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Any 40-ish survivors?

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Comments

  • Basia
    Basia Member Posts: 345
    edited April 2011

    Hello, is it too late to join this group? I was diagnosed last year at 39, now 40 and I have 4 year old twin girls, an amazing husband and an elderly mother that needs my assistance a few days a week.  

  • burley
    burley Member Posts: 248
    edited April 2011

    Irr-you've got a stressful job with lots of hours I bet, so I can understand all the eating out.  Congrats on the hour of exercise a day-that's awesome!  I really have to start working out.  I look farily good in clothes, but oh if people could only see me naked.  I'm a mushy mess.  Laying around doing nothing for a year will do that to a person, I guess.

  • burley
    burley Member Posts: 248
    edited April 2011

    PAGE 4-WOOT WOOT!  I get excited by the little things now...

    Hey twinmom-welcome!  It's definitely not too late.  We're just getting started : )

  • 37antiques
    37antiques Member Posts: 60
    edited April 2011

    I don't really care too much about "them" other than the fact they don't know their be-hind from a hole in the ground, but when they started in on my sugar, well, I lost it.  I don't care, but you know my mon will be giving me some crappy substitute!  Very irritating "they" can't get their crap together.  If you're going to get money for a study, Study!!!  People believe and follow this stuff! It's doing more harm than good if someone starts to worry.  Just my opinion, of course.

    Has anyone found a site with nice facts and figures that is reliable, and also includes variables for signature?  That's something I'd like to see. Much better than trying to remember if it's the sugar or the wine today.

    9pm and I'm just getting around to egg coloring.  Spent the day with Mom listening to what "they" tell her to do for diabetes. I told her not to listen anymore...eat what you want, stop when you're full and clean the house for exercise.  Not much else makes a bit of difference I imagine...

  • bdavis
    bdavis Member Posts: 3,192
    edited April 2011

    Irr... you sound like you are on the right track...I for sure have hot flashes, and they stink, so you are lucky...

    BTW... hope I can join your thread... 48, not 40, but I am a young 48.

  • lrr4993
    lrr4993 Member Posts: 504
    edited April 2011

    Burley - I said I am TRYING to get an hour a day.  LOL.  There is a nice walking/biking trail near my house.  With the longer days now, my goal is to stop there on the way home each evening and walk/run for an hour.  So far, I have only made it a few time a week.  Yes, my job is stressful and with long hours, which ruins the diet AND exercise efforts.  Not to mention the post-treatment lazies.  But cancer is a good motivator!  

    Sue - I have not been as good about the sugar as the fat because my onco told me fat was a bigger issue for the triple negative cancers.  I love coke and do not think I could ever give it up.  Besides, I would rather have sugar than the sugar substitutes.  I absolutely refuse to drink diet cokes now.  I do love vitamin water zero but it has stevia, which is supposed to be okay.  I am sure they will find 15 years from now that it is bad for you too. 

  • Makratz
    Makratz Member Posts: 1,605
    edited April 2011

    I just had a margarita.  I guess I fit in.  Although I hate to admit it, I do not like beer!  Don't hate me.  I love hard liquor!

    Thanks for the welcome, Kim!

    Good advice Sue.  Enjoy the egg coloring.  This is the first year my boys did not want to color them :(.  They're getting to old for this.  I did make them Easter sweet bread and they have been eating that all day.  I'm pretty sure there is sugar in that ;) so it may cause cancer. LOL!

  • lrr4993
    lrr4993 Member Posts: 504
    edited April 2011

    Burley - I just looked up queen creek out of curiosity.  I made my first trip ever to az three week ago and was in your neck of the woods - at least for the flight in and out.  I do a girls trip every year with my best friends from college.  We usually go to the beach but this year decided to do a spa trip and ended up in sedona.  Wow!  What an amazing area.  And the cactus . . . I loved them!  There were so many of them along the interstate between phoenix and sedona. 

  • christine47
    christine47 Member Posts: 846
    edited April 2011

    This is a great thread, I am so excited to have a place to call home for awhile, my current chemo group, Jan 2011, is starting to finish therapy.  It is great that there are ladies already done and moving on.  Busy weekend with family in for Easter, next week I need to re-read everyones info and get to know you all better. 

