Starting chemo August 2014
Comments
-
We're only in Portland for a few days, to get her settled, and then she'll stay in a dorm, like she did last summer in DC. She's excited, and I'm happy for her. DH and I will celebrate our anniversary while we're there - 18 years.
0 -
hoping everyone of you are enjoying the summer and getting to take some me time!
0 -
Hi Ladies,
Good to read up on current events. Strongenough, love to hear you are going strong with hiking and camping still. Cassiecat, so glad daughter is still dancing and loving it. My daughter's wedding is sneaking up on us.This coming Saturday is the bridal shower. After all this time planning, finally going to start celebrating. Honestly gave me something positive to focus on. Right after I finished radiation my DH had heart surgery and a few months later back surgery. We are still working towards getting back to semi normal. Must say improvement every day. I feel good for most part besides side effects of Arimidex. Had a bone density test a couple of weeks ago. Next week meeting w Dr to talk about results. Also had my second Mamo/ultrasound and so far so good. Thinking about all you ladies and check in on website every couple of weeks. Appreciate the support and encouragement I knew during our time together. Kisses and hugs!
Cathie
0 -
Wow Cathie what a busy eventful year. Very glad your going to be enjoying a wedding soon.
I had retinal surgery yesterday...so far no fun yet. I asked if it was from the chemo because both eyes will need same surgery. Old age and maybe a little to do with the chemo. Mainly also from previous cataract lens placement with build up of scar tissue. I can't see out of the operative eye at all yet.
It's always something!
Brenda E
0 -
Hey All, dropping in to see how everyone is doing. Can't believe it has been almost two years since our lives intersected! Would live for each of you to stop by this thread and say hello.
Catie, so glad the wedding planning went well and you are able to celebrate! So glad to hear your husband is doing so much.
Beatmon, how is recovery coming along? Hope healing is quick.
CassieCat, so glad your daughter is doing what she enjoys!
Strongenough, Good to hear from you and that you are doing well. I can't wait to hear how the big camping trip went.
Going through my mammo and 2yr follow-ups.
Purplegirl (Robin) and Purrrrana99 (Ana) thinking of you two often. How is your treatment plan going? Hope to hear from both of you. We are are for you!
Love across the miles💕💕❤️❤️❤️💕,
Angie
0 -
would love to hear from the group:
Bippy, Gatomal, Eileen, windgirl, terri1975, randomchance, SandyLovesLucy, Purrrrana99, Mullerin, Jess1965, Pangtidor, JustAmy, Thinkpink4ever, Nomatterwhat, Kellogg2006, Purplegurll, JeniferE, CJT511, SueBe, Donnanj, and Oceanbreeze,
And those that I may not of mentioned specifically.
Would love to catch up.
0 -
Ello my darlings!
well......like you all, trying to live normally again. What a long, strange trip it has been. Most days I FORGET it. Then my foobs need adjustment and it all comes back...
Love my stooopid part time job. Pays really well, zero stress, all good. Hate going to onco for maintenance appts., yet terrified to stop. Gained loads of Tamoxifen weight, trying to get it off. Injured my hamstring and it has been painful, very difficult recovery. well....whatevah! goin to Maine in September and selling tons of stuff on Ebay. life is good.
miss. talking to you all everyday.
Brenda and Angie, love your new pics! always thinking of my chickas.
xxxoooooo
Candy
0 -
Hi! I get on her from time to time to check on all of you ladies in the group! I'm doing great, I am glad to see that almost al of us are still disease free at the 2 year mark! Taking my tamoxifen, and hoping all is clear for years to come. I've had a million haircuts, finally letting it grow! 0 -
dropping a note to say hi as I sit by the pool watching the kids. Still catching up on reading, but wanted to say hi and send out some hugs. I'm doing pretty well, one year through my clinical trial and one year to go. So thankful. Hair loss has slowed down considerably, no longer swiffering up a ton. Still hot flashes and aches and arthritis, but whatever. Just one of life's many indignities! Boys are doing great! Just had their 1 1/2 year bday. After cancer, we are celebrating half bdays now for the kids. Feeling better as cancer gets farther in the rear view mirror, for now anyway. Still have a bit of PTSD every time I'm back in SF for doc appts. Thinking about you sisters! Love
0 -
Boys last week! First words: dada, car, down, cracker. No mama yet. I will remindthem when they ask for the keys down the road.
0 -
Nice to hear from you all! And good to read good reports.
