Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
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Brrr, outside, but inside, nice and toasty. Have to go this morning and finish my eye exam at Walmart. I needed to do it on Dh's day off so I could be driven around afterward. Some times you get a nice surprise. I've avoided doing certain things at Walmart's just because I'm skeptical of some of the quality of things there. I felt like I didn't have ( my old glasses were falling apart too often ) a lot of choice so decided to try it. The eye exam is reasonable --- compared to other offices where I checked --- as much as $40 or a bit more, less. I also feel like I got a very good exam and did need a stronger prescription which is working out fine for me so no complaints there. Also --- un-like the V.A. ( another reason for my reluctance to go the nearly free route ) lots of frames to look at for something you feel is right for you. V.A. has few and the ones I saw a while ago would not have worked at all well for me.
I'm not vain ( well I've never thought so anyway ) but then due to that --- I prefer to use frames that I feel are a little flattering to a degree. I know people don't look twice at me because I'm gorgeous, but at the same time I want to try and prevent them from looking at me because I'm just a bit ridiculous. So, I like to keep curl in my hair and glasses that seem more compliment than distraction.
Interesting forecast here for later on. In a few days we will start what could be almost a week's worth of rain. We don't normally get rain or even much possibility of it this late in the yr. I was convinced long time ago that man made climate change was real --- so I guess we will see things like this. Makes me feel we might really be in for a really cold winter.
Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday.
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Illinois Lady, I cud have written your post on eye exam and glasses at Wally Mart! Went there last week for the first time. My glasses are falling apart. had reservations, but found a pretty frame and had a good exam with a very nice doctor. I wore contacts years ago, but dry eye made me go to glasses, which are more flattering, as they hide wrinkles! Yup I like to look nice and keep the hair in order too!
Tried to order a few more things today from catalogs and both items were already out! Ordered more this year, rather than shopping, but may have to give in and hit the stores. Only have a few things, the rest of the grands like the checks or gift cards. My son and my brother are both mailing, usually gift cards from Taste of Chicago. AM thinking about starting Christmas cards today! Hohoho, hard to get in the spirit anymore.
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Sandra, you and Mike are in my thoughts and prayers.
Weather here is cool in the morning and then it has been nice during the day and cools off quickly in the evening.
Went for my yearly mammogram this morning. The nurse did all the pictures on both breast and when I thought we were done she said she needed two more. One on each side, She showed me where on my left side there was a grouping of white so she wanted a larger view so the dr. could see more.( the drs. have been watching this side because there have been some spots but were never getting any bigger or different shape) Now I have until Tuesday to worry about this when I see the oncoloby dr. Hopefully, I am worrying about nothing.
DH brought in our Christmas decorations so I put them up even though it doesn't seem like Christmas. It is warm and we will not be celebrating it with our sons or grandkids. This will be the first Christmas without our sons in 41 years and without grandchildren in 12 years. I should have moved to where we talked about retiring long ago and then most of the kids might still be around here.. One of our sons will be coming down in January or February to visit. I am looking forward to that. We will spend Christmas with his mother this year.
I hope everyone is safe and enjoying a great weekend
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Hello all,
Just stopping by to catch up. Happy Birthday to those I missed, . Glad to hear your medical issues were not as bad as they could have been, Jean. Always glad to hear good news, Sandra.
Nothing much new here. I have been at my DS's since the Sat before Thanksgiving. We drove over to my DD's for Thanksgiving, but I came back here for another week. I am having a ball with my son's little girls. Lucia is always telling me she is three now and "can do it" herself. She comes home from school singing songs and is amazed that I know them. She and her Mom knock heads constantly, and in my opinion, 90% is so unnecessary. She gives Lu choices that Mom already knows what Lu is going to say, and knows that we are doing whatever, regardless of "Lu's choice". She is constantly telling her that they are doing something in five minutes. Then, 30 minutes later says, "remember only 5 minutes" then another half hour goes by and she says "2 more minutes" So Lu doesnt pay any attention when she is told to do something, or when Mom is really serious, Lu throws a fit. The baby, 5 1/2 months is incredible sweet. She smiles and giggles a lot, and also babbles, and loves when I try to imitate her sounds. When I got here,she was having awful screaming fits several times a day, mostly in the evening. And she had to be held for her to fall and stay asleep. Mom took her to the Dr and they put her on baby Zantac. What a change! and Mom decided to start putting her in her crib for a morning and afternoon nap. First day she screamed for about an hour, and slept 15-20 min. Second day, she screamed for 20 minutes and slept for an hour. Last few days, she has fussed a little when she first goes in the crib, but sleeps for 2-3 hrs and is a much happier baby.
