Maybe a dumb flat question?
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sorry dp. Glad you had a nice lunch and shaved your legs! Staple puller ouch.
As one with lung mets, mine did well on chemo. There are still more options to try.
Going to Houston sounds like fun. Hopefully you will make more and more progress now the staples are out.
Thanks for sharing so quickly. We're still in the bag for Friday.
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Hi Sheila, I am so glad that the weather is improving and that you are able to get out and get some warmth from the sun.
I am sorry to hear of your Dx and that more treatment will make you lose your hair again.
I like the sound of Houston, I haven't been there but it is the same distance as Melbourne is for us. A trip now and again may be nice!
It has rained all day here, not cold but you can feel it is coming.
My neighbor and I are going to have a yard sale on the long weekend coming at Easter, so I need to put in some time getting stuff out of cupboards and organizing what needs to go. I am looking forward to getting rid of all the stuff we brought with us when we moved here, just in case! It ill be like pulling teeth to get Colin to part with stuff, but he's going to have to bite the bullet and do it.
Take care.....M x
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DP, so darn sorry to hear of the new dx, but praying the chemo will kick it! Glad your weather is improving, that always lifts our spirit here. I have been to Houston a few times, ds lived in Lake Jackson, south of H. and we went several times, plus I was at MD Anderson one time years ago. Sending you the best!
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Houston can be kind of a gloomy place. I swear it rains and floods nearly every time I've been. And the traffic is crazy. No more than here I guess, but seems worse because it is unfamiliar. I do love a road trip though, so I am looking forward to it.
Good luck with the yard sale ariom. I've been meaning to have one for a year. I'm ready to part with a lot of things. My problem is I want to be so prepared all the time. This is really stupid- but when I left my husband, I left 95% of my belongings behind (and you know what a shopper I am, so you know that is a considerable amount if "stuff"). It has been almost two years. I've been back a few times to get some things but there is so much still there. My thought process now is that if I have done without it for this long, I need to just get rid of it all. So meanwhile I don't want to have a yard sale without getting all that stuff and having a huge yard sale. And so everything just sits. I hope you can convince Colin that he will feel more free after letting go of some things. I know it's hard though.
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can't sleeeeep. The MO visit didn't go as I expected. I thought she would start me on chemo ASAP, so did her NP when I was there last. She wants to wait two months though and do another CT. She wants to give it a chance to show up so we can see what we are dealing with. Also, any of the trials require there to be measurable disease. She said she has done the other way before and blasted it with everything right out of the gate but she feels with me, we should wait. She suggested a new test that shows what chemo you may be responsive to. I read about it recently but I forget what it's called. I did ask for her to check tumor markers. And she agreed if they are high, I can start treatment but no sooner than 1 month so I can regain some strength and heal. I also convinced her to do something to check my calf which has worried me for nearly a year but has been constantly brushed off. I said please prove I'm crazy. So I will have an ultrasound next week. She made a point to tell me she expects this to come back again, and again. I knew that but hearing her finally say it was hard. She is always very positive. She also finally confirmed my opinion that scans are hard to judge growth and timing for me because it grows so darn fast and we can only test so often. My smaller nodule had grown another 1.5 mm by surgery. Which is small but the time frame between scans and surgery was very brief and this is a continued pattern. Overall I am relieved to have a break in treatment. I know I'm not physically strong enough right now to handle it well. She suggested some natural remedies for now just because they can't hurt.
I updated my signature the other day and just saw it on a post tonight. Seeing stage IV on the screen was shocking for some reason. I have been talking about it freely but seeing it tonight was really hard. It made me want to bawl but it won't come. On top of all this today, very terrible news at work that is going to add a tremendous amount of stress, worry and work. I don't even know what I will so about it. I guess it's really good news that I am getting a break in treatment so I can deal with the stupid mess.
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Sheila, I wish I could sit with you and give you a great big hug right now. I am so sorry you have all this to deal with and I can totally understand your being taken aback when you saw the Dx written down, there is just so much for you to compute. You are possibly in shock and that's why the tears won't come yet.
Bloody work too? Good grief, you don't need that stress too. I wish there was something I could say, or do to help you. M x
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Sheila, I have spent the whole day clearing out cupboards for the yard sale. My dog is hiding, I think, he thinks we're moving again! LOL
I can't tell you how much stuff I have accumulated, but it feels great to get it out of the cupboards and into the garage, out of the way. I have been at it all day and still have so much more to do. I am a believer in Chinese Feng Shui so this purging should be good for me. M x
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maybe the dog is afraid your going to slap a price tag on him. :-)
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Ha, maybe!
