2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

ravdeb

Hi All...

Brenda..thanks for the food list! My brain must be way up there with all the chocolate I eat!!! I actually eat the other things on the list. Hard to believe but I love vegies and nuts and then chocolate for dessert!

TRacy..sounds like a great day!

Good to hear from all of you...

We don't celebrate Labor Day here. A year ago today was my first lumpectomy (excisional biopsy). And today, in a short time, I take my daughter to get that suspicious mole removed. DH was going to go with us but his mom is returning to Israel after a month in the States and he won't be back from the airport in time to join us. So, we need to navigate through Haifa to find this hospital. We have our map. Hopefully we won't get lost. Just that I have to drive the big van to the city and though dh promises there is good parking at the hospital, I have my doubts. But...away we go!!!!!

My friend wrote to me and she said she had a mole that was the same description as my daughter's and it was nothing. Hope my daughter's is nothing too!!!!

Enjoy the day off for those who have one...

sherryhaire

Ravdeb will be thinking of you and your daughter today Please let us know how it goes

Anonymous

Hearing about cathy, sherry and ravdeb makes me happy Teryn is only at risk on the playground. I would have a hard time worrying about her river rafting, motorcycle riding or having a suspicious mole. Bigger the kid, bigger the problem. But they are always our babies.

Everyone, have a great day off!

debbie444

I had a motorbike when i was 19, in fact Roger bought it for me. Full faring racing bike. It didnt last long , realised i liked the idea of being a biker chick rather than the practicalities!
Tracey - i think the address idea is great - i was going to try and collect what i could before Christmas. I understand about people wanting privacy tho.
Ravdeb, i hope by the time i write this everything has been ok with your daughter. Touch wood. Have you had Galaxy chocolate? It is the best ! America may do most things better than the UK but i am afraid it doesnt compare in the chocolate stakes!
I had to go into work today - shock!!!!!! I sat through a policy meeting understanding about half of what was going on. Must try harder!¬

Hope everyone had a good weekend - still raining here.
DEbbie

P.s - Kelly - what are saddle shoes?

Anonymous

I can totally relate to everyone who worries about their children. I think that the only worse thing than having a life threatening experience yourself is for your children to go through the same thing.

It's 9:00 AM Labor Day and I just had a full breakfast of bread, eggs and a side dish of spinach and onions, lightly sauteed. I think it is psychological, but since my dx my body just does not feel well without greens in my meals.

Debbie - When are you going back into the classroom? Does the UK have pretty much the same schedule as the US? Most of the schools here start tomorrow, the 5th, but some started last week. We had a half day meeting last week, then we got to work in our classrooms the rest of the week. I am so looking forward to meeting my new set of second graders!

debbie444

Someone sent me this

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now.

If not now ... when?

Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.


"For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin.
But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way.

So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time ... and remember that time waits for no one ...

So stop waiting until you finish school ... until you go back to school ... until you lose ten pounds ... until you gain ten pounds ... until you have kids ... until your kids leave the house ... until you start work ... until you retire ... until you get married ... until you get divorced ... until Friday night ... until Sunday morning ... until you get a new car or home ... until your car or home is paid off ... until spring, until summer ... until fall ... until winter ... until you are off welfare ... until the first or fifteenth ... until your song comes on ... until you've had a drink ... until you've sobered up ... until you die ... until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy ...

Happiness is a journey ... not a destination!!

Thought for the day:

"Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching."

Author:
Crystal Boyd

ravdeb

Debbie..thanks for sharing that..really nice.

and by the way...saddle shoes are those little white shoes tie shoes with the black on them. I wore those in high school and Kelly's daughter has them on in the picture and I just LOVE those!!!!

Okay..today's story with my daughter... I almost chickened out and took the train to the hospital but then decided to be brave and pray there was parking and we wouldn't get lost.

So dh tells us to start out early. It takes an hour to get there, including parking, but we gave ourselves 2 hours in case we got lost Haifa is full of winding streets and they totally confuse me if I make a wrong turn, which I did..or rather I didn't turn when I was supposed to and went straight but that winding road took us just to where we needed to be!

Anyway..we got there an hour early, so we sat outside. Daughter was nervous. So was I. We finally go into the office there and announce our presence. The doctor finally calls us in, looks at her mole and then says...It will be removed a WEEK FROM THIS FRIDAY! I'm like...WHAT???? I asked him why he couldn't do it from this office.

And then the truth came out. This appointment was in a private hospital. That's where they told me he worked. I didn't know this. I just asked for an appointment with this doctor from Haifa who is a part of our insurance group. Okay..so why didn't the secy tell me this?

The good thing that came out of this is that this is the anniversary of my lumpectomy and it's best that she NOT have her biopsy done on this date, IMHO.