I leave here tomorrow to go to my DD's in Atlanta. She is having her third and we hope final skin cancer removed from her face this week. I have several checkups scheduled there as well. I will be there for about 10 days, then back to Fl for Christmas. I am very much like you, Carole. Since the kids are spread out so far, and don't all get together for the holidays, it just is a whole lot of fuss for nothing. Before Nancy moved to Georgia, everyone except Rob, and especially all the grandchildren were at my house. Now my younger son might stop by, and my youngest daughteris there some years, not other years. I spend a lot of time (and money) picking gifts for the grandchildren, and hate that I don't get to see them open the gifts.
I have lost my kindle somewhere in the house here, and even though I have the Kindle app on my iPad, I feel lost without it. I will have to have my son turn all the sofas over- I am sure it is here somewhere.
Hopefully, When I don't have two incredibly sweet little girls taking all my time and attention, I will be back on a more regular schedule, checking in more often. But I will miss these two sweeties.
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"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."
-- Marcel Proust0 -
Termite, here's hoping, but I think you will be fine. We are better off if things are checked out -- then just "left". I think some of the best Dr.'s or Oncologists ( at least I hope ) will and do take the notion 'better to be safe then sorry' to heart. Even if it causes some apprehension. My imagination with the UTI was in high gear --- so much so that I actually found it hard to be relieved on finding something so highly and quickly treatable. So, I have something to work towards --- trying to approach issues and problems calmly w/o arranging strange scenario's in advance.
Anne, always on the go. You are not going to age much because age has to chase after you and wear itself out before it has a chance to be effective. I think I'd like to do some of that too.
It rained here last night --- doesn't look like a hard one, and maybe we will get a bit more through the day. Not too excited about it, but thinking on the cooler yet temps. coming in a few days -- like mid-week. Time to get the much heavier coats out and be ready. We were do to have several days with the possibility of rain and now wondering how that is going to turn out with the really cool temps. We may have to watch out for ahem, icy patches here and there. I hope not, but whatever comes we will have to deal with it.
Today starts my new work schedule so a day off. Since it falls in-between --- I'll work the next four days to then get my three days off in a row. It feels great but will have maybe some moments of confusion since the only time mainly that I've had ANY time off at all was when I simply could not get an apt. to fit into hours I had off -- or like going all the way to Marion V.A. which is a 150 mile round trip and no matter how we have tried to work it, it just tends to use up most of a day. So, I'll have time to do things without stopping much. It will be a really good thing.
Hope you are all going to have a super Sunday.
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Good morning everyone. Just stopping by to say hello and catch up on all the posts. I check in everyday to see how you are all doing.
I am well and 3 weeks and 2 days post EX. The new squishies feel almost like they belong where they are and I am pleased.
I am not prepared for the holidays this year. It seems like there is nothing you can get anyone that they don't already have or would want except cash. So that's what we do for the grandkids. And that seems like a hollow gift sometimes. But the grands like it cause they use it for gas money to go more. The great grands like the boxes and paper more than the gifts LOL.
This year I don't think we plan on going much or having visitors except for our two closest friends that we will share a late night coffee and cake with.
He has been battling kidney cancer that metastasized to his lungs and brain for a total of 6 1/2 years now since the first tumor and kidney were removed. He had treatment (no surgery) for 2 brain tumors and 2 lung tumors during this time. We both see the same oncologist. I am thankful he is alert and still runs a farming business. Even with all this he has a very gifted and intelligent mind and is mostly able to get out and do things well. His chemo pill makes him very tired. I consider him a walking miracle. His wife is a wonderful person but has a lot on her shoulders. My DH and I love to be with them as much as we can.
So this year I am going to concentrate on thankfulness for the lives and loves in my life over the holidays.
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There must be a place where hopes and dreams are nurtured,
and that place is only within ourselves.A place to clean the
grime of life, a place that waits for us to stay and look inside
that we might see the truth.
Cliff Robertson0 -
Came to my in-box late, but very good. Not sure I would remember to put it in tomorrow --- so you all get two today.
