MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish
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Can I chime in? First time on this thread....
So what might have caused my BC? Let's see. A glass (or 2) of wine with dinner most days. Walk regularly and don't eat much junk food. Mother had 2 instances of BC but I was told my risk wasn't increased because of her age at diagnosis (75 and 79). No other family cancer history. BRCA -. Twenty years +/- on the pill before early menopause at 42. Never pregnant. Took low dose estrogen pill for about 5 years to combat menopause hot flashes. Lost both my parents in 2011 then spent 2012 cleaning out the home they lived in for 54 years and putting it on the market. Four months later, diagnosis BC.
I do wonder where it came from. My BS did feel that it could very well be linked to the stress I went through the prior 2 years. But I will never know for sure. I am trying to make changes in diet and I still enjoy my wine. Just not as often. Sigh.0 -
Welcome LizzyinMI! When you have an ER+ B/C, even a small one, it probably goes back more than a few years because they are known to be slow growing, but who knows...without the stress perhaps your body could have killed off the little invaders. I had a 7mm lump and my doc said it could have been there for 6 or 8 years, For the same reason, we can't exactly call ourselves in the clear after 5 years because women with ER+ cancers get actual recurrences 8 and 10 years out sometimes.
We have another on this thread who is in the Detroit metro area. Her name is Loral.0 -
Here is an article that from Susan G Komen fb page - With my AA cup size and reasonably active lifestyle, I really shouldn't have anything to worry about right? (well, other than that stage iv thing). Hmmmm
I agree with SNS that the Cheetos do look disgusting. I like my cheetos straight up, no sauce, no nothing!
Hello and welcome to LizzyinMi - glad you found us tucked away in our little corner of the site. We are a wonderfully diverse group of ladies that have come together to help celebrate the good, support and encourage throughout the bad, and to lend a virtual hand to hold and an ear to listen throughout the ugly.0 -
Barsco, I saw that as well. The only way I can make any sense of any of it is to conclude that it is a $%&*@ crap shoot, and we just gotta live as well as we can for however long the ride lasts. I really hope someone actually solves the puzzle - soon, please.0 -
I agree Momine - A crap shoot indeed. Not going to try to wrap my head around any of it.0 -
Oh great, another article that tells us that they know that they don't really know about something, and for the 10th time. I'm not even sure how this is NEWS.
After about a week on BCO, I knew that estrogen was produced, not just by our ovaries, but by our body fat. So, fat waist, more boob fat, more estrogen. Isn't this what Tamox. and the AIs are supposed to take care of? Also, if you have a bigger breast (cup size) I think that in at least some cases it would be harder to detect a smaller lump, so if any of the women were not getting mammos (for whatever reason) and had to rely on manual exam maybe their cancer was more advanced when it was found, so more oppty. to have spread by the time it was found leading to more recurrence and more Stage IV.
Honestly, I have read better guesses on these threads than is found in articles like these, that pass for news. With articles of this kind constantly coming down the pipeline, it is just some medical PR saying "oooh, looky, looky at what our research is finding, keep the money coming" and, after reading one article on this subject, all the rest that follow are next to meaningless. What a crock! And I don't mean of Cheetos snacks.0 -
After three years on, and now one year off, it appears that my uterus has escaped any lasting harm of Tamoxifen. I asked for TVUS at my gyn. today and it was unremarkable. Thin, menopausal uterine lining. A couple tiny fibroids in there, the kind that are quiet and just sit in the corner if they know what's good for them. I didn't really expect otherwise, but it is always a good day when they don't lay a mind-blowing surprise on you.
If only I wasn't so good at growing all that cancer stuff, I'd be one fit middle-aged momma.
Good thing wrinkles aren't classified as a disease. Yet.0 -
Yes, Eli, but dry eyes is. Sheesh. My rant. That to my mind in priming the public to have everything covered by their insurance. Have a friend that rants about the cost of her Nexium for Pete's sake. Would like for her to see my bills from last year.
You are on a roll with changing the topper. Just caught a glimpse as my preview loaded. Way to go.