But STILL! Now we have to wait even longer and when I asked him if this was a wise thing to do..to wait yet another week and a half..he said it would make no difference.

And NOW...spoke to my girlfriend who is an expert on this stuff only because she had melanoma insitu. She said no margins should be removed and I know that my daughter will be getting margins removed. She said there's no reason to have margins removed unless the mole has cancer in it. If not..why make a deeper cut? hmmmmmmmmmmm....have no idea.

I'm so confused!

Anonymous

saddle shoes!

ravdeb

oops..didn't finish the story...the biopsy has to be done in the clinic that belongs to our insurance group. This way we only pay a $5 fee and they send the sample to the lab through our insurance. If she had had it done at this private hospital, we would have had to pay the full fee for surgery.

ravdeb

YES...love those shoes!!!!

Graycie

Ravdeb, Didn't he give you any reassuring news when he looked at it that it may not be cancer? I know how nervous you and your daughter must be and now having to wait another week. Well, maybe that means he doesn't think it is cancer but wants it out as a precaution. I hope all this worrying is all for nothing...I will keep her in my prayers. My daughter goes tomorrow for her mammogram. I am nervous for her too....

Kelly, I like your picture of the saddle shoes....You are so smart when it comes to the computer. I would have no idea how to do that....

Graycie

Graycie

OK, I was wondering about a biopsy......

ravdeb

Graycie...
yep..there will be a biopsy. He looked at the mole but not for a very long time. He just said...uh huh.

It was looked at by the dermatologist over a week ago. The doctor we saw today is a ps and doesn't specialize in skin cancer per se.

This private hospital specializes in all kinds of cosmetic and plastic surgery, among other things. I didn't realize that til I looked it up on the internet to get directions on how to get there. All that came up was how to make yourself more beautiful. The entire hospital looks like an expensive hotel. I was shocked. I know that the cancer center I go to is really high quality and very beautiful, but this really topped it! I guess that's cuz you are going there to make yourself beautiful so I guess the building itself needs to be that way, too!

At any rate... we will need to wait on this surgery and I aint happy about that one bit! ugh... I couldn't even sleep last night. I thought I was missing a paper that my daughter needed. I was up and out first thing in the morning to ask about that. Wasn't missing anything. Then I got nervous about parking my "tank"...

Never mind..told my dh that next time HE does the driving!

Graycie

Ravdeb, you sound just like me......I am the biggest worrier about everything. I would have done the same thing as you, checking all my paper's, mapping out the trip, leaving early and worrying about traffic and parking. I only feel comfortable where I know where I am.
Graycie

debbie444

Hope all goes well Ravdeb.
I too am worrying about my daughter but for different reasons. Tomorrow she starts senior school. I have packed pencil cases, ironed gym and games uniform and labelled winter uniform until i am blu in the face - thats all i can do. We are walking her to the bus stop in the morning - she has never been on a bus before on her own either. Plus iam worried for her as she hardly knows anyone, there are 2 other from her primary school and one girl we have found who lives not far from us. I am sure she will be ok, shes coped with worse this past year - but i worry - its my job!

Majority of schools go back on Wednesday, her year go back earlier so they can adjust to the new school without the crowds! I go back Wednesday too, but its not long till half term!

Debbie

scallion - is that a spring onion?

debbie444

P.s - my doc gave me some tablets for my joint pain - they are marvellous! I am not quite as supple as i was yet but i dont stagger around anymore - HURRAH!

TracySeattle

I have all of the songs for the CD and have downloaded them....

This is the last chance! Anyone else want to add a song to the CD?

Just let me know! I will be "burning" them soon!

TracyNY

You may all know about New York City’s Chinatown and it being the mecca for counterfeit merchandise. You name it, they have it; Prada, Balenciaga, Coach, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, all fake.

So two girlfriends of mine came to town for the weekend and decided that they wanted to go and buy stuff. I don’t play with knock off, if it “fell off the back of a lorry” I’ll take it but I don’t mess with the fakes.

Due to increased police vigilance they can no longer sell these purses out in the open. Someone will whisper “Coach, Louis, Prada” in your ear and you follow them to the secret rooms where they conceal their stuff.

Off we go behind a woman who takes us through a building, up three flights, round the corner, in a few doors and into a crowded room filled with Fendi Spy bags, Vuitton duffels, and Gucci dog carriers. My friends decide they don’t see what they want so the lady takes us out the door. I think we’re heading back to the street but we go into an elevator which is going up. We are led off at the top floor and I am praying to God that she isn’t taking us somewhere to steal our kidneys. To make matters worse, she goes into a medical office, through the surgery and I’m about to wet my pants.

In the back of the doctor’s office somewhere there is another secret room full of even more bags. Again my friends are hemming and hawing and I said venomously that they had better buy something if I’m going to risk arrest! One of them purchased a $15 Coach hat. After that we had to find our way back to the street from this cavernous building and I said that’s enough of that.

