Topic: Is anyone else an atheist with BC besides me?

Jan 29, 2008 05:44PM 4kkz wrote:

I am an atheist, freethinker, realist....   (throw a lil buddhism thoughts in there too)

Glad to know there are others. I lost my mom to bc (a devote catholic) and I've just got my genetic results back today that say I'm + for the mutation for bc.  

Jan 31, 2008 07:06PM thedudess wrote:

I would love that

Feb 4, 2008 11:14AM guitarGrl wrote:

I have no problem with your beliefs and would never denigrate them or try to make you change your mind. I only wish that you had the same respects for the things we believe in too.

Feb 4, 2008 02:34PM guitarGrl wrote:

Yes of course different opions are tolerated. I just find it interesting that someone with different beliefs would read, let alone comment on a thread with this title.

I do not find it offensive that the Prayers for Cy thread exists - since it's not something I'm personally interested in, I don't read it, nor would I ever post anything on that thread.

I have many religious friends. When I was diagnosed one of them wrote to me and said "I know you don't believe, but I'm going to pray for you anyway." He is a good friend who is expressing his affection for me in a way that is meaningful to him. Not in a way that seems to hint that my feelings are wrong or misguided. If that's not what you meant, then I apologize.

I never intended to start a flame war and have no intention of contributing to one. By the definition of this forum, we have enough problems to start with.

Feb 6, 2008 01:25AM redspark3 wrote:

Hello everyone.

Dudess, great idea for thread! It's great to know I am not alone on being a non believer. While I am not an atheist, I am at least an agnostic . Anyway, what helps me the most is my love for music. Now, I have absolutely no musical talent in either singing or playing an instrument. However, I still sing my little heart out and dance around, sometimes in my underwear (probably a little tmi for ya ; )) or I combine it with my other love which is driving. I can often be found singing in the car, completely off key and everything. I can't help it. For me, I have found it to be very cathartic.

Also, I have seen plenty of responses with people who have cats. Me too, I adopted Samson who is just about to turn 7 in early March two years ago. Actually, I adopted him the day before my lumpectomy which was 3/3/06. Shortly before I was diagnosed I had a cat, Mic who passed away and I didn't want to be alone going thru all this as I had just broken up with my boyfriend. Samson is my baby, he's black and white, long-haired and very affectionate. He is exactly what I needed and I don't know where I would be without him. I would post a picture but I have absolutely no idea on how to.

Wishing sunshine in everyone's lives!

Feb 7, 2008 01:51AM - edited Feb 7, 2008 01:53AM by redspark3

Hi Everyone!

Thank you so much!

Sunflowers- you and me both, I think that the gift of music, especially if you can sing is the best gift you can have. B/c music is timeless, it really is the soundtrack of our lives. And, thank you for the website, I will definitely check that out. About a year or so ago, we had some flute players come in to the support group that I sometimes attend and they were great. I think most if not all of them were cancer survivors or survivors of a major illness and they said that it was very healing for them. So, I will have a listen to the harp. Oh, yes, I love that phrase and I try to live that way. Also, who is that song by "I hope you dance"? It sounds very peaceful where you live.

Madelyn- I'm sure I entertain lots of other drivers! But, I understand your plight as I generally make sure that the windows are rolled up at least most of the way if I'm belting something out. It's alot easier for me to sing my heart out in the winter but in the summer I always have my windows down. So, when I'm sitting at a light in the summer I'm usually dancing but singing b/c I don't people to start barking at me : )

Allysonw- that is such a sweet story and your cat is beautiful. There was definitely a reason that she came into your life when she did. Maybe you needed her as much as she needed you. Oh, and it's no worry at all, I understand the fatique. Thank you very much for offering, whenever is fine. Or, I'm sure if I try I can figure it out. I sometimes meditate or try to anyway. I've been realizing that I tend to follow more of a buddhist philosophy on life. I would like to do yoga. Everyone says how much it has helped them.

Feb 7, 2008 09:20PM paige-allyson wrote:

Susan-

Good luck with your first treatment. Having a plan/entertainment really helped me- things to read and things on the ipod. I had a really great nurse for most of my treatments and often my husband and I spent a fair bit of time talking with her. You can move around (as much as you can when hooked up to an IV pole). I actually kind of got into a little routine of things that made me sort of like going. Hey, I had to go so why not make the best of it. Don't miss it however. Country music and bluegrass pair well with bc I think. Klezmer... not so much.

Feb 8, 2008 04:24PM lewing wrote:

OK, I have to join this conversation...I've been mostly lurking around this site since my 1/15 dx, learning a fair amount, but not really inclined to post much on the treatment-oriented threads (perhaps because I don't yet know what my treatment is going to be, and won't until after my 2/26 lumpectomy/SLNB).  But this discussion really caught my eye, both because I fit the bill (yep, another atheist with BC), and because of all the great comments and support it's sparked. 

I can shrug off the prayer comments, and appreciate them for where they're coming from, but prayer and religious belief are not and never will be my thing.  I'm taking a lot of pleasure these days in watching the ice form and break up on Lake St. Clair (each day it looks a little different), in going for runs (the topic of the one other conversation that drew me in), and in being with friends.  I'm surprised how calm I am, generally, and am not sure what to attribute it to.

Oh, and I'm a cat owner too - of a calico and a tortoise-shell, both female, who like to curl up together on any clothes I've left lying around.  They're the only creatures on earth who actually *like* the smell of my clothes after I've been out for a run!

Warm thoughts to all of you...