    I am in bed already, busy day getting ready for tomorrow.  My dear sister in law is in the kitchen still cooking and told me to get to bed.  I still have one chemo, and fatigue in recent weeks has caught up with me.  How long after you finish chemo before this gets better?  For those of you who have done chemo, how long till your hair came back?  I know there is a hair thread, but wondering what the average is in our age group? 

    Happy Easter to all,

    Christine

  • bdavis
    bdavis Member Posts: 3,192
    edited April 2011

    Hi Christine... I just jumped in here too... we are visiting the same threads.

    Betsy

  • Kymn
    Kymn Member Posts: 887
    edited April 2011

    wow this thread is cruising along :). there is no way I am going to be able to post to everything I missed lol guess I better get on here more. Irr I too am triple neg, when I first found out I was doing all sorts of reseach but now I am just too overwelmed and am just trying to get through treament for now. Am drinking a rye and diet right now and am not having any guilt over it lol I need to live my life and on a sat night I would like a drink thank you very muchLaughing. I wasnt aware that fat was a big issue for triple neg wil have to watch the butter I guess. It really is pointless for me to a get a port at this stage of the game I have 4 treatments left then thats it. We dont have a targeted treatment so chemo and rads is all. I am not enjoying chemopause the hot flashes the night sweats sheeesh. Waiting for my DD to go to bed so I can hop around and hide all the easter goodies .

    have a great easter all

    hugs Kymn

  • lrr4993
    lrr4993 Member Posts: 504
    edited April 2011

    Hey kymn - I have seen you in the TNS thread. I too hit the point of too much info and research. There are a million cancer prevention tips out there, but my onco, the clinic nutritionist, and a lot of the comments here by well-researched woman all support the low fat and exercise for triple negatives. It is not easy - less than 20 percent fat calories is the magic number. But fat is easier than sugar for me. I am not sure what a rye and diet is but it sounds fat free so enjoy! Besides, during chemo you get a free pass on whatever makes you happy!

    Sounds like I have really lucked out on the hot flashes. I had night sweats from decahedron during chemo and was so miserable.
  • kathleen1966
    kathleen1966 Member Posts: 68
    edited April 2011

    Not a whole lot of time at the moment (family visiting) but I would like to be a member of this club! I am 44 with a nine year old and a five year old (both boys). Hello!

  • Makratz
    Makratz Member Posts: 1,605
    edited April 2011

    Boy, there sure are a lot of us 40 something year olds with kids!  I'm glad we have all met, but it is kind of sad that cancer has brought us together.

  • Chili
    Chili Member Posts: 34
    edited April 2011

    Hi All, i've got family visiting too, but snuck a few min to pop onto the pc. I'll have to take some more time to go back and read all the prev posts later, but I would also like to join your group.

    I'm 47, with 2 girls 14 and 16. It's been just over a year since my cancer journey began.. had lumpectomy, then re-excision and sentinal node biopsy, chemo (4 rounds of Taxotere ) and rads. NOw Tamox for 5 yrs,

  • bdavis
    bdavis Member Posts: 3,192
    edited April 2011

    Hi Chili... you sound  like me... 48, daughter 18 and son 16... lump, SNB, chemo (TCx6) and may do MX instead of rads and then tamox for 5 years...One more chemo left.

  • KittyDog
    KittyDog Member Posts: 656
    edited April 2011

    Wow this post has been supper busy.  I was 46 when DX and I am now 48 with an 8 year of DD.  Can I going that pre-teen group.  She has ADHD and keeps me quite busy.   Man it is no fun having a young one going through all this.  I knew there was a 40-60 group but with a young daughter I never felt like I fit in. 

    Now to go back and read all.  

  • Paula66
    Paula66 Member Posts: 1,572
    edited April 2011

    Whew Easter prep 2011 is now done.  Wow, I didnt do as much this year and it kinda sucks.  I know my family understands, but Im having a hard time with it.  I did get the 2 things made but I really miss making the little surprises for my mom.  Thats the only thing that bothers me.  Shes had a rough time with me having cancer andit woulda been nice to atleast make her a surprise treat like I do each holiday. Ok enough of the pity party.  Thanks for listening all.

    Its good to see all the ladies here who have young kids as well as teens.  My son and daughter have been great.  My hats off to you gals who have the young kids. 

  • Nicole112
    Nicole112 Member Posts: 130
    edited April 2011

    Wow,

    Just getting back from taking the girls to the Amusement Park, and look at this thread take off! As Linda states above, it sucks there are so many of us 40ish out here!!!!! But, so GRATEFUL to have each other to lean on...

