August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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My last chemo is this friday and i go back to see my surgeon on the 21st ill probably hold off on the surger and see what happens after chemo because i really dont want to be cut on anymore.
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felisa - Tomorrow is your LAST CHEMO?
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i am so happy
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Good evening, warriors-
I hope you all are doing well!
Felisa: congratulations! So glad tomorrow is it! That is the greatest feeling! I loved leaving chemo for the last time. It was the best! It felt so good to get in my car and get on the highway, bidding that nasty chemo farewell! Keep us posted on how you feel over the coming week. The timing is kind of perfect b/c you should be feeling pretty well by the holiday, if you celebrate.
I hope everything goes well tomorrow and you are feeling good
I wish you all the sweetest of dreams!
Night-
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Felis--Congrats on your last chemo. That was truly a great day!
I have taken today off work so I can get some Christmas shopping done. I was so busy at work this week on a project and with visitors from Denmark that I had no time for anything. I looked at the calendar and realized Christmas was around the corner and no presents yet...so my husband and I took the day off to do some Christmas shopping.
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Rachel: upon your return home from what will undoubtedly be a hectic shopping trip, I would encourage you to open a bottle of wine, hop over to ITunes and buy Billy Squier's "Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You" and dance around in a wanton fashion, listening to that festive song while you hide that wine in your stomach!!!
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What a horrible news story today makes me sick to my stomach!! Lizzy way to close to home for you, hope you are doing as ok. : ( Ugggg
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Iowa: thank you. While I was posting to Rachel this morning the news kept coming on during Rachel Ray but at that point I had no clue what as really going on or about the extent of this dreadful, dreadful event. I am about 1/2 hour from Newtown. This is all together an awful, senseless loss and tragedy. It is so sad listening to some of these stories like the one where a teacher was recounting how her kids were told to hold hands, keep walking and most important to close their eyes and she would let them know when they got outside and when they could open their eyes again. The whole thing is just beyond horrifying.
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Well I got bad news my thyroid level is very low and I stop taking my thyroid medicine two months ago he told me I should be in the hospital and thats what got me feeling so bad as well as my chemo. He gave me a red blood cell shot in the office instead of another blood transfusion. He also told me it is very important for me to take my thyroid medicine. I just got tired of taking it. I feel so awful today.
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felisa - Yes, you need to take your thyroid medicine. I don't like taking my blood pressure medicine but I just do it. You will feel so much better once you start taking it again. Did you get your last chemo yesterday?
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Good day, warriors!
Tex: where have you been?! Hope you are feeling well.
Rachel: hope your shopping trip was a success! I hate shopping. Online shopping, yes, and a few department stores but I am not a shopper, a browser etc... and this, I believe, is one of my most redeeming values!!!
Omaz: hope all is well in the desert and you are having some recollection of what those pretty colored boxes, all wrapped up under the tree, are for and where they came from!!!!
Felis: I have suffered thyroid problems probably my whole life but oddly enough I was dxd with a "medicatable" thyroid condition in 2005 and guess when my breast cancer started? You guessed it: 2005.
You have to remember cancer thrives in a body with a depressed immune system. It is my feeling that I got bc from my thyroid problem having gone undetected. It depressed my immune system and allowed bc to start. Then I got on the med and perhaps it slowed it down but sure enough, 5 years later I was dxd w/bc and they said they were able to establish my bc started around 2005. It is absolutely imperative you take that med every day. In fact, when you say you are "tired" of taking your med, remember if you don't take it tired is going to be one of the first things you will feel. I am sure Rachel will weigh in on this as she was just dxd a few months back.
With a bc dx, it is so incredibly important that you take that med, every day. If you want some freebies from Abbott, PM me and I will send you the forms. Please, though, you don't even need to take Synthroid as you can take the generic levothyroxine.
Google thyroid and breast cancer. There is a lot of info but the one thing they definitely know is cancer needs a depressed immune system environ to get going and with a thyroid problem, it creates perfect conditions for cancer proliferation.