Feb 9, 2008 07:08PM - edited Feb 9, 2008 07:08PM by paige-allyson

Suzy- I can't believe it! You have made me nostalgic for the Dana Farber chemo lunch menu! I never ate the sandwiches...or maybe once I did. I mainly remember the chicken kebabs and the fruit salad. Even though I never had major nausea I accidently gave myself a short-lived aversion to broccoli by having it during my chemo. For one or two weeks afterwards I kept having intrusive thoughts of broccoli accompanied by feeling briefly queasy. I'd learned about this in psychology class in college but it was another thing to experience it- "the Garcia effect."

Susan- glad you escaped the depression. It hit me hard during my chemo and there was a point where I was probably more at risk for dying of that than from the BC. Thank goodness for SSRIs! The positive side is that having gone through such a rough time soon after my diagnosis I seem to have processed it and come out on the other side- embracing my life and at relative peace (most of the time) with the uncertainties that go with the diagnosis. Some women seem to have a really hard time after tx is over. This hasn't happened to me yet and I don't think it will. I am so grateful to be feeling better physically and mentally- I'm doing work that I love having ditched my previous job which I'd stayed in way to long and was draining me. Anyhow....enough rambling.

Lewing- wishing you the best on your upcoming SNB, etc. I have found both exercise (now back to running a bit now that the tx is over) and being out in nature to be a huge source of comfort.

Warm wishes to all of you. It's been a a crazy day here. Our younger dog Wendy (three year old dashund) hurt her back and had to go to the vet this morning. The nerves in her back legs and her bladder control are affected so caring for her has been a bit labor intensive. She's on a bunch of meds that we hope will work but basically I am seeing a trip to the veterinary neurosurgeon in our future. She is such a sweet dog, doesn't complain, has never done a bad or mean thing in her life. I keep tearing up when I see her looking miserable. Luckily we are not too far from Tufts. Uggh!

Feb 10, 2008 01:39PM guitarGrl wrote:

Ally - I can understand why people get depressed when tx is over. I felt a bit lost when the nurse practitioner from the surgeon said goodbye & sent me upstairs to the onc's office. I only saw her twice, but it was like "where did my support go?" All the medical staff has been so nice, it must be hard when you are back on your own.

Well Chaco & Joli are sending their best thoughts to Wendy. It's harder when pets are sick - you can't explain things to them. They just look at you with those sad eyes & your heart melts & you do what you can do.

Today I have to figure out how to get myself to eat. I'm pretty shaky & can't figure out if it's going off the steroids or lack of protein or both. That tea tree oil left an awful taste in my mouth that's making it harder. Yuck. No, I didn't drink it, but the smell ...

Susan

Feb 11, 2008 01:03PM smithlme wrote:

I, too, have enjoyed this thread. What a breath of fresh air. Here's my 2 cents worth...

On Monday, January 28th I had TRAM flap reconstruction. Right after surgery I was told there was a problem and I might lose the flap. Phone calls and emails went out across the country and prayer chains were started. On Tuesday, I had emergency surgery to see if there was a blood clot causing the problem. I woke up to hear a voice tell me, "I'm sorry we couldn't save it." The flap was removed and the muscle was amputated. I am the "fluke" 1% that this happens to. So...what happened? All those prayers went unanswered? God has another plan for me? It can be explained a million different ways.

I am who I am, and I live as I do. I walk this path I have been given and I will fight to get where I want to go. I put my trust in doctors to give me treatments that will destroy the Cancer and prolong my life. I read everything I can get my eyes on and choose to be positive and to continue to move forward. As I told my PS, I always have a "Plan B."

Thank you to all the brave women out there who join me in this battle. It doesn't matter who or where we get our strength from, as long as we continue to fight...

Linda

Feb 11, 2008 01:15PM anneshirley wrote:

Linda,

I'm so sorry that you tram flap reconstruction didn't work.  I feel that something else will work for you, and I send you my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  In the end, for me anyway, it was the support of friends and family, and mainly my husband, that got me through this and is still getting me through.

My very best wishes and hopes go with you.

Feb 11, 2008 02:54PM Calypso wrote:

I've been lurking on the edges of this conversation, too.  Very interesting and inspiring to hear feedback from The Dudess's original post.  I felt somewhat awkward with all the prayers my Christian family kept telling me over and over again about.  But then my mother-in-law told me she was reciting Buddhist prayers and lighting incense for me at their family alter, and my native american friend did a drum wash for me, and my witch friends said spells for me, and after a while, it just felt like lots and lots of people holding me up, and it felt good.

Feb 12, 2008 01:54PM guitarGrl wrote:

Ally - forget the rest of us. The important question is how is Wendy doing? We can express ourselves - she can't. Do they play the Westminster dog show on TV as entertainment? Though I could see that that might drive Wendy crazy - "that dog isn't as cute as me - why all the fuss!"

I had a lot of fun this morning going to the grocery story and buying any kind of junk food at all that I thought might have some taste. Ice cream, plastic cheese, candy. I may gain weight, but if I can stay awake, that'll be the best thing.

And like the rest of you - I will accept prayers or any thing else whether I believe or not. And I really do like gospel songs - have never understood that - guess good music is good music no matter what the underlying message is.

susan

Feb 13, 2008 07:51PM guitarGrl wrote:

Talk about a face only a mother could love (I mean the kitten - not Wendy or your niece who are both beautiful), Yeah she's improved. Just about anything would be an improvement! So cute though. When I first got the little brown guy, he looked like a monkey. Grew into his features.

Saw a new fish I hadn't seen before today - it was a fish with fins that made it look like a space ship & inside it said "science." On a Prius of course.

susan