August 2010...anyone starting chemo besides me?!
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Liz- Stable......... whew. (c:
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Ginger: my stepmother had a pretty good sense of humor and she found it funny we wanted to sled "her," using some Pam to spray up that brace and maximize our speed, down the driveway into the backyard!
Your dh certainly does a lot of wonderful things so you surely must forget those little lapses!
I am sure glad Timothea is enjoying some chocolate!
Adey: I am very glad to hear about the scan. You must be very relieved. Stable is very, very good indeed. Keep us posted.
Rachel: 19 years old and she wins the Gold for moguls?! What could be her next trick?! Then her sister gets the Silver and poor USA gets Bronze! I just love the Olympics and those girls are amazing on the moguls. The girl from CT was eliminated. CT has like 10 athletes at the Olympics. Amazing!! Meanwhile I am very concerned about how Rob Ford is celebrating this Canadian Olympic win! He might be going for Gold in debaucherous excesses as I type!!
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Oh noooo, please don't post Olympic results we are only 90 minutes into evening block of programming here. Tring to erase my memory.
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I am soooo sorry, Ginger! I will be much more careful!
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Thanks, it is still on here. The moguls currently.
I love the Olympics too. 0 -
Hi Ladies, I don't know what I have been doing but time sure does fly by. At least I didn't have too many pages to read. I think of my Aug. chemo gals everyday and hope each is as well as can be. I would love to join in a get away, sounds like fun! I think a great trip could be South Padre Island, We could just lay on the beach all day and have those cabana boys keep the fruity drinks coming lol.Tex- so sorry to read what you are having to deal with just not fair! You are the toughest young lady I have ever seen (or read). Keep beating cancers A$$!!!
I will be in Fl. one week from tomorrow can't wait to get away from the cold for a week. This am when I first woke I looked at my phone and the temp. outside was -19 UGGG and I have daycare kids to take to preschool which means dragging 5 little ones out 3 of them 2 and under.
I also have found a new lump just this last month and I am positive it is yet another lipoma. It will be the 4th one. Anyone else have these? How annoying.
I will not wait 2 1/2 months to get on here again. Take care ladies.
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Hi Sue! 5 kids out into subzero! Yikes! I am sorry to hear you have anew lump. Your trip to FL sounds great. A good time to go warm the bones.
I couldn't get an appointment to have the brace fitted until Wednesday afternoon. I am worried about tolerating the brace but mostly just want my back to heal and be able to walk again. Watching the moguls on the Olympics earlier and I am convinced I wouldn't have an intact bone left after the beating they take. OMG I just got the billing statement for the INs for the MRI. $10,000.+ I sure hope they pay. I had to sign a paper to say I would pay since it wasn't pre approved but that had about $3,300. listed as the cost. Interesting.
I hope things are smoothing out Texas. Just praying for all the best for you and your family.
Lizzy is it getting warmer there? We had about 2" of snow for a day. It was pretty but has been rained away now. Rain predicted for the next 7 days but temps up near 50* during the day. Nice.
Our get together sounds fun. It will be difficult to find a place to suit us all. Currently sand and wheel chairs don't work together well. I could probably do lego land :P
Hugs Barb
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Good day, Warriors!
I am loving these Olympics! In particular, I love the post-race, men's speed-skating uncovering when they take off their goggles and hoods and we get to see how handsome they all are!!!! WOWIE!!!!! I was up until 4AM watching yesterday..!Sue: good to hear from you! Time does fly, that is for sure. That is a lot of kids, woman! Good for you!
I am still considering what to do on our 5th. I am thinking August 2015 but not sure where we will land yet?!
I don't get lymphomas. I do know that my lymphatic system on the left side of my body is not working so well mainly b/c my left ankle is constantly swollen until I get off of my feet. Whether I am working out, walking etc.. it is always swollen. At night, when I lay down, it goes down pretty quickly. Who knows?! Things to discuss in March with my onc.