You must take that pill every day, please.
This tragedy yesterday in CT has me so stunned. Everyone keeps talking about gun control but I truly believe that is only 1 part of the problem. When I walk in my nephew's bedroom and see him playing a video game where it looks so real with all these killings and blood and gore, I am stunned and now I can't help but think these video games are "normalizing" killing. We have had 6 massive shootings in the past decade. That is also when exponential growth of the gaming systems and the likes of Electronic Arts has taken place.
I hate to point out that all of these killings are young men, dressed in black fatigues, carrying several guns. In my high school in a bucolic CT town, we left the high school doors open starting in April on nice weather days. They actually left the doors wide open. I find it incomprehensible our society has fallen to such a paranoia and peril they will be locking school doors soon. I am sorry, I know there are a lot of guns on the streets but I do believe that these video games are not *causing* killings but they sure are "normalizing" it.
We had video games when I was young but it was "Pac Man" and "Frogger!!" Oh, yes, and I can't forget Atari "tennis!" Geesh, that one would put you to sleep. I just don't understand why there aren't more games like how to fix the human body for kids interested in medicine or fashion design games or even those based on Wall St. You know like more career type of games. What I hear a lot from these young men and women who are entranced by these games is they want to go into the military. WOW...I wonder why. I really think kids need to go outside and ride their bikes and lay off these awful games.
This, of course, does not negate the fact that 20 poor little innocent children were gunned down senselessly. Unfortunately crazy can happen anywhere and with absolutely no help at all.
Good day, girls
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The news from the US is so horrific. I just cannot believe that something like this happens--and has happened. Lizzie--I think that the video games may normalize some violence but what I really don't understand and maybe that is coming from a Canadian--is that the gun laws need to change--the fact that someone can buy hundreds of rounds of ammunition is just crazy. Words cannot describe what the families must be going through. There will be lots of talk--the government needs to act on this and ensure that changes come. I just don't understand why people have guns--semi-automatic weapons and so much ammunition -- just does not make any sense.
Felis--As Lizzie said, I was diagnosed with thyroid issues a few months ago--I take my medication every day even though they do not believe that it will help get my levels back to "normal" as they believe that I have an immune deficiency issue also. Doc thinks it is because of chemo and radiation..gift that keeps on giving.
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Felisa- Take the medicine girl! i know it gets to be a drag but in order to give ourselves the best chance possible we have to keep on keepin ON!
i actually take a minumum of 11 pills to 20 (depending on my anti pills)Lizzy- i am here. to add to my list of side effects- i have hand and foot disease or syndrome never sure what its called, painful blisters on my feet. hard to walk.... thats not really a good excuse to be off line LOL but i have been lazing on my sofa!
Rachel- totally second that, when violence becomes second nature things like this may happen.
My view on gun control. If the intent is there it doesnt matter if they have a gun, knife or their bare hands- they will do what they feel like doing. my husband told me that the day before the CT incident there was one in china that a guy killed by knife a lot of children. havent googled that story though so not sure of the details.
my heart goes out to those familes, my children are around the age of these children that lost their lives. so it really hit home for me. i also heard the story of the teacher that hid her class in cupboards and the closet telling the gunman that they were in the gym, she died but her class lived. such a tragedy
What went wrong in this young man's life? sadly we'l never know the whole truth, mostly just what is being speculated....
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On gun control, the people who are law-abiding citizens, procuring a license for a firearm are NOT the ones we need to worry about! Also,for the 139 guns used in the mass killings, 3/4 were obtained legally.
Not for one minute is anyone going to convince me that little boys and girls who are playing death, kill, destroy, blood and gore video games, all day, every day for years are not at least more accustomed to the idea of death. Then take that information and plug it into the idea that in the past decade, in the United States where every spoiled brat has 1, 2 or 3 video gaming systems, we have had numerous, multiple killings committed entirely by young men, that we don’t have a problem. There is no way there is not a connection especially when for every one girl addicted there are 3 boys addicted to video games.
