Any 40-ish survivors?
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Odie. Im sorry. I missed your post as I was typing. Thank you for saying that. I have so many things that seem to happen to me along the way. I like to share the funny stuff and the good stuff. Hope you are good this evening.
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I missed Odie's post too. I am with you Odie. I lost it today a little with the eating. Guess I will be walking longer this weekend. I could have been a whole lot worse, but still feeling a little guilty.
Kmur- I love your stories. And I am with you in loving "older" people also. I worked geriatrics once upon a time and they have a special place in my heart. So a bake sale by a livestrong instructor? I am having a hard time getting my mind around that one. lol But I would love to anything you are making it sounds so good! My eldest DD and I have sworn off sweets for the month just to break the habit. She is by no means over weight, but she does have a major sweet tooth. She decided on her own to do this, so I said I would do it with her. I don't need it anyway.
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Thanks Stacey. I do love older people also. They are very real I find. I am with you on the sweet tooth. I am an evening snack person. If I could stop that. ..... It is great you have a partner in your daughter.
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KIM... you can go into settings on your tablet and turn off the autofill.
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great new achpurple! hoping for a quick recovery for your Dad!
Christine, sounds like a perfect birthday to me! tonight sounds like a lot of fun too. nothing like a birthday to celebrate life with family and friends.
kmur, you are making me hungry! i am so addicted to sweets! and red velvet is my favorite! yummy! wish i was closer, i'd definitely be stopping by your bake sale!
and i wonder why the scale is not cooperating?? lol!!
have a good day everyone!
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Good morning ladies.
Funny but Red Velvet is my favorite too....But considering I splurged yesterday and ate a gyro, I must resist....
Kim & Mamachick - I too love the older people. I especially get tickled with the spunky ones as they are a hoot! When my mother was in assisted living/nursing home environment, I used to enjoy hearing their stories. Some are such a wealth of information and have lived thru so much that it is mind boggling.
Happy Saturday ladies! Hope everyone has a great day!
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Good morning everyone,
Thanks Betsy , I will have my husband show me how to do that. This is his tablet. I like my laptop better. I am so tech challenged
Christine..... I plan my day around a really good dessert! Would love to know what kind of dinner place it is. ( meaning....if she has good bread pudding...she must have good everything) I hope you will have a drink for me...something with vodka and know I am wishing you many many more wonderful birthdays. CHEERS!
Achpurple. Continued prayers for your father. I hope today finds him feeling good.
Tracy. I wish all you girls could come to Louisville. I would love to just hang out and cook and laugh. I wish we could do a derby thing. I don't know if you have heard of this but the day before the Kentucky derby is really the locals time. It is all pink for breast cancer. Survivors are celebrated with a parade and all the horses are fillies and the jockeys where pink. It is very moving. And the hats are over the top. Would be so fun to do that.
I hope you all have a great day.....0 -
Just wanted to say I enjoyed reading about others dealing with normal things as well as BC. I was dx at 46, have 3 daughters - 2 in university 20,22 and a 17 year old in last year of high school.
Had some trouble finding support - local group for "young" bc survivors (under 40) and another that is 55+(meets during day). Not sure what that makes me!?? Busy!?? With school, business, treatments, elderly parents(in their 80's), etc.
One incident in particular has made me think we are in some weird middle. Looking for advice on how to tell elderly parents. Couple of older ladies at my church said "I don't know, they were dead by the time I had breast cancer" and one younger woman in her 30's was telling me how helpful and supportive her parents have been.
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bgirl - Yep I think we are in the generational middle or something similiar to that. I had a difficult time telling my parents who are in their 70's, worried that the stress might be too much for my mom who has health issues. It was still tough because their experiences with breast cancer in the family was 'out of date' and I had a tough time getting them to realize that their knowledge on diagnosis and treatment was out of date. I recognize that they are supporting me the best way they know how and I love them for that, but it has been tough, I don't share everything with them about my health now, I try to keep it at a higher level because they have a hard time understanding why I have chosen the certain treatments over others.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I need to go and do some extra situps to get ready for tomorrow's snack fest.