Neglected to welcome Lizzy here. Love having new members but hate the reason you have to join us.
Well on our way to 900 pages.0 -
Thanks for the welcome ladies. I am finding that I am lurking and posting on boards more now that I am finishing up my "formal" treatment. Final rads tomorrow. Yay! Then Arimidex. I keep wondering what life will be like once I don't have daily/weekly treatments and appointments and I'm not wishing for time to go faster to get this behind me. I'm having trouble comprehending normal after 9 months of abnormal. And since I know I'm not cured in the sense of the word, I'm a little bit afraid of what the future holds. Does that fear go away with time?0 -
BTW, for those who like their B/C articles...the SABCS (San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium) is going on this week, so watch for more than the usual B/C articles to be online. Some might even be about something that we haven't heard before. (Geez, now I'm italicizing my sarcasm. Did I tell you that they make "sassy pills" in gummy now?)0 -
Eli - were you a comic writer in real life?0 -
LizzyinMI, I'm going to go out on a limb and say your life will feel BETTER as you move away from the steady stream of treatment you have been getting. At first you might feel like you should still be doing something to fight the cancer. That is normal. But as time goes on you will come to appreciate that you see your docs less and less. You will hear the phrase "new normal" thrown around on these threads and it is your task to find yours, and if your new normal happens to be not all that different from your old normal, that's probably a good thing. The ladies on this thread (especially the ones who are a few years out from their Dx) agree with me that it is important to live your life and NOT give cancer the upper hand in your mind. It really is up to you whether cancer conquers your mind or not. We have to suffer what it does to our bodies, but we can fight the battle of whether it gets our minds and WIN!
Speaking of JUST LIVING LIFE, I wonder what our poster girl, DianaRose, has been up to? Wedding planning? Holiday baking? Also, howz our main lurker (fmakj, I know you are out there!) doing these days?
I like to think that the ones we don't hear from so often anymore are all doing well and not bothering much about B/C anymore. You'd be surprised at how many of the former "regulars" I remember. You'd be surprised, because I should have more chemo brain than I actually have. Ha! My brain wins again!
p.s. Luv, Nope. I did test positive for the quirky humor gene tho.0 -
I wish I had that gene...but I sure appreciate it in others. You all have given me a lot of comfort and laughs over the months....Happy Holidays.
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That's how it is with cancer, lovewins. Gotta laugh to keep from crying sometimes.
Since I'm not doing a lot of decorating this year, I have turned to the internet to get me in the Xmas spirit.
Know what I love more than dogs wearing antlers? Dogs that show you how they feel about wearing the antlers.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots more.0 -
Ok, so after they did biopsy and then the lx I had to sleep on my back for months. We now know that I have some sleep apnea that happens when I sleep on my back. So I have been sleep deprived for quite a while now. What are "they" trying to do to me? lol
We have all agreed (all docs and I) that I need to lose some weight. So that is my goal now. On a supervised low calorie diet. I can only have virtual snacks.I guess I am in the right place for those. I am going to lose 30 lbs in 10 weeks. I can be an overachiever just like our E.
This is the thing they want me to wear to keep me from rolling onto my back. It needs to be prescribed. But when we looked it up at my PCP's office, it was unavailable.
I said oh, thats too bad. I'll just sleep with a pillow behind me.
I have to admit that I do have more energy since cutting down on my food intake.0 -
eli, lol about the pups, but I like the guy in the background wearing the antlers. I was wondering when we would catch the spirit around here.
luv, forgot to say- yay for learning to post pics. And those goats are real cute and I bet entertaining.0 -
mac, Is there a reason you must do it in 10 weeks? When you drop more than 10 pounds, the body "notices" and that in itself can stress the body. You know when I was on my "surgery and chemo diet" I lost 20 lbs. and that was over about 9 mos. (like reverse of pregnancy weight gain--ha!) What I am saying is that 1-2 lbs. a week is pretty darn good, so don't hurt yourself and don't say no to every holiday treat. That ain't livin'! No, I am not trying to sabotage you in any way, just please pay attention to how it is making you FEEL.