I started spotting and bleeding - could be fibroid related (I know it's grown), could be Tamoxifen, could be my period trying to return. Ugh.I will call the doctor and add that to my list of appointments. Hate cancer.0 -
So wonderful to see pics and how everyone doing. Cassie, I hope this gets figured out soon.....and is not something bad. I know it is worrying you.
I'm still on 10% activity for the retinal repair. That is about only breathing, sleeping and eating. Hopefully next exam I'll be bumped up to 25%!
Love to all and miss seeing your everyone posts as they've graduated!
Brenda E
0 -
Hello All!
It is nice to hear from you all. CassieCat, I get your sentiments. I've been struggling with recurrent UTI's which have resulted in many scans and trips down the rabbit hole. NED, but reeling from the stress and anxiety.
Love to everyone.
Amy
0 -
hey chickas,
how is everyone? off to onco for checkup this am. hate it! reminds me of horror. much anxiety. well, also she bitches about my weight.she is right of course.
doing exercise dvds by the Firm, membah them? that is serious workin out. cancelling the gym membership I never use. looking forward to reducing my size and improving my health. and this time...i mean it!
sellin on Ebay, relaxin alot, workin part time, it is going ok. miss you all!
Candy
0 -
Hello, Ladies! Back from my big adventure, backpacking 80-ish miles over 12 days at Philmont Scout Ranch in NM.
I MADE IT!
The trek was rated 'SS' (super strenuous) & now I know why. Not only a lot of miles, but the terrain was a real bitch in some places, almost every day. One day hiking along a ridge line that was less trail and mostly scree field for miles, I kinda lost the will to live, exhausted, crying, another adult had to carry my pack along with his own until we got to a spot where we could split up my load among several of us, including some kids. Hard day for me, but really brought the crew together. They helped me the next couple days also, then I took back all my own gear after the rest day in the middle. I definitely gained back some strength, even though I only lost a couple more lbs. (Hubby lost 17-ppfffft!)
High point of the trek, literally and figuratively, was seeing the sunrise from atop the Tooth of Time, 9002 ft. Incidentally, that was the morning of that hardest day. Here is a pic of me & hubby at the top that morning, and one of the whole crew at the finish.
What an amazing experience this was! Such a let-down being back to the grind, and hubby left to go back to ID yesterday. Can't wait to sell this house so I can move & we can be together! On to the next adventure
0 -
Strong enough: you are the queen of the universe. What an amazing accomplishment.
Bippy, what do you sell on EBay?
0 -
Well, ladies it has been two years since we started this thread. Miss seeing everyone's posts and updates; however I know how it is as we get further from our original DX and remain NED. I am glad to see most of us are still disease free 2 years later. I am praying that life is treating each of you well.
A special prayer for those who began with us in August 2014 that have progressed or had a reoccurrence. I am here to provide any support or encouragement or just virtual friendship as you go through your treatment plans.
My update, doing well, Tamoxifen SEs still wax and wan but not complaining. I just adjust my sails and rest as needed. I received a nice promotion on my job. Loving it. I have chosen to get on the boards a few times a month (not daily anymore) to continue to support newbies and also prayer for others on the prayer thread. Our ministry is going well and I am involved in community support which is so rewarding.
All Purplegurll sends this message to each of you, "please let everyone know that I am thinking of them and wishing them every happiness."
Purplegurll (Robyn), as you know I am praying for you and that your treatment plan has you stable and soon NED.
Purrrrana99, thinking of you.
Bippy (Candy), how did your checkup go? What are you selling on eBay? Glad you got a part-time gig you like.
Strongenough, you rock! Ditto to what Beatmon stated, that is an accomplishment.
Gatomal, the boys are adorable and getting big. Glad the clinical trail is going well.
Beatmon, how is the healing coming along. Are you beyond the 25%?
Cassie, hope all turned out with good news. .
Catie, how are you? How is your husband doing?
Terri1975 - what a beautiful picture. So glad you stopped by and posted.
DaisyQ (Amy), glad your worries turned out to be nothing and that you are still NED. I am still having major issues but mostly related to Tamoxifen.
Miss you all and Love across the miles,
Angie
0 -
Hi Ladies,Countdown on daughter's wedding on Sept 10th. Feel so fortunate to have a growing family (new son-in-law) and my son coming home from China for a month. Honestly won't know what to do with myself after wedding. Hope everyone is having good days. DH getting better. He started physical therapy and is swimming almost daily. Still a way to go before we can travel or take long car rides, but confident his back will be stronger soon. My aches and pains mostly related to Arimidex. Was told new study says 10 years. I don't know if I'll go that long. I guess I'll decide after the 5. Can't wear my wedding band anymore. Also find it hard to walk sometimes. I haven't gained weight, just side effects of meds. Could be that I'm just getting older. Turning 60 this year.