Ginger: I love the cold weather this year! I just love it. I have always been partial to cold but my favorite this entire winter has been laying in bed, 2 comforters and the window above my bed open while I gaze up at the stars!! I love the cold air when I am sleeping. Last night it was 8 degrees here and I was in my glory! It was 50 here about a week ago and I was boiling! I am starting to think I should have stayed in Canada when I went late last year as I am oddly starting to prefer very cold weather!
Good luck with the brace fitting tomorrow. It sounds like it might be uncomfortable but surely it will be a means to an end.
I know what you mean about the Olympics as I was watching men's slope style moguls and one of the Italian Olympians came down so hard on his back, smacking it against the mogul, I shrieked. It was awful. The most amazing thing about the Olympics is physical accomplishment. I really love it and I could watch all night. I have to force myself to sleep around 4ish!
Tex: how are you? I hope you are doing ok, woman!
Well, ladies, 3 more people I know have been dxd w/bc, all recently. I think what they said on CNN on "World Cancer Day" is fast becoming reality: over the next 10 years the numbers of people being dxd with cancer is tantamount to what is now a brewing human disaster. It is just insane.
I think the reason I love the Olympics so much is it is hopeful.
Good day, girls!
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hey all... just resting, watching some olympics, caught a nasty virus- my daughter had it 1st and the pain was so much that we took her to the ER. They suspected food poisoning cuz since i've been sicker dh has been doing too much take out. Well next day i come down with it. Mine lasted longer than hers prob cuz my immune system is lower. Liquid diet 5 days, tried soilds yesterday, kept it down but still queasy. Today gonna eat some fruit.
Appt with onco tmw
Take care and stay warm!
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Good evening, Warriors!
Today I was watching the news and "Oh, Canada" brought us a new study! This is the piece that was run by the local newspaper:
A Canadian study that many experts say has major flaws has revived debate about the value of mammograms. The research suggests that these screening X-rays do not lower the risk of dying of breast cancer while finding many tumors that do not need treatment.
The study gives longer follow-up on nearly 90,000 women who had annual breast exams by a nurse to check for lumps plus a mammogram, or the nurse's breast exam alone. After more than two decades, breast cancer death rates were similar in the two groups, suggesting little benefit from mammograms.
It's important to note that this study did not compare mammograms to no screening at all, as most other research on this topic has. Many groups have not endorsed breast exams for screening because of limited evidence that they save lives.
Critics of the Canadian study also say it used outdated equipment and poor methods that made mammograms look unfairly ineffective.
The study was published Wednesday in the British journal BMJ.
Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer and cause of cancer deaths in women worldwide. Nearly 1.4 million new cases are diagnosed each year. Many studies have found that mammography saves lives, but how many and for what age groups is debatable. It also causes many false alarms and overtreatment of cancers never destined to become life-threatening.
In the U.S., a government-appointed task force that gives screening advice does not back mammograms until age 50, and then only every other year. The American Cancer Society recommends them every year starting at age 40. Other countries screen less aggressively. In Britain, for example, mammograms are usually offered only every three years.
The Canadian study has long been the most pessimistic on the value of mammograms. It initially reported that after five years of screening, 666 cancers were found among women given mammograms plus breast exams versus 524 cancers among those given the exams alone.
After 25 years of follow-up, about 500 in each group died, suggesting mammograms were not saving lives. The similarity in the death rates suggests that the 142 "extra" cancers caught by mammograms represent overdiagnosis — tumors not destined to prove fatal, study leaders concluded.
The work was immediately criticized. The American College of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging called it "an incredibly misleading analysis based on the deeply flawed and widely discredited" study. Mammograms typically find far more cancers than this study did, suggesting the quality was poor, the groups contend.
In a letter posted by the medical journal, Dr. Daniel Kopans, a radiologist at Harvard Medical School, described outdated machines and methods he saw in 1990, when he was one of the experts asked to review the quality of mammograms used in the study.
"I can personally attest to the fact that the quality was poor," he wrote. "To save money they used secondhand mammography machines" that gave poor images, failed to properly position breasts for imaging, and did not train radiologists on how to interpret the scans, he wrote.
The study leader, Dr. Anthony Miller of the University of Toronto, said it was "completely untrue" that inferior equipment or methods were used.
