August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Good luck Rachel!!0
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Good day warriors!!!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the birthday wishes!!!!!!! After bc, birthdays have much, much more meaning!!!!!!
Rachel: best of luck today. I had a reminder in my calendar about your appointment today. It is probably just nerves. I wish you the best and let us know how it goes.
Good day to everyone! Carpe diem! It is 70 in CT!!! WHOO HOO!!!
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Happy BIrthday Lizzy! Have a great year ahead!
Hugs Ginger
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Good Luck Rachel!
Happy Birthday Lizzy!
Just loving this weather here! Thinking about playing hookey on Friday from work, throw caution to the wind! It will be a beautiful St. Patty's Day weekend here.
Hope everyone is doing well.
Debbi
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Kel- that wildlife thing seems so neat!!!! I hope she really gets a lot out of it! I will pray for your grandfather that he holds on until you get up there.
Rachel- what is the weather like right now? Warm enough to enjoy the break? Today my kids got to do a water fight with the neighborhood kids. they enjoyed it, also tried to soak me too! How did the appointment go????
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Lizzy I agree its like a whole new milestone- i lived to be (fill in blank)... I cant beleive i will be 30 this yr!
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Hi everyone. My appointment went well. My Oncologist said all is "A-OK". I am still concerned about my cramping and pelvic pain. She said she did not see anything that causes her concern--that all looks good. I get the results back of my PAP in a couple of weeks but on-site she said that nothing looked suspicious. I would be lying if I said that I was completely at ease but I do feel a little better. I had a good conversation with my Doctor regarding recurrence. She said that she believes my chances of recurrence for cervical cancer is low--not 0%--but low. She said she doesn't believe in telling anyone that they are cancer free. While I was waiting, I was astounded by the amount of people in the gyne oncology unit and to that end, the amount of people who looked very ill. It made me appreciate the fact that I am here...still kicking....and the Doctors are optimistic.
March break weather here is beautiful. This is the first year that my kids have not gone to a camp during March break but stayed home by themselves and had play dates with friends. They are enjoying it...it kind of saddens me that they are getting to their pre-teen years. They are good boys. My youngest son stood up against one of his hockey coaches who wanted each kid to say why one kid wasn't playing well...my son said "I think he is a good player and this is making him sad and I don't agree with it". He is 10 and we are so proud. Hockey here is crazy madness...coaches and parents are crazy. My son was the only person not to criticize the other player. Honestly, with all the media around bullying and coaches that overstep their boundaries--you would think things would be a little better. My son is leaving the team this year to head to another team (Debbie...there goes my Moulson connection!).
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Good evening warriors!
I hope you all are having a lovely evening! I could not have ordered better weather than we are having in CT these days. Unbelievably nice out and next week we are going to hit 80!!!!! YAY! I cannot wait! I really do prefer warmer weather.
Tex: 30 is a HUGE birthday and for us bc girls, it is even bigger! You have to PM me your birthday, please! I plan to make a fuss!!!!
Calamtykel: I am glad you are going away but am sad it is for the reason your grandfather's health is failing. I sure hope you get there before anything happens.
Rachel: I am so glad the appointment went well. The other day someone called me to say the docs thought this and that and I finally told that person that I am not too concerned with what they think as they have been wrong before and I am sure they are going to be wrong again. Tests and pathology are definitive and everything else from these docs, as they don't have magic eyes and can't see the future, is pure conjecture. On that note, your doc is smart to remind you no one is ever really "free" of cancer and that the risks are there, albeit small, but they are there. I have all kinds of weird pains and now recently under my arm on the affected side and on the back of that arm. I also have these little zinging pains around my back which I *never* had before in my life. I have finally decided to chalk it all up to getting older and forget about it! Seriously, all this crap we feel, it is entirely feasible it has nothing to do with recurrence. At least this is what I am hoping for!
So enjoy your vacation and put it out of your mind. I am sure you will be fine. I am telling you, I think the only way to beat cancer is to put it out of your mind completely. If I ever have some FREAKIN' BREASTS again, perhaps I can do that. I was so disgusted today looking at summer shirts and thinking I have no freakin boobs. My friend just met some guy and she was talking to me about meeting his friend and I reminded her that 1/2 MY EQUIPMENT is missing! I mean seriously, this has just worn me out. Rachel, back to the issue at hand: ignore cancer and read Kevin Trudeau's book about the natural cures they don't want us to know about and ignore thoughts of recurrance. When I have some breasts again, that is precisely my plan!
