2013 Survivors!!!
Comments
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Sorry to hear about your friend mcook....cancer is all around...but so are survivors......think about olivia newton john..... she had stage 3 aggressive and hey ....... she looks better than ever 20 years later!!!
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Websister- I completely agree! I met a young lady today (33) that was diagnosed with BC for the 2nd time. First time when she 29 and the 2nd time when she was pregnant last year. Her Gyn found it on a visit for a pregnancy check up. A very small knot 4mm. She is currently having to do Rads again. I asked her if she only a UMX or BMX and she said a BMX. That scared the shit out of me. To be diagnosed with BC twice even though she a BMX???
Mcook- I am beginning to HATE the color Pink. I wear a button on my badge at work that has the Pink ribbon on it, but I don't want everything in my life to be about the color pink. I am so happy that your friend is getting treatment already. I will keep him in my prayers.
Ramols- your hubby sounds like a keeper, so keep him
Those words "you have cancer" are the scariest words ever. It puts our lives in perspective, we have to make decisions to keep us alive. We also have to make the decision to remove our breasts of remove the cancerous area, that we forget what we are actually living for. My scars on my breast proves that i'm stronger than I EVER thought i was. Give those babies hugs and kisses everyday.Today has been exactly 2 months since my exchange surgery. I can not believe it's already been that long. I go tomorrow for my 2 month follow up and am anxious to hear what he says. I'm hoping he's going to say that they are "dropping and fluffing" the way they are supposed to. Then we are going to discuss my other dilemna, probably too early mos 4 is when he generally starts the nip/tattoo process.
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Tazzy, that's funny! Think I will experiment with taking that pill in the morning though. Who knows? Maybe I will have the same 'SE' as you? If I could be so lucky . . .
Websister, what a heartfelt piece of writing! You do speak for us all.
Stride, the Beatles is my alltime favorite group - now you all know how old I am. Seeing results is good, and I'm not dreading going to the gym anymore, because I can now actually do the exercises properly the way they should be done. Actually look forward to it now.
Mcook, just last week I had to endure another photo session at my PS appt. She is a very kind, sensitive woman, but I still felt like a porno star, albeit an old and wrinkled one. Not nice. I'm glad you can go back to work if only half days. Yes, it will for ever affect us to hear about other people who have been diagnosed with ca. Before I would always feel sympathy of course, but now it is on a totally different level, because I know what they are feeling, and what they have to endure. I feel much more involved now. Your marathon project is a fantastic idea which will help you to move on, and help others at the same time. I hear you about the hair - I look exactly like my brother. Only consolation is he has more wrinkles than me. LOL.
Chrisrenee, you are really getting there! Can't believe two months have gone by since you had the surgery.
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Stride, I just went on YouTube to listen to that Beatles song. It took me so far back to my youth - such nostalgia! What a talented songwriter John Lennon was, and what a phenomal group they were. Across the Universe was recorded on Feb. 4, 1968, exactly 45 years ago yesterday, and it is still so relevant. Amazing.
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Hi all,
Just an FYI, I have found when my mouth is burning if I let two tums dissolve it settles down. Changes the ph obviously. Wanted to share what seems to help me.
Sheryl
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John Lennon was my fav Beatle. They were a great group.
Chrisrenee: wow 2 months - dont seem like it at the time, but time really does fly eh?
Well tonight I will try and stay awake later than 8pm...!
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iatigger thank you so much!
So here is the deal ladies- you can all be a part of my team without having to run a marathon! As soon as the route get decided I can give you more details but you can sign up as part of my team and support me running 26 miles but also play a part. If anyone is interested PM me!
Hugs!0 -
websister - well said. I too am still going to the dreaded chair every 3 weeks for herceptin and am officially beginning radiation tomorrow, so feel like I still have lots more left before I'm finally a full-fledged survivor. But I guess I have survived a lot already... I have posted previously that I choose not to look at recurrance rates, as I would prefer to just take my medicine and move on. But I'm no dummy. I realize it could strike again at any point down the road. But I'm going to choose to think positively and not let it get to me. A woman on the Ladies in their 30s thread posted some wise words from her therapist, when they were talking about handling fears of recurrance, etc:
"It is unhealthy to always try to remain positive because you could be repressing some very potent emotions. At some point you have to let yourself feel the fears and figure out how you would handle the what ifs, and then you can free your mind to move forward with your life."