Still, the study highlights the fact that mammograms are an imperfect tool that lead to many false alarms, needless biopsies and treatment of many tumors that would never threaten a woman's life.
"Overdiagnosis is not an anomaly in the study from Canada. This has been compellingly demonstrated in research from the U.S. and Europe," said another study leader, Dr. Cornelia Baines of the University of Toronto.
Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a professor of medicine at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice in New Hampshire, spoke on the issue at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium in December.
"Screening is a choice, not a public health imperative. There are trade-offs here," he said.
"The people who stand to gain the most from screening are the people at greatest risk of the disease" — older women who are more likely to have breast cancer and those not too old that they are likely to die of something else, he said.
Death rates from breast cancer have fallen mostly because of dramatic improvement in treatments, he and other doctors have said.
"The better we are at treating clinically evident disease, the less important it becomes to find it early," Welch said.
A big caveat: The Canadian study was on routine mammograms to screen healthy women. No one doubts the value of diagnostic mammograms — more detailed X-rays when a problem is suspected or after a lump has been found.
I thought it was an interesting piece and wanted you all to see it. What I find most interesting is the part about over-treating breast cancers that would never become life-threatening. I might have shared with you all that I feel many, many more women get breast cancer than are dxd and that the body just ameliorates the situation. Some of us who perhaps have had those breast cancers that might have been squashed are caught in the mammogram/exam system and then they use us as subjects to learn more about the disease. I don't mean this in a sinister way either, I think it is just the way it is.
Interesting stuff nonetheless.
We have a glorious snow day here tomorrow!!!!!! YAHOOOOOEEEE!!!!!!!
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I have the brace on. It is taking a lot to get used to it. Gagging me if I lean back. It presses on my upper chest and abdomen and mid back at the same time. I hope this works.
Laters
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Good evening, Warriors!
It is official: I am tired of hearing about cancer! Just had lunch with a very dear friend yesterday and she just found out her MILs bc, of which she was dxd over 10 years ago, is in her lungs. Another friend's niece was just dxd a/bc and she is in her late 20s. Another friend's dh lived only 6 wks from dx to death from prostate cancer. This is fast becoming what CNN said it would be in 10 years: a human disaster.It is also official: I am loving these Olympics! CT has so many athletes there! Who knew?!
Ginger: I hope you are doing well with that brace. Sounds uncomfortable but I am only pretty sure that the more uncomfortable it is, it shall be equally effective!
Well, ladies, my Dana visit is fast approaching and I now have a nagging cough they must investigate, amongst other things! I will be listening to Pavarotti all the way, thinking of wonderful times and I will not give cancer any of my attention that day nor will I even think about it until I get the test results!
Rachel: Lorne Michaels is like a catalyst for greatness as two of his underlings just took over the post-news, late night shows! He was 1 fine export...and maple syrup....and Rob Ford videos on YouTube!!! I hope you are enjoying the Olympics as you well should be!!! Canada is doing wonderful.
Felisa: where have you been? Thinking of you so stop by and give an update!
That is all from here! Another snow day in the books! That and more House of Cards also!!!!!! Oh my, I am loving it!!!!! In case any of you are interested, the final season of "Breaking Bad" will be available on Netflix as of Tuesday. Netflix rules my world!
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The brace is uncomfortable so it must be doing great work!!!!!
My sleep is all messed up because I discovered NBC SN where I can get live Olympics at 7:30 AM Pacific time zone. So I can see all the ice skaters not just what prime time wants to show. I was very good and did not spill the beans. I will watch the women's short skate this AM and then tomorrow the long skate at 7:30 AM. I am now at 2 AM watching the ski racers tonight and the half pipe skiers too. I actually enjoy the elimination rounds because I am able to then see what the difference is between the levels of athletes.
The NBC production values suck!!!! What is this with pushing the pain for the athletes in interviews? It isn't just with Bode Miller, NBC has continued in pushing responses with those who have had ongoing disappointment. I saw a good example of real human response to others pain when a skier was being comforted be his father. The onlookers were averting their eyes, showing compassion and respect. That is real human response. What does NBC think of their viewers to foist such disgusting values on us.
