MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
Comments
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Eli - love the elephant in the room. I wonder how one obtains an job such as folding towels into animals on a cruise ship - and what would the job title be? Towel artist? Can't wait to see and hear more about your wonderful cruise.
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There was a towel-folding demonstration one day, so regular people could learn this fabulous skill, however I didn't want to spoil the magic of just having them appear in their animal states in my room. (Besides, folding animal towels feels a bit too close to folding laundry. Not on my vacation!)
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Welcome, Jlynn. My boys were 15, 17 and 19 when I was dx'd. They all had different reactions/responses to it. One just seemed the same ol same ol (Although sad inside), one was overly protective and the other was in something like denial (he couldn't stand to see 'cousin it' [my wig] hanging on the chair wearing my sunglasses). I was going through a divorce and felt I had to be strong for them. I had a few meltdowns, but mainly when they were behaving like they used to with a lot of bickering.
I made a couple cruises with NCL in the 80s and 90s. The last one the engines broke down just outside San Diego so we never made it to Mexico. They used the mooring screws to putt-putt back to Long Beach. As a consolation they said we could have 50% another cruise if we went on it within the year. Who could afford even a half priced cruise in the same year let alone get more time off to go on one? We did like the smaller ships of NCL.
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Wow. What a nice welcome!! Thank you everyone.
That said, I have decided to go on that cruise....so rather than asking for medical advice, or se's of any of the drugs coming my way, I'm going to ask this instead:
To any of you cruisers.....any suggestions? Best cruiseline to go with? Sadly, I do not have a passport, so need to work on that or I won't be going very far at all!! Debating on children though....have promised them we'd go on a cruise for a while, but at the same time, I'd rather be alone with my husband right now. Toughie. I may just have to take two then!!
Wishing you all the best day you can have. Thanks in advance for any input!!
Lynn
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I have cruised with Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Both were excellent. Hope it all works out for you. It is very relaxing.
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If you do decide to take the children, some cruise lines are better for families than others. Couldn't tell you which aren't. My first Caribbean cruise in the 80s there were no children on board. I was a nice atmosphere but I really don't know if any lines are like that any more.
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Oh, to Mar....
I am in Mercer County, near Hamilton/Princeton area. When I go to the shore, I usually hit Avon beach. So sad the mess there now though. We were very fortunate during that storm. Just lost power for a couple of days in my home, but luckily we had a generator so the biggest issue was waiting on line a little bit for gas....which I am not complaining about. Was surreal what people went through, and are still, going through.
My onc dr. has a Stage IV patient. I mentioned it in a post somewhere, so if repeating self, sorry. She takes a trip to Cape May yearly with her family on vacation. She has been with him since he started his practice....12 years ago, said she is older than I (not sure by how much), and her cancer had progressed further than mine has at the time of her initial diagnosis. Some reassurance there that it can be treated as a chronic condition. Sure he failed to mention some others but since I sitting before him with tears streaming down my cheeks, I know he was trying to assure me in some way. He really is a wonderful doctor. I am lucky!!
Lynn
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It does sound like you are lucky!
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Jlynn, I don't know the other cruise lines, but last year I took a 21-year-old to Alaska on Norwegian. He enjoyed it and I stayed with Norwegian to go to Caribbean this time. Many, many Stage IV ladies do travel. One BCO member came over here from Australia a couple years ago and visited other BCO members across the U.S. I'd say look into cruises embarking from any port you can drive to. That is the only way to get a last minute deal and the savings can be pretty awesome. However, planning something well in advance gives you something great to look forward to.
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Caribbean Cruise - Part Three
The next port was Roatan, a Honduran island. We knew (internet reading) that if we could find the local bus, it could get us to where we wanted to snorkel for a mere $2/ea so we set off on foot. The main street coming up from the port was modest, yet clean, and showed that with just a little elbow grease and whitewash (or greenwash, in this case) how not to look like Belize City. After walking almost a mile, we still had no idea of what a bus stop looked like, so I enlisted the help of a local woman carrying her groceries. Using my elementary Spanish (and I mean the equivalent of a two-year-old with LD,) we had a nice chat. I commented about liking all the dogs lolling about. She asked if I had a dog and my exact reply was, "Yes, I have one. She is old and she is dead." (With me, everything is present tense.) She was so nice and took us down a side street to the mini-van that passed as a bus, then haggled in our behalf for the $2 fare. We hugged her and set off. That van was jam packed, every single person had brought something to eat, and the roads were twisty and bumpy and so it was some of the REAL Honduras. We got to West End in no time and Half Moon Bay was where we snorkeled (pic #9, there I am.) Lots of sea grass, lots of fish, and really good specimens of brain coral and that other delicate coral that looks like a lacy fan. It was a tourist beach, but not overly crowded. Locals do stroll around trying to sell trinkets and two very friendly girls wanted to braid my hair. The funny thing was, they had ridden up on the same bus without uttering a word to me. The other photo (pic #10) is just of the port approach, showing the hills. I think it would be fun to spend a week on this island.