"Silence brings peacefulness through which I hear my wisest voice. It helps me remember I am more than my analytical left brain and the doing nature of my conscious mind. I remember that I don't have to DO anything at all to experience Peace, Love, Joy and Freedom. I can simply be still and know that I am already those things."
- Valerie Sheppard
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No one can get inner peace by pouncing on it, by vigorously willing to have it. Peace is a margin of power around our daily need.Peace is a consciousness of springs too deep for earthly droughts to dry up.Peace is the gift not of volitional struggle but of spiritual hospitality.
Harry Emerson Fosdick0 -
I'm back from my trip to Florida. Flew to Orlando with Lew, Carey and 2 of the grandkids, granddaughter's dance group was invited to dance at Disney, they did a great job and won the Golden Mickey. We went to Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Spent an afternoon at Clearwater Beach, Weather was great, temps in the 80's and I had a wonderful time. I'm at Dad's near Minneapolis now until Friday, while most of North Dakota has been hit with a blizzard, over 400 miles of interstate is closed down. My cousin had 21" of snow piled up on her deck railing.
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Puffin, Glad you had a good time. That is an awfully lot of snow. Is she worried the rail might break? We had a big snow here one time and then it warmed up and turned to rain making the snow really heavy. We lost the roof on our deck, but that was minor compared to a whole marina shed collapsing on the boats.
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Puffin, I'm so glad you had a fun trip to Florida. It sounds like quite a contrast to current conditions in ND! I cannot imagine dealing with that much snow and such frigid temperatures. We are supposed to be down to 20 degrees on Friday morning. I will have to protect some plants in pots on the patio and will bring a few small plants inside.
Happy Wed. to all.
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I suspect that the happiest people you know are the ones who work at being kind, helpful, and reliable—and happiness sneaks into their lives while they are busy doing those things.It is a by-product, never a primary goal. - Harold S. Kushner
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Above all, let us never forget that an act of goodness is in itself an act of happiness. It is the flower of a long inner life of joy and contentment; it tells of peaceful hours and days on the sunniest heights of our soul.
Maurice Maeterlinck0 -
Happy day for me today. I will work today and then have the next three off. It is my new schedule. Time to get a few X-mas cards done. The next few days are quite chilly ( 30 degrees this a.m. ) but the sun it out bright to make it feel really okay. If I have a cheerful sitting in the sky and winking at me --- it is all pretty good.
The furnace seems to be working QUITE well --- sometimes I feel a bit warm. It runs often but for such a short period. I know very little about heating systems, but feel un-like our OLD furnace --- the new one senses the change in indoor air temp. quickly and deals with it before it gets too chilly everywhere inside -- at least that is how it seems to me. I guess in the end --- the proof will be in the pudding. If our utility bills show good things.
I hope you are all going to have a terrific Thursday.
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Good morning. I fall into this category and was diagnosed with IDC on April 19th of this year. I had a lumpectomy, no clear margins, a re-excision, still no clean margins and then a UMX of the left breast on November 9th after having completed my chemotherapy. I do not plan to have reconstruction (don't like having surgeries).
Since we are an older group here I have a question or two that you all seem to be the most qualified to answer for me. I apologize if it has been asked and answered before but this thread is quite lengthy. :-) My remaining breast is not perky and when I put my temporary foob in for the first time time the difference was shocking. The fake fill was nice and perky while my real breast sags. I have been putting a little fill on that side too to make it look a little more like the other. Maybe once I am able to wear a different bra with adjustable straps it might alleviate the problem. (I have tried wearing the back closure ones but after a couple of hours I am ready to rip it off). What other suggestions do you all have? I am back at work and have to wear a bra as it is quite noticeable to be flat on one side.
Also, what can be done about the lovely fat slab under my arm? What have you done about it and were you satisfied with the results?
Thanks, ladies!
~Heidi
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Heidi, Welcome to you. I have been working most of the day so missed your post till now ( 6:30 p.m. ). I hope some of the ladies who have done the more extensive surgery will come one. Sometimes it can be quiet here so don't give up on us. Carole I know had double mastectomy so I think she could give you some tips. I do know that there are special bras just for women who have had one or both breasts removed so you might try getting the names of stores that could be around you. I also think some of this is sort of trial and error to a degree. I hope you are able to get plenty of information to help you.
