiotics, but it's more about the food. I am giving up on the canned salmon/herring. Somewhere in the air, there is a bag of Kangaroo and Oats coming our way overnight. It cost more than the bag, but I spoke with my Vet tech, and this is the closest I can get to her original food. This does have rice and the third ingredient, and she is allergic to rice, but I am going to trust that this is the best thing for her, and to get her back on dry food.
Theresa, she's allergic to just about everything, and it's the worst most have seen, so any grains/potatoes/corn are off limits, as well as most meats (except kangaroo and maybe duck.) The VET MD at the allergy center was consulted today and basically, we have No options. So I will pray I can get close to the Iams.
see Michelle, if I can talk about dog food, then I would certainly think your Spiritual Project has a welcome place here. I do want details too! Is your website up yet?
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Janet,
Wow, I did not know you have thyroid cancer at 19. I cannot imagine trying to relate to my peers, during those years. I hope Erin will continue to come here, as you and the other ladies and moms are wonderful for support and understanding.
(you too Alice:)
Theresa,
I enjoyed your post about St. Andrew. I think you are very brave. Yes, there are parts of our lives that are monotonous, but your mind is anything but! You have a lot of courage in your brain, and I have no doubt, you will have some new dreams come to fruition. Do you feel like sharing more about the Church, and some ideas you have, or more about what is calling you there?
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Michelle, thanks for your answer but I stopped Tamox since 9/14 and will start again soon.
Traci ~ I hope you are right about a bug going around. I will have my last rad tx tomorrow and then a back-to-back appointment with med onc. Had my blood drawn on Monday so I will know if there's anything unusual.
Will be praying for all the sisters here, and a special prayer for Delilah
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Hi Traci,
The kids? They are mine, hence the ID thrmine. We had the photo taken just before chemo got rolling. (which just ended last Friday, 7 months of the stuff, so glad to be finished!)
6 kiddos ages 13-3. I have to say the little guys are just the best when it comes to a pick me up. They are just so sweet. Naturally I hope to see them through college, but for now I really love these early years.
Ladies you are in our prayers today.
God Bless,
Thrmine
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Thrmine.
It's a fantastic picture
Congratulations on finishing you chemo, that's so wonderful. How are you feeling? I hope you all have a very blessed day I am going to mention again our Prayers on Friday nights, 10:00 EST. I know I am in need of group prayers, and it's always nice to know we are praying together.Traci
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Paula,
Oh boo, I thought your last treatment was today. I'll give you the same congrats tomorrow
It's good that you are seeing your Onc afterwards..and thanks for the Delilah prayers. I am now pulling on my "Kevlar Vest" today to deal with the co-worker situation. My boss won't do anything, but the other staff she picked fights with yesterday have a different boss, and they run the clinic. I just pray for an end to this, as we now share an office. I refuse to get sick because of this.So, everyone, have a wonderful day. May you be surrounded by Peace
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i hope i dont sound whiny, but u all have gone thru what i have. it is so hard to vent to my parents about wat happens during the day because they dont understand. i wore my head scarf to subway and some boys a year older than me yelled here comes the bald chipmunk. i walked out because i knew i was going to cry, and went straight home to my room. i feel so mortified when people comment about how i look from the steroids and cytoxan. i try to stay positive and prove i can do it but sometimes all the comments just get to you...gah!
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Good morning to all my bc sisters! Welcome, welcome to our newest--Thermine--you are a rock to be taking care of the whole gang with all you are going through! Sending you love and support! Erin,I am afraid you are in for a lot of mothering from us--we love to sprinkle the love and take care of our own, so look out!! Good luck sweetie, if you need me to kick the arses of the older boys I will happily oblige! Love to all
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i am volunteering to kick some boy ass too. how very rude.
I would say to them.. dudes i have cancer.. get a clue.