I am sorry, some people have a latent desire to kill and sitting around doing nothing will not make that desire go away but sitting all day *practicing* on video games that glorify killing is like getting your PhD in how to annihilate. Counting this one yesterday and Manchester CT in 2010, there have been 18 mass killings in the past 2 decades in the *world* and 7 have been in the US. All 7 have been in the past 12 years also. Roughly 48% of mass killings in the past 12 years have been in the United States. Nowhere in the world are there as many school shootings. In fact, sadly we are #1 in that dubious category. Yet the “Monkeycage” article below says US crime is going down. So why then are our young men killing en masse?
Check this article: http://www.infowars.com/40-signs-that-we-have-seriously-messed-up-the-next-generation-of-americans/
This article points out that of the 139 guns used in mass killings, more than ¾ were obtained “legally.”
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mass-shootings-map
Finally, this article has numbers that indicate crime is going down in the US:
It is all just a sad state of affairs and now 20 little kids are being buried.
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Good day, warriors!
In talking with a friend this morning I realized what I have been trying to say about this gun business and how it relates to video games. First off, 9/11 would have never been so successful if that dumbass in FL did not give them nealry unlimited access to the flight simulator. More to this point, when most of us were young we knew who the kids were with social disorders as they did not come outside and play. Now we have no idea who they are because the absolute norm is to be held up in one’s home playing video games day and night. We no longer know who the troubled kids are because of this social phenomena which has gripped our country, getting stronger year-by-year, for the past 15-20 years. 99% of the kids that play these games will not ever do anything but hiding among them now are the ones that do have problems and those problems are exacerbated by practicing on shooting games for thousands of hours. Now life is unfortunately imitating electronic arts.
Finally, on the assault weapons, I did not realize they were so easy to get and I am not quite sure what place they have in our society or why they are being sold but much like a Lamborghini or a Ferrari, our highways are not designed to accommodate the speeds at which those cars are designed to travel. Under the auspices of capitalism, however, people should be allowed to buy what they want.
Our schools are financially strapped, our teachers are grossly underpaid and therefore it is going to be very difficult to not profile children as they try to figure out who the problem shut-ins are and not just there goes another kid who plays video games every day after school. This is a terrible turn of events.
Moving right along (!), a few days ago I saw on volunteer match that the ACS has created a position, volunteer of course, that dispatches a person into the cancer hospitals to reach out to cancer patients who have been just diagnosed to let them know of all the resources the ACS has for them. I was stunned. It seemed so pragmatic and I wondered how that happened as I find the ACS not too helpful at all. It took me 7 phone calls to reach someone who had more information for me. She told me they are only doing it in Hartford at this time. Well, if any of you know anything about Hartford then you know the Gaza Strip might be considered safer! I asked why not in all the cancer hospitals in CT and she said it was b/c the ACS is a non-profit and I guess a lot of these hospitals are considered and/or classified as non-profits and the hospitals don’t want to be competing with the ACS for dollars etc… Sadly the ACS is viewed as competition. That is one heck of a sad situation. I guess now I know why we all, as bc patients, know very little about what the ACS has for us as they are shut out of most hospitals under the auspices of a non-compete sort of situation.
If any of you ever had any questions as to why the ACS is not as ubiquitous as they should be, there you have it. Money and nonsense, old as the dirt we walk on.
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I have a rock in my chest. I have no coherent words. I am heart broken for the people, the children, the parents. My husband is so angry, I am so sad. There is no place for assault rifles in civilized society or any society for that matter.
God help us all.
