Illinois ladies facing bc
Comments
-
We are having company tomorrow and guess what we are having for dessert? I just hope I can get cinnamon ice cream. If not it is whipped cream with whiskey
!Mak, have fun on the cruise. Who's going in the family.
I worked yesterday. My school does not have Veterans Day off but they bring Vets in to talk to the students. Yesterday I listened to some members of the Tuskegee Air Force...what stories they have to tell. One man was 89 years old and a WWII vet. All the Tuskegee soldiers are black and at first black men were not allowed to be pilots in the war and most came home from the war and faced segregation and discrimination in their own country. The students were just amazed that this could be actually true. I was so touched by their stories.
Have a good weekend!
Susan
0 -
Speaking of Veterans day… has anyone been watching Vietnam in HD series on the History Channel. I watched most of it last week. Well done. Part of the series is on tonight and tomorrow night.
I can't believe how warm it was today. Just yesterday I was wearing my puffy coat. Bit windy but the park was so pretty today.
0 -
Honor, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Choice,
Vision, Action, Celebration, Unity -
The Values of an Inspired Life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie0 -
Lago - I didn't watch the Vietnam series, but I heard it was very good. I'm ordering the DVDs for my dad for Christmas. I remember when he came back from Vietnam.
I spoke too soon about my headaches subsiding. Or maybe I jinxed myself. Is it possible for a brain to explode? Because mine has been trying since late last night. ugh.
0 -
zap - I LOVE it...love that the little ones are learning about the sacrifices our troops make for our freedom and liberty! Land of the free, because of the brave.
lago - dh has been watching the Vietnam series. He says it's great!
Irene - God bless your Dad!
-------------------------------
Tomorrow I have my Onc appt. The first appt that has been a whole year! A bit nervous about the blood work, but hopefully everything will be "normal". I am still fighting this awful FLU...sigh...
Hope you are all doing well. Hugs to all!
0 -
I'm putting this in early as I have to be to work tomorrow by 6 a.m.
Thought for the Day
It's our conscience, not our mattress that has the most to do with our sleep0 -
Rene, any chance you have some mold seeping into the house causing your headaches? This is the time for mold. DH has to bleach down his shower once a month as it is next to our bedroom and very enclosed and no chance of circulation. When he lets it go, he gets headaches.
Good luck, Laura. From what I hear the blood work could be off if you are sick.
My dinner party was great and the apples, cinnamon, caramel, whipped cream were not only wonderful, my house smelled so good. I could not find cinnamon ice cream so I put cinnamon candies in the whipped cream and it was heavenly. I have to admit that I let the apples cook a bit too long so they were kinda mushy.....but delicious mushy.
Have a great week!
Susan
We taped the documentary on VietNam and will get to that this week. I have discovered a new seriies i like....Boss....about Chicago
0 -
LauraGTO--congrats on a whole year! I bet you are cancer-free! Makmak--I don't know about Loyola doctors for cancer but my daughter has a great Loyola gastroenterologist and she had a very good procedure done there. Great nurses, prompt and caring treatment.
0 -
Wow you ladies have been chatty! I had so much catching up to do!
Robo: sorry the chemo is kicking you in the butt....I wish I could take away the SE's for you. I love Oberweis....I could not live near it! I would be in trouble too! But at least it is hormone free (LOL!). I hope you are feeling better and the swelling has gone down.
Jenn: Hoping you are feeling better and your mouth is not so yucky anymore! Let me know when you have your taste buds back...I am up for a lunch date again!
Corinne: I am into running. I am up to 6 miles at this point and considering training for a half marathon. What part of town do you live in? I am in Geneva. It would be fun to do a race together. I am running 11 minute miles now but hope to start working on improving my time.
Mak: have a fabulous trip! You deserve it! I hope you get in the trial and have favorable outcomes! Keep us posted.
The apple dessert sounds so good...and easy! I am going to have to check that out!
I am still unpacking boxes.....we had friends visit from Michigan this past weekend (yes, only 5 days after moving in our house! Nuts!) and had a great time. We took the boys to Legoland. They loved it! I can see my son is going to bug me about taking him there all the time! Oh well - it's a good winter activity. I have been missing my workouts with the move and visitors but I am back to the gym tomorrow for a long run. Gotta get back on track. I hope you all have a good week!
