My Husband, My Life, My Love, My Family, My Cancer
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Dodgersgirl Wow that is awesome to hear improvement! Enjoy the good news and celebrate you!
Goldens Good luck with your appt tomorrow. Seems like it's been a long couple months of dealing with this shoulder.
Mel Hope your withdrawal symptoms are improving each passing day.
Love the analogy of empty cans being kicked down the street, so true.
Hi to everyone and hope it's a good day today.
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Goldens, in your pocket for your appointment.
Mel, right there in your pocket as well sending positive thoughts on the withdrawal.
It is quite rainy today, debating my day, regular laundry, surveys and such will occur. If I am to be stuck inside, will take the bus to the mall and do a mall walk. Food wise, I think I need to eat up some hashbrowns for space and go through the freezer to use up some of the frozen stuff, still planning to cut down a bit and organize it better.
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Dodgers - wonderful news! Fingers crossed that treatment #4 will be kinder to you.
Going to reschedule my appointment tomorrow until next week. My husband had a cold over a week ago and of course, now that I’m on my week off of Ibrance, I come down with it. I haven’t had a cold in forever and when I do, it goes straight into my lungs with all kinds of coughing. We both tested negative for covid several times. Does anyone else notice they end up sick on their week off? When i was actually hospitalized for covid a couple years ago it was my week off. When I was hospitalized for septic arthritis of my right shoulder at the end of 2021, it was my week off. When I had that crazy rash last year, it started on my week off. I sure don’t think it’s coincidence
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Congrats Dodgers.
Saying Hello to all. I am reading along.
Fighting sciatica pain along with everything else. Still doing PT for the hip -- as much as I can. Some of the exercises are making the burning stabbing pain worse.
I am tired of hurting.
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mpan: I was thinking about you. I can remember the first five weeks after my MBC DX. I was a mess. I could not stay still. I paced around the house like a caged bear. When I was not pacing I was on the BCO threads reading everything I could that would take to get me to a calmer place. I subtracted date of DX from date of post to see how long the poster had stayed alive. It was crazy!!! It also gave me hope. You have a home here!
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Thank you mara! I looked at this on my phone this morning at about 1:30 when I couldn't sleep. I thought, at first, it was an Amazon ad popping up on BCO. I was trying to delete it so that I could see your post, and then I realized it was from you. Sigh... Anyway, that looks great.
My head is spinning. I'm signing up for Medicare and Social Security. SOOOOO many options. I have a really good agent who is helping me decide. I decided to start taking Social Security income now, because I might as well. Why wait, when I don't know if I'll even make it to 70? The kicker is the cost of Ibrance. It's "covered" under Part D but with something like an $800 monthly copay. If it were an IV chemo, it would be covered 100%. I'll probably stay on my husband's plan, because I have a $0 copay with that. I'm going to get Medicare Original (Parts A &
and then Part D and Part G. My agent is a BC survivor (although not Stage IV) so she gets it. I have probably 100 pages of stuff to look over before I decide. I think I can keep my current insurance with Medicare Original as my secondary.GRRRR.
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sunshine - yep my Ibrance is $795 a month. January premium was over 3k then it dropped to the lower amount. Plus costs went up about $75 a month compared to last year. Our Medicare guru said next year will be better. I sure hope so. I was extremely conservative through my hubs last years of work and dumped everything we could into an HSA. Ended up with a nice little nest egg which we have used for these awful payments. Plus in the years when he was working, Pfizer covered Ibrance costs for us since we had commercial insurance. Stupid system. Stop showing those damn commercials and fund more patients on your drugs🤬🤬🤬🤬
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thinking of everyone today. Hope the day isn’t tooo bad, hugs to all!
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Goldensrbest that is exactly my payment history this year with Ibrance. Next year our out of pocket should not exceed $2k.
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Hi Sunshine99,
You likely already have this information, but in case you don't... I thought I would share some resources here.
Paying for Ibrance:
https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/targeted-therapy/ibrance#section-paying-for-ibrance
"If your doctor prescribes Ibrance and you have any problems getting it covered by insurance, or you don't have insurance, the Pfizer RxPathways Program may be able to help. To talk to a Pfizer RxPathways patient care coordinator, call 1-877-744-5675 or visit Pfizer RxPathways." http://www.pfizerrxpathways.com/?step=1
"Pfizer also offers the Pfizer Oncology Together Co-Pay Savings Card for eligible people who have health insurance. The card offers eligible people out-of-pocket costs savings for Ibrance. For more information and to see if you are eligible, visit the Pfizer Oncology Together Co-Pay Savings Program." https://www.pfizeroncologytogether.com/patient/financial-assistance
Ibrance financial support resources:
https://www.ibrance.com/financial-support-resources
Sincerely,
The Mods0 -
wow, I cannot fathom the costs for Medical care in the US or the complications. My hats off to all of you navigating it all.