I should mention that all week long, the ship holds theme dance parties, stating around 10:30 p.m. Most nights, I was worn out by that time (missed a fun 50's/60's night) but this night was the "signature White Hot Party." Unlike in Alaska (when I had no clue about this party and no white clothes, not to mention no age appropriate dance date) I was ready for this one. They had ice sculptures, black lights, glow sticks, and go-go boys wearing feathery angel wings BUT the music was too reminiscent of Danceteria disco 1982, and it drove me away after about 20 min. Too bad the music wasn't more Caribbean for the party.
We already had a plan for the next day, because we had been on Cozumel before. Last time, we were able to get right in the water from the rocky shore in front of the hotel we stayed at and do some decent snorkeling, and it was a short taxi ride to get there. The best part is boats and shore tours were bringing their paying customers to the same exact area. There I am snorkeling again (pic#11) and you can see people on a tour behind me. The other view is the rocky shore, which is only semi-perilous because the water is shallow getting in. You can notice some others being taken in by the restaurant for their shore snorkeling tour (pic #12.) Way in the back of this pic, the Norwegian Star and sister ship, the Dawn, are docked side by side. The coral here seems to be suffering from the ship traffic tho', and did not seem as plentiful as I had remembered. Less fish too. The next shot (pic #13) is of people dwarfed between the two ships. Finally me again (pic # 14, and you have seen so much of me now!!!) viewing the Punta Langosta port.
Big chocoholic buffet on this night (which I was already familiar with from last time.) Glad this didn't happen on the white hot night...too messy. DH and I must have shared 10 different desserts and ladies, don't hate me, but when I got on the scale at the end of the trip I was a mere two pounds heavier, and it is weight I am supposed to gain before my surgery. You would think that you could gain a lot more but, if you avoid using the elevators, all the walking and stairs keep some of the pounds off.
The final day was at sea, and it was mainly eating and sunning a bit more. You can see, above, that I was good about the sunscreen and never got red. There was a Karaoke Idol singing contest all week, and we went to the Finals and I'd say about 3 of the 8 finalists sounded about ready to record. It also was the final night for trivia. Turns out, The Misfits had won the last two daily rounds, and going into the final we were actually in the lead by 3 points. It was progressive trivia, that got progressively HARDER. This night, I swear we really just guessed at half of the questions, and only got 10 correct out of 20. We did get the 3 pt. bonus (How many eggs does the peacock lay in a year? I'll let you all guesss at that one too,) and so ended up with 13 points total, which was still higher than the rest of the teams, and so we were the BIG WIENERS! The prize? No, not a cruise. It was a bag o' Norwegian schwag; but the best part was walking around the ship with that bag because everyone knew we had WON something. Oh, the PRESTIGE!
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Gail Ann Dr. Rosenthal did my first lumpectomy in 1997. He is such a sweet man. I was young and had B9 ADH. He said we could watch and see or take it out. When I asked him if I was his wife what would he do he said take it, and you are young. So glad I did, still took 14 years to become cancer but would have turned cancer much sooner had I left it in. I was living in Boerne at the time. Since moving I chose a Dr. in New Braunfels at first but ultimialty ended up with my PS Dr. Peter Ledoux with PRMA He has been wonderful and has told me he will be my BS as well from now on. If you every need reconstruction I would highly, highly recommend him.
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Jlynn, our daughter lives in Washington, Nj, even farther north. She's a Belmar beach girl! I only did one cruise and it was Norwegian which I loved. Great advice given by others above too. I vote for one with hub and another with kids.
