Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Jill, I used Boiron brand calendula cream, most recently from Whole Foods. There’s also a German homeopathic drugstore, Merz Apothecary, a couple of miles south of me that carries it as well as various herbs and herbal personal care products. Toronto’s even more cosmopolitan than Chicago, so I’m sure there are similar shops near you.
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I was reading the description of the calendula cream I posted and it had a warning if you are allergic to certain plants you should not use it. I do have some allergies so I'm going to skip it. I just thought I'd point it out. I know Miaderm is expensive but I really like the way it absorbs and seems to take the heat away. I ordered the Miaderm-L in case I feel a lot of discomfort I'll have it here. If I don't use it I will just donate it to the office when I'm done.
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Calendula is derived from the marigold flower, so if you’re allergic to marigolds you might want to avoid it. Also, there is a line of chamomile-based products called Camo-Care. It’s been documented that people allergic to ragweed and English plantain are also allergic to chamomile, even as an herbal tea. So I guess it’s a matter of trial and error. BTW, it turns out that what makes aloe vera so effective is that it contains salicylates (of which aspirin is a derivative) and polysaccharides (sugars)--both of which are natural anti-inflammatories; and saponins, which are emollient.
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614 yes, I think rads was worse than chemo in some ways. I had chemo side effects, but I could manage them better than this.
I'll check a health store for calendula.
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ejmann, I also used My Girls Cream and it is great. LTF you are one tough cookie! The end is in sight!!
brithael, this is beautiful: When we get on the BC train, we do not know the final destination. Sometimes the train is going very fast, and all we can do is hold on and hope we don't fall off. We progress to different cars during our treatments, and we hope that our journey is linear, but we know the sisters who have had to make the loop to the cars in the back again. We may eventually move into more comfortable compartments, but we are on this train for the rest of our lives. The general population does not know this. I did not know this before I got on the train. It's not a "battle," it's a journey.
If I had to take a train instead of flying, I am glad to have found the one with all of you on it.
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Aww, Brit and peachy what a beautiful sentiment! Ejmann, I used the Miaderm L. What a lifesaver. I also had my aloe Vera with lidocaine and the emla cream my RO prescribed.
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Jill- Am thinking about you as you deal with the burns from rads...the pain and itching can drive you crazy trying to get away from it for awhile. When I used the cooled cabbage leaves, sometimes just put one or two on the affected area and laid on the bed with the ceiling fan on for awhile.
Hugs!
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FYI, I just tried to purchase My Girls so I'd have it when I start. I liked it because of no parabens etc. But it's currently unavailable. The site says it is part of a research study in Cleveland so is not available at this time. Hopefully it can be purchased soon. I'll try and get the Miaderm. I have super fair skin and burn so fast plus very sensitive skin with psoriasis so want to be prepared for rads.
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thanks for the ideas, I will try all of it today. I also ordered some calendula from Amazon, but I will go to the health food store today and see if I can find some sooner.
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Dear Dara: I hope that you do not have any problems with rads. Good luck.
Dear Jill: I am hoping that you feel better soon. At least your rads are over with now and you can start the healing process (hopefully quickly). Thanks for answering my question regarding your chemo and rads experience.
Dear Peachy: I love your sentiment and I totally agree with you. I am so glad that I found this site and I met all of you. I consider all of you to be my friends.
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Dara, I think that My Girls might be available from Amazon?
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Jill, my RO had me doing Domeboro soaks three times a day for 15 minutes at a time (mix solution, pour on compress, leave on and rewet if it gets dry,) then air dry and put on Aquaphor . It did the trick for me. My underarm and collarbone were really bad and under my breast not quite as much. My last rad was April 26th, and my burns had cleared up enough on May 4th to stop the soaks. I used Aquaphor for a couple more days, then it was done. I used a little Radiaplex for a while, but everything cleared up beautifully.
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Peggy, I agree with you. What would I do without the loving support I found here on BCO? I can tell you all everything, things I don't want to burden my family with. And I've been able to meet Mary Mallette and her sister, Meg.
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614, ditto on the sentiment about this site! I so appreciate being able to come here and share, ask questions, or just share fun things. I know many of you have known each other for a long time, but I really am thankful you welcome new people to "the club."
Peachy, thank you! I had checked the My Girls site, but I see they do still offer it on Amazon.
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I've seen the domboro at the drugstore. I'll try it.
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Jill, keeping pure aloe in the fridge and then putting it on a cool wet washcloth might also help.
Suzanne, I love your analogy, and agree with Peachy2.
And I at least can raise a little hope that rads aren’t always an ordeal. I am also extremely fair-skinned yet I suffered neither skin breaks, pain nor itching. Good to plan for the worst, but hope for the best. Makes the in-between more endurable.