He is a dog of many issues and is the only pooch I have ever had who seems to have OCD. He has rules for everything, even plays with different rules with Colin because of the disability. It is very strange.
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aww a dog with OCD, poor poochie. I already marvel at their lack of control over their lives. It's kind of pitifully funny to think about, but I know you take wonderful care of him. Glad you're making progress in the clearing out. It will feel great after the sale. Are you getting much opposition?
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DP, I am so sorry things have been so tough for you lately. And to add work stress, it is so not fair! I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
I'm doing the clear things out too. Last week I took 5 garbage bags of clothing to the local Clothes Closet. I'm working on the kitchen now, so much stuff for a little old lady all alone to have!!
Much of it needs to go!Take care my friend! ((((hugs))))
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Hi DP, no opposition at all. He just keeps asking where I had it all hidden! LOL I am not sure where it all came from, but anything that doesn't sell, is going to the Opp shop. I am keeping the house, the way it is now!
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lol ariom. Where DOES it all come from? When I left hubby I had the clothes I was wearing and an extra dress. Plus, luckily all those years of living out of my office and car provided quite a few pairs of shoes and all my winter coats and jackets. Last week I marveled that my closet is so jam packed that I don't even know all the outfits I have. I'm out of room for shoes in my wardrobe because I had to make room for ten wigs. Some of which I never wore and most I wore maybe once. I had two regulars that I wore daily. It's funny though because they are still things I don't have that a person is just used to "having" in their house, because I never thought to replace them for being so seldom used. Ie: a heating pad, muffin tins, Epsom salt, sweater shaver. All those crazy little things that are there when you need them. I guarantee that all those items are in the exact places I left them. I am going to have to go by hubby's this week or next to get my luggage. Maybe I will grab the heating pad, maybe not, it's just one more "thing".
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shit. I just walked through the garage and saw where it all comes from. QVC! Bahahahahahha!!!!
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Hey DP. Just checking in to see how you're doing. I hope you haven't done too much. I know it's hard to do. Keep your eye on the prize - Hawaii!
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I found this on the stage IV thread about alternative treatments. I haven't read it yet but it looks interesting.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topic/8...
My GF takes tumeric. She actually buys the spice in bulk and stuffs her own capsules. Says you can do a months worth before you go crazy. Also to wear gloves or your hands will be red.
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Hi DP, you wouldn't want to see my garage right now! OMG! there is so much out there ready for Saturday and I haven't even gone through any clothing. I have been at it for days, and I am sick of looking at it, but the house feels so much better now, that the cupboards aren't stuffed full of stuff. I will be giving it all away if it doesn't all sell! There's no way any of it is coming back in!
Hi Zills, how are you doing?
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hi zills. I've gotten out of the house a little each day this week and even went to the office for a while today. I'm headed to kohls tomorrow. I've felt a lot better over the last couple of days. I even colored my hair yesterday on a whim. Still having a lot of pain when in bed. I finally got an appt with the LE clinic. I am hoping that helps resolve some of the pain issue. It seems like it has to be scar tissue or LE related. All the extra swelling from this sx has made it worse.
I never got to the bottom of if tumeric and turmeric are the same thing but when I searched the other night on gnc, Turmeric was all they had. It was in the same combination as others mentioned taking, so it must be the same. I don't think i would have the patience to make my own capsules. Until I quit working anyway, then I would have something to do I guess. Still want to do some research on other good supplements and diets. Maybe on a sleepless night here soon.
Ariom I'm excited for you for the weekend. And jealous!
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I don't know how much good it is doing, but I try to have Tumeric in my salads, soups and Dukkah. My Rheumy put me on to it about 15 years ago for the inflammation of the RA. He told me to eat it with as many foods as I could, so I just put it in, it doesn't change the flavor, just adds to the savory spices. I don't take the capsules.