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kmur, that sounds awesome! i know i'm up for anything. i'd love to come see the derby! i can wear a funny hat and drink a mint julip!! sounds like it would be a lot of fun. i grew up in Virginia, so i love visiting the south any opportunity i get! and i am definitely interested in getting more involved with bc awareness.
planning on volunteering for the Avon walk this year and probably for the Komen 3 day this year. hopefully going to walk the Avon 39 mile 2 day walk next year. and we'll see how that goes before i commit to walking the 3 day. wish i could do it this year, but one last surgery the end of February is going to put a serious damper on my training this year. 3 day walk is in July here this year. ugh! i dont know how they are going to do it in the heat, but god bless anyone whose walking. i'm lucky to be right outside Boston, so lots of events here. love to host here as well if anyones interested in being involved or coming to see our beautiful city.
anyone else out there feel motivated to be more active in bc awareness or fundraising? i know i feel so fortunate that they caught my cancer early, i want to pay it forward. i know i've had a couple of pink angels that have helped me through the tough times!
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Tracy.. I walked in the NYC Avon walk this year (Oct), just 7 weeks after my DIEP flap surgery and 11 weeks after my BMX and GAP flap.. so I was clearly not training... I still was able to walk 23 of the 39 miles and what held me back was not my boobs but rather plantar fascitis... so that angered me... I raised over $6000 for Avon. It was an awesome event... and I look forward to next years walk.
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Hi all!
Kim - your cakes sound yummy! Maybe you won't be eating them, though, if they are for the bake-sale, or maybe keep some behind! I know I am an ignorant foreigner on here (!) - but what is a chilli cook-off? Is it like a competition? You guys are so community-minded, I really like that. The village where I grew up was very much like that, in Yorkshire, N.of England. The church and school did loads of stuff - I miss it!
Ah, no-points soup. Just to point out - it's not exactly "no calorie"! But in WWs if it has less than 1 point per bowl, it counts as no points. They used to do 1/2 points, but with the new Pro-Points system, not any more. I assume it's the same in the US as UK. There are a few ideas on the website too, if you use it, again, different countries, but roughly same ideas, I should think.
One I do is Roasted Tomato - hope it translates!
Used a couple of big bags of ordinary tomatoes - probably about 30 in total. Cut them in half - no need to peel, de-seed etc. Put in some deep oven/cassarole dishes, cut side up, with probably 2 whole bulbs of garlic split up into cloves (unpeeled). I also add salt and pepper and a good bit of dried basil. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon olive oil each dish ( 1 point each). Bake for about 2 hrs in a medium oven until all juicy, soft and browned. Cover with foil if it looks a bit burnt.
Meanwhile - make a veg base with 2 onions, 4 carrots and a couple of sticks of celery- watch out for too much celery as it take take over the flavour. Saute with 1 or 2 tsp olive oil and then cover with boiling water. You can add a stock (bouillon?!) cube here if you wish - again -points! Cook till tender. Blend up with cooked tomatoes and (now peeled) garlic. Voila! Should make loads - at least 8 bowls full and each 1 less than 1 point! Add tabasco to taste or similar.
I also make a similar one with roasted butternut squash, which is lovely. Same method - rub the (prepared) squashes with a couple of tsps olive oil and roast till soft. Peel and blend with cooked veg. base. Oh yes, this needs ground coriander - about 2 tsps - as a seasoning, cooked in with the veg.
Hope these are ok.
Love, Sarah x
ps - 1 tsp is about 5ml.
