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

Puffin - good to hear the Lasix is doing it’s job and the swelling is going down.

MM - what a great idea to go to the DMV right after the hairdresser. My driver’s license photo always looks like more of a mug shot. Glad to hear Kelce is earning his keep by being your personal trainer and kudos to you for walking him.

Cindy - happy to hear you are enjoying the nicer weather. We are having temps in the 70’s with low humidity and it’s been awesome. I spent the entire afternoon sitting in my backyard reading while watching my son float around the pool. DS is home for the weekend to visit with us and see some friends. Having a pool is an added draw to get him home. 😀

Sandy - hope you are doing well and seeing some progress on repairing your home

Betrayal - kudos to you for the effort and persistence you are putting in to PT.

ETA: Hit post comment too soon when I meant to hit save draft.

We are enjoying the cooler weather. Wednesday we went to see a friend who lives on a lake. Perfect weather for visiting on his deck and taking a boat ride. We brought the food and he supplied the drinks and fantastic lake views.

Shoutout to everyone for an enjoyable Sunday.

Welcome artwish!

I am 70, had breast cancer three times over 22 years. My fist time I was premenopausal.
I know it seems scary but if it’s any help, I believe one is only considered a breast cancer survivor if they die of something else.

I am not a doctor but your cancer seems like lower risk. I would happily change diagnosis with you as would many here. While cancer is tricky it sounds to me that you will have many good years ahead!

Try to relax. Ask your doctors if you have questions about survival. It’s normal to be scared and anxious. I am reminded daily that I had breast cancer, because of the 8 surgeries I had due to those Dx. It doesn’t stop me from having joy in my life!

Hugs to you! I hope you become a regular on this forum! The women here have so many different experiences and all will be happy to answer any questions you have! You will also read how they are living their best life!

Good morning and welcome to you as well from me Artwish. MM has given you some good things to think about for a while. I am 78 — soon enough to be 79. My first diagnosis was in 2007 and there have been 5 others. Being diagnosed with cancer is not like other things through our life that we have had, but we can survive pretty good. The first time is usually the scariest. If you have time scroll through the entries here and look at those who have their dx's listed. Look at the dates of the original dx's.

Do ask lots of questions. If your Oncologist's office has a patient navigator they can give you so much information on things you might expect as to longevity as well as quality of life. I hope you will ask. There are a lot of resources on BC.Org. I'm not computer literate so am not good in that area but this site does offer all sorts of informative articles and forums.

I do hope you will consider coming back. Most of us are well past our last dx so we don't always talk cancer here but share some of our daily thoughts and experiences and nice parts of our lives that we like to share with each other. Keeps us highly motivated to enjoy life.

Life is about celebrating the small as well as the big achievements. I have been able to walk up the stairs like a normal person for about the last 2 weeks but descent was still a cautionary tale with both feet on one step. Today I was able to walk down the steps alternating feet like a normal person twice. I am in awe of how far I have come in just 6, going on 7, weeks.

Seems like it takes until the day after or rather the night after PT for the effects to catch up with me and this means disturbed sleep. So last night was tough with pain centered on the inner aspect of my knee. I did ice it and out of desperation used Voltaren gel this AM. Not supposed to use it (interacts with another med I am taking) but I needed something to knock the pain back because Tylenol did not touch it. I will reserve use for desperate times only and monitor for SE's. It is fine now.

Sunny day with temps in 80's and a whisper of a breeze. Dahlias in bloom and tomatoes ripening on one plant.

Bumble Bess had found his voice and offers serenades on occasion. It is still low in volume but I am hoping as he ages it will get louder. He likes the YouTube videos I play that feature singing canaries. Loves basil leaves, celery leaves and lettuce. He rips them into strips and manages to eat the entire strip like someone slurping a strand of spaghetti. Fun to watch.

Carole, hope DH is feeling better.

cindyny, I want to be your niece. She is a lucky girl to have you for such a doting aunt.

Illinoislady, hope Lil Red is settling into his new home. Puppy breath has to be one of the best smells in the world.

Harley, thanks for being my cheerleader. I really appreciate your comments. I hope that chemo is not knocking you back too much and the end is in sight.

Sandy and Chris, you are missed.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Artist, sounds like you definitely aren't getting as much info as could be helpful to you. Many times the pill your taking could be fine but you could be getting most of your side effects from the carrier materials in the pill. Anastrozole is a generic brand for Arimidex. Sometimes people can switch off the generic and it will be fine. There are also others that could be tried. So again, if you are sensitive more to the carrier materials there may still be some issues.

It was just a thought that flashed on me when you mentioned anastrozole. I started on Arimidex before there was a generic and was switched over once anastrozole became available. I did notice a se much later on.

Wishing you well with getting through this phase.