Just wanted to share that. Monster hugs to all of you!
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Tazzy and Liefie- yes it has flown by so quick. I see everything now in months. 9 mos since diagnosis 8 mos since BMX and starting letrazole 6 mos since TE placement 2 mos since exchange and 3 mos away from 1 year anniversary of diagnosis. Ugh I hate being a numbers person.
Went to my son's basketball game, it was horrible. The team we played were awesome they shot mostly 3 pointers. Wow! I am a sports mom first and foremost. My son says he can hear me out of everyone in the gym. I think he's trying to tell me i have a big mouth. ha hope everyone is doing great.
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Mcook; hold those hugs!
Ladies; what do you think? Sept 6-8. $206 each. Only up to 30 people... www.refreshingmountain.com
Here's my last correspondence.
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Jennifer,
Thanks for the response. Yes, the slot for Sept 6-8 is still open. To clarify the pricing, the rate of $206 would be for the whole time, not per night. That is for the 2 nights and 5 meals, and includes hotel/excise taxes, etc. It would not include the PA sales tax, but you may be able to claim exemption from that.
Here is a link to the Lodges (picture on the top right). http://www.refreshingmountain.com/lodging.cfm . We have a total of 27 Lodge rooms. In each lodge room you will see that the futon is next to the bed, they are not in separate rooms.
Let me know if you have any questions and/or want to move forward with a temp hold.
Sincerely,
Justin Harnish
Refreshing Mountain Retreat and Adventure Center
Phone 1-888-353-1490 x 125
Fax (717)733-6929
Web www.refreshingmountain.com
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From: jenjuneau@comcast.net [mailto:jenjuneau@comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2013 11:46 AM
To: information@refreshingmountain.com
Subject: RMC Website Email From Jennifer Juneau
Name: Jennifer Juneau
Organization: 2013 Survivors forum members from breastcancer.org
Email: jenjuneau@comcast.net0 -
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Jen,
Is the $206 for the lodge, semi-private or what type of lodging. Hard to believe it after all I have gone through but I am still the kind of person who likes a bit of privacy when I sleep or chill out. Mom never sent me to camp so I didn't learn to sleep around people. I am a mess in many ways LOL. Sounds like something I am extremely interested in doing. When do we need to pay, etc. I actually have lots of sleeping bags from family that used to camp all the time that I could even bring for those that needed them.
More info as you get it please. Thank you for taking the initiative on this.
Sheryl
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Hi all,
I just ordered this cap from Amazon.com it is made by the Harley Davidson group. My sister who rides gave me a black one and at first because it was silky I didn't think I would like it. Well it has become my favorite. It has elastic in the back, covers my entire head (and I have a large head), breathes and is cute to boot. She gave me a black one with a butterfly on it and this one comes in pink too. It is not me in the picture, I haven't been that young in awhile. I will edit as soon as I relocate the website. Ok here it is: Cost with shipping 15.94
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Sheryl: we don't need sleeping bags, lol. There are beds and linens. There are 27 lodge rooms. Look at the link/pictures. It's a private room with futon couch. I will have to book and sign a contract and I am guessing pay up front to hold. I'll find out how we book but space will be limited, unless people CHOOSE to share their room if we fill up. There are bunks and futons in each lodge room.
Those who already PMd me a while back get first rights at booking a room. PM ME PLEASE if you think you want to come. I have a list.
It is in Lancaster PA. Amish country, and by Hershey chocolate too; so we can find things to do outside the camp if we want to plan a day trip to site see Saturday.
Please look at the photos link all and tell me what you think. This is not solely up to me! 😁😘0 -
Juneau- I hope I am going to be able to make it as it sounds awesome! I will try and look at the dates and see if I can commit to that time frame:)
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liefie, whether I took my tamoxifen in the morning or night I was losing weight on it at first. I now take a half at breakfast and the other half at lunch or supper and that mostly cuts down on how much it dampens my appetite. Weight loss on tamo apparently hits up to 23% of patients on it. I'm going to talk to my MO about a lower dose. It doesn't seem right that all women of all sizes take exactly the same dose, does it? Like, shouldn't they be checking how much body fat we have (because it produces estrogen too) or hormone tests or both and balancing out that way or do they just assume we all produce the same amount of estrogen?