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Erin - you're no more whiny than the rest of us! ;-) I know it has to be tough on you. Sometimes you just have to bolster yourself up, look a bully in the eyes and be frank, like Mary said "Dude, I have cancer." and walk away. It's like there's power in numbers... the more bullys you have, the more free they feel to say mean things. My daughter went through something similar. When she moved up to NJ with us with her 2 boys, she had some serious medical issues, one was that her teeth were falling to pieces. It is a genetic disorder, so I'm told. Her top teeth were all decayed and falling out, so she looked pretty awful. We had her into oral surgeons to get them replaced. One day, she was at Wawa and these boys started making fun of her and calling her snaggle-tooth. Like you, she didn't say anything, paid for her stuff and wanted to get out fast. The cashier would not wait on those boys because of their behavior and how it affected her. She was in tears when she came home. Now, at 25, she's wearing dentures, but she's beautiful again and her self confidence is back. This is a rough patch you're going through and I wish I could be there to hug you like I did my daughter. {{{{Hug}}}} You will come out on the other side much stronger, more tolerant of others and will leave the others in their dust! Try to imagine all this crap as your offering for others going through this kind of pain and humility... like incense to heaven, and maybe someone will be spared because of your prayers.
God bless you.
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Alice - how super blessed you are with 6 children! Whenever I see a mom with 3 boys I tell them they qualify for an automatic place in heaven! It looks like 4 of yours are little guys!!??
Erin - what a bunch of complete idiots. I would have said 'yeah but in 6 months my hair will grow back and you'll still be idiots!!!' Seriously, though, don't let it get to you - they are certainly not worth it to upset you. Who knows what motivates people to do such things - immaturity, not knowing what to say and saying the wrong thing, or just a bad crowd who are thoughtless bullies or cruel when they get together. Regardless, take the high road & pay no attention. Focus all your energy on getting well and on a couple of true friends. And if anybody does something like that at school, report them and let the school handle it. If either of my kids had done anything like that, I would sure want the principal to call me! Praying for you honey - stay strong.
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Sisters - let's keep prayers for a cure at the top of our list! The scientific community is getting closer - I can feel it! One day treatments will not needlessly hurt good cells - only cancer cells.
http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/12/01/focus_turns_to_cancer_stem_cells/
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Amen Janet!!
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Janet
I am LOLing on your response I LOVE It, Erin you must use that, and I may have to steal that for future use.
Ladies 20 hours until the big day and my scary speech I am freaking! Keep in your thoughts I am going to look out at the crowd and imagine you there.
The funny thing is that I have done this in my career so many times in front of hundreds but never about anything so personal!
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December 1, 2010
Wednesday of the First Week of Advent
Readings: Is 25:6-10a; Mt 15:29-37On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!" Is 25:9We should ask ourselves what does "coming of the Lord" mean? In Greek it is "parousia," in Latin "adventus," "advent," "coming." What is this "coming"? Does it involve us or not?
Homily in Celebration of the First Vespers of the
First Sunday of Advent
November 26, 2005
_____________________________________________I was having a hard time with this tonight... I'm just tired. And kind of cranky. So I looked up "salvation" in The Teachings of Christ: A Catholic Catechism for Adults, to help me out. Benedict asks "What is this "coming"?" There were/are two - the birth of Christ in Bethlehem, so quiet, so poor, so humble. Then there's the second coming... when? We don't know... we can never know. "This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven." (Acts 1.11) Will it be just as quiet and peaceful and humble, or will He shake the earth from pole to pole in His glory? So, for Benedict's second question "Does it involve us or not?" Certainly! Our new advent celebrates Christ's birth as a baby, as our savior, but it is more relevant for us to seek or wait for the coming of the Lord "when He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead" (our Creed). Advent today awaits for the final coming of Jesus in glory. We must keep our lanterns filled and lit, for we know not when the bridgegroom will come.
Good night, sisters. Keep the faith - keep praying.
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mmm5--I am sorry, but I forget what you will be speaking about and to whom? Fill me in? xo
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Good evening sisters,
I am done with rads!!! DONE!!! and I also had a back-to-back appointment with med onc. Blood test was good, and I am to start tamox again tonight. I just have this headache for a week now and thanks Traci {{{hugs}}} the med onc thinks I might have a bug or something.