Marge,

My Mom passed last August. I had been looking after for 12 years. The last 2 I had BC. My sister moved here and helped with Mom ,so it worked out great. Mom never new about my illness. I was very lucky that Mom stayed independent till she was 95. After breaking her hip we moved her into assisted living. Things went well till breaking her hip again in August. Watched Mom go from very independent to very dependent. I too have worked for quality not quantity from life. At 42 I quite my teaching job and started my art career. The covid shut downs eventually closed all 4 galleries that sold my work. Have not been working since BC .

Dementia is the worst part of aging. Mom could hardly see or hear at the end. Also started forgetting day to day things. She too did not understand why she was living so long.

I am going to look at other MO options after I check my policy requierments. It will also mean traveling to a larger city since my MO is the only one in town.

Thank for your time.

We are having a nice summer. The grass is still green and the wild flowers are still blooming.

Artist

The trick of living is to slip on and off the planet with the least fuss you can muster. I’m not a professional philanthropist, and I’m not running for sainthood. I just happen to think that in life we need to be a little like the farmer who puts back into the soil what he takes out.

Paul Newman

Had second follow-up appointment with Ortho surgeon today and she is very pleased with my progress. I have been rationing Norco for before PT and for some nights when pain is relentless. She felt I needed to stop rationing and use it to prevent night pain. So I have a new prescription and will most likely take it before bed as well as before PT. Last few nights sleep doesn't even register on my Fitbit so it has been short and broken. PT today was challenging but doable. I know I will be sore tonight. Next appointment is in mid October. I will continue PT most likely until the end of August to ensure I am prepared for our trip in September.

I am being serenaded by Bumble Bee who seems to have found his singing voice. It is low and pleasant with lots of trills. Hoping the volume will increase because the chatty parakeets drown him out.

Today is sunny, in the 80's and humid. Checked out the garden bed by the stream and one azalea did not make it and the deer have done a job on the lily of the valleys, the peonies are leafless and they are wreaking havoc on the other beds. Meanwhile the weeds are flourishing and all these beds were weeded before my surgery. DH will weed them for me.

Puffin, glad you are getting some Lasix to help with the edema. Make sure you get your potassium in though. You may want to ask your PCP about potassium supplements.

Taco, glad you were able to find someone to drive you for surgery. Hope your date is confirmed and that all goes well. I am so glad I had the surgery even though it has been a painful recovery. I know once I heal more and reach that 3 month marker for return to normal for flexion and extension, I will be more than happy. One less painful knee, check.

Hope everyone has a great day.

Artwish, I just finished my 5 years of Arimidex and suffering with more hot flashes then when I was taking it. My mom died 3 days after I was pronounced cancer free. She was 98.

Scarlett, I see myself about 50. LOL

Artist - welcome to BCO. This is a very supportive community and we are happy you joined.

Puffin - I admire the way you are handling your latest diagnosis and doing everything possible to remain independent. My PCP prescribed potassium for a short time earlier this summer. It as a huge pill but I was able to crush it in water and drink it. It did the trick and raised my potassium levels back to normal after only a week.

Taco and Cindy - Chemo#5 is this Wednesday and #6 is scheduled for 8/14. So I’m getting close to the end. I have follow up appointments scheduled with the GYN Onc and MO for late August and early September to talk about the future. I ‘think’ the GYN Onc will be overseeing my follow up care but I’m not 100% sure. I’ve tried to avoid planning too much into the future as it stresses me out.

Taco - happy that you will have someone to drive you for the knee surgery as it will be one less thing to stress over. I think it’s good that you sent a letter to your PCP as the lack of action on their end is inexcusable. Glad you enjoyed “Hamilton”.

Cindy - Cape Cod sounds wonderful - enjoy!

Jackie - I love today’s quote - thank you.

MM - glad you still feel close to your sister. It’s a shame as she was only 66, but I’m sure she is watching over you.

Scarlett - holy cow, you have really been through the wringer with cancer. Like you, I still think I’m in my 30’s and I think I am perfectly healthy.

Betrayal - cheering you on so that you have a pain free trip in September. Take the norco - there’s no reason to suffer.

DS was home for the weekend. Took the train home Friday night and DH gave him a ride back yesterday. DS will stop by Thursday night again to borrow one of our cars for a weekend trip and return the car on Sunday night. I’m thrilled for any opportunity to visit with him.

Shoutout to anyone I missed.

Cindy, my sister and I used a ladies room at a restaurant once that had two stalls. When we were walking out we overheard a young 20 something heading towards us say to the person with her, “oh good, the two old ladies just came out!” My DS and I just looked at each other and said to ourselves “what old ladies?” I think I was in my late 50’s at the time,DS was early 60’s. It was the first and last time I was ever called an old lady!🤣

I feel like I’m still in my 50’s! Hey, if the weather men and women can tell people what the “feels like temperature “ is, we certainly have a right to have a “feels like age!”