, 2cm, Stage IIb, Grade 3, 1/20 nodes, ER+/PR+, HER2-
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Lizzy- just to add to your "we dont know who the troubled kid is" now it is socially normal to be "emo" which for those of you who dont know- is short for emotional. this is a spin off of the "goth" that was ebbing its way into society when i was younger. i actually remember a time when goth was bad, i once wore black (no pale makeup though) and all the kids were like "are you going goth?" Now it is compleatly normal to be goth or emo or whatever, which back in the day was an indicator if you may have had some problems. SO even if the child come out of their video game haven at home and venture outside its still hard to lnow who are troubled!
ACS- sad but you nailed it- it always boils down to money. Who has it, who needs it and who wants it........
Ginger (((HUGS)))
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Tex: it is not goths and boths and ys or zs and whatever other names there are for groups today. This is about kids that look like everyone else, blends in but are socially inept, loners who don't go outside be it w/goths or emos or whatever. The Goths and emos will hang with other Goths and emos etc… There is no way we are going to find out this kid was well adjusted, not in love with video games and was socially adept. That is on a long list of things that is not going to happen.
Assault weapons ban is not the answer. By banning guess what? We create more of a market and we allow shylocks to start selling unregulated, in the streets. We allow foreigners who ply our streets with BANNED drugs every day to start selling assault weapons. Drugs being illegal has worked out really well. Don’t you think the FBI tracks purchases of these guns and keeps track, vets these people?
In the 80s there were assault guns but we did not WANT them because we did not learn about how to use them, every day, all day, in Pac Man or Frogger. We did not learn about assault weapons riding our bikes, swimming, running, skiing, jumping etc… so they had NO PLACE in our lives.
The fact remains why are our young men falling in love with killing en masse using semiautomatic rifles with detachable magazines? Wherever are they learning this? Oh, maybe it is the 50,000 hours they spend playing “Call of Duty” and all those other wicked games. Sorry but we are being gripped by a society of young men raised on games that are filled with killing and now life is imitating electronic arts. Big surprise and as you all know, I live in CT and I know people affected by this god awful tragedy but the gun did not wake up, kill it’s mother, get in the car and drive to an elementary school and kill a bunch of kids; that was a person and a person who got this idea somewhere and if this person had such a desire to kill, they would have found a way irrespective of means. Don't forget, they can make bombs from stuff they can purchase at Walmart.
I feel bad for parents because these game systems and creators have gone crazy, these kids love these games and it is so hard to deny them. We loved PacMan b/c that is all we knew. Why do all these games have to involve so much killing? I loved Super Mario. My nephew in his 30s loved Zelda and Tetris. I don't know but all I know is I have been crying for days and days and these poor kids, they were just babies and the poor teachers and the principal, it is all just awful. How did no one know this kid could flip? This is what I would like to know because be it a bomb or a car or fires or guns, there might have been signs. There might have been although I just don't think anything could have alerted anyone to his lethal potential.
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Lizzy- my reply wasnt meant to point the finger at goths/emos i was making a point that what once was viewed as the "outcast" of society, the ones who would be blamed for any unsolved crime (think robin hood hill murders) is now sociably acceptable so the talking heads out there have no one to actually point the finger at. We cant judge books by their covers. It could be the straight A student, the football jock, the anyone who has a propensity for violence, that loses it one day and repeats this.... Sorry if my thoughts make more sense in my head then on the screen!
Bad coincidence that this happened at my niece's highschool on friday... kztv10.com/new/tweet-prompts-lockdown-at-alice-high-school/
apparently some of the parents/fellow class mates read this, then googled school shooting and read about CT, mistaking it for our town and then the rumor mill started flying... this young man's life will forever be changed over it.
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I also agree-where are the other people in his life that should have been the ones to see the signs and take action before it got this far? I remember i was a high school student while columbine happened, the fear we had to return to school a dozen states away because we all thought "it may happen here, could be one of these fellow kids sitting next to me"
And just in the last ten years the reality of the video games has increased. Its like watching a movie nowadays! i mean sometimes i think the previews for video games are for upcoming movies! now take that vivid violence, push it onto a young person that is learning how to deal with their anger/frustration and other feelings, and what does thier limited minds put together???? Killing can be justified.