Thanks again my friends for being there for me and for each other at a very important time. Wishing the best for all.
Cathie
PS picture from daughters engagement shoot
0 -
iHi to all! Thanks for asking Angie. At last Retinal appointment 3.5 weeks post op, he was so pleased he released me to fly and full activity. I guess it pays to follow restrictions and hibernate.
So, I was able to go to San Diego with hubby on Saturday, going back to hot Oklahoma on Thursday. Then baby chemo ( herceptin and perjeta) on Friday. I never feel really good, but not horrible. Going next week to Las Vegas for a slot tournament..but just going to veg and not do anything else.
I hope everyone is hanging in and our progression girls are getting some shrinkage from their new plans. Please let us know.
XO
Brenda
0 -
Bippy, I am in the midst of scans and appointments this week and next as well, and I hate being back in those offices. I'll get all of my results next week after I meet with onc, surgeon and OB-GYN. I really hate cancer. Yesterday I was sitting next to a young woman who was about to go to her first infusion. It brought me right back to all of those anxious, scared feelings. I hope seeing me, two years down the road, was in some way helpful to her. We chatted briefly. Love seeing everyone's photos and hearing about both the good days and the bad. I wish I could forget about having cancer. It's a fear that lingers, even after two years.
Thought I'd come back and let you all know that my mammogram looked clear today! Yay! I need an MRI follow-up due to very dense tissue, but the radiologist did not see anything today that concerned her.
0 -
Hi all,
It's so nice to be able to touch base with all of you who have been down the same road. Thanks, Angie and all of you for keeping up this list. I feel like we've all entered a different world that no one else can completely understand.
I started chemo a couple of months after you all did. I feel like my life is pretty much back to normal - crazy, full-time job, raising a kid who is now a teen-ager. I just had a revision surgery after the initial BMX and the results are fine. I don't think about the new boobs too much. They look better than the originals, and they aren't uncomfortable, so that's good. I see my oncologists every 3 months or so. They are my friends, now, and I look forward to seeing them. We talk about all kinds of stuff, sometimes cancer doesn't even come up. Post diagnosis, I am more grateful for every extra day I get on the planet, having realized I can't take them for granted anymore. And when I walk into my cancer center, I no longer think, "ugh, those poor people." I think, "we're all in this together, and maybe I can help."
So, hate to say it, but maybe cancer helped me grow up a bit. About time - I'm nearly 60.
I love seeing everyone's photos (Cathie, your daughter's engagement photo is just beautiful!), and hearing how things are going - good and bad.
Wishing you peace and joy.
0 -
Nottoday, I was thinking the exact same thing just the other day, how cancer helped me grow! I'm more appreciative and calmer, in a way. Also feel more cheerful in general, and forgiving/tolerant. You just never know what others might be going through, so give them a break, cut them some slack. I also have similar feelings about my onco clinic visits, although it might be different if I ever got bad news at a follow-up.
I feel like I've come back stronger than ever, and I find joy in the ability to do things that are physically challenging, since I spent the better part of 2 years hobbled by surgeries and treatments. For example, I spent yesterday working in the yard, mowing most of our acre lot with a push mower (almost 6 miles of pushing the mower, according to MapMyFitness!). Then weed eating & cleaning the pool. It felt good! Plus, you don't notice the hot flashes as much when you're sweating your ass off working!
Catie57, beautiful pic!
0 -
A brief bit of good news - my mammogram and PET/CT both came back clear of cancer, so I'm heading into my third year now of recovery! Have to get an ultrasound next week to get a better picture of this fibroid, but the OB-GYN office isn't too concerned about it. Had my hormone levels checked and I look menopausal, which isn't surprising, but I guess somehow disappointing? Weird to have my last period at age 43. Anyway, doing well overall and enjoying my final days of summer before heading back to work on Monday. Thinking of you all. xo
0 -
Me too, appreciation of the ability to do anything physical. I have been working out at home to dvds-getting strong and my core is developing. Remembering back to when a simple walk down to the mailbox would lay me up, winded for hours. Physical strength and ability is sacred! It feels so good to lift a hand weight, do a grapevine, and feel my body getting strong. Just want to enjoy it, feel it, and take advantage of my health.