Eli, great job at avoiding(or just not posting??) a picture where we can see your face. Great hair though
Congrats on winning the trivia contest, I can imagine the fun and bragging rights!
Happy almost Friday a/k/a Mary's hands down favorite day of the week ☺0 -
eli, love the travelogue and the pics. You deserved a good time! cool bag!
I am trying to plan a trip with my 25 y/o DD. I'm having trouble committing to anything. Of course now I have a cold (or something) so that makes me cranky.
I just sent my DS to visit his sister in CO for his graduation present. He is learning to snow board, they are having a blast. That makes me happy.
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Momine - I think I started thinking like a man after my BC diagnosis. Even though I had been divorced a few years by then, all of a sudden I had to handle everything while being scared out of my wits. Now I compartmentalize instantly and I'm a duct tape pro. Seriously, they were right about that stuff!
Eli - I had a feeling you would win that trivia game! I just know everyone was envious of that green bag - it is most def cool. You should have let the girls braid your hair - I bet it would have looked like Bo Derek in "10". Very island-y! My guess is that the peacock lays one egg per year. Isn't it funny how when you guess, you actually end up 50-50?
Yes Mar, I am sooo glad tomorrow is Friday. It has been a terrible week.
My son was robbed at gunpoint last night - very scary. It took 3 hours for the police to be finished with him and now tomorrow he has to go look at some security tapes. My son was very lucky to have just lost his iPhone. The man was in his 30's so I guess he was wise enough not to shoot him, thank God. He was apparently satisfied with the new iPhone 5 - he asked for my son's wallet and my son said he didn't have any money. He asked again and my son repeated himself. Then the man said, "Get in your car and drive away before I shoot you." So my son got in the car and the man started running. Of course my son should have just given him his wallet - the guy was shaking the gun at him. Fortunately he didn't notice the bookbag which had his expensive laptop in it with irreplacable data on it as my son is a computer science major. My fibromyalgia has been flared up ever since. I'm still very upset and stressed out about this.
Ugh! Hurry up Friday night! I have some delicious Bloody Mary mix in the fridge with my name on it!
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OMG!!!!! Robbed at gunpoint? HnS76, as the mom of two similarly aged young men, that has me in a fit of terror. Regardless of how he has reacted so far, this is shocking and I hope this doesn't give your son PTSD.
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You should have seen me during the 3-hour wait for him to get home. I was alternating between crying and screaming. Last night his eyes filled with tears but today he's already turned it into a joke. He'll ask for something like a Coke and I'll say no and he'll say "But I got robbed last night." Or take out the trash - but I got robbed last night. Today I asked him what he thinks about it, and he said "I try not to think about it." I thought "Oh no, he's already burying it." I'm worried about PTSD, too. I've already checked into a PTSD counselor for another thing that's happened to him, but you ladies don't want to hear about that, trust me. (It's about Pepsi)
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"Now I compartmentalize instantly and I'm a duct tape pro. Seriously, they were right about that stuff!"
LOL
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Where do you get travel insurance from please as people with cancer?
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hns - How scary that must have been for your son - and you as well. I do hope that he is able to work through everything without too much after effects. Very lucky indeed - someone is definitely watching over him. Hoping that today is a bit brighter for you.
And yes, duct tape is a wonderous thing. Available in so many different colours too!
As for the number of eggs a peacock lays in a year? I would guess 20
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Okay a peacock would not lay any eggs, right?
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Lily55, The online travel agent did offer me travel insurance, but I was not feeling too vulnerable so passed on it. I would think you could just take out the regular travel ins. on airline tickets as well. I always do ask about cancellation policies on various bookings, but this started way back when I had small kids. You know how they can surprise you by waking up vomiting or somthing.
Meecie, Meecie, Meecie, you are one smart cookie. Up until that point the trivia contest had not thrown in any trick questions, but this one was just that. The peacock lays NO eggs because that is the job of the peaHEN. I'd like to take credit on that answer, but the other woman teammate beat me to it.
Care to try these three other animal related ones, also from the cruise: 1) What is a baby zebra called? 2) What is a baby whale called? 3) What kind of baby animal is an elver? (No Googling.)
If that is too easy, here are some that stumped me (and the rest of the team as well): 1) What country is made up of over one thousand islands? 2) What it the study of fruit called? 3) What is the largest chocolate bar company in the world?