    After reading all the posts, it appears we all have the same thoughts... and I love that we can come here to share them! The biggie for us all is, what caused this, what can we do to prevent this.... and for whatever reason it always seems we have guilt when it comes to pleasurable things such as drinking a cup of coffee, eating a brownie, drinking a fine glass of wine...

    But I truly believe it is something sooooooooo much more than this.... something in the environment, there are just too many of us out here getting younger and younger diagnosis...

    So, my moto is I will try to not feel guilt for those things I find pleasureable, rather I want to keep it "pleasureable"... and I will try to keep my mind/body/spirit aligned as best I can... using humor to get though the worst of situations... and, as I shared before an Ativan if I feel my brain is running away with the spoon!

    Good night ladies, you are all wonderful!

  • burley
    burley Member Posts: 248
    edited April 2011

    Yeah, so I have to admit...there's so many newcomers I have lost track!  Hats off to us with our new thread.

    Christine-my experience with chemo.  It took me a couple of months before I got my energy back.  And don't get me started on my hair.  See my pic?  That is as long as the hair on  the top of my head has grown, and my last treatment was July 15.   I've had to have the sides and back shaved at least 5-6 times to let the top catch up.  Everyone is so different, though.  The hair everywhere else grew right back in-dammit!  I was enjoying not shaving my legs or armpits.  Oh and don't get me started about the peach fuzz on my face.

    My friends on facebook were giving me crap for not coloring eggs, but yeah...no.  I hate food coloring, or anything else that may stain my kitchen.  And I don't feel like staining the concrete out back either.  I'm a wimp.  And with kids 11 and 16, I'm pretty sure they're over it. 

    I just had 2 beers-while out in the shop talking to my hubby.  The weather is absolutely awesome here-I hope you all are enjoying Spring weather.  I saw on another thread it was snowing somewhere?  That's crazy!

    Thanks to all the newcomers for joining us-this is really fun!  I'm so glad we have a group that all seem to be going through the same things, although like others have said, it would have been nice to meet somewhere other than this site.

    Happy Saturday night!

  • KittyDog
    KittyDog Member Posts: 656
    edited April 2011

    I finished chemo Feb. of 2010 and my hair has finaly reachs my eye brows.  bummer on hair growth here too. 

    The Easter bunny just finished here so off to bed I go.  It has been a very exhausting day.  I will say my energy level still sucks and we want talk about the fried brain cells from chemo.

  • dena44
    dena44 Member Posts: 10
    edited April 2011

    its hard to find balance when your sick...even though i dont feel sick. I feel like the same ole' me. most of the time.....what was the point i was trying to make? lol Oh yeah I think we all just need to live. If that means having some things that arent exactly good for us then wth go ahead enjoy!

  • dena44
    dena44 Member Posts: 10
    edited April 2011

    hi kittydog! I hear you my hair has finally reached my eyebrows as well....i missed my bangs so much...i have gotten a few haircuts to try to add some shape to my hair and dyed it dark because when it came back in it was kinda dirty grey in color bleh......

  • MamaMia41
    MamaMia41 Member Posts: 35
    edited April 2011

    Hi Ladies,

    I am so happy to find this thread, I have also looked at the 40-60 group and didn't fit in too well.  I was diagnosed with DCIS in early February at the age of 41.  I have had a lumpectomy and re-excision and am probably facing yet another surgery because radiology onc will not start rads because of a close margin.  Will be meeting with PS about partial and full reconstruction and then make a decision, BS is pushing for another re-excision, so we'll see.

    I have a 17 month old daughter and she will probably be my only one since this diagnosis is taking up precious time and my eggs are getting old!  I am a special education teacher and really like my job; the hours and time off are wonderful and my mother-in-law watches my baby, it's a great set-up.  I enjoy the occasional beer or glass of wine, but I'm not a big drinker.  I love coffee and sweets, the Nestle tollhouse cookies from Target are my downfall.

    I have read many of the posts on this thread and some of you ladies have been through A LOT.  It is really inspirational to hear your stories and your positive attitudes; also nice to hear from those of you who are several years out of treatment and think that I will be in your shoes someday.

    Thanks for letting me join your group!