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Thank you, everyone! When I get out of bed this morning I will look at those articles. And maybe call Pfizer.
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Well, today looks like another decent day outside. When I first got up I thought, walk to and from the mall which is almost 7 miles roundtrip and then I pushed the breaks a bit. My thought is to try walking to my old burger joint, get a pop and cinnamon donuts while there and walk home. I need to measure my energy level as I go, have plenty of time to work up to walking to the mall. I have also been looking up sun hats that protect the neck too. Since I am using the cane for the forseeable future, I don't want to remove the other arm's balance that it provides. May also get some rain wear as well since rain really is not an issue. Also wanting to train for the inevitable heat that will be coming. My face will always turn red, and blood flows to my hands but that has never bothered me.
I will have a proper meal first, thinking beans, cheese and bit of beefless ground with a poached egg on top. Of the two new things I purchased, the egg cooker is getting more use right now. I enjoyed that yesterday. Also going to order some groceries from Walmart as I need cat litter and SIL was sick so no grocery run. The other nice thing is the device makes a small portion of stuff so even if I add small amounts of many items, it is a reasonable amount of food. For 20 ish dollars, it was a very good purchase. It was a good breakfast but still superfilling even with the shrunken amounts.
I did order some Walmart for the cat litter BUT forgot the eggs in the delivery so once I receive those, I may walk up to the grocery store. Mild and sunny so it should be fine, have to put eggs in my knapsack, may pad the eggs in one or two other bags to keep inside to avoid breakage. Need right arm free as counterbalance to left side holding the cane. I am also planning a quick energy boost with a tbsp of peanut butter, maple syrup, no more than a tsp and possibly honey. Protein for the peanut butter and sugar hit to speed me there and back, would be able to regulate the hit to my blood sugar with the walk, keep me feeling energetic. Just waiting for breakfast to digest a little more. It will be an hour walk which is more reasonable than walking all the way to the mall and back for now. I may look into that next week when the weather is better.
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One more yap from me for today, I did manage a walk to and from grocery store. Was gone 90 mins, 4 miles round trip and 9700 steps. I did take micro breaks as I am not regular enough and did sit at a bus stop in front of the parking lot for a brief rest and a bench in the store for about 20 seconds and got eggs. Wrapped them in a couple walmart bags and placed in the knapsack, happy to say the did not break. Bonus was the attendant at the cash gave me a water since I could not buy it single, that helped a lot. Overall, good trip, got to keep it up. Mall may be in order tomorrow since a Canadian just reopened. Store name was Zellers, a discount store but it closed years ago and Target took over for a very brief time and they left as well. Might go for some mall walking tomorrow since it is supposed to be rainy. Anyway, enough from me.
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Wow Mara, good job! It's been cold and off and on snowing here so I didn't get out in it. I can't remember the last time I went to our mall. It's been months. The interior has become an odd assortment of closed stores and a few antique store type things. The bigger chain stores, Macy's, Kohls, and JC Penney are still there but Bed Bath and Beyond closed. What I don't care for is that the interior mall has several small booths in the center isle with sales people who will try and stop you and convince you to buy whatever lotions or trinkets they are selling. I know they have a job to do but it's annoying to me.
It's going to be cold and snowy the rest of the week so I think I have supplies in the pantry to make some clam chowder. I may do that today or tomorrow.
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clam chowder. Yummy. My favorite soup. Pass some along in the room please!
Hope everyone’s doing okay today. Im still dealing with my withdrawal. Been horrible… I don’t recommend it at all. Sleep well
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Micmel— did they say how long the withdrawal process takes?
Sure hope the withdrawals are getting to the end.
Hugs
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Emac, clam chowder sure sounds good to me.
Mel I hope the end is near for the withdrawal as well.