Well, the forces that be certainly have a sense of humor! My thyroid has been out of whack for years and completely since chemo as my TSH recently was 6.1. This means it is roughly 100% worse than it should be. The med was increased and this is my life and I just deal. In any case, my last cat that died of old age at 18 in 2008 was hyperthyroid and I am hypothyroid. Her vet used to have so much fun with me talking about how it would be so nice if she and I could switch and he would giggle, rubbing his little paws together, like a mad scientist!!!!! Also he never saw the "Jungle Book" so he would pronounce her name :Mao-glee (and he used to really hang on the "ow!") In any case, I noticed Bibbers, the new cat (my friend and I were roughly 7 Coronas deep when we named her!), is quite slender! She normally is 11 lbs but now she is just over 9lbs and she eats turkey, chicken and fish plus she has her dry food. In any case, yes, the thyroid lottery has struck once again! My cat has been blessed with hyperthyroidisim!!!!!! She can eat and sleep all day and STILL lose weight! Mind you I called Mowgli's vet (the cat that has passed) and he was just hysterical! He found it just hilarious that this has happened once again! Alas life is full of joy in the form of merciless paradoxes!
And so it goes, and so it goes!
Happy trails, all-
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Rachel, I am proud of your son too! What a great kid. He will be a leader. I am happy for your family to have reaised such a fine boy.
Ginger
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rachel - I am proud of your son too!! Wow, what a strong sense of fairness and ability to empathize.0
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Rachel: What a great young man you have raised! I am with you on the youth sports. Sometimes it is hard to blend the need for competition with the life lessons you want your kids to learn by playing team sports. Unfortunately there are a lot of jerks out there, coaches and parents. It's funny, before cancer I was all caught up in the soccer mad world of tournaments, select teams, etc. Now, it just doesn't seem to matter much anymore, and I laugh at the seriousness of many of the parents around me. Kieran loves to play and he is good, but we both agree that it is more important that he like his teammates and coaches. To that end, he will be leaving his soccer team at the end of this season too. They take themselves wayyyy too seriously and its just not the right fit. But there are plenty of teams out there, hopefully we will be able to find one with a knowledgeable and fair coach. As for the Moulson connection, oh well....we did milk it for all it was worth with those autographs!!
Lizzy: Hang in there woman, you will have breasts again...two of them! I have actually been thinking about a plastic surgery consult, as I only have 1-1/4, thinking about making it two. Don't know. As for the date...go for it. Unless you plan on going topless, nobody will ever notice! Have some fun, its just one date.
Have a great night everyone!
Debbi
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Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone! Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Debbi
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Good day warriors!
What a lovely St. Patrick's Day we are having! The NE has had such a mild winter, it has been lovely and it looks like it is over! So thankful for that!
Sptmm: HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S to you!!!! I was hoping you would go to the parade in the city? I did not feel up to going this year mainly because it is always so littered with drunk people (I used to be a card-carrying member!) I just was not into it this year. I went to a parade here in CT this past year. I really wish they would make "beer gardens" at the parades so the drunks would all hang with each other and leave the rest of us alone! One year I got splashes of urine on my foot from a guy that, due to his inebriation I hope, was lacking any sort of couth!
You probably lost interest in those sports teams when you realized how little it all means. My brothers played football and hockey. Parents that lament the eventless passing of their own youth take out their frustrations at their own failings during their children's games. It is an awful display and spoils the game for the players and spectators alike. Who needs it, Deb?! Who needs it?!
As for dating, I really will feel much better once I look ok in a shirt! If and when you are ready for a consult, I have a lot of info for you on drs in the NY/CT market. Just let me know, woman! I will be happy to send along my research!
Have a good weekend-
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Hi all, sorry I've been MIA, I've been in another funk. Just wanted to check in and say hi.
Rachel, great news! I go for my 6 months scans on Tuesday. You all say a prayer for me.
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(((((Hugs Lady)))))0
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Lady.....thinking of you. Looking forward to good news. Rachel xo
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Good evening warriors!
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Lady: YOU are always in my prayers. I promise you that. Even when you are "MIA," I still am thinking of you. I will be thinking of you and send you the most positive vibes.
A very good friend of mine from NYC got me a bunch of Yankee gear for my birthday and today I just about put on all of it! He got me a hat, t-shirt, a Jeter uniform shirt, a visor, a Yankees jacket and Yankee "socks!" I love all of it and am loving that Yankee jacket tonight! Sadly I should get a Yankee "fanny" pack (gross!) as I lost 3 pairs of sunglasses this weekend! **3** One pair was $250...wonderful! So very happy!
Happy week and LADY, please let us know asap how things went-
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Good day warriors!