  • o2bhealthy
    o2bhealthy Member Posts: 1,089
    edited April 2011

    Burley - yeah  I was thinking your are in Cave Creek.  I am not sure why but anything south of Scottsdale seems just so far away Laughing

    Irr4993 I live 15 miles south of Sedona, my DH is assistant GM at a Sedona Resort. Wish we had met sooner, I might have been able to get you a good deal on a place to stay.

    Hi KittyDog - I have been following your post on the LE forum so I already feel like a know you, I just don't post a lot on the LE forum

    Christine - my last chemo was Sept 2009,  Herceptin July 2010.  My hair has been a hodge podge of colors a textures but I would say that by Christmas 2009 I had a GI Jane look, by April 2010 the tight Chi Pet look was on. In January 2011 my hair was long enough to straighten into an actual look that I would have had before cancer. I literally cried when my hair dresser turned me around to see the new 'do', for the first time in a year and a half I recognised the person looking back at me in the mirror Laughing My hair did come back twice as thick, much to my hair dressers surprise.  If you are on FB send me a PM with your name an I'll friend you so you can see my hair pictures.  That offer goes ou to anyone who wants to be a friend on FB.  I don't post a lot on FB but love sharing photo's.

    Chemo fatigue and SE's - that is hard for me because of the Herceptin.  I guess I could say that by the time I had my last Herceptin, most of the chemo SE's and fatigue were gone.  I still have mild neuropathy in my feet.  My muscle weakness however is probably due to plain old laziness and not enough exercise. 

  • lrr4993
    lrr4993 Member Posts: 504
    edited April 2011

    Michelle - you are so lucky to live in that area. I definitely plan to return one day. It is so gorgeous. I was in complete awe of the red rocks. It was my first trip away from home since my dx in august, so it was extra nice for me. We stayed at enchantment, which is just lovely. Amazing location.



    The only negative was that we were all highly allergic to something. The locals said it was probably the juniper. A lot of coughing, sneezing and runny noses in our group.



    Well, off to work again. On Easter. Grrrrrr. I just keep telling myself it will be worth it when I get to Greece in sixteen days . . . Not that I am counting the days or anything. :)



    I hope everyone has a Happy Easter!



    Lisa

  • shooshoo23
    shooshoo23 Member Posts: 12
    edited April 2011

    Wow this thread is hopping! Pun intended....Happy Easter! Burley I'm going to be brave enough to have a beer today! I have missed it so much!

    The life style change has been hard for me. I'm tired and have a family to take care of and I really don't feel like watching what I eat and I haven't felt much like excercising either. I keep thinking when rads are over I'll start....ugh!

    My 10 year old found out that I was the Easter Bunny this yearCry wasn't quite ready yet. He was still up at the crack of dawn to get into his basket though! 

  • 37antiques
    37antiques Member Posts: 60
    edited April 2011

    Hippity Hoppity Happy Easter!

    This year we gave the kids candy filled trash cans, maybe they'll figure out where the wrappers go...Ah, and the 18 year olds were more intent on coloring eggs than the younger ones, seems there is only a gap, they don't really outgrow it...

    On to the multi-colored egg salad!

  • o2bhealthy
    o2bhealthy Member Posts: 1,089
    edited April 2011

    Easter clip art

  • burley
    burley Member Posts: 248
    edited April 2011

    Happy Easter everyone!  I hope everyone enjoys good food, good friends and lots of family today (including furry family.)

    Dena-my hair came back in a dirty brown/grayish color...really ugly, I thought. I just dyed it a dark auburn.  I'll be excited when my hair finally reaches my eyebrows.

    Hi MamaMia-welcome.  A 17 month old?  OMG girl.  What a lot of work, and a blessing at the same time.  That's nice your mother-in-law helps you out like that.

    Ah, Lisa, finally got your real name.  Working on Easter?  ugh.  But yes, Greece will be worth it.  Sedona is beautiful-we go there about once a year.  The only problem is that it's so expensive.  You really have to get a good deal somewhere.

    Cheryl!  You're the Easter bunny?  Who knew!

    Sue-no one in my family likes egg salad except me...bummer.  Another reason for not coloring eggs.

    I slept in, did the dishes, and now I'm doing laundry and going to start a minor house cleaning.  My bff will be here about 4.  See, if i talk in abbreviations like lol, omg and bff, it makes me feel young and immature.  Even if my 16 year old doesn't think I'm cool.  Hee

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