Can't wait for the weekend to be over so I can just hang out with Bec. I will let you know how it goes! M x
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wondering how the sale went today ariom. Are you having it tomorrow as well? Hope it was successful and not too tiring. I was counter productive today and went to an estate sale down the street. I LOVE estate sales. But I love all things of bygone eras. Anyhow, it was their last day and I got some good bargains. A small vintage ornate iron table and chairs to replace the monster size table I had in the breakfast room is the real prize. $50 marked down from $125 and it's quite pretty. Also a slew of other odds and ends because the price was right. BF found some things too. I'm teaching him about bargain hunting. Excited about 4 bolts of nice fabric for $5. Good for a lot of crafty projects I have had in mind for a year. I had the idea this time last year of becoming a vendor of "something" at the craft and vendor fairs. There are tons going all the time. So much for big ideas and the fatigue that followed resulted in some finished product all over the house and a lot of unfinished products too. Maybe I can find time now, well, eventually anyway. Happy Easter!
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sounds like you got some great bargains. Being crafty will help the time pass quicker and keep you out of trouble.
I wish I had a someplace where I could keep it out all the time so I would remember to work on it. I had a friend that converted a closet into her project room.
Happy Easter. Hope you are able to recover from your big day out.
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Hi DP, oH, I love Estate Sales too! Sounds like you had a fun time and brought home some great things!
Well, the yard sale was a roaring success. I hardly slept the night
before, I kept dreaming I ran out of change or that people were trying
to steal things It was a terrible night, so I got up and started to
prepare. We had set up some of the stuff, but there was so much, we had
kept it in the garage, in case anyone got in during the night. We had it
advertised for 9am but there were cars lined up and people looking over
the fence at 7am, but we didn't let anyone in till about 10 to 9. It
was chaos, but we managed to keep it under control, there were 6 of us
selling and taking money, for the first couple of hours. Except for a
new bike and couch for $25.00 each, I sold everything for from $1-$5 and even at those
prices I ended up with just under $900, so that gives you an idea of how
much stuff was actually sold! We waited for a lull, so we could shut the gates and pack up, it was never going to be for both days because my neighbors who were selling their stuff too were leaving today for a trip in their caravan. We still have quite a lot of stuff boxed
up and ready for the Opp shop, so they will make something out of it
too. Next Thursday it will get picked up and I will have a nice,
completely tidy house for the first time since we moved here. Well
almost, I still have a lot of bags for EbayI have been napping all day day, because I have brought on a RA flare, My right wrist is swollen almost rigid from the repetitive money scooping, from the money bag! LOL I am back in a wrist splint! It was worth it to get rid of it all and the people who were buying, were having a ball getting so much stuff for their money, some came back several times with friends.
I understand your interest in having something crafty to do. I used to make Sun Catchers from lead crystal drops and vintage glass beads. I used to sell them at the airport to the staff for Christmas gifts, but the arthritis stopped me from being able to make them in numbers any more.
Colin is a canny shopper, he is the first man I have known who can last the distance with me!
Bec is waiting on me today, and we have Easter eggs to have after lunch. It's all good!
I hope you have a nice Easter! M x
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that's awesome ariom! Sorry you are paying for it today though. Sounds like a nice day planned though.
Oh yes, zills, I've always wanted a place to keep the projects out. I know I would be so much more productive. I tried a couple of times in this house, but it doesn't work out. I have two sun rooms here that at first glance seem like great work areas but neither are climate controlled. And here, that gives you about 1 month out of the year to be comfortable. BF wants to work on insulating one of them better and adding AC for me. But that of course is a project in itself. About to get ready to head over to grandmas for Easter lunch and egg hunting for the girls (I call them nieces but they are actually cousins). Have a wonderful day!
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Hi ladies. Insomnia strikes again so I thought i would share my eventful (ha) day. I always know it will be an off day when my appts are spread into annoying timeframes like early morning and early afternoon (all of my drs are within 5 blocks of each other and I live 20 minutes away).
8:30am LE clinic
I hate early appts. Mostly because I'm up all night and it is a major event to get my face on, do something with this dumb hair, and find what I'm wearing. This usually all takes place while 5 different people are calling me with 20 different work problems. Anyway it was really a 9am appt but they wanted me early for paperwork. Fly out the door at 8:20. Nearing downtown traffic gets a bit heavy. Notice something real bad must have happened on the other side because it's backed up for miles. Hear on the radio while winding up to the 8th level of parking garage that a cattle truck is overturned. Mental note: wonder if it was full or empty, traveling that direction they are usually full. Slide into clinic at 8:50, sort of on time. The therapist is a very nice lady. She schedules me to come back Friday and says we have a lot of work to so before next Thursday. My chest is a mess! And my back and side and it's traveling to my arm. She says she cAn fix it. She says must order sleeve and bra today so I can have it in time. Gives me a place to go that moves fast. It is in a suburb 30 mins away. She will fax rx over to MO asap, tells me to be sure to call them and get ball rolling today.