Diagnosis: 12/10/2007, IDC, 6cm+, Stage IV, Grade 3, 4/14 nodes, ER+/PR-, HER2-
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Tracy.. Here is my Avon page
http://info.avonfoundation.org/site/TR/Walk/NewYork?px=5833343&pg=personal&fr_id=2175
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kmur: I forgot you are in Louisville, my dad is at Jewish Hospital there which is why i couldn't be there for his surgery. I have my 14 year old home with mono for 2 1/2 weeks now, I had Herceptin on Tuesday (this one kicked my butt) and ended up in the ER with my 20 year old DD on Thursday night (which was my dad's original surgery day before it was cancelled). Talk about stress! I might drive to Louisville from Northern Kentucky tomorrow if he is in a regular room, but not sure since they say the hospital is full of pneumonia patients plus I don't want to expose him to anything that's been lurking around our house either. Also have my 18 year old DS with an infected hang nail on his toe (and he's my other diabetic) so been trying to get him in to a podiatrist since mid week - finally got him one for Monday. When it rains, it pours!
My dad is doing great today - off the ventilator, joking with the nurses, sitting in a chair because his back was killing him last night. Found out after the fact that they could not give him much pain meds last night because his blood pressure was low and they didn't want it to go any lower with the meds, but it got better through the night so they were able to make him more comfortable.
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thanks betsy! wil definitely check it out. i'm have the nipple reconstruction done and i'm worried about irratating or interefering with the healing. don't know if it's nothing i need to worry about. maybe i'll go topless on my treadmill in my bedroom! lol!! that would be a sight! definitely inspirational! i'll have to keep in mind its possible and work from there.
thanks for the soup recipes sarah! i will definitely have to try that.
i try to go organic where i can. does anyone else worry about pesticides or genetically altered foods? it's soo expensive so i can't afford 100% organic but def try where i can and cook mostly scratch, no processed food.
ttyl
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Bgirl and ProudMom_Wife - I am with you. I join the Medical Fitness Center and everybody is around 70. My Naturophatic Oncologist keeps mentioning a study in San Francisco that shows the importance of joining a support group, but it has been hard. Since the beginning my husband and I made a pact: "We were not going to tell anybody". You will be amaze how easy it has been to hide my condition, especially during chemo, nobody notice that I lost hair (thanks to cold caps and a wonderful natural hair extension). Telling my parents was never a choice because I knew they will never been able to handle the situation and I wanted my friends to treat me as always, so I can feel like myself around them. I wanted to feel "the same"! My family thinks that I am fat and I do not look as good, but they do not have any idea... Guess what: I rather them to be "cruel" than to see them suffering for me and change their relation with me forever. My husband has suggested me more than one that I should share all the "tricks" that I have learned during the process to hide my condition, but I though nobody will understand why I did it. I am so happy that I find this forum, because sharing with all of you it has helped me a lot in the process.
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Ralston, I do understand the desire to not tell anyone. I didn't at first. Finally told my oldest sister first. (closest to her) After diagnosis, before surgery. Have 3 children. Impossible to keep from them living in same house. I didn't tell my parents until after surgery, path report, just before treatment. Mostly it was hard for my kids to feel that my BC was a secret. Made it somehow a bad thing. A lot of people still don't know, and that is ok with me. Just want to finish treatment and get my life back. Spent more time reassuring others than getting sympathy and that is ok too.
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Achpurple, so glad your dad is doing better! So sorry for the tough week you have had with all the sickness!
Christine - Happy Belated Birthday to you!! Enjoy your celebrations, every birthday is allowed to be special and go overboard on food and drink, imho.
Speaking of going overboard on food, I'm excited for the Superbowl tomorrow!! Will not overdo it too much though, GO GIANTS from me!! I wish the game started earlier though. We are going to a neighbors house, so we can walk home, which is always nice.
And I walked 4 times this week, which is 2 more times than any other week since BMX, so an improvement. And yesterday and today, walked a bit longer too.