Erin ~ You are not whinny, feel free to let it out here. I'm also volunterring to kick these boys' nuts/ass (which ever I can get to). Or you can tell them to sit on a pencil and spin on it. I was looking at shoes last week and 2 young men (late teens to early 20s) were pointing at a pair of shoes with a tage "Breast Cancer Awareness/Donation" and wouldn't stop laughing and chanting "Breast Cancer". I was going to go up to them and say "yeah, look out, it happens to men too" but by the time I got to their aisle, they were gone. Very immature and rude! I will never wish it on anyone but sometimes I felt like WORDS will come out of my mouth and I needed to watch myself too!" It is very frustrating indeed.
Sometimes though, people needed to be told at their face "yeah, bet you won't be laughing if your friend or family got cancer!!!" and watch their reaction. They need that smack right at them. So I won't be shy to say something back to them and face them head on. I've always taught my kids to say something back to show the bullies that "I will not put up with your stupidity". And like Theresa said "power in numbers", if the bullies are in a group, you will try not to walk alone either.
Alice ~ that's a lovely pic!!!
Michelle ~ good luck with your speech tomorrow, you have an important job to do, the Lord will be watching over you
Traci ~ prayer for Delilah's health.
Tori ~ she texted me today saying that she's feeling well today
Will continue prayer for you Tori that your SE will be minimal.Sheila ~ continue prayer for you Sheila, regain your strength and hope
Theresa ~ thanks for sharing the Readings.
I'd like to share Prayer for Christ's Triple Coming:
Lamb of God, You once came to rid the world of sin; cleanse me now of every stain of sin. Lord, You came to save what was lost; come once again with Your salvific power so that those You redeemed will not be punished. I have come to know You in faith; may I have unending joy when You come again in glory. Amen.
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Oh Erin,
You know what? You look like a model in your pic, and you will shrink right back down again. I lost about 20 lbs so far, and you have youth on your side! I know you don't have your hair right now, but I bet your scarves look fabulous. I'm sorry that these little boys felt so insecure today, that they needed to deflect away from themselves. That's their illness, but there are no excuses. There are many times I wish there was a "stage door" where I could press a button and people would drop out of sight. Poof! I am very glad you feel like you can come here to talk about your very real experiences. We do understand a lot of it, even if we are a wee bit older. You just keep your head up, and come here and we will give you support.
Paula,
Well, alrighty then. You Did It! Now right back to the tamoxifen then? Did they make you stop for rads?
Michelle,
Wishing you a wonderful day tomorrow. I will send you positive thoughts before and after 10:00. Enjoy yourself and your accomplishments. You deserve it.
and thank you all for you support for my fur baby. We started the Kangaroo and apples by Addiction (what a name!) It was overnight-ed, so fingers crossed. I also had a much better day at work, and very good Psyc appointment, so a good day overall. I spent quite a bit of time tonight looking at websites to find a cool place for scrap-booking ideas. I thought about what to get my Father for X Mas, and he has been so upset that he erased a message from me where I was really excited to be coming home for Christmas. I had just found out my sister was going to pick me and Delilah up so we could all be together for the holiday. My Dad also spent a lot of time with the photo album I made for his last year. So, I am going to put together stories of my childhood, memories of growing up in our family, old old photos, cards, letters, newspaper clippings you name it. There is something called steam punk, which is a really cool amalgamation of the industrial age, era of the blimp (dirigibles), aviation, wheels, gadgetry, Victorian fashion etc...hard to describe, but there are some really cool scrapbook pages/art that I am going to base this book on. My Dad is also a huge fan of trains, so I am going to spend the next three weeks putting this together. I am going to order tomorrow. I want this to be something that he can enjoy, and will honor the sacrifices he made for us.
Hope you all are having sweet dreams, and a Blessed Day tomorrow
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Theresa,
Thank you for your thoughts from the advent reading. I really appreciate you digging into your feelings. I hope you feel rejuventated after your sleep tonight. Do you have any thoughts about Friday's prayers?