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SO JEALOUS! It doesn't seem to do anyuthing to dampen my appetite!
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Allurbaddays- You make a good point. I lost weight in the beginning when I first started taking tamo, but I have leveled off and am maintaining now. I think it still dampens my appetite, but I'm learning to recognize it.
Scorchy- I'm new to this thread and just found out about your blog...hope your still lurking...and I've got to say your writing style is so (for lack of better words) fucking good. You should be a writer or maybe you are a writer and if you are I would read whatever you wrote about. Woman you could make some serious jack off of your powerful words. There's not a single one of us on this board that doesn't wonder if we will someday be in your shoes. So your words of wisdom speaks volumes to us. We need someone like you on this board to keep it real. Otherwise we may get caught up in the stupid things that in the end don't mean a damn thing and forget to live. I am a fan!
I hope everyone is having a good week so far.
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Hello
I like the stories of losing weight on tamoxifen! Starting mine Monday so hope that is my case too!0 -
Weight Loss:
Why can't I lose weight on TFK? Honestly, TFK has been wonderful in that it's reallt shrinking the Death Star and its outposts. But it has caused so much mishegoss: tumor flares in the spine which caused me hell for the past five months and I've been gaining weight! Well, maybe it's due to haviong to be so sedentary for the last five months.Is anyone out there actually on a concentrated effort to lose weight by dieting? I've always been a big girl, but I am starting Nutrisystem so I can ease the load on my lower back. Because I'm always have to reevaluate my limitations based on the back stuff I can't do Weight Watchers right now (it is much more effective, but requires a bit more diligence).
Lesson Learned:
You know, folks, I really learned a lesson after I posted my essay recently. I had decided to turn away from the group because I didn't want to be a downer and couldn't understand what you have all been going through. And you guys reached out and pulled me back in a group hug that has been overwhelming to me. Thanks for this. I was silly to think I should part from you all.xoxoxoxo
Scorch0 -
Weight Loss:
Why can't I lose weight on TFK? Honestly, TFK has been wonderful in that it's reallt shrinking the Death Star and its outposts. But it has caused so much mishegoss: tumor flares in the spine which caused me hell for the past five months and I've been gaining weight! Well, maybe it's due to haviong to be so sedentary for the last five months.Is anyone out there actually on a concentrated effort to lose weight by dieting? I've always been a big girl, but I am starting Nutrisystem so I can ease the load on my lower back. Because I'm always have to reevaluate my limitations based on the back stuff I can't do Weight Watchers right now (it is much more effective, but requires a bit more diligence).
Lesson Learned:
You know, folks, I really learned a lesson after I posted my essay recently. I had decided to turn away from the group because I didn't want to be a downer and couldn't understand what you have all been going through. And you guys reached out and pulled me back in a group hug that has been overwhelming to me. Thanks for this. I was silly to think I should part from you all.xoxoxoxo
Scorch0 -
Scorch... yeah, welcome to my personal nightmare. I've been gaining too and counting calories/weight watchers... NOTHING SEEMS TO BE HELPING! It makes me SO UPSET that I WANT TO EAT!! (but I don't) so I deprive myself of yummy carbs and sugar (mostly) and still don't see the fucking scale move. This has been a MAJOR focus for this forum of late, and you are exactly where you are supposed to be if you want support.... Time to put on my shades, because Scorchy is BACK!
Fuck all you Ladies who are losing weight to tamoxifen. I am so jealous I could spit! (I love you all anyway of course! just picture me as one of those spitting camels!!! ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
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Yeah, juneau, believe me, it's truly bizarre but at first I was kind of worried. You know, fast weight loss being a symptom of all together too many bad things.... scary things... recurrence even...
so I was frankly super-fucking relieved to know that it's common enough that I could refrain from freaking out. I don't mention it a lot because I've been on the other side of the weight management sitch for most of my life but since it came up... Also, being a celiac makes my Drs pay attention to this sort of thing as they're worried about making my auto-immune issues worse but I think it's just the tamo.0 -
Scorchy - you belong here. We are all surviving one day at a time. It's so much easier as a group. Plus we get to go on many Pocket Trips together. We are never alone. We celebrate our small successes too!
