Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Morning ladies!  Having my coffee before getting ready to get my dreaded eye injection:(  There is no doubt in my mind that I will get one....the doc here doesn't believe in skipping them...I only get that lucky in NC....lol!  I wish I could say they were helping but my eye is about the same.  At least it's not worse and so far hasn't spread to the other eye.  DD will take me today as they will probably scan both eyes.

It is really humid in Florida.  It's funny but the humidity at the beach in SC is not nearly so bad as here.  I guess that's why so many people flock to Myrtle Beach in the summer and clear out of here.

Yesterday I had fun shopping at all of my stores that I missed while away.  Today I will be housebound recovering from my shot, so will use the time to organize and clean closets.  Tomorrow I will go visit my DGD who I've missed so much!  Miss DGGD too but doubt if I will see her as her mother and I aren't seeing eye to eye these days.  It's probably a good idea never to rent to relatives if you want to stay on good terms.  She moved into my rental property and then proceeded to become a deadbeat tenant until I had to ask her to leave.  She then was insulted and left the place in a horrible mess, so bad that I just wanted to get rid of it, so now I'm selling it.  I tried to help her and she took complete advantage.  She has a lot of growing up to do still...hopefully one day she will wake up and realize what she did wrong.

Thanks for the warm welcome back old friends!  Hope everyone has a great start to their Monday!

Good Morning everyone,

A bit overcast this morning and so far a lot cooler.  Hope it stays that way all day.  I am feeling more energetic already now that the humidity has abated somewhat.  Fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Blondie....since I have so many cats I just leave food in bowls and they eat when they are hungry.  Kitties almost never over-eat.  Dogs often will eat till there is nothing left but cats just don't.  That said, I think 1/4 cup twice a day would likely be sufficient for most cats -- unless you do choose to let them self-feed. 

My dogs ( I actually have some self-feeders ) out in the pen are fed in the morning and evening and they do fine with it.  They would all be grossly overweight if I did not do that........and there would be likely some food aggression going on too.

Kaara, I do recall your saying something about your DGGD before.  It is interesting ( and I think happens more often than not ) that it is ACCEPTABLE to abuse family in some ways you would likely not even consider an un-known landlord.  Also I do think the younger 'crowd' are very apt at it.  I think I sort of understand --  that you see family as being those who are SUSPOSED to have strong ties and feelings for you and therefore extremely forgiving -- even if you are seriously breaking your word or a contract.  People I think who do all right with situations like this are the ones who realize what is likely to happen and decide beforehand if they THINK they can be all right if the bottom falls out.  I would treat loans that way but not property rentals. 

I'm glad you can maintain the other relationships in your family.  This GGD will learn in time that real family love has nothing to do with free rides through life. 

I'm also thinking that your eye Dr. here because he insists on the shots, gives the other Dr. the ability to skip them....because you are getting something.....and the one that skips knows you will go home and start receiving shots again.  Guess the real question is.....would there have been improvement if you had continued to get those shots......or is it just how it was going to be anyway.  Just glad that there doesn't seem to have been progression. 

Waving hi to everyone else this morning.  Se you all later.

Blessings

Jackie

Blondie, do not apologize for whining.  We want you to complain when you feel like it.  You're going through a lot and have reason to complain.  Hope you can get some sleep.

Chevy, I'm glad Edith has you.  I wonder why those owners even have a cat.  Do they expect Edith to catch mice?

Joan, how does that work that you have a pass to use the beach?

Puffin, we look forward to getting to know you better, too.

Kaara, I can empathize with being taken advantage of by family members.  Financial advisers tell their clients to consider any "loan" to a family member a "gift."  Because more than likely the money won't be paid back.  Glad to hear that your vision problem hasn't gotten worse.  I finished up my 5 yrs. on arimidex during your absence and stopped taking it.  I no longer have the hot flushes.  But so far I haven't found it any easier to control my weight. 

Cool here today and mostly cloudy.  DH and I took the pontoon boat out for some fishing.  Didn't catch any fish but saw some loons and a duck and a goose over on the shore giving herself a vigorous washing! 

We will be waiting on pins and needles mommarch but also sending lots of prayers, hope and healing energy vibrations. 

Blessings

Jackie

Mommarch, just glad you are going in to hear what is going on.... Maybe by "catching" things, they can be controlled better?    Sounds like he is on top of it anyway.

Carole, yes, my DH and I are always watching out for the neighbor pets!  He carries little bisquits in his pockets, whenever we go out, because there will SURELY be some critter running up to him, and sniffing his pockets!  