Thanks for startling my day off with a large and a smile! Hope everyone has a good day!

The hallmark of courage in our age of conformity is the capacity to stand on one’s convictions—not obstinately or defiantly (these are gestures of defensiveness, not courage) nor as a gesture of retaliation, but simply because these are what one believes.     -Rollo May

Age talk reminds of my partners dad. He was 83 or so when he & mom were looking at an independent living facility. He came back saying they were all old and they all had canes! My partner, he didn’t remind his dad that he was no spring chicken and should be using his cane too!

It was 9:30 PM last night when boredom took hold and I painted the door and trim in the bathroom. Crazy I know, but nothing was on tv, and the book I’m reading is “out there” so rather than waste the time I just painted. I was showered and in bed by 1:30, because had to dry my hair.

The bathroom door & trim look all nice and clean, bright white. Which makes the trim into the bathroom look on the drab side. Only problem with old houses with big baseboards and trim is they carry into the next room. I could do all the outside trim and then get to the baseboards but it would never end. I should be happy there isn’t a bright light in that little hallway! It will sit in the back of my head, more painting, I won’t rule it out.

I’ve got errands to do today which include feeding a hamster. So I better get moving. Enjoy the day!

cindyny, I really like to paint though my days of painting walls are over because using a ladder is a challenge. I also hate cutting in so I will stick to woodwork. I do have some woodwork projects I have been putting off forever: the window frame in the laundry room and the double window in the dining room. All others were done during restoration by the painters (only a few) or me. I like Benjamin Moore white because it doesn't yellow like other paints and considering dome of the the baseboards had not been repainted in 15 years, I had to be careful when I refreshed them because there was no clear delineation between old and new. I also need to paint the wainscoting outside the hall bathroom because it was removed when we replaced the motor on the jetted tub. Agree that once you touch up one area it makes the next area look like it needs to be addressed.

Worked in garage rearranging and organizing. Grocery shelves are now complete as are ones that hold gardening items and car maintenance items. I do have 2 bins of planters to go through but not today. That is being delayed until I can find time to repot some houseplants that need to be divided. DH is a pack rat and has been told he cannot purchase any cereals, chips, water or this ice drink he buys until the current stock is nil. He had 2 large totes full of chips and cereal boxes (plus the ones on the grocery shelf =6 there), another drawer full of the ice drinks, over 2 large packs of water (which he doesn't drink) and a large stash of beer. We have a good supply of umbrellas and they need to be washed and donated. I keep 2 umbrellas in my car as does he and we take 2 foldup ones on vacation. I want him to spray the umbrellas with this Awesome cleaner he buys at the dollar store (it is a great degreaser) and then rinse them with the hose. It doesn't hurt the lawn and cleans our vinyl trellises easily (he had 12 bottles, so another thing that is off his list to buy). The garage is taking shape and we do have to reduce what is stored there, like my objective is to get rid of the large totes he is using for dog treats, cat food and cereal/chips. I purchased wall hangers for my cleaning items and another for garden tools. Once we get everything in its proper place then I will address what we need to add to the walls for organization. We need to hang the lawn chairs I rewebbed for one and we had a shelf that had a hanger section that we used for outdoor jackets for gardening, etc. The refrigerator and freezer are back in place.

Had to quit because my legs were starting to feel like jelly. Prescription from yesterday not received by pharmacy due to problems with their eprescription access. PA resent prescription today and asked for me to contact her if it doesn't go through. They text me so I will need to check phone for notice. Nope no notification yet. Not a hurry but they won't order pain meds on Fridays.

Very loud thunder and lightning in early hours last night. Less humid today with temps now in high 70's. Sort of overcast with slight breeze. So working in garage wasn't too overly hot. Another night where sleep not registered on Fitbit due to being awake most of the night. I go into a deep sleep, wake up to go to the bathroom and boom, I am wide awake. I don't turn on the light and just rely on the light over the sink in the kitchen. Getting to be a pain this sleeplessness. Took Tylenol but tonight if it happens its time for the big guns, the Norco.

Illinoislady, glad that Red and the cats are getting along. Misty rules the roost here. She bosses the other 2 cats and Regan around. Tawny and she do battle on occasion but Leo and she will play together. Leo is real mellow so he gets along with everyone.

petite1, glad you updated your will and advance directives. Ours were 20 years out of date when we updated them and like you some of the people were not available.

Making arrangements for family birthday party in August since my DSGS and DGS share birthday month with me. Dates are less than a week apart with DSGS first, followed by DGS and then me. So we will go to Bonefish Grill on a weekend so DS, DDIL, DD and DSIL can attend. DH and I will go to the Capital Grille on my actual birthday.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day.