I won't be much help because all I had was a lumpectomy. I am wishing you well and hope you will keep coming ( we aren't a real large group here ) until someone comes on that has had some of your same issues.
Blessings,
Jackie
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Heidi, I had a similar situation. I had a UNI and was constantly frustrated on how to dress comfortably. So a year and half later I had my healthy breast removed and now I just run around totally flat. I'm not sure all surgeons or insurance companies would go for this, but somehow it all worked out for me. I was a retired teacher at dx, so I was not standing in front of high school kids every day. I'm sure that working would change I'd handle my situation. For you, would layers of light weight mini blazers over shirts, t shirts work?
As for the flabby slab under arm, my surgeon offered to remove it in her office, but I declined.
I wish you well as you deal with these issues. Jan
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Heidi, I mostly wear lightweight stretchy bras and have the same problem. When are they going to make older women a foob that looks like them? The bras I wear come with a slip out shaper. Sometimes I put two of those on the real side to disguise the drooping. I would wait on the flabby slab to see what it does after a while. It can be removed surgically. Like Jan, I may end up having the healthy side removed so I can go without bras. The strap in the back crosses a muscle that's determined to hurt and a bra with a narrow back can spread the pressure. The only name I can think of is Coobie and these are a different brand. Similar bra, however.
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I too had only a lumpectomy, but my operated breast (courtesy of a conveniently-located seroma in the tumor cavity) is large, round & perky while the other one droops like a basset hound’s ear. I am lucky to be able to wear regular underwire bras (well, as “regular” as an H or I cup can get) and use the shaper pads from a Genie bra (into which I could never fit) on one side or the other to even things out.
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I had bmx and reconstruction so have not dealt with the mismatched issue. Seems like a "not so perky" fob would be the solution
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hI all! I am jumping in Here if you don't mind. I just got back from a trip to see my son in Tenn. He works at the giant Opryland hotel. We did all the tourist things. It was great fun.
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Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.
- Serbian Proverb -0 -
Nice sun today but pretty cold outside. My first day off and I had to go have a test done at the local V.A. satellite office. At least, I didn't have to go that far. Tomorrow I am going to work ( a couple of times ) as my boss is having a holiday get together and will be busy. It is okay with me. I just won't have quite the day I thought I might --- but it will be fine.
Thank goodness the new furnace is doing quite a job for us. Most of the time I'm pretty cozy now. I think ( of course it is brand new ) it is a better furnace. The newer ones are high efficiency which means they have a better efficiency level that not only does a better job while using less resources to do it. The fan that circulates really blows out pretty hard --- so moves air quite well and doesn't run long at all. There are still some details to handle, but overall I think we did a good thing.
Going to have to get my Christmas cards done soon. I don't send out many, but need to get them done. So, Sunday when I'm mostly home all day again I guess I will get to a few things.
Hope you are all having a good day.
Jackie
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Thank you all. I do appreciate you ladies taking the time to answer. I had thought of possibly having the "good" breast removed at some point but not willing to go that route right now. I'll just keep experimenting with bras. I am getting quite the collection! LOL
~Heidi
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Is anyone here on Medicare for your insurance and do you know if they pay to fix the "dog ears" ? I had two separate mastectomies by the same surgeon and left with one side looking completely different from the other plus the dog ears.
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Heidbird.....please go to the link below that is on Breast Cancer Org and you will find a lady called Ariom in Victoria, Australia that is so informative about breast forms. The list seems to have slowed down a bit, but you can always PM her. Hope this helps.
Forum: Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy → Topic: Custom breast prostheses
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I know that Medicare is supposed to pay for whatever surgery is necessary for symmetry, so I guess that would include the “dog ears."
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NO, Medicare does not pay for dog ears. In June I went to a plastic surgeon to get my "dog ears" done on both sides. I call them fat rolls. I had really big breasts G cup before my double mastectomy and I was/am overweight. I have lost 20 lbs doing Atkins since June but would love to lose 10 more...Holidays are hard time to lose weight.
I was shocked that Medicare does not pay for the dog ears but will pay for a full reconstruction. The liposuction cost me $1200.00 and I have one more liposuction to do since the fat roll is not gone. The left side (where I had the cancer) has more fat than the right side. I will be doing the next liposuction in June again. I work part time in a school and school is out then. I hope the next liposuction gets the rest of it.
Hope this information helps you.
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