(violence is also becoming darker in childrens movies/shows, it was different when elmer fudd blew daffy's beak around his head, we knew that was fake and not once did we think it was something we could do, not today:( sadly they show vivid images of children killing other children- even if it was in a dream sequence or something)
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Hi everyone,
Just dropping in to say hello and wish everyone a peaceful holiday season. The news this week has been so horrible and every time I think of those parents I find myself welling up all over again. Lizzie and Tex you both make some great points, but I'm with Rachel on this one too. There is no room for semi automatic war machines in the hands of someone who is not a qualified officer or military professional. Just my Canadian perspective.
I hope everyone is comfortable and happy and with family this season. We're off to family visits and such but I will have more time over the holidays and hope to catch up on BC.org reading!
Sweeney
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Tex: oh, I know. I totally know what you meant. We are all just hurt, as a nation, very emotional and trying to figure out how to stop this violence. It just bothers me that when they show up at these killings, they are invariably wearing black fatigues and carrying guns that eerily resemble those in these darn video games. It is like acting out a fantasy. I totally agree also that they look like movies. Just before bc I was dating a guy who loved one of those football games. It really looked like we were watching a game on ESPN. One day a friend’s wife walked in and was asking who was playing! She really thought it was a live game.
If I was the President, first thing I would have done this morning is call that damn Electronic Arts and all these other game makers and put on them on warning that they better figure out some other way of entertaining our kids. If I was happy with Ms Pac Man (which I still play occasionally!) then why can’t kids be happy with Mario etc.. again? Personally I think the game manufacturers are grossly irresponsible. Having said that, even though the last 4 mass killings totally resemble an individual acting out a video game fantasy, there is nothing new under the sun and before video games, there were still mass killings like the post office killings of the 80s. Bottom line is we have radar for everything but nut cases.
Sweeney: good to hear from you! I was wondering what happened to you! Happy holidays and happy trails, woman!
Everyone has an opinion on this. The bottom line is we all care enough to think about it, develop an opinion and share it with others. The problem is multifaceted. We are all correct in one way or another. I am just so broken hearted over watching these poor little kids being buried. You know what really makes me cry? We don’t know what happens when we leave here but you can’t help but wonder if they are all together, if they are ok, if they even understand what happened and it is all just so sad. Just this morning a school was evacuated in an adjacent town as there was a suspicious person near the school.
Tex: On that note I can’t imagine what it would be like to go back to school after Columbine, now Newtown or even to go to the movies after Aurora. There was a man in New Haven that took a gun he was licensed to carry to the movies with him when he went to see “Dark Knight.” I forgot how it all transpired but somehow he was found to be carrying the gun, was arrested and had to go to court. Bottom line is this peaceable person wanted to protect himself and that was it. By the time it got to court, the case was thrown out.
God help us
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Interesting to hear all the thoughts but I really do believe that gun control is the only way. I just cannot fatom why someone needs guns, automatic weapons and tonnes of ammunition. Just doesnt make any sense. I agree that the video games may de-sensitize people to violenc but millions play those games in all countries. It is a difficult time and the President will have lots of pressure to make change. Other countries have made bans after such violence. Like Lizzie said--lots of opinions but ultimately all joined in agreement that this was horrific.
Sitting at swimming tonight as my son is doing his laps to get his lifeguarding....makes me tired watching him.
Hope everyone has a good week. Christmas is a week away--can't believe it. This time in two weeks, I will be enjoying the sun of Mexico!0 -
Rachel: it might make you tired watching him but it must feel sooo nice being in that warm pool area in this cold weather! I think it is Iceland where they have this luxurious outdoor, palatial pool that is super hot and it is receives many, many visitors! I am going to be one of them in the next few years. A friend from HS lives in Switzerland and she send me some link to a place she goes to near a ski resort that has like 10 indoor heated pools overlooking the ski resort. It all looks so grand!