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Traci ~ Yes, the rad onc wanted me to stop Tamox prior to starting the rads. My fingers are crossed that Kangaroo & Apples (sounds yummy already) will work. I love the idea of putting together the scrap book and may I also suggest a shadow box for the train so it will keep the dust away
and I hope that this train is not too big for it to be fitted into a display case/shadow box. Or will you be glueing the train onto a wooden board with other miniature displays? 0 -
Paula,
LOL on the yummy statement. Yes, I had to hold myself back from taking her food out of her bowl for myself.
The train will be in pictures....I did get him a big carved wooden train last year, and he puts his watch and ring in the coal car while he sleeps. Hee. I have tried to find other trains, but space is limited where he lives. If you happen upon an interesting train, (what do you call the engine car with the conductor?) especially steam engine please do let me know. Wishing everyone a Blessed Day, and Michelle my prayers for you are starting now 9:20 AM
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Diamond Girl! Yay!! I am so happy you are done with rads, I remember being so happy to have that part over--it was such an emotional grind to go every day. . . .
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Sisters...
I'm back! Feeling the fog lift and wanting to see what I have missed out on. Paula (Diamond Girl) was sweet enough to check in on me and make sure I was treating myself well. I'd like to think I was....but really, with my husband being gone, it was great to be checked on! Thanks so much Paula!
Sounds like everyone is busy with stuff. Me? Not really. This time of the year is usually so full of fun and stuff and with everything going on I'm not feeling it. Prolly having a little bit of the pre-Christmas blues...I'm hoping it will pass...I really wanted to go home (Nebraska) for Christmas, but it's a week after my 5th treatment and being that my WBC will be low and there will be nieces and nephews galore, I'm afraid it wouldn't be the best idea to do so. I'm so bummed about it...
Good news is...all Christmas shopping is done! ('cept for a couple of little things for the hubby). I planned ahead before this treatment and went to the post office and got all those "flat rate" boxes and wrapped and packed and all that good stuff when I didn't want to move from the couch. Now, deciding if I want to do the shipping from home or make the trip to the post office. I"m sure I can figure it out here...well, you would think so anyways!
Traci-glad to hear your fur baby is doing better. Mine is doing better as well. She goes in this Saturday for a recheck on the tooth they worked on and for another bandage change on her foot. She isn't actually mine..not sure if I told you that we're babysitting her...my sister and her AF husband who got stationed in Germany, could not take her because she weighed too much, so we took her in. She's been with us since April 2007...
Paula-What a relief to be done, huh? I can't wait to be there!
Michelle-your speech is gonna be great! I just know it! How it could it not be??
Theresa-I so understand the "cranky" thing...I love what you posted though..
Thrmine-welcome...such a beautiful family you have...
Erin-Welcome to the thread! I'm sorry that people can be so hurtful. I wish I could do some "regulating" for you... I would in a heartbeart! If anything, I'd just sit on them and make them suffer al ltttle (well, actually, they'd be sufferin' a lot...I'm a big girl!) Please come back and let us know how you are and how you are doing...we love to give virtual hugs and send prayers for you and all of our sisters....
I know treatment is getting rid of the any lingering cells and preventing it from coming back, but how much does it blow to be doing this during the holidays??? Ugh...
Heavenly Father, please give us all strength...
Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts girls....
Tori
DE COLORES!
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Tori - you have such grace under fire
Just think -- it won't be too much longer and all be over. Maybe this year have a really romantic Christmas & New Years just with your husband! Any great hotels nearby to treat yourself? And, I heard of so many people this Thanksgiving who ordered complete gourmet holiday dinners! So do something really special for yourselves! I'm sure you'll be on the phone all day w/all your relatives:):) You're giving yourself the best present ever - many more Christmases!Paula - very glad you're done. Bet you're so relieved to have it behind you!