Or the "corner" dogs.... always waiting with their little yelp when they hear him coming!  

But, every night he prepares 2 little plastic bowls with leftover bread, cookies, crackers, ANYTHING, and puts it out in our 2 squirrel feeders every morning.  I KNOW he goes to BIG LOTS to buy them food!   We watch them early every morning, hop around on the fence, and sit and watch US watch THEM!

So I guess that's why we don't want our own little pet.....  we get way too attached....  THIS way, we just feed the general public.... Ha!

Kaara, glad you are keeping up with your eyes...  My neighbor, who is 90 just went into Assisted Living....  Her Husband went there a few months ago, and she has been living by herself, and with the help of her Son and DIL, and us going up there every day, she stuck it out until last week!

But she is almost blind.  SHE has Macular Degeneration, and used to get shots, but I don't think they are doing any more good.  She uses drops every day, but she had to stop the paper, because she cannot read anything...  She has TV on, but just to hear what is going on...

So we all had to sort out her daily pills to take,  because even with her "binocular" glasses, she can barely see a thing..... So  now with her in the AL home, her Son & DIL get her  mail, sort out her stuff, and are getting their home ready to rent.  She pays $3000 a month!  That's for everything....  Her DH  fees are taken care of with his SS, his Pension, and his Military benefits..  So they don't want to sell.... not yet....

Otherwise Theresa could live until she is 100!  So they have to make their money last, by renting instead of selling...  Lately, these older homes around here are being sold, to be scraped, and they build double  town-homes, 3 stories tall!  Each side sells for over $800,000!   So the old property will sell for cheap to a builder/developer, and then they make TONS by tearing down & putting up HUGE homes in the space of ONE!  They build them taller, to make up for the side-room they don't have.  And hardly any yards!

They figure they can get between $1,300 to $1,900 a month,  so any savings they had will be quickly eaten up by the Assisted Living.

And that's our lesson for today....  Ha!  We have to plan on living until we are 90... And hope our money and our health lasts as long as we do....

My incision has gone from flesh colored and looking good to pink to
blotchy red, going in to see physician's asst in half an hour. It's warm
to the touch and tender, not running a fever and I feel good otherwise.
Really hope it's not an infection.

Puffin, I hope that is not an infection either though it certainly sounds like one.  At least by having it looked at right away you should be able to minimize any potential problem. 

Sort of a cool day today and I'm thankful for that.  Really, most of the time I'm thankful for everything.  All life is a lesson anyway.....so might as well hope you can smile and make the most of whatever shows up.  Something to think about --- your body sends out good endorphins when you laugh.  It has been scientifically proven that even a "fake" laugh from you will produce the same good results.  This is just something to think about since it would aid in your over-all wellness.  You can watch comedians, read jokes and all of those things....but if some day your not able to stimulate your laugh reflex those ways....all is not lost.

See you all later.

Blessings,

Jackie

Jackie:  So true about the laughter...."fake it till you make it"  that's my motto!  I always feel better when I'm smiling, and it flows to others.

I called right away when the office opened and was able to see the PA, who consulted with my onc.

Rather than have me on 3 antibiotics (I'm still on the cipro and flagyl
for the diverticuli flare up), they're going to stop the flagyl and
start augmentin which will add some coverage for the skin infection.
Hated the taste of the flagyl plus it was 3 times a day so don't mind
getting rid of that one.

Mommarch, hoping to hear good news from you.

Kaara, you remind me of the energizer bunny! 

Puffin, sorry about the infection but hoping the new med will do the trick.

I finally did some kayaking today.  Up and down the creek a couple of times.  Wish dh had taken a video of me getting out of the kayak.  I was about to step out when the kayak tipped and I went down into the creek!  No harm done except for getting my shorts wet.  Next time I'll wear my bathing suit.  I'll look really sexy in a one-piece bathing suit with my life jacket over it!  I'll get dh to take a picture.

Hi: I am not sure where I should be posting. I am 71, so was looking in the over 60, but you all seem to know each other really well. Have you been posting to each other for quite awhile? I think it's great that you have the camaraderie with each other and although it appears open to others, it feels like it would be trying to join with a group of old friends, and would take quite awhile to catch up and feel a part of it. I will check other Forums and see what's what. Maybe someone has some suggestions?