Also, don't you try to out-overachieve me. You know my competitive nature might make me drop another 40 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks eating nothing but Cheetos brittle and fruitcake.
I could virtually devour this!0 -
Macatacmv - I've heard of accomplishing the same thing with tennis balls taped onto something. Better than a pillow. Google "sleep apnea tennis ball" and it will give you several other search options. Some say the commercial devices work better but you are certainly free to try this. Looks harmless enough but might not work well.
Eli - are you of the fruitcake lover persuasion? Me too. Inherited in from my DM.0 -
I know it's usually a love it or hate it thing with fruitcake, and I love it. Has IT been linked to cancer yet?0 -
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Eli - You know in the late 60s or early 70s there was a link to almost anything to cancer. It was really stupid things. I wish I could remember some of the things. Maybe canned ripe olives, maraschino cherries? Anyone else remember this.
DH is working this weekend and I have a pkg of fruitcake fruits. Hmm - maybe time to make the fruitcake. I make the little loaf pan sizes and freeze them. Need to look up a good recipe unless YOU have one to share. Sometimes I just buy the little loaf in the grocery. DH thinks fruitcake is just nasty. Lol. In 37 years never seen him eat it.0 -
I never tried to make fruitcake. Rum cake is my thing to make.
Don't want to leave the cat-fanciers out...
The holiday cat scratch injuries are under-reported. That third one appears to be looking for a jugular.0 -
Oh, no, they di-in't!
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lol, that little bird!!! how in the world did they get it to hold still for that. And the cats, for sure those people got scratched.
luv, thanks for the info. I googled it. Now I just have to get a tennis ball away from the dog and fix it to a strap. I can do this. I'll tell you how it works.
I am doing a rapid weight loss program, while learning to eat better. We will see how fast it works. I am allowed some veggies, but it is mainly shakes and bars. As long as I'm going virtual I'm gonna have a piece of rum cake, please.0 -
Eli...what did they do to my bird???
Here's one that doesn't look too Merry!!!
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E-Fruit Cake IS cancer!0 -
E~ Fan-damn-tastic News!!!! (re: your thinner utie)A big hello to LizzyinMI. I'm inMI, too, tho up in mid-MI.
I was thinking of DianaRose the other day. Hope she is spending her time preparing for her BIG day as well. And, maybe planning a way for us gals here, her BFF's (ha-ha), a way for us to order some of her lucious goodies via mail-order!
ETA: I have no fondness for fruitcake. Now, why would I edit this post to say this?? I have no friggin' idea!!!!!
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Great Cheetos snack recipe!!!!!
Happy looking goats!
If stress causes cancer, why doesn't every US President leave office with cancer?They all leave office visibly aged due to the stress. . . .
Lizzy--welcome, and yes, the fear does ease with time.When I finished rads and started on arimidex I didn't feel comfortable planning anything further in advance than a few days.Having a doc's appointment for 3 months out seemed so strange, I mean, what if "IT" came back and I died before then?No problem making an appointment a year out or even further.It does get better. Never goes back the way it was, but it does get bearable and eventually feels kind of "normal" again.0 -
Eph, A great big HA! I take it you aren't a fan of the fruitcake.
Native, I applaud you bringing the President into the equation. Those are type of paradoxes that usually cross my mind. Of course, if the Illuminati docs at Bethesda actually know how to cure cancer, but are keeping it a secret, that might explain things. (It wasn't just the humor gene that got passed along in my family. I got the conspiracy theory gene as well.)
Loral, That dog has a slight pink tinge around his mouth. You just know he bit the hand that stuck that monstrosity on his head.
Newbies, Don't be afraid to jump into our talk of fruitcakes and pet antlers, to air any concerns you might have about Breast Cancer and treatment. We just digress this way when we don't have any pressing B/C needs. O come, all ye Newbies!0 -
Native, 'xactly! I don't think that being busy and having a lot on your plate can logically be the culprit. It probably has more to do with how you clear and handle stress (if it has anything at all to do with it).0