I am about 1/2 way through Trudeaus' book....amazing. He seems to make an awful lot of sense. As I can't seem to fully get rid of this flu/bronchitis I decided rather than think about mets/recurrence, let me start to study the body as the ecosystem it is! I will be sharing key points along the way. I make notes on this book and am actually planning to read it again right away! When I find a book this valuable I generally read it twice for good measure!
One take-away that I wanted to share today is urban rebounding. You all know I have worked out my entire life battling weight and I never realized the health benefits, especially for me now as a bc survivor, that urban rebounding brings to the table. Apparently it energizes all your cells and when I thought about it, it makes a lot of sense. There is no other exercise like it and it is fun! I used to take classes at Bally's all the time. Of course I went downstairs and brought my mini trampoline up! He says the 3 best things we can do to correct the perceived "imbalance" that caused bc is to walk, do yoga and rebound.
I was also sad to find out, in associated research, that the one thing I love and eat regularly, pickles, are very acidic
I guess I am going to have to cut to 1 pickle a week!Finally, for anyone is a self-proclaimed "funk," I am burning all CDs into my computer. I just got finished doing the "Doobie Brothers" Rockin' Down the Highway! For anyone feeling down, fire up your MP3s/Is etc... and play "Listen to the Music!!" That is bound to cheer you up!
People still don't know what to say/are grossly or not informed at all: someone I know pretty well asked me today why I did not just take the "chemo pill!" I think aside from doing a play and taking it on the road to teach people, in a comedic way, about c/bc but it would also be nice to have a site anyone that has a friend/family member etc.. who has cancer can visit to learn what NOT to say!
Good day, all...weather in CT is nearly 75 today!!!!!! It is lovely!!
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I know it is human nature but I really despise the tendancy to attribute fault to the victim. Yes, why don't you take that pill and shove it where the sun don't shine. After listening to this blame the victim in so many areas of life I just really get p'oed at it being directed at Breast Cancer victims. Hm I seem to have strongly expressed opinions today.
Ginger
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Ginger: I am totally with you on that. I don't believe people should arbitrarily rummage through the closet of their life looking to find out what "they did" to cause their circumstance. Trudeau's book is more about capitalism and the medical industrial complex. I am not sure what you were responding to directly? There is no disputing the fact that bc changed our lives, however. I just think it is necessary for all "victims" to realize whatever caused it, it is upon us and we are in a new world as a result. It might be help to retool a bit.0
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Lizzy, I can be so unclear. I was responding to the person who told you to , "just take the chemo pill,"
I wasn't even thinking about the book you are reading.
Sorry for the confusion.
GInger
Hey, the sun is out here. WOW!
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Lizzy- just invite those ill imformed people on your show LOL
Camping was great- oh but my kids have walking pneumonia LOL, i just thought it was a cough. but nope took them into the dr and they have that, got on antibiotics and inhalers (they have perviously dx my daughter with asthma but i doubt it LOL)
rachel glad to hear all is well on your lady bits
Reminds me i NEED to desperatly find a new gyno! i am due for my annual but i dont want to have to deal with another DR for a LONG time! espcially the ones that deal with the duck looking opener thingy LOL 0 -
Hi all, I got a good report! Scans all clear and blood work good, woo hoo!! I live to fight another day
I was at the center all morning. They didn't log me in the system when I got there and I waited 45 minutes in the scan area. So the NP told me to just go get some lunch and come back, and by then they'd have the scans read. I'm glad it turned out that way because now I don't have to go back next week, plus don't have to sit around worrying about results.Lizzy: I'm with you on the music. I bought a "best of" Sheryl Crow the other day and loaded it on my iPod so now I walk to "I want to soak up the sun" and "All I want to do is have some fun", which I actually feel like doing today!
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Hooray Lady! CLean scans and no waiting for the results. Celebrate.
Hugs Ginger
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Yayyy!!!!0
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Hello my lovely warriors!
Well, I went to my annual gyn gig and all is fine and 2-3 weeks on the pap results but she said everything looks good. I discussed that endometrial lining business and she said generally that is more a concern with women who were already in menopause when they found out about bc and then went on tamox. I also could have misunderstood but the takeaway is everything seems fine with my lady parts and that is all, that is all!