Until a tiny lady sitting in a doorway goes “Psst, Louis?” Here we go again. Luckily we didn’t have to go all around the houses for this stash. At the back of the store concealed between the display racks was a secret door! Just like in a James Bond film! Well I was too through! And after all that, I got soaked to my skin at least four times on Saturday afternoon, for a $15 fake Coach hat.

How was your weekend?

marymelodi

Just came by to check up on everyone. I was totally lazy today . . . no labor for me on Labor Day. I knitted, read a mystery, napped twice, and then sadly watched a TV program about that crocodile hunter, Steve Irwin, from Australia, who was killed today. We like watching the Animal Planet channel and at one time almost always watched his show when eating dinner in the evening. So sad for a young man with a little family and many loved ones. There is no end to tragedy in this world.

Ravdeb: Oh my gosh, what a worry for you. I am like you, too. Planning every detail, leaving early, and wanting every little thing to go smoothly. So sorry there is no resolution to this worry for you.

I never wore saddle shoes. I had Mary Janes. Now I'm hip and wear a pair of Crocs. Love those shoes.

Tracy: aw-w-w!! A puppy! I love dogs just as much as cats. Sound like a great day at the river for you and the doggy.

Cathy: Have a safe journey.

Graycie: Good luck to your daughter tomorrow. Hope all is well. Have you survived the rainy last few days here in western New York? My basement got damp on Saturday, but not too badly.

Debbie and Adnerb: Good luck going back to school and work. Hope you enjoy returning to "normal" activities.

To everyone else: have a good day tomorrow and hope all is well for you.

Mary

TracySeattle

TaDah! What an adventure! I would have been scared to death! I am so glad you survived and are here to tell about it!

Ravdeb - I am so sorry that you are having to wait more. That really stinks.... You and your daughter are still in my prayers!

Mary - Good Day for relaxing! Glad you were able to enjoy it!

I met the pink haired guy for coffee today. HE IS VERY CUTE! 6'5" tall if you could imagine him in a pink wig, tights and a mini skirt! He loved being at the three day and Loved entertaining all of the women (what man wouldn't??? 75 guys and 3,000 women for a whole weekend!!!). He is very much into volunteering and making a difference. He has had some major health challenges and understands where we are all coming from when it comes to surviving.... He even has a pink ribbon tattoo!!! We had a very nice visit.... Who knows what will come of it - a new friend, I hope!

Well, I am off to bed, up at 4am and off to work in the morning!

Love you all!

debbie444

Tracey - sounds like you had a good day - its always nice to add to your friends.
Tadah - it reminds me of when we went to Turkey the first time. We were looking in a jewellers window in Kusadasi when this old man starts talking to us about his son who was a jeweller. Befor ewe knew it we were off, through the bacl alleys, into the souk, out into the medina into areas which were not on the tourist map. We ended up sitting crossed legged on a Turkish carpet, seeminbgly in the middle of nowhere, being introduced to 1000s of relatives, before being shown bits and peices. Thought we had gone, never to be seen again!

I have just seen Catherine off on the school bus.


It doesnt seem that long ago since she was like Teryn!
I feel strangely bereft ! There was another first year getting on and his mum was worse than me. There were a couple of sixth form boys getting on and they promised to make sure that they all got off at the right stop this afternoon!

As for songs , you have mine. IO also like 'Nans song' by Robbie Williams. Its a bit sad for the cd but if you get a chance to have a listen do - its beautiful

Debbie

marymelodi

Debbie:
Oh my, what a young lady. I'll bet in a few weeks the nice, neat look will be slightly mussed, but today she is looking great! Hang in there - she'll be back soon and have lots to tell you.
Mary

Graycie

Tadah, OMG, I am glad you are safe....I too would have been scared to death. I probably would have had a heart attack....

Tracy, It sounds like you met your match. He sound's like a nice guy. I hope you are able to go out with him again and like you said if nothing else you have a new friend.

Debbie, Love the picture's of Catherine. She looks so cute and grownup.

Well, I'm off to work, Everyone have a Nice Day!

Graycie

Graycie

TracySeattle

Oh Debbie! She looks so grown up! You are going to have fun this afternoon when she gets home and tells you about her day!

I have the first cut at the CD and it is awesome! There is still room so I am going to add some of the 2nd choices that a few of you sent me.

Well, I am back at work.... Better get busy.
Have a good day everyone!

Anonymous

Debbie, you have a beautiful young lady there!! Oh my, they grow too fast.

--------
Steve Irwin got stung by a stingray! He is the CrocHunter ... what was he doing in the ocean??