Ralston, bgirl, I have trouble imagining keeping such news to yourself, although I understand why women choose that. I had to take so many days off from work and of course my hair changed (to the wig) and I looked so tired, it's hard for me to imagine them not knowing. And my friends have been so supportative and cooked us so many meals throughout both dx, it really made it so much easier on my family. Personally, I couldn't imagine not telling my friends, although yes, of course they are always asking me how I am, but we quickly move on to other topics. My mom is a bit younger, 69, so she was supportative too, came for every chemo session. bgirl, agree, that there is no way I could not tell my kids, plus the 8 year old brings a lot of humor to it all.
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Achpurple- Glad you dad is doing well today! Hope your week settles down in the coming days. So sorry you have had so much stress. Hope you are able to get to see your dad, but I know what you mean about worrying that you may carry something into him.
Ralston- wow, I don't know if I could have not told anybody. I think it is great that you were able to keep it such a secret. Me, I am an open book so everyone would know that something was going on and we had to tell the kids, they are around all the time with homeschool, so I needed a lot of childcare to get through it all.
Okay, I have to admit, I don't even know who is in the Superbowl this year. Neither I or my DH watch sports. It's kind of good, since neither of us like it I guess that makes us a good match. I do tune in though most years to see the commercials. Once and a while we will go to a friends house, but just for the party aspect of it all.
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Kmur - the derby get together idea sounds like great fun....Could get into the fancy hats but would have to pass on the mint julip.
Blueyez - I too try to go more organic whenever possible but it is so expensive. Am making sure my meat & dairy are hormone free and avoid soy...I am also trying to get involved in the Avon walk as I really want to be more active in BC efforts.
Ralston/bgirl - I understand and respect not telling people. I told most my friends & family but chose not to mention it to my dad who is over 75 yrs old and I just couldnt see worrying him. Since I didnt have chemo, there was no obvious signs.
Betsy - You go girl! You should be proud of yourself and are inspiring to the rest of us.
Archpurple - Glad your dad is doing better and will pray for continued healing in family.
Hope I didn't miss anyone & promise it wasn't intentional if I did. Wishing everyone a wonderful Sunday and great week ahead.
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Well, my father is 77 and my mom 75, but they will not be able to survive this news, their pain and concern based on their love for me would kill them in the process. Also, I would be so worried about them that it would've been really hard to be positive during my treatment. My stepdaughters are 15 and 17 and it didn't feel right for me to bring all this sadness to their lives. They are amazing girls and they have the right to enjoy this time of their life. I did not want to get emotional and I knew that not everyone will know what to say, nor will everyone say the right things at the right times if they know about my situation. Besides I wanted them to see me as they always have and I wanted to be able to forget while I was around them that I was "sick". I think it really helped me, since I have to "look the part" I didn't look sick, so I didn't feel sick. No wig for me.Since I used cold caps I just need a hair extension. This is a personal decision and I think everybody does waht is better for them. I do not regret my decision and I still think I couldn't be around my friends and family if they know that I had BC. 0
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Yes, I think you have to do what works for you. Told my parents - who aren't in good health - only after I could say I had BC, had surgery, going to do these treatments. I will be fine. Same for girls - except mom has to have surgery, etc.
Also depends on personal experience. My family has had no cancer of any kind. I am one of 6 and my dad one of 7 so a lot of people. Nobody has any experience with it and is clueless as what to say or do. Told the few important people in my life eventually and figured if it filtered out from there okay, but I was tired of telling the story.
Mostly wanted to avoid the pity parade again!! A couple of times of hearing this isn't fair that this should happen to you after all you have been through already, was enough to make me run screaming. BC is by far not the worst that has happened to me!!
Blueyez - bought a second freezer a couple of years ago. In season I buy organic produce(at a local farmers' market in city) and freeze, helps keep down costs. Also do some work on a local organic beef farm(1/2 hr away), keep bees there, they let us grow about 1/4 of an acre of whatever we want. Organically of course. This helped too with organic root veggies etc. Then all I have to buy is lettuce and other fresh stuff. Mostly eat unprocessed food due to food allergies, but like taste and health benefits can't be bad.