Congratulations on your son pursuing being a lifeguard. That is to be lauded. Good way for him to contribute and pick up girls!!! Joking
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Sweeny- great hearing from ya!!!! y'all cunucks have a different view point j/k said with LOVE! no i think in england the police arent even armed with guns, is that how y'all are up there????
Lizzy- there is this comedy bit that i listened to, i'll try to find out who it was, but anyhow i think it was called "other people's kids" or something like that.... the guy made a point, turn off the tv while your kids and see their reaction- they will go NUTS! they are really addicted to this faced paced, bright light shoot 'em up type of games/movies ect.... i'll post the link if i can find it
rachel- thats awesome, your boys are so athletic!
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Lizzie....I think that was his goal for becoming a lifeguard...girls!!
Tex...Our police here do carry guns...but we have gun control laws. That being said, we still have gun murders and have had a couple of shootings...we haven't had many but it has happened. My boys are athletic..not sure where they got it from0 -
Hi Tex! Hugs to you!
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Good evening, warriors-
My apologies but this tragedy is very much front and center for all of us in CT. I cannot tell you all how heavy my heart is over these poor young children and their teachers who were senselessly removed from this planet way too early and for no good reason. I watch these funerals on the evening news and I find myself bursting into tears, sobbing over this unusual tragedy. I went to a vigil with a friend and normally her kids drive me crazy but on this night, it was good to hear them and for a change. Seriously, though, these kids are all afraid someone is going to kill them at school. I live about ½ hour away from Newtown and these kids are petrified; they all know something awful has happened.
Something else that is new for me: I don’t really “notice” kids when I am out and about, at the malls, stores etc… as I just go on about my business. These past few days, however, I have been taking more notice, making eye contact and looking in their eyes is heartbreaking. You can see they are a little afraid and confused. When President Obama spoke in Newtown this week he said he once heard someone say having kids is like watching your heart walking around outside of your body. It was something to that effect. I just look at these poor kids, they are someone’s heart, walking around stunned and scared. It is all so overwhelming.
Tex: with not having kids, I can only imagine how hard it is to wean them off the tv. I watched a lot of TV and even played Zeppelin and Judas Priest records backwards with my hearing, previously untrained in recognizing the sound of Satan, geared up and ready to identify the devil! All I know is those little kids are gone and who knows what made that kid flip. Sadly we will likely never know, all speculation.
Rachel: yes, of course that was his motivator!! Smart kid! He can save some lives and enhance his own!!
Finally, at change.org there is a petition to tear down the school permanently and establish a memorial in its place. I am very much for that as I feel it is undoubtedly hallowed ground. If anyone is interested, please sign. If you can't find it on change.org, let me know via PM and I will send the link. That school has to be torn down.
On a more positive note, a very good friend from NY who always sends me nice gifts sent me a Wii!! I was so happy! FedEx showed up with my nice gift today! I was complaining about my Jeopardy chasing-answers-through-my-mind business and he said I should play it on Wii to sharpen my skills. So excited! I hate to say it but I also like those Dance games! Good times, good stuff!
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Get 'Wii fit plus' lizzy and do the snowball fight - it's a blast!
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Omaz: I will! That is what I want is some of the Wii sports games. I have had game systems in the past but when friends kids break their's, I would give my system to them. If you are an adult with no kids and a non-male, you don't generally have 10 gaming systems! Since bc I have not really thought about it but, as you know, this Jeopardy thing is driving me crazy-er!!
He gives me great gifts every year. Last year was a bike, the year before an IPod Touch (gave it away b/c I did not "I" at the time!) and now a Wii. I have known him for 20 years and finally about 5 years ago I asked about how he can afford the very nice gifts he gives year-after-year and he basically admitted to being somewhat independently wealthy. Ok, now it makes sense!
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