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dodgers~they did not. I’ve been on this medication for over ten years. It’s a horrible experience to go through. It’s mind boggling to have this on top of my cancer issues. Appointments and even functioning daily to regular things like showering. And being productive…. It’s not fun. Thank you both. Mara…
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So I've been a bit sorry for myself as today was departure day for our family trip to Aruba. We decided I couldn't go with shoulder problems and other health issues. Our older daughter and hubs also decided to pass. But younger daughter and family decided to go as it is spring break. We would have been traveling w/them. All I can say is thank God we passed. Mother Nature brought us a spring snow storm this morning. And the 5 am flight didn't leave for over 3.5 hours, and as a result it’s missingthe connecting flight to Aruba. They now have to spend the night in Orlando and hope to get out tomorrow. That would have been way too much for me, even using a wheelchair for transport. Sometimes things work out for the best. BTW 6-8" of snow forecast🙄🙄
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Goldens, I am so sorry you could not go on the trip.
Mel, I am in your pocket for the withdrawal to be a thing of the past.
Dialing down the yap. Raining so unless it stops, no mall walk. Making an egg and sausage muffin with cheese in the egg. Used garlic on the english muffin, yummy and filling. Will heat up precooked sausage in sandwich maker as well.Laundry still underway, that is about it really. Hope all have a good day.
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I am trying really hard not to be jealous of my friend. But it is hard. Let me explain, if you will let me vent this morning.
I texted my friend this morning. He is my age. We have known each other for many years. We attend the same church. He is a close friend, not a romantic friend, just a friend. He works Mon- Friday so today is his day off. I asked what his plans were for the day. Mistake. He tells me that he just got done with breakfast-- at a restaurant, big, yummy breakfast with all the fixings, and socializing with his buddies. (He eats out ALL THE TIME literally so he knows the restaurant gang) Then he was off to do normal errands-- bank, store, etc, like we all do. Then he will end up at another restaurant for a late lunch and more visiting with friends. Then home to change clothes, toss in a load of laundry, and off to a church thing this evening. An area church is hosting an event for a local Pastor that has been in the Ministry for 60 years. Food, singing, etc. He will then go to church for 2 services tomorrow, Sunday. Then back to work Monday for another week on the job.
I am jealous. Of feeling well enough to do all that in one day. To not feel tired. To not feel sick to the stomach and have to eat light. To not have joint issues and have to walk with a cane and have constant pain. I can only do small things each day, then rest. Or do a long day-- my scan day for instance, with scans and doctor visit along with traveling to the cancer center-- and then I fall into bed early that night feeling awful.
I was reading a book-- I love to read and I can do that-- and I started crying about one of the characters had Parkinsons and he was jealous of his friend that was strong and healthy. Until.. his friend suffered a stroke. As he was in the hospital relearning to walk and talk, he asked forgiveness of his friend for how he used to be jealous of him. Boy, I could relate to his jealousy. So I guess I am not the only one to feel this way. How about you all?
Mel- What med was it that you had to go off of? If I may ask. You don't have to answer. I don't liking taking meds. They seem to do more harm than good sometimes.
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Candy - My friend uses a term that I like " lovingly jealous" she actually said it to me this morning. She is loving jealous because I am going out tonight to dinner with former works friends. How can she be jealous of my life? It is because she isn't that happy with parts of her life But she has her health, which I am lovingly jealous of .I think there is a part of all of us who are lovingly jealous of each other in certain ways .We all mourn our lives prior to this poop show that we deal with daily. Don't beat yourself up for feeling this way, it's totally normal. Hugs
Goldens -So sorry you missed the trip but I am a firm believer of everything does happen for a reason. That sounds like it would have been a tiring experience for sure! Ugh snow..we are all ready for spring, fingers crossed.
Mel- Ugh praying for strength for you.
Mara- Raining here too ,quite cold and miserable. Inside walking for me today. Always enjoy your daily posts ,don't have to dial down the yap.
Well wishes and hi to all in the room.
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Good morning, all.
Mara, you've been busy, as usual. Good for you for getting your steps in!
Mel, I'm sorry you're still dealing with withdrawal!
Goldens, what a travel ordeal! I'm sorry you couldn't go, but glad you missed the mess.
Candy, sometimes I like hearing what other people are doing (like mara) but sometimes I don't. I don't know that I would call my feelings "jealousy" but sometimes it comes close to that or even feeling resentful. I'm thankful for what I have, but like you said, am tired of the pain.
Am slowly working out the Medicare thing(s). Have basically decided to stay on DH's insurance until he retires. I'll have some form of Medicare as a secondary. Got our tax stuff over to our accountant yesterday. Big relief to have that done.
I made some Zuppa Toscana yesterday with "Impossible Sausage." It's pretty good. Made it vegetarian so that DH would eat it.