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Hi girls,
Wish I could just chat with each of you,but I am chatty as it is so will say I can understand each persons take on sharing BC news. Also agree we are an odd age somewhere in the middle.
Odie...I didn't think I would like mint juleps either. The last derby I attended was just a few weeks after DX. My friend shared a tear with me and I bet 4 juleps! What a lifetime away that seems now.juleps are like hotdogs at the ball game....somehow better.
Sarah...you had that just right. Chili cook FFA are a competition. Your soup sounds great and I love butternut squash especially roasted with olive oil the area where I live is very community oriented. We have dog shows and Christmas open house things and big 4th of July stuff. Wish you were here and we could do all that
Archpurple0 -
Sorry it posted before I was finished.
Archpurple...sorry to read about the family being sick. Hope your dad is doing well though. I am only 10 miles from downtown Louisville. If you are planning a trip here do let me know and I will meet you for coffee or lunch or a Fritter!!!
Had to laugh today. While at the grocery the check out lady said"you watching the game" I said "yes,I can't wait". She said...." I wonder if Madonna will wear her pointy things". I wanted to say. " you mean nipple guards?". Oh gosh. I laughed all by myself!!!
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Sarah tablet issues not FFA should have said chili cook offs are
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Ahhhhh....so much to respond to, and no time! I love you girls! I'm back to work and crazed as usual, but I'm reading along and I'll post again as soon as I can...a gift to myself for working. WHY did I assign an entire book this week?! Blerg.
Anyway, I miss you. I'll "talk" to you again really soon!
Cris
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Achpurple so happy your dad is doing well.
Ralston~ I did the opposite, I have a huge family and didn't want whispers to get out, so after I told my immediate family, and waited for my DD to return home from college on winter break to tell her, I facebooked it! yep, it was like ripping off a band aid for me....but I have 60 first cousins on my mom's side alone, 30 or so on my facebook, so instead of becoming gossip I beat them all to it! lol.
I was shocked only in a good way at the response I received. It was heartwarming for me.
But other than my DD the second hardest was my mom. I called her and said, so what kind was your breast cancer? That really sucked, but she is a 13 yr survivor!
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Hi Girls,
Ok ....wish I had lots of money so that when I am 54 I can wear boots like Madonna!! I would be 6'7" but that would be ok... I think my legs would squeeze out the top ( that's a pretty picture) .Lol...I loved the show. How about you all??
Achpurple...Hope your father is doing well.
Mamachick....we sound alike as my feelings etc. are right there on my sleeve. I can not hide anything...It's awful...Lol
Have a good day...I'm Off to do the Brazilian Butt lift workout
Proof....Hope school is going well...sounds very busy.
can't wait to hear about Cancun from Lisa
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kmur, I thought Madonna's show was good, but heard it got bad reviews. I think she looked fantastic, even without "nipple guards". If I wore those boots they would come up to my waist, but I would be taller. I am amazed she could dance in them, I can trip with my athletic shoes on, lol. Back to work, more later.
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Hi ladies - I hope everyone is doing well. I am back home now. Caught a nasty cold yesterday and came home early today from work. Nothing to serious, just a lot of sneezing and conjestion. I hoping a good night's sleep tonight will put an end to it.
Cancun was fun. The weather was not great. We had a lot of clouds and rain. But we still had a lot of fun just sitting around drinking and laughing. It is always hysterical when we all get together. One of my friends is like a non-stop comedy show. The rest of us just sit and listen to her carry on endlessly and laugh ourselves sick.
Well, I am about to take a nap. This cold is making me very sleepy. Just wanted to stop by and say hi.
Oh, and today was my first day at work without the wig. It went fine. Everyone seems to like my new "cut" . . . lol. I even got a "beautiful". I was nervous because it was a complete disater in cancun. The humidity made it curl up so much. I looked like a poodle. I hope I can get some good length grown before the humidity hits here this summer.
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