My husband tried Nutrisystem a while back and didn't care for the food. He's on MediFast now and having great success. The food isn't bad, the shakes are delicious and he seems to be constantly eating.
I'd try it to but I'm on Arimidex and its 67% soy. I asked my MO and gave me an emphatic no.
Weight Watchers does seen to have the best success record. Look at Jennifer Hudson. I've never tried it but I'm a life member of Jenny Craig. Her food is delicious, I didn't check the soy content.
I'm trying to lose the old fashion way this time. Diet and exercise. It's not so bad. You will get lots of encouragement here. Love the Cheerleaders and their PomPoms.
Juneau - I can only make the trip in Spirit. It sounds wonderful but a bit far from CA. Post lots of pictures!
Sheryl - the wrap is very cute!
Hugs to all - make it a great day!0 -
Sorry Juneau, I know it's frustrating. I'm the type of person that when I'm really stressed I don't eat and what does BC do to you but stress you out. So I've been losing weight from the time I was diagnosed, but believe me I had started at 163 lbs. just like some of you. So I know what it's like to want to lose weight. Yeah, I wanted to lose the weight, but not like this! I was on a diet when I found my lump and then diagnosed. I had been on a diet for 6 months and had only lost 6 lbs. and I work out all the time. Anyway I know it's hard and I know I suck!
I hope it gets easier. And Mcook I hope you are in the 23% that lose weight! 0 -
Believe777 - Last spring I went on Optifast. None of the other diets worked for me...even WW. Optifast was offered through Kaiser and was tightly medically monitored. I loved every minute of it, and lost 60 pounds, and more than 65 inches off my body.
Even though there were soy protein isolates in the products, my MO wholeheartedly encouraged me to join the program, despite the fact that I am 100% ER+. She said the tiny amount of soy would in no way jeopardize my BC, but that being obese would definitely affect my future health.
She was right. All my lab work (blood sugar, blood cholesterol) is now normal, as is my blood pressure. And I no longer take a dozen prescription meds a day - I just take two: my thyroid med and the Anastrozole.
Best wishes to your husband!!!
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Blessing - I see my MO in March. I have it on my list to ask about Optifast. So far I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to do it on my own. I can see and feel the inches going away. I have faith that my scale with catch on.
I retired in August and not too anxious to start anything regimented. My DH and I sneak away for about a week a month, I'm baking (don't worry Scottie - I don't have a sweet tooth anymore)listening to audio books, checking this site and beading. Lots of hobbies and I interests that I never had time for before. I started working at 16, at least that was my first paying job.0 -
I have to say, about weight loss. My PCP knows my sarcastic sense of humor. Shortly after I was diagnosed I went to see him and had a great talk--he's really awesome and has been keeping tabs on me.
But while we were talking about it all he asked, "Well, Susan, what do you think about all of this?" And I said, "I dunno, maybe I'll lose some weight." He motioned like he was going to throw the container of cotton balls at me.
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Juneau- As much as I would love to go in Sept, I'm not going to be able to. Would love to meet everyone.
SherylB- love the cap!
Scorchy- I love you and I'm so glad you came back to us! Again, we can always use your amazing and wonderful group hugs!
went to the PS today he said that my new girls are looking great. He still thinks that the left side is still bigger than the right side and said that if it's still a concern down the road, we can do fat grafting. Hmmmm that scares me. So he and I talked about my burning decision nip or no nip. So I have decided I'm doing the nips I told him I don't want nips where they stick out in 107 degrees. He chuckled at that and said that he would make sure that doesn't happen. We have not scheduled anything yet because my incisions have not healed 100% yet. We would reassess in 1 mos. He also told me not to put the silicone tape on right now with the stitches possibly still coming out, couple weeks ago I took the tape off and I had 2 areas that had pus in it. when I went to clean it the stitches shot out, gross I know. On other news, I've lost ANOTHER pound. whohoo!
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That place looks absolutely beautiful. If I can get cheap flights from here to PA I'm in. What a great price. You rock Juneau.
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