Hi pjc71

Welcome to our group. I joined this thread sometime last spring, and felt exactly as you do. I just read for awhile before I actually started posting, and still am not as active as some others. But I feel like I know almost everyone now and consider myself to be part of the group. It is kind of like starting to watch a TV series at the beginning of the second or third season- you're lost for a few episodes, then you start to figure out who is who and what is going on. We are always happy to make a new friend. Because we start with the common ground of breast cancer, we understand each other's issues sometimes easier than personal family and friends. Then as with any other friends, we move on to whatever is on our minds. We love sharing histories and backgrounds- some have grown up on farms or in small towns and others ( like me) grew up in the cement jungles of the big cities (NY- the Bronx for me). Children and grandchildren ( and for some great grandchildren) are always shared- the joys and the problems. Golf, gardening and cooking are also favorites. 

That's a general synopsis of the group- now let me be your "first"friend, although I know others will welcome you warmly and quickly. I am almost 65, and was diagnosed last Sept. I have been through chemo, a double mastectomy and radiation. As a result, I am NED ( no evidence of disease) at this point. But I have developed lymphedema in my right arm. That's the cancer part of my story. More importantly,I was married to my husband one month short of 42 years when he passed away from complications from diabetes almost 2 years ago. We have 5 children, 3 girls, 2 boys, 3 biological, 2 adopted. We moved from the Bronx to Ft Laud in 1973 and into this house in 1978. My oldest daughter moved to Georgia about 4 years ago and I now split my time between Fl and Ga, and I was diagnosed and treated at Emory University in Atlanta.  My oldest son is a teacher in So. Carolina and returns to Fl every summer to be director go a local summer camp. My other 3 kids still live in Fl, 2 of them in my home. I have 6 grandchildren, ranging in age from 15 to one. I adore each one of them. I am retired after working in the office at a local middle school. My big news at the moment is that my youngest son got engaged this weekend. I am very happy to say that we all love the girl he has chosen, so much that I have threatened him that if he breaks up with her, he will be disowned and she will remain part of the family. 

I think that's enough for now. If you want, you can go back in the thread and kind of "catch up" with the rest of the ladies. Again, welcome, and I hope you hang around and become part of our group

Anne

pjc71:  Welcome!  This is a wonderful group of ladies who share openly and are always ready to welcome someone new...some of us come and go (I'm one of those) and others are constant, but no matter, you will always be received warmly.  I see that your surgery was recent and hope that you are recovering quickly.

Joan:  Congrats on the clear mammo.  I'll be going for my three year soon and although I don't suspect anything, you always feel kind of on edge when it gets close.  I like getting the diagnostic kind because the radiologist comes right in and tells you what is going on.

 Visited my OC today for check up and blood work.  My vitamin D levels were 54 at my last check, but I'm hoping for higher due to the hour a day I've spent in the sun this summer; however, because my levels were good, Medicare will not pay for the test:(  I didn't tell him I had stopped taking the tamoxifen...pointless....he would just scold me and make me feel guilty.  

Tomorrow is dentist then must take some paperwork to the title company for my closing on my rental property that I'm selling, then I will head up to W. Palm to visit DGD and DS for the remainder of the day.  She's going to be 5 soon and it seems like just yesterday that she was born.  DDIL has had two miscarriages over the last two years...they were hoping to have one more before she turns 40.  I feel very sad for them, but honestly, they can barely afford one child, and DDIL has a son from a previous marriage who is in college and still living at home.

Teacher:  Dress is adorable!  It was hard to get my older DGD's in dresses but the younger ones like them which makes Grandma happy:)

Have a nice evening everyone!

Anne, too funny -- but I really am an old-timer here.  In fact, I think I mentioned before how at one point in time only Chevy and I were posting here..........so we have come a long way since then and I'm always tickled when anyone finds us.  pjc -- I did check and it looks like you have been here before.....and apparently I did not realize you had not posted here before so please ACCEPT my large and EMBSARASSED apologies. 

In any case you are very much WELCOMED here -- the more the merrier.  I do hope you won't hold it against us that we didn't catch that you had just come upon us. 

Blessings

Jackie

Welcome Pic71,

You will be glad you joined this group of ladies.They are wonderful

Just wanted to let everyone know about my Dr. visit.  My Blood Platlets have gone from 123 in May to 119 

last week.  Dr. says I need to come in after Aug 21st and have another Platelet test ran.  He said if they keep going down and do not stabalize I will have to go back to my ONC. I have lost 10 pounds since the first of May.  But I have the weight to loose, not so concerned about that yet.

Hope all is well with everyone.  Hugs