0 -
Good morning all. Hope you enjoy your day.
0 -
"Make a game of finding something positive in every situation. Ninety-five percent of your emotions are determined by how you interpret events to yourself." ~~~~ Brian Tracy0
-
hello all, just wanted to add myself to the illinois ladies. i live in the chicago suburbs of burr ridge and was dx stage 2a 4/2011. i am done with chemo and starting rads soon.
0 -
Zap--they do make the house smell wonderful right? You are clever. I meant to add in that if you want them a little hot that you can add them into the apples with the caramel too and the candy will melt into the apple giving it a little extra zing.
MDG--I am in Chicago on the Northwest side. You are better than me. I am still run walking and at a 12 min a mile pace, hoping to improve. I am thinking about doing the Santa Hustle on Dec 3 morning before the ladies lunch. If not, then I will wait until the spring to start up again. Would you do a race in the city? I would gladly do one out by you too.
The Good and Bad news for me; painting is done. Living room, dining room and hallway look great. Finished late last night. Bad/sad news, I had to put my loveable Greater Swissy to sleep this weekend. He had torn his ACL and had surgery in Aug. He slipped on the frosty deck a few days back and dislocated both hips, and retore his ACL. I couldn't put him through another surgery and the vet said this would just continue to happen over and over again. Make the hard decision to put him to sleep and the house feels empty and the kids are very upset.
I am making a tee shirt that says "2011 (and cancer) can suck it. "
0 -
Waving at renee31. Yay chemo almost done for you!
Corinne sorry about Greater Swissy. (I assume that's a dog). Was that you jogging behind me yesterday? Some woman was jogging behind me as I was power walking but just couldn't catch up. I'm thinking if you're going that slow aren't you better off walking?
I bought my nipples a present yesterday:
picture is a link to amazon but can be purchased at Macy's too. They work rather nicely and don't make me any bigger than I already am.
---------------------------------------
One more thing. Anyone know anything about this vaccine? linky
0 -
RENEE - Welcome! Congratulations on finishing chemo. Best wishes with rads. Glad you joined us!
Corinne - I am so sorry about your dog. Such a tough thing to do! Sigh...
0 -
renee31...welcome, welcome. So glad you found us, but would have been nice for a different reason....what we all wished when we first came her. Hooray for being done with chemo.....for most everyone that is the devilish part and you are through it. Rads --- for most, for the most part were just pretty boring---along with having to go daily.
Corinne...I too am sorry to hear about your companion. It is difficult to lose the furry friends that make our life so rich, but it is a huge kindness, though a little heartbreaking to remove the suffering they will have to endure. If given the choice themselves, I'm sure they would approve and do it too. After awhile you will look back and re-experience the joy without loss.
Hugs, Jackie
0 -
btw...today I had an Onc appt. This was the first "1 Year" span. Graduated from every 3 months to every 6 months to just today, 1 year. dh came with me. Onc did his usual, thorough exam under each arm pit searching for any enlarged lymph nodes and visually inspected both mast scars. He said everything looked and felt "good". I had lots of blood drawn...will get results in a few days.
For those of you who are "newer" to this...honestly, it does get less frightening and less scary as time goes by. So - please try to remember that it does get better.
0 -
Great news Laura!
0 -
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
~ Buddha0 -
Good morning all.
Another keeper quote. (c:
0 -
All right Laura! Good luck with that blood work. These check-ups do cause some anxiety, don't they?
Thanks Robo and Wendy for the phone number. I googled the German market and it looks VERY interesting. Is it within walking distance from Macy's? That looks like a wonderful suggestion.
Another one of my friends was diagnosed this week with IDC. This makes me so angry at times. It is so hard to understand why they can't find a cure. I know they have made great gains in treatments, etc., but we need that cure. It's just so darn frustrating.
Welcome renee31 to the Illinois Ladies' thread. This is a good place to call home....packed with many wonderful ladies who are willing to do anything they can to help you. Although we are all different, I found radiation to be much easier than chemo. Come back often and tell us more about yourself!
Corinne..so sorry about your pet! They do become family and it is so hard to let them go even when we know it is time. Try to remember all the wonderful experiences that you shared with your pet. Your memories will indeed become treasures.