11:00am: I am not hanging around here for two and a half hours so I head home. Gridlock. Mental note: that cattle truck must have been full. The truck rolled over down a hill on a curve where two highways meet. Cattle must be down that hill because I never see them as I'm sitting on the highway of the two that is not completely shut down. I do see three news vans and a dozen horse mounted cops. Horses and officers standing in solemn attention blocking the other highway and creating a sort of barrier all around. passed by one within 5 ft of me and have never seen a horse so still in the middle of a freeway surrounded by chaos. It was a most surreal scene, as if it were a funeral. Then I couldn't even really be angry that all This backup was just from rubbernecking. freeway is wide open ahead, being that the joining freeway is blocked by mourning horses. Get home at 12:00 no stops.
Listen to work drama for next hour plus. Today is the continuation of performance reviews. Mine was yesterday. It was very stupid. Now I'm running late for 1:30 appt. fly out of the house. Notice in rear view as I leave the block that postman is delivering a package. Great now it will sit on the porch for hours.
1:39pm. Fly into surgeons office. Sit in waiting room for 45 minutes, two patients ahead of me. Stop feeling bad for being late. Have a nice conversation with PA during vitals about sugar skulls, dia de Los muertos, an upcoming horror convention, the walking dead, Vikings and her boyfriend who is an extra on game of thrones, and about a dozen other things. Truly random but pleasant. Mental note: she didn't tell me to change into a gown.
Thoracic surgeon says I'm "fine". I guess that's good but I have no idea what he based that on. He walked in, said how do you feel? I said fine. He says ok your off to Hawaii. I say ok. He lifts up my shirt and says incision looks good. Your fine. He's signing papers, I say ok good, are there any things I should look out for? No don't worry about anything your going to be fine. Ok. Bye. I suppose this is all good news but I would love to see how much insurance is going to have to pay for that 2 minute exchange. Lol. No follow up scheduled so I guess I'll be fine.
2:30pm decide to drop in at MO to pick up LE rx and do my ptinr instead of making a separate trip tomorrow (scheduled for tomorrow morning, but they don't seem to mind when I just drop in for it). No rx, no answer when I call to inquire if she sent it. I was going to pick it up and head across town since it was so important to do today. While waiting for the finger stick to commence, inquire about my tumor markers that were checked after I left last week and about ultrasound results. She says she can't tell me results even if she can find them. Starting to feel defeated and ticked off. The machine always malfunctions and she has to go trade it out. Mental note; why doesn't she hide that one away somewhere so she stops getting it every week? My level is .2 above ideal so she has to ask NP for new dosage. I hear NP in the hallway and she wants to know where I am. She comes in to talk to me for a long time. Just catching up. I guess stage IV patients always see the MO only so she wants to know what's going on. She's in a good mood today and makes me feel better with chit chat. Looks up my tumor markers and says they are normal. Tells me to go down to the hospital and pick up that rx and bring it back and she will sign it. I like her today. Some days she is kind of grouchy. 3:30pm. I don't want to chase the rx down. I'm done for today and will tackle it tomorrow. Besides I'm hungry. Too busy to eat all day. Back on the highway. Still gridlock. Not as bad though. Get up to the scene. Two news vans left and three hazmat crews. They have drums of whatever chemicals you use to clean diesel fuel and cow guts off a freeway. I'm very very sad for the cows. I love cows, they make me smile.
4:00pm. Arrive home to two boxes on the porch. UPS came after the postman. I know I am supposed to be being good and not shopping but it's my gnc order which includes two giant bottles of turmeric, which MO now tells me I can't take (because I had to ask about the Coumadin interaction after I ordered it) after she suggested I take it. I really want to use it. Next box is more fun. I finally ordered a clarisonic. I've resisted it for a year but last week qvc had a benefit for cancerandcareers.org with 80% of purchase price going to them. And a free gift with purchase. I've used their site quite a bit so I thought it was a good rationalization for my purchase. I want to use it immediately. It has to charge for 24 hrs. Boo.
5:30pm phone starts blowing up. Colleagues want to gripe about their reviews and all the ridiculousness of our company. Boss wants updates from my appointments. Kohls girl needs advice and chat. Grandma wants updates from my appointments. 9:30pm. Off the phone. BF already in bed and I still have not eaten. Now I can't sleep. But maybe I have helped someone else sleep with this long and boring account of my random day! And they all lived happily ever after. Except the cows. The end.