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Sandy - Sheeesh! I wanted to get our kids a restaurant gift certificate, and I looked up places to eat in Chicago. Well, apparently Chicago has one of the top 50 restaurants in the WORLD, and the dinners start at $250 each for the basic dish. Wow, I can't even imagine that! I'm going to go back to the pages where you suggested restaurants in their area. I took pictures of those pages so I could have them when we got to Chicago. I can't even imagine spending $500 for a dinner for 2 (without wine, even!). There was 1 restaurant in San Francisco that made the world list, but I didn't even go to that page.
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Moondust --Haven't heard from you in a couple days. How ya feeling? I know that I started feeling pooped about day 4...and I think yesterday was day 4 for you. You okay?
LTF - Call the RO and get a perscription for silvadine or find out what she recommends for oozing. Mine didn't ooze or blister, but my RO said to call him on the weekend if I developed blisters. I do remember putting the BLUE Lanocaine gel (no alcohol) on my breast to numb it and went shirtless and slept on my back at night to expose the skin to the air. Hope you feel better soon.
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Sloan, $250/person doesn't work for me either.
. I had a bit of pinkness from my rads but that's all. I feel for those who have problems like you are LTF. I'm not that fair but I'm not sure that always matters either. I had 33 rads with boosts included.
HUGS!
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Goodness, Sloan--are you talking about Alinea or Next (where you have to buy nonrefundable tickets instead of merely making reservations) or Grace? Those places offer only tasting menus, not a la carte. I’d suggest if you want to get your kids restaurant gift cards, try the Lettuce Entertain You chain, which includes Mon Ami Gabi, Oyster Bah, Big Bowl, Ben Pao, Frankie’s Scallopine, Cafe Ba-Ba-Ree-Ba, Il Porcellino, RJ Grunts, Mity Nice Grill and a host of other options that don’t require having to take out a mortgage to order dinner. (The chain also includes RPM Steak and RPM Italian; haven’t been to the latter, but though the former is wonderful--we ate there on our actual anniversary last Mon.--it is wildly overpriced, charging even for bread). I’m thinking maybe Girl & the Goat or Monteverde--best homemade pasta in America and affordable--if they’re open on a Mon. night. Do you prefer Italian, Greek, true BBQ (various regions), low-country Southern, Chinese (we have two Chinatowns!), Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, sushi, Mexican (various styles), tapas, French (bistro style), comfort food, seafood, steak, eclectic, etc.? Regardless of where we go, while you are in Chicago you do need to try a real Chicago hot dog (“dragged through the garden”) or Maxwell St. Polish, Italian beef sandwich, or gyros. As to deep-dish vs. thin-crust (party-cut-style) vs. Neapolitan (relative newcomer) pizza, fistfights have broken out over far lesser subjects.
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Sandy - Yes, it was Alinea! Yikes! I've wanted to try Girl & the Goat since I saw it on TV, and you gave it rave reviews. We love all types of food. You're a Foodie, so I know any place you pick will be fabulous! I'm really looking forward to whatever you pick because I read how you review restaurants, and I salivate! LOL! I'm up for a fun Foodie experience. I wish I didn't have to put all this on you, but the only place I've been to in Chicago that made a "foodie list" is Portillo's for it's yummy Chicago dog! We're going to take our son to Gene and Jude's for a Chicago dog because we asked him about it and he hadn't tried it! For our kids for dinner the night we babysit I'm thinking City Winery or Purple Pig (a Michelin restaurant, I see) or one of the Mexican restaurants in Logan Square since they live there. I'm sure they'll be happy just to have Nonni and Pappa to babysit.
So, I just bought an inflatable kayak. So excited! It's weird, but I put off ordering the kayak until I got good results on my blood tests. I asked my husband if he was deliberately delaying ordering it until after my tests came in, too, and he said yes. Happy to be NED, but inside I"m a little peeved that cancer puts decisions on hold "just in case."
Back to the kayak: We wanted a hard-side kayak, but we're leaving our car at the airport for a week and want the kayak to be there when we get back. So, the Sea Eagle 370 inflatable kayak seems perfect. It's weird how you think you get a DEAL on a product and then wind up spending a fortune on all the accessories. LOL My husband decided he needed new beach shoes, sunscreen shirt, paddle grips, and life vest and the kayak hasn't even arrived yet! Any yakers out there? Any tips? I've canoed for years, but I'm relatively new to kayaking. Also, we have to have a tandem since my husband has a vision disease.
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If you're NEW to this thread, WELCOME! Please ask questions!
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Sandy - I'm embarrassed that I had to look up who Rick Bayless is. Trust me, there are NO top chefs here in Bakersfield!