Question for you..... We were discussing surgery, rads, and chemo today and the positive and negative things about both lumpectomies and mast. Is there anyone who had a mastectomy that also had both chemo and rads? I had both with the lumpectomy but didn't know if radiation was sometimes also used in addition to the chemo when the entire breast (or breasts) are removed or if radiation could usually be avoided by removing the breast tissue.
makmak....I hope you get into the trial that you want. Have fun on your excursion! You are overdue for this trip! Hugs!
Well, I'm off to find a comfy chair and a place to put my feet up! I hope everyone had a good day and that tomorrow will be even better.
Rita
0 -
Really quick answer to Rita-
I had all three treatments. Chemo, double mastectomy, and radiation. My cancer was already in my lymph nodes, plus I was triple negative and grade 3. Given my diagnosis, I was told it was best to do all 3.
0 -
Rita I was given a pass on rads but I was in a grey area. The Rad onc felt I had so much aggressive treatment that she was willing to give me a pass. Usually with tumors 5cm or over they do rads even if your nodes are clear and you have a BMX/MX. There are many other things they consider too including location and how close the margins are. I had clear margins but close and close to chest wall but I was still given a pass.
My BS pretty much assumed I would be getting Rads but he was pretty sure (although not 100%) I would have micromets to the lymph nodes too… and I didn't.
Say my LE MD today. He said I can try wearing my sleeve without the glove. My left hand hasn't been without glove since last winter. It's cold without the glove but I sure hope I don't need it. Nice to wear my wedding ring again.
0 -
Bilateral mastectomy, chemo and rads. I guess the one node and close chest wall margin put me over. Although I was in a "gray" area too. Same rad onc as lago. Plus two others, I was trying to get our of it! (c:
Night.
0 -
Adey I bet because I had no nodes, Herceptin and the rads would be on the left (heart side) I got the pass. I came close to hugging Dr. G that day. I was not expecting a pass.0
-
Rita -- I too did all three. I had node involvement, and my radiation oncologist said that I was in a grey area, but he knew I wanted to be as aggressive as possible so we jointly decided to do it. The one thing to keep in mind is the choice of reconstruction .... there is a failure rate when tissue expanders are irradiated, AND you need to keep them in much much longer than if you weren't irradiated. I finished radiation in June, but am just having my exchange surgery next month.
0 -
Rita, I was BMX/cheno with 3/17 nodes positive. My Onc said No rads unless I had 4 positive nodes. New recommendations that came out this year say Yes to Rads for ANY positive nodes. I pray everyday that chemo got everything. So far so good. So sorry to hear about your friend. Lets have a group scream......."Enough already--We want the damn cure"
Welcome to Renee31.
Have a nice day everyone.
Navy
0 -
I had a BMX and am getting TAC x6 with node involvement (1/19) and was told from the very beginning I would not need radiation. (same rad onc as Lago and Adey). I often question if I SHOULD be getting rads too??? I guess I have to trust in my doctors decisions, etc but I still worry I'm missing a course of action that I should have..... My margins were clear at BMX and my tumor was nowhere near my chest wall, etc....so maybe that's why????
Sometimes it all feels like a big guessing game!!!
Corinne....I LOVE your shirt. I agree 100%.... I cannot WAIT for 2011 to be over!!!! Sorry about your family pet.
that's so hard!!!! 0 -
"To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage" ~~~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
0 -
Sun is out here....life is pretty good for me when it is. Well, you all have so much courage, and drive. You make the best decisions you can based of all the info and choices the Dr. presents. My Dr. recommended an older ( I think ) standard therapy which was lump., chemo, and then rads. I don't think that is a bad choice.....but I do think later advancements have refined the standard therapy. I had everything done thorough the V.A. ---- and they are ( not to my detriment at all ) notorious for using tried and true methods -- change comes, but I think it comes slower which is how I've seen things.
Just saying -- if your Dr. didn't recommend something he based it on so many factors and probably is very up to date and cutting edge. Sometimes all we are left with is trust that they ( Dr.'s ) and we have made the right choice. As I don't believe in fate, or chance, or circumstance, and that our lives go along in a manner that was previously chosen.....I try ( and you do have to work at it ) to relax as much as I can. If you are meant to be here......you will be led to and recognize what is necessary for you. That doesn't mean it is always easy....but in the end will work out. So....hope the road is not too bumpy.
I'll see you all later.
Hugs, Jackie
0