Texas, please check in. Perhaps a friend could let us know how you are doing. Is there any way we could support you? I will continue to keep you in my prayers.
Lizzy, how is the snow up in CT now? My cousin lives in the Syracuse area of NY and has mountains of snow. You are making a good plan for handling your appt. I get tightly wound just before anything diagnostic.
It is still raining here, day after day. Some of the trees are letting go now and some earthen embankments are collapsing. This happens after these long soakings. Lots of the trees overlap one another and I think this strengthens the stands of trees.
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here just really tired, more fluid on lungs,
Olympics- i watch when i can... i loved the russian iceskaters long routine. I dont get the cross country- why are there tracks they have to skate in?
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Hi Ladies!
I'm up for the 20.14 challenge. I fell off the WW wagon a couple of weeks ago...there was brie and red wine and lovely little crackers all sparkly with sea salt, I was powerless.
Re: Olympics- I LOVE THE OLYMPICS. I wish we could have them every two years. So proud of our athletes this year, they're doing so well. I know there are several hockey fans (Can and US) on our board here, so I won't GLOAT about the most recent hockey games of the last two days.;) I just hope Sidney picks up his game a bit, it's making everyone at my house a bit antsy.
Tex- your late night posts are great. I remember steroid wakefulness and typing away at 1am. Hope you're feeling good. I'm thinking of you often and sending positve thoughts and prayers from Canada.
Lizzie- thanks for the Canadian study link. I'd seen it, but hadn't read through it completely. It seems like every study out there contradicts the one before it. It's hard to know what to pay attention to.
I'm going to an outdoor hot water pools spa tonight (tomorrow is my 43rd birthday:) Should be interesting, I'm not sure how much fun it will be traipsing around in my bathing suit in the snow! However, it's pretty warm up here right now so maybe I won't freeze my buns off.
Have a wonderful weekend ladies. XO
Sweeney.
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Tex--sending you lots of love and strength. Thinking of you all the time. XO
Sweeney--Have a wonderful birthday. XO
Go Canada....have to gloat about the hockey....and of course the curling
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Happy Birthday Sweeny. Don't freeze anything off!
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Good evening, Warriors!
The Olympics were wonderful!!!!! I loved it! I am friends with someone who had a cousin representing our country in Sochi! Amazing!
Ginger: I agree about NBC. I think some of what they did was in such poor, poor taste like when one of the US competitors in downhill something or other medaled and he was really crying b/c he had recently lost his brother. They stood there with the cameras in his face and then could not get a good enough shot, because the poor thing put his head down, they went to the other side of him trying to get a shot of him crying from that angle. I thought it was very disgusting. I have no idea who directed any camera person to do that.
I hope that brace is helping and you are feeling at least a little better
Sweeney: Happy Birthday!!!!!! I LOVE the outdoor hot water pool spas!!! There is one we used to go to in VT. I loved it! It is very refreshing for the skin to go from hot to cold (remember the elderly hot tamale in "Grumpy Old Men" running out of the sauna, rolling in snow and back to the sauna?!) and I hope you had a wonderful time! I am coming up on 44 in 2 weeks! Double 4s!!!! I am just glad I am seeing double 4s b/c honestly, a few years ago I did not even think I would be here! Not joking!
Tex: I am not sure but I *think* the tracks are for correction. It gets them all organized again before they fly off looking like wayward penguins again!
I hope you are doing ok. Post and let us know how you are.
Well one of my very good, and very entertaining friends is going to Dana with me and I already had plans to meet an old friend in Quincy Market so the day is shaping up quite nicely! I just hope everything goes ok. I don't want to go! I usually go to Bloomingdales after I leave DF for some retail therapy but I guess I can make do in Quincy!
Happy trails, ladies and now it is time for "Chicago Fire" where I can ogle Gaga's hot (ex?) boyfriend!!!!!
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My DH just got his physical results back and he is improved in every aspect. He bought a little device that he clips to his shirt and it keeps track of his steps. Some of his siblings and our DD and DSIL have them too. Well my DH lost over 50# and the results really showed up in his exam. He also has gone down alot in belt size and pants size and even a full shirt size. I am really proud of him. He walks over 10,000 steps every day, many 12,000 or more.