--------
Tadah, too funny and scary I bet. San Francisco can be like that, too, in Chinatown. Then they make that X-Files show about taking body parts from chinese men who gamble .... takes place in SF.

debbie444

Nearly time to meet the bus - cant wait!
Its the Catholic High School that she goes to and they are really strict with uniform - she will have to look like this each morning! Thet arent allowed to colour their hair intil they reach the 6th form, no mobiles ipods etc - even on the bus or they get confiscated and returned at the end of term , when parents are summoned to collect them! One pair of stud earrings, one religious necklace, one plain watch etc. Personally i think its a good thing, i went to boarding school and it was even stricter!
Debbie
Really looking forward to the CD!

Anonymous

Hi Girls!
I have an official team in place for the Komen Chicago Race for the Cure! It's a 5k walk on September 30th. Check out my fundraising page:

http://www.active.com/donate/chicagorftc2006/LVincen1

Rosemarie -
The photos of your little ones are really cute. Although...Justin...the bumps and bruises - broke my heart! Are you still scheduled for your exchange surgery on the 15th? Don't forget...if you're feeling up to it I would love for you to walk with us on the 30th. And, you are going to love the Fall season here in the midwest quite a contrast to FL! The colors of the leaves and...there will be lots of pumpkin patches and Halloween activities for the kids (hay rides are fun - especially through haunted corn fields - BOO!).

TaDah -
You are something else! Never a dull moment with you! You really should write a book.
The Adventures of Tadah or... Tadah and the Bronze Nipples or...The adventures of Tadah and her Girls!. LOL

Debbie444 -
Catherine looks adorable! So prim and proper! That photo brought me back to my parochial days! I hated wearing leggings/tights especially on a 90 degree day in an un-air-conditioned school! Also, can you post a photo of the First Aid Kit? I think the girls here would get a kick out of it! Congrats on the new ride...be careful!

sherri -
So glad your son's accident wasn't more serious! Although road burns are not fun!

marymelodi -
I will be thinking of you on Oct. 1st!

Tracy -
Yay You! Can't wait to listen to the cd!

Cathy -
You were quite mobile this past weekend. What type of business are you in?

Amy -
Loved the photo of you and your family at the US Open! When do you move into your house?

Kelly -
Teryn is cute as ever! Where are you staying in Vegas?

Paula -
Hope your travels are going well and you're having lots of fun! Aussie girl...stay away from Stingrays!

Everyone -
Hey!

Laura

ravdeb

Hi Everybody!

Today is my one- year anniversary of my diagnosis. I feel great! Although I've reminded my dh about this day, he hasn't mentioned it. He would like to forget the whole thing and doesn't think there is anything to celebrate. That's okay. I am celebrating that I feel very good, that I'm sure I killed the beast and that I'm living life for the present and that is good for me right now.

Thanks for the good wishes and prayers for my daughter. In some ways it was a good thing she didn't get it removed yesterday because that was when I had my lump removed, a year ago and I'm supersticious!

Glad to hear that I'm not alone when it comes to mapping out my route and getting nervous about parking! I'm proud of myself that I did it. A year ago I would have taken the train and a cab so that I wouldn't have had to worry about it. I am so happy I did it and found my way!

Tomorrow is Mammogram Day. I call it Smash-o-gram. YUCK. I think it will hurt more this time than before. My left side (THE side) feels weird. It will probably hurt.

Okay..another thing...my daughter told me yesterday that she has a strange pain on the bone between her breast. It could be her sternum..could be ribs. Not sure exactly where. She noticed it over the summer while we were away. It's not REAL painful..just when she presses on it. Of course, I told her NOT to press on it and then it wouldn't hurt. LOL But..is this something I should be worrying about? She mentioned it to me again today. She could be worried about it. Maybe I'll google and see what I can come up with.

Tracy..Glad you had fun with the Pink Man. Just one question... was his hair pink and was he wearing tights when you went out???

Very cool about the cd! You are great Tracy!!!

Tadah... that was quite an experience!

Debbie..she is soooo cute in her uniform! Here the only uniforms you MIGHT see in some schools would be school t-shirts that the kids have to wear at some schools.

Had a field vision test today. Really hard on my dry eyes I now have thanks to chemo. she had to stop it in the middle because my eye was tearing up. But, I passed!

ravdeb

Graycie..did your daughter haver her mammogram?

TracyNY

Quote:

---

TaDah - my brother works at a place called Katra (sp??) I think he said it's on Bowery Street - since I don't know NY I have no idea if this is correct but he said he's the only male bartender. Please let me know if you bump into him

Katra's is on the Bowery in lower Manhattan. Its a Mediterranean restaurant. I don't usually travel that far to drink. We have crazy bars in Brooklyn!
hope everyone is having a great weekend - (the computer and the phone - as soon as I either answer the phone or get on the computer everyone seems to need me AAAAAAHHHHH!)

---