Likewise, my mentality different now. I worry less now than ever and let all things go. Sometimes I'm amazed that things that formerly would have sent me into orbit have zero consequence to me now. Cancer, you great liberator you!
Off to Maine soon. Good thing too, it's hotter than actual HELL here now in Fla, but we will top out at 75 all during our vacation, wooh hoo! Cannot wait to wear my longjohns. Don't judge me!
I miss you all, and think often of you too, especially since I'm writing that book I've been threatening you all with since we first met back in 2014. I'm revisiting my daily posts to beef it up, and so I feel like it's being lived again. Here is the cover:
whachoo think?
0 -
Purplegurll, Robyn sends this message to those on this thread: Please tell everyone on the BCO group that I think of them fondly and would love to hear from them. xoxo, Robyn.
As many of you know and some may not. Robyn, posted a few months back that she had progressed to Stage 4. Let's keep her and others on this thread that may have progressed in our thoughts as they go through treatment and praying they are getting shrinkage and regression from their treatment plans.
Beatmon, how is the eye sight! I hope you had a relaxing time in San Diego and Las Vegas. We are headed to LV in September -- waiting for the hotness to go away..lol
Love across the miles,
Angie
0 -
bippy can't wait to hear the book it out! I'll buy a copy.
Angie, thank you for sharing Robyn's message. I think of her and hope she is doing well. Please let her know that.
I'm back to school and having a really good year so far. DD is a junior now, so she's stressing about all that comes with junior year. I try to keep her in the present and not anxious about things that haven't happened yet (and may never happen). Easier said than done, but a good practice to develop.
0 -
bippy! Love the book title. Hilarious! Hope you are doing well. When I think back to treatment and everything...jeez. It's amazing how far away, but still terrifying it is. I must've been in a bit of a fog just to keep going. I'm so sorry to hear about Robyn. I hope that she is finding a good plan to stop progression with meds that aren't too tough to take. Robyn if you are reading...hugs to you. How are you doing, coping? Are you on the boards here? I'm sure there are great ladies on the stage iv boards, I'm on the palbociclib (Ibrance) board for my trial, and it seems like an amazing group of women (and the few men too).
I've been on my Ibrance trial now for 15 cycles, and I thought I was doing okay, then WHAM, out of nowhere, super nauseous, feeling crappy, teary, exhausted. Just stayed in bed for a whole day. Slept on and off, then the guilt woke me up. I've been selling old clothes of the girls on eBay. Lots of work for not a ton of cash, but everything counts right? Feeling way better today, like a switch turned on. I couldn't be hung over from one glass of champagne, right? Not for a whole day and a half? It was our 14th wedding anniversary Friday. Bittersweet to see pics. I guess it IS a long time, but wow. A lot of big life events in there. Cancer about twenty years too soon. Four kids, two pregnancies. Two moves. Maybe that's why I felt so sick all day...overwhelmed with emotions? Hugs to everybody, angle Cassie beatmon keep checking in ladies
0 -
catie57! How was the wedding? Strong enough...great active pics. You kick a&$!
0 -
Greetings from Idaho! Yes, we (I) have finally moved! After 8 months apart, I'm finally living with my hubby again!
. We got an offer on our house in AZ after 6 months and numerous price reductions, and closing is at the end of the month. We are downsizing a bit, moved into a slightly smaller, much older house with a lot of charm, but not a lot of storage space. Boxes, boxes everywhere... Bippy, love the book title! I'll buy it too, keep us posted!
Angie, thanks for keeping us posted about Robyn. I think of her and wish her success in her treatment.
Gatomal, any time is too soon for cancer... just sayin'... Hang in there! You kick ass, too, with your 2 sets of twins, chemo during pregnancy, clinical trials... you are really making a difference. Thank you!
Hope everyone is doing well!
0 -
Hi StrongEnough - and everyone,
Congrats on the moved, SE!
Wanted to remind everyone of the Casting for Recovery - a non-profit that operates in most states and offers women who've ever been diagnosed with BC the opportunity for an all-expenses paid weekend retreat to somewhere beautiful in your state where you can meet other ladies with bc and learn to fly fish. I participated in 2014 and can attest that it was a wonderful experience. You put your name in a lottery this fall and the winners are drawn in early 2017 for a retreat in the spring of 2017.
In 2017 some states may begin hosting specific retreats for Stage 4 in addition to the retreats for anyone ever diagnosed.
Here's the link: https://castingforrecovery.org/.
Best wishes, all.
0