DGD trimmed her bangs at Montessori yesterday, she is three. The teacher was horrified that DGD and her little friend did it but she did get to them after they each took their first wack. Last evening DGD told me, "Gramma I dont want to tell you my secret, I cut my hair." I don't think she quite has this "secret" thing down yet.
The brace hurts, is uncomfortable and I sure hope it works. I do not have to wear it at night, Thank God for that!!!!!!
Lizzie I hope your Dana visit is simply boring and uneventful and you have a great lunch of dinner later in the day and forget why you had to go into the city.
Hugs all Ginger
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i beat y'all on the weight loss! Lost 20+ pounds in a week. Dr is highly worried, i am too cuz i have no appetite whatsoever. I have to force myself to eat. I drink the boost shakes but they dont help much.
Ginger i remember when my kids played beauty parlor.
Liz enjoy your trip to boston. Did you know the oldest park in the usa is in boston. Boston commons, the second oldest park is in san antonio- san pedro park.
Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.
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Good evening, Warriors!
I would like everyone to please tell me what they have come to expect at their annual/semi-annual check-ups? I really need your help on this. My entire trajectory w/bc, as you all know, was riddled with complications and surgeries galore. More to this point, I don't know what to expect but I know you all talk about your scan results etc... so if you would, please share with me what your typical check-up is like. I have to go in a few weeks and I really have not had any cancer testing or comprehensive, or any, scanning of any sort in quite some time. In fact, I don't think I ever had a "normal" check-up due to all the complications. This scares me which is why this next visit is making me nervous. I know my onc likes to pull blood work but I really need a comprehensive check-up/looking over by now. If you all would kindly indulge this request, I would greatly appreciate it!
Ginger: If you have an IPod, most of them have a "fitness" app and that will do exactly what your husbands pedometer does. The thing I like about the dedicated ones, like your dh has, is that is it's only function, tracking his steps. If you were to use your Ipod, you would have to have it on you, and on, all day. I use the feature on my IPod when I walk but I am going to get a pedometer b/c I do want to record all of my steps, all day.
Also, I have been kind of disappointed with heart rate monitors. All of us had chemo that, in one way or another, had a deleterious effect on our heart. I did some research and ordered a Timex watch-style monitor. After receiving and using it, I was a little disappointed to find out it struggles to give accurate heart rate readings *during* a workout! I am now using to keep track of my resting heart rate or when someone is getting on my nerves (!!!) and I ordered a separate one, the kind that the VNA uses, that clips on the finger. That is great, it comes with a cord I can put around my neck and I think it pretty accurately records my heart rate.
Congrats to your dh! 50 lbs is a lot and good for him, his heart, for you, for the dogs, for life and, most importantly, for health! I am becoming obsessed with tracking my steps!
Sptmm:????????????!!!!!!!!!!!
Ladyinbama: ???????!!!!!!!!
Felisa: ???????!!!!!!!!
Tex: thanks for stopping by, slim!!!!!!!! You *need* to get protein powder from Target. It is like $20 for a 4lb jug and you really need to mix it up with some almond milk and drink that every day. You desperately need nutrition and that should be mostly protein. Please, promise me you will get that powder? Don't go to GNC as I know their powders are good but they are like more than twice the price of the comparable product you will get at Target. There is trace soy in the powder but my onc said not to worry.
Congrats on the weight loss!!!!!! At least something good came out of this! Speaking of weight loss, I have not weighed in yet this week but I was walking into the store tonight and my pants were trying to fall off! Definitely not 20lbs though, girl!!!! You have the crown of achievement on that one!!!
Thanks for the well wishes on the Boston trip! I love the Freedom Trail and I did not know they had the oldest park there so thank you, good to know
Much love and I hope everyone is doing well!