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Sitting here looking out at the sunshine. Today is a yucky day for me feeling totally wiped out and like you Candy, alot of joint pain. Hubby went in to town to take special son out for the afternoon. We had snow yesterday and more snow coming tomorrow. Meanwhile I'm planning my flower beds etc. Ya right!
I saw a sign up that read " people say that everything happens for a reason but WTF! " Sounds about right!
Mel- feel better soon
Mara- keep yapping
Candy- it is hard not to feel jealous but I like lovingly jealous or happy for you jealous
Waving hello to all. !!
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Hi all, it’s sunny and bright here today but only 50 degrees, so after staring out the window for awhile, I decided to go out to the bar. I kicked the AC up to 74 and poured myself some lemonade, feeling good now. I have the urge to do something but not the stamina, maybe it’s time to start a new jigsaw puzzle. Hope everyone is doing well or at least getting by for now.
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Goldens - you are near my parents, they just left early this morning (I think) for their 6 weeks down south as mom hates winter and dad has to get her out before she goes nuts. They said on the family WhatsApp that it was like 20mph crawling through Milwaukee with the weather but the photo of their lunch stop in Urbana looked fairly clear.
Weather here is nuts in spring - we had thunder, two bouts of hail, wind, sun, pouring rain the last two days all shifting through 20 minute phases. Makes it hard to do anything outside!
Hip is still getting better, my power output through my hamstrings improved significantly in two weeks and I can tell they are actually engaged with daily living again. Muscles get so sore though that its uncomfortable at night - foam roller is my new best friend. I really pushed it with the leg this week as I had tickets for a big craft festival on Thursday with some workshops and I was so exhausted after 8 hours out and about. We were also at a show Monday night that had a 15 minute walk to the venue each way. Four years ago for this band I was at the front dancing - this year I was thankful we had a semi-private box and a chair. Probably another month on this cane at least but I gave everything a break today to recover a bit!
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"lovingly jealous" - what an excellent term. Candy, your friend has more energy than I had even before my DX. I don't think I could have handled all that going out and socializing. But then, I am also an introvert and can take only so many social gatherings.
I am jealous of people who can plan a major trip that will happen a year or more away. I don't feel confident that I can pay up $$$ for a trip that I may be in no shape to take when the time comes. I hate that we all live our lives scan to scan.
My DH is home and working on his PT exercises and is feeling more confident that he will get his mobility back. In the meantime I am doing pretty much everything and trying not to wear myself out. We got our Clean Cut tub conversion done yesterday. We have to wait 48 hours before use. I can go to the reno'd basement bathroom to shower but he can't manage the stairs yet. I'll help him have a sponge bath :-)
mel: it must be a very hard road to travel getting off those meds. Wishing you the best.
It is really cold here. The first day of Spring was "springy" - sunny, bright, pleasant. Now it is dreary, rainy....blah. I put some primroses in the window boxes by the front door, hoping to brighten up the place and my soul.
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Today is a good day. It's still bitter cold but the sun has been out off and on so I did get out to walk in it, only about 30 minutes was all I could handle. I've felt better the last few days so that has been a welcome surprise.
Sunshine99 - Zuppa Toscana sounds amazing!
Mel - I'm sorry to hear you are still suffering with that, I hope it starts to get better soon.
I also love the term "lovingly jealous." I can identify with that. I am jealous sometimes. I stay off Facebook for that very reason. I think that is a common thing among people. We naturally compare ourselves and it's hard in situations like ours where we have lost so much of who we were to this disease not to do that. I don't think you are wrong to vent or feel jealous at times Candy.
Glad to hear things are improving for SondraF and for elderberry's DH and I am glad Goldens was spared all that hassle but bummed for you that you had to miss the trip. I'm sure I'm missing others, please know it's not intentional. Hoping everyone here, even those not posting, is doing well.
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thank you ladies for the kind thoughts and words. It’s been not so fun for about a month now. I’m slowly feeling better. I’m tapering a little more to prevent the bad symptoms I was having. I don’t envy someone who has a drug problem one bit , it actually makes me sad to think someone could suffer so much from one little pill or even worse. Candy. It is Valium. I have a severe case of TMJ. And I am a grinder and clench my teeth when. I sleep, so it’s been over a decade and it had become less effective due to my system being used to it so much. I appreciate All of you and hope what each and everyone of you are going through. You’ll make it through and things will improve some. Candy I understand the jealousy. I e lost friends because. I just don’t want to see it , traveling is not an option for me. My spine can’t take sitting for too long. I just hope the scanning shows stable again. Which is in April. So I’ve got some stress going on for sure. I hope everyone sleeps well . Hugs to all
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