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Thanks for the shoutout, Sloan! I am doing okay today, just a bit tired and trying to keep cool. Yesterday I hiked the Freeman Creek trail to the George H.W. Bush sequoia tree. Not very thrilling, but much cooler and prettier than down here in the valley. Today I'm just doing the normal home chores while DH is golfing up on the Monterey Peninsula. It is his best golf vacation yet - Pebble Beach, Spyglass, Spanish Bay and Poppy Hills. He's due home Tuesday. Today I made an asian cucumber salad and got out the yogurt maker because I was running out of yogurt and didn't want to go to the store. Now I'm going to drag out the bread machine and try making some rye bread in it. The kale in my garden is out of hand, so I need to come up with some new kale recipes too.
Jill, I hope you will start improving from here on out!
Brit, I love what you said about the BC train!
Peggy, hang in there! You can think of it as camping out over the 4th of July! I hope there are no more delays.
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I have silver sulfacide from the doctor. Not helping
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Hope everyone has an AWESOME FOURTH!!! My husband cleaned the grill and is preparing some meat for a small barbecue tomorrow. It's still running 110 degrees, 100 degrees in the shade so it will be a VERY early morning barbecue and well eat on it all day lol! I felt pretty good for the first day since hysterectomy and got outside and walked for 30 minutes, of course I was drenched with sweat and scratching the dang mosquito bites lol! I enjoy reading everyone's posts and love a lot of what yal have written! HUGS to all and Ltf, hope you are feeling better soon!
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To our newer Lumpies, we may seem to be off-topic but we still answer questions and want you to chime in - we are NOT a clique! As you can tell we get together and it is wonderful. Please do join in. Sometimes, it is just nice to be normal and forget BC.
I'm tired of camping Moondust. The pets want a couch to cuddle with me on. My son got the bar stools put together tonight. A friend of his cut 2" off the leg extensions since with the extensions they were too tall and too short without them. That turned out to be the perfect height. 27". Maybe Wed or Thurs for the furniture! Glad your walk was nice.
LG, That's a trifle hot and steamy. Hope it is a bit cooler tomorrow.
HUGS!
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It should be fairly easy to get a table at Girl & The Goat next Mon. night (half the city will be inside the United Center seeing Adele). Traffic might be dicey, unless we wait until it’s close to showtime when everyone who’s going there will have gotten there. Restaurant Row is a bit northeast of the United Center neighborhood--last time we drove, it was to see Springsteen and traffic didn’t begin to start getting heavy till we’d crossed Odgen, way at the end of Randolph. I was hoping for Monteverde but they’re closed Mondays. City Winery is also on Restaurant Row, and it has two different venues inside. One is the restaurant itself, with the full menu but no entertainment. In the next room is the concert hall itself, where you reserve seats at either long tables or some two-tops on the upper tier at the back of the room. The menu is sparser (“American tapas” appetizers, charcuterie, cheese plates and flatbread pizzas) with a long list of wines by the glass (at least two made on the premises, though from grapes grown outside the U.S. The entertainment is pretty eclectic--we’ve seen Tom Paxton, Joan Osborne, Nancy Griffith and even a “City Seder” featuring prominent local media personalities and comics who are Jewish. Alas, they no longer have their Sunday Klezmer Brunch. Sunday is the last Sox home game before the All-Star break (hosting the Atlanta Braves); it’s easier to get tickets for them than for the Cubs, even though in the past couple of weeks there’s been a bit of a role reversal with the Cubs in a slump and the Sox heating up. Nonetheless, both are pretty high up in their respective divisions, something to which Chicago baseball fans are definitely unaccustomed.
I’ve never been able to score a res at Alinea, but at least I got to eat Grant Achatz’ cooking when he got his first big exec. chef gig at the late great Evanston restaurant Trio. It had always been cutting edge fine dining, but Achatz was the first to introduce molecular gastronomy to the city. 17 courses--each tiny and imaginative, but the cumulative effect was still pretty filling. (The tab was less than half of what Alinea charges). And I really miss Charlie Trotter (he and Achatz, who was one of his interns, did not get along). We followed him from the very beginning. We had our 25th anniv. party there, and the three of us quietly celebrated our 40th over dinner. Charlie came by and chatted, and after dinner gave us a full tour of the kitchen, wine cellar and TV studio, and sent us home with chocolate truffles, cookies and two cookbooks. His death was an utter shock to everyone. He used to bring vocational HS kids in to teach and feed them between the lunch & dinner services; and every week he would find a homeless person and serve him or her lunch at the coveted chef’s table in the kitchen.
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Happy 4th of July everyone.
Welcome all newcomers to this site.
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Just had an epiphany, no pain! I've had pain in my boob for more than a year, and today I realized there's nothing, just a "normal" feeling. Wow.
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ORKnitter, amazing, isn't it? All of a sudden things are right. Feels good, too. Congrats!!!
Sandy and Sloan, good heavens! I am no foodie so don't even know half the things and people you are talking about. I'm plain jane - give a steak, baked potato, salad, veggie and a big glass of wine and I'm good to go
It is interesting to read about though.614, Happy Fourth to you, too!
HUGS!
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