Vitamin D3: it is said that they preponderance of the people in this country are deficient in this and, of course, cancer folks, diabetics and those that suffer from heart disease are overwhelmingly deficient, to one degree or another. My friend who called Trudeau shortly after I was dxd said the one thing he told my friend was Vitamin D deficiency is the culprit in a lot of illness. I ran across this information while doing some other research which brought me to Vitamin D3, as follows:
In the United States, serum levels of 25(OH) D3 are below the recommended levels for a large portion of the general adult population and in most minorities, indicating that Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem in the country.[8]
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements, most people in the United States can meet their vitamin D needs through exposure to sunlight, even though a large portion have serum 25(OH)D3 levels below recommendationsAs we head into nicer weather, I thought I would mention this. I was stuck in traffic today on the highway due to a massive accident (there are like 4 a day in this small ass state!) and instead of listening to music and instead of trying to ignore truckers while they act like pigs (he he he!), I decided to shut my eyes and just soak up the sun! It felt great!
Ginger: that is a very, very big deal that you have sun!!!!!!!! Thanks for the clarification. I know, people are just morons. Why would a learned person need to ask me such a ludicrous question about why I would go to the hospital and take 3 different kinds of chemo for 6 hours straight as opposed to going to just taking a pill?! I am actually much happier now, and because I have hair again, to not even let anyone know I ever had cancer. I am very much working to put this behind me for good.
Tex: yes, they are going to be on the show...I have just been thinking, from a production perspective, perhaps I need to change the name of the show as I am not sure anyone is going to come on with the current name!!!! I am glad you had fun camping. There is something nice about being out in the woods, just you and your sleeping bag although I am nervous even thinking about it! It is good to get away, though, and I am sure the kids just loved it.
TEX---get to your annual gyn appt. I know it is horrifying to keep going to all these docs but you really should get a move on, woman!
Lady: music is wonderful therapy! I had a temperamental ficus and when I moved it out of my office to my home, it threw a fit! I played Pavarotti and classical music, in a steady rotation, for about a month and that bitch came back! Ficus are rough to move...they get so upset! In any case, keep up your wonderful walks and listening to that music! It is good for your soul. Another startling stat I ran across is how people in Europe walk an average of 8 miles per day and we here in the US walk less than 1 mile per day. I find it hard to believe those in Europe are walking 8 miles per day but it was interesting anyway so walk away, Lady!
I am so glad you got an ALL CLEAR from your doc!!! YAY!! I will be so very, very happy to not have to go to doctors again soon enough. Once I get over this last hump, I am pretty sure I am done with docs for a long, long time. I don't want to see them anymore! I am so wanting to leave bc in my dustbin of history, it is not even funny! I am quite positive I am not alone on this one.
Well, it is so beautiful these days that I plan to get at least 20 minutes of Vitamin D for the next few days! The more I think about that deficiency, it seems all the preponderance of employees in this country do is go and spend 8 to 12 hours a day in a building toiling away. They might be on to something.
Have a lovely evening, girls-
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I have read that in the northern states the sun is too low in the sky to stimulate vitamin D production in winter. Even in AZ it is only strong enough around noon time in the winter. I think I am remembering correctly.
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Eight miles a day!!!!!
Vitamin D3 is inexpensive. Apparently if you live in the North it is impossible to get enough vitamin D naturally. My husband is even taking it now. There is no way he ever gets enough sun plus he has gotten skin cancer.
Laters
Ginger
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Lady....so happy to hear your news...that is cause for celebration
. What a ride you ave been through...now sit back and enjoy. It is absolutely gorgeous here in Ontario...tomorrow will be 26 celcius which is about 80 or so Fahrenheit for you US gals! Can't believe this weather...amazing. Kids are in shorts and tees and playing basketball on the driveway. Like summer nights!0 -
Rachel: that sounds like such a lovely, summer evening with your boys outside playing basketball! It sounds really nice. Tomorrow it is going to be about 80 here but Thursday is when the real fun starts...85!!! YAHOOOOEEEE!
Omaz: I am surprised about the numbers being so low for AZ. Of course, I am going to law school because I LOVE research and this information I am coming across is leading me to do even more research. Bottom line, equatorial countries have a fraction, on a per capita basis, of the cancer we have in North America. In fact, the "Northern" countries are all pretty close when it comes to cancer stats. Ecuador here I come!
Ginger: yeah...8 miles a day...study was probably published by a lazy Brit wanting to upset Americans! It is good that your dh is taking D3. Why not is what I say. I did some looking around this site and I found one link where someone went on, in a pretty lengthy manner, about Dr. Oz and Kevin Trudeau and "quackery" was the underlying suspicion of this poster! D3 is inexpensive. I don't know if it will have any impact on those of us who already have this but it would not hurt either especially because we are all in areas where we don't get much sun regularly.
I am moving to Ecuador!!!!!! Actually a friend just bought a very inexpensive, waterfront condo in Ecuador for $95,000!!! The building is also made of concrete for obvious reasons. Good times!
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