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Yippee! Hawaii bound. I'm so happy for you. Most dr aren't known for their bedside manner. My onc basically pats me on the head too. I've been told to talk to pharmacist about meds and supplements.
I recommend you get an expander for your bra in case of swelling. Start wearing your sleeve so it won't be a shock on the plane. It's not bad. Do you know how to do manual lymph drainage and fist pumps? Drink, drink, drink.
Poor cows. I was behind one of those for hours. You couldn't turn around or detour. People were roller blading, picnicking. It was opening day of hunting season. Poor hunter in orange wandered down. Bet he didn't find anything that day. Felt like a scene out of where's Waldo.
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I am so pleased you get to go on your trip!!! Guess I can uncross my fingers now, lol.
I check daily to see what you've been up to and how you are doing. I feel like a stalker now!! Oh dear.
Can't wait to hear about your trip!!
Take care,
Andrea
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Sheila, I don't know how you do it all! That's one frustrating day!
I couldn't be happier for you that you can go on your trip to Hawaii. Your Doctor really can't be concerned at all, and I have to say that after 11 years with an International Airline, we never heard of anyone have any body parts that exploded en route! So I think that's a given! LOL
As usual, Zills has the information you need about the fluids, expanders and sleeves. I would reiterate about the fluids and get up and walk as much as you can on the plane to keep everything moving. You'll be off to the bathroom anyways with all those fluids!
I can't wait to hear all about it! M x
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love your wit & humour Shiela
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Aloha DP! glad you get to go! have a blast.
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lol Andrea. Stalker, that's funny. Thank you all for listening to my silly ramblings. This is the one place I get to be totally honest and say whatever the hell I want.
Zills- what is te expander? The PT listed a "swell spot" on my rx but said she could make me one if I didn't want to buy one. Is that the same thing? Speaking of that stupid rx. You already know the drama with it in Wednesday. On Thursday I again tried calling both the MO office and the clinis to check status. Neither answered, so I drive to MO office. They still don't have it, they seem very annoyed with me. Tell me to go over there and get it. I'm thinking right because I want to have two offices full of people annoyed with me today. I really had to get to work so I didn't go. Friday afternoon I had an appt with PT anyway. I get there and he asks if I ordered my garments yet. Umm no because I have no rx. At the same time she is telling me she looked it up and since my insurance does not cover it, I don't even need an rx. Seriously? She discovers that she faxed the rx to the records dept instead of the office. Oops. Meanwhile it's 4pm on a Friday and no one has these things in stock and it takes several days to get them in. I spent a bit of time on the phone and found one place whose store in another city had several size bras so they are sending them over by Monday morning to this store for me to go look at. All these calls made me really feel like a freak for not being able to say what my bra size is. I have no clue. They all sounded suprised.
In other developments in Friday, I woke up feeling like total crap. Didn't want to move, tummy hurting, back hurting, feeling nauseous. It all made sense when I did get out of bed. Guess who's a woman again? That's sort of how my grandma put it the first time around. She exclaimed to my grandpa as soon as he arrived home from work, "we have another woman in the house" or maybe I'm mixing that up with when I got my first bra and she told him "we have something new in the house" both statements equally mortifying for a 12 year old anyway. So far it has been slightly better than the last time I returned briefly to womanhood during radiation. Still not sure if it is so bad because it has been so long between, 7 months this time and maybe 10 months last time. Or if this is just what it is like when not on the pill. I was on the pill for 17 years continuously. From 15 to shortly after starting chemo. If this is just what it is like, I'm going to have to figure something else out. MO told me last year that I didn't have to stop taking them because I'm TN but I figured that since there could possibly be some risk or correlation to bc and because I wasn't getting any action anyway that I might as well stop. Maybe this is just my payback for being so harsh on the girls in the warehouse all those years. The person in the position prior to me was a man and they were used to using this excuse any time they wanted to leave early or not come to work. I kept a container full of tampons, pads and midol for them and would say "there are 400 women in this warehouse. If we all took off one week a month, we would never get anything done! Get to work!" Maybe I'm just mean. Lol.
I'm off to scratch and look for some calamine lotion. Thinking that's another thing I have never thought to buy for the house but I'm going to dig around for some in hopes. Been trying to determine for a few days if I have shingles, chigger bites, or this one occurred to me today, what if it is skin mets!? Ha. I guess we will always be looking for those zebras instead of horses now.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
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