Traci - I don't know if they are going to have the train exhibit at Union Station this year - but if you've never seen it, it's worth a trip over there. It's pretty amazing.
Theresa - thanks so much for the daily inspirations. I sit quietly and ponder them.
Dear God, bless all those whose hearts are heavy this Christmas season and light the world with the peace of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Hooray Paula!!!! You've been such a trooper and a great inspiration to us all. Are you all finished now except for the forever tamoxifen like me? :-)
Thanks Janet... I hope you guys are enjoying the Pope Benedict meditations. It's really a discipline for me to sit and meditate/ponder and type. It's very tempting to say forgetaboutit and go to bed.
Tori - yes to what Janet said regarding the Christmas holiday. You are giving yourself the gift of many more Christmases cancer free!!
Traci - the "engine car with the conductor" is the engine! ;-) LOL The tail end is the caboose. Fittingly, that's where the politicians come out to wave to their constituents! (I hope no one here is a politician or related to one!!!!) :-) I *really* don't like politics, but Skip does, well he tolerates it more than I do.
Thanks for the pep talk the other day about Courage... I don't know if I have courage or insanity! :-) Skip and I had a discussion about my angst and I got kind of down... he said I'm always seeking perfection and I'm always disappointed because I can't attain it. He tells me I'm a dreamer (not negatively) and to keep dreaming, but I think, what's the purpose? If I'm always reaching for perfection, as he says, and always end up disappointed, why keep reaching? Like the Helen Hunt/Jack Nicolson movie "As Good as it Gets" .... maybe this *is* it, maybe I need to clam up and be happy where I am. It was easier being courageous/insane when I was single, but now, if I act on an idea, it affects more than me. It's like those I Love Lucy episodes when Lucy says "I have an idea!" and Ricky, Ethel and Fred say "Oh, no!!!" So I've been kind of blue the last couple of days.
But you know what, dang it! I've done a few courageous/insane things in my life that *have* actually worked out... like falling in love online with a man from Idaho (Jiminy Crickets!), and going to school to get my degree when I was working full time+ and raising two pre-teens (Crikey!), when so much of my life before my divorce was full of fear and panic. It's almost like the cancer has kind of let the wind out of my sails again. We took a risk and came back to VA from NJ, but I wonder if that risk was panic driven. It's like there's panic risk and adventurous risk, like Benedict was talking about the day before yesterday, I think. The panic risk *does* often bring disappointment. The other often brings fond memories or a better life.
Thanks Traci for making me think about that some more. Sometimes I just need to talk to other women who might understand. I love my husband, but he just doesn't "get" me sometimes. :-) Heck, I don't get me sometimes. But I have some food for thought.
Time to exercise. I'll post Benedict's Advent meditation shortly.
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Sorry you are feeling a little blue Teresa--we do understand and I am happy that you share with us. It aint easy? Where did you live in NJ?I grew up inNJ. Peace and love to all my brave sisters! yes we are courageous for we are facing this beast! xo
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Thanks Ellie... yes, we *are* facing a beast! It robs us of many physical and mental things.
The two times I lived in NJ (first time chasing a dream, second time chasing a dream and my job transfered me) I was in South Jersey - Margate then Absecon. I have some dear, dear friends there - salt of the earth. Where did you grow up?
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December 2, 2010
Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Readings: Is 26:1-6; Mt 7:21, 24-27"Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on
them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock." Mt 7:24Yet there is not only the final coming at the end of time: in a certain sense the Lord always wants to come through us. And he knocks at the door of our hearts: are you willing to give me your flesh, your time, your life?
Homily in Celebration of the First Vespers of the
First Sunday of Advent, November 26, 2005_______________________________________________
There's that question... the same one Jesus asked the rich young man, who turned and walked away. Am I willing to give Him my flesh, time and life? I want to be like Mary and say YES! I hope to have the courage (there's that word again) to say YES. I hope my head isn't buried in work worries or home worries or traffic worries at the time of His asking. That's what scares me the most. That I'll miss His soft, sweet voice because of the clamor of the world around me. Listen.
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