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Tex--as much as I would welcome losing 20lbs--I am sure that you are worried and looking for some answers. Hopefully, Doc will know what is happening and get you on some sort of meal supplement that may help in gaining back some weight? That Ensure/Boost stuff tastes horrible to me--I had to take them during chemo--hopefully, you can find the solution with the Docs. Thinking of you and sending you much love and strength. XO
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Hi Ladies, I have noticed this board is pretty quiet. I hope everyone is well and keeping busy. I had another great trip to Fl mid Feb. much needed to get out of the cold winter blahs. My bff from childhood went with us for their 2nd trip down there plus another couple we are friends with so it was a great trip. Included the Daytona 500 which was a little trying on the nerves with a super long rain delay lol but us girls did survive. Spring is upon us here in Iowa,our snow is gone. Hope you all have a great week. I will post a few picture of the fun get away.
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Hi, I am around. The back brace must be working a little bit, the pain is more delayed now, by half a minute or so. That is good honest. I hope the vertebrae is healing.
It is still rainy here almost every single day. Temps in the 40's or very low 50's. A few sunbreaks now and then. I never heard the term Sunbreak before we moved out here. I do have one big flowing bush in bloom. It is so nice to see that.
I am doing fine on the Tamoxifen but I have lost about half of my hair or more. I don't have all the SE's I had on the other AI's though.
Our dear Lizzie has a sick kitty, I am sending along all good thoughts.
I look forward to hearing from our sisters on here when they can stop by. We are approaching four years now, hard to beleive.
Hugs to everyone here
Love Ginger
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Good to hear that it is improving Ginger even if just a little. Hope it heals quickly for you!
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HI everyone--we just returned from Huatulco in Mexico for the kids March break--now we are back to reality--cold and dreary here in Ontario. Hope you are all doing well.
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Hi Everyone! I am still here, nothing much to report. I will be running my first 15K next Saturday and then on to a Half Marathon in May. I decided to go to a specialist my son knows in NYC about my arthritis. He totally disagreed wtiht he previous doctor and said that it was not necessary to stop running. I just need to be sensible and run shorter and not as often. So, I can't really train properly for the longer races but I am giving it a shot anyway. I like the new doctor much better...LOL!
Ginger, glad to hear you are feeling better, slowly but surely. I didn't know hair loss was a side effect of Tamoxifen. Is it thinning are are you going completely bald in patches? I went completely bald in patches last year, the dermatologist diagnosed me with alopecia areata. It is treatable, but is an autoimmune disease so it could come back at any time. Maybe that is what is happening with you?
Lizzie! How are you?! Did you have your check up yet? Mine are nothing major. I go every four months. They do blood work (CBC and tumor markers) and the doctor does a general physical exam as well as a breast exam. Asks me if I have any problems, and then says "See you in four months". Very routine.
Sue: You look fantastic! I am sooo jealous of you and Rachel getting to enjoy the warmth! It is still sooooo cold here and I can't take it anymore! The outdoor sports are already one month into the season and I am freezing my arse off on these fields!
Rachel: Ditto what I said to Sue, soooooo jealous! Glad you had a great vacation!
Tex: How are you doing? I am praying for you every day and hope you are doing well!
I miss talking to you guys!
Debbi
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Hi Debbi, good to hear from you. My Oncologist told me that hair loss is a side effect of tamoxifen. I am losing hair all over. My comb always has hair in it, if I run my fingers through my hair I will have strays in my hand. My hair is still growing but apparently not holding on as long as is usual. I have the skinniest little pony tail. So no patches at this time and it doesnt seem to be heading that way. I loved my original pre chemo hair, it was curly and so easy to care for, just wash, scrunch and go. I even cut it with the kitchen shears and it still looked normal. Carly hair is so easy in my opinion. Now it is straight.
I am looking for Lizzy and Texas. I hope they might be visiting with one another. Wouldnt that be nice.
Hugs to Sue and Rachel too. Spring is here in theory at least.
It is very wet here and there has been a terrible mud slide about 30 miles north of us.
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Good day, Warriors!
Been busy!
Sptmm: it is so good to hear from you and thank you very much for answering my question! It was kind of you to let me know what I might expect at my first "regular" appointment. I appreciate the insight.
As for running, I remain in awe of your commitment, however, and I hope to run a good 10K with you someday!
Ginger: No, not in Texas! As you know, I have been busy here with lots of things. I will keep you posted
Happy trails-
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