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I believe the Philippines is the answer to the country of over 1,000 islands.
Joy
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Hmm Zebra colt? Whale calf. An elver.....a squirrel?
Now you see I am not such a smart cookie.
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My parents took out trip insuraqnce last summer when they traveled to Canada. My father has a series of strokes and the whole party (mom, dad, uncle and aunt) had to cut trip short. The insurance paid for the unscheduled plane trips, hotel lay over between flights, dr. visit in Canada, and a refund of the unused paortion of the tour. It was well worth the $100 they paid for the insurance. The trip was origianlly round trip from Phoenix but the insurance pd for DM and DD to fly back to CA!
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I'll give the trivia a few hours in case some other smarty-pantses want to show off.
There's always the prestige of knowing. I'll give the answers later today.0 -
Going to see my onc today to see what the next 5 years will be. I am post-menopausal, but it seems that she really likes to treat with Tamoxifen. My DEXA was "beautiful" (their words), had stress tests and a cardiac work-up and my heart is healthy, etc. I keep reading about SEs for Tamoxifen and I am getting concerned, not for the major one like blood clots, but for the fatigue, joint pain, and weight gain. My onc said if we saw I was having to many SEs or SEs that were not tolerable, there were other options. Any advice or input on how you dealt with the SEs?
Also, handled my dx, my surgery and chemo quite well, but now I have these fears of recurrence and mets that do not seem to be normal (for me anyway). I keep fearing we missed something and I should have done chemo longer. Somehow, having a BMX and chemo does not seem to be enough to fight this disease. I discussed this with both my onc and her nurse. They both assure me I took an aggressive approach to the BC, but I feel it's not enough. Again, any advice or input? Does/did anyone else have these fears?
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Oh Meece you smarty pants you - lol
I'll take a guess that the largest chocolate bar company is Hershey's0 -
Jlynn welcome. We have used Royal Caribbean twice and had a great experience both. The second time we brought our 10yr old along. They have a great kids program that she spent a lot of time at and seemed to enjoy it. We did western caribbean and they had a lot of different excursions you could take in port. Looking forward to planning another one in the future, seems to be every 10yrs for our anniversaries. -Aimee
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maryah930, Considering that you are post-menopausal, and had a great Dexa scan, I am surprisd that they are not going with an AI (aromatase inhibitor.) They still give you the same hot flashes and I've heard the joint pain can be worse than Tamox., but they don't have the same clotting risk or risk of endometrial cancer. As far as the hot flashes, might sweats, etc., women do the best they can with chill-o pillows, having a bedside fan, avoiding foods that set them off, using supplrments, and even using prescription meds. Don't be too worried, because you might get lucky and not have to much trouble with S/Es; sometimes they are more noticable at first and then back off after a month of two. It something you give a try and see for yourself. If you end up too miserable, yes, they can switch to something else.
As far as the fear of not doing enough...well, no one really knows just what enough is. Some do everything and get a recurrance, some do the minimum and stay cancer-free for life. There are lifestyle changes that you can make that can lower your future risk factors somewhat, so that would be worthwhile to look into. BCO has a number of articles on this site about that. Will that work? Maybe yes, maybe no, but it can't hurt and it does give you something to do if you still want to be DOING something.
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And now for those trivia question answers:
Answers for the first part were: A colt, a calf, and an eel. (Not bad Meece!)
Answers for the second part were:
1) The Philippines (correct JoyE.) That was the official answer when I played, and although we got no points, we had the equally correct answer of Indonesia.
2) The study of fruit is Pomology. (Who knew?) Now don't say you never learned anything from this thread.
3) Largest chocolate bar company in the world is Mars, Inc. This question never clarified if it was "chocolate bars" only, or if it meant "candy bars" and other associated items. I was thinking it was either Hershey or M&M/Mars, but I got thrown off thinking M&Ms are not actually a "bar." My Brit teammate thought it could be Cadbury. We ended up going with Hershey's (honest mistake, eh barsco?.) Embarassing that I don't know my chocolate better than that.
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Well, I guess I won't be joining any trivia teams soon. lol
I will be sharing some of these with my team at work though. We have a white board in the middle of our department that we use for fun stuff such as this. I love to write riddles, trivia etc on the board and listen to all of the discussion and guesses that come from it.
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