2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

sherryhaire

Debbie--How Funny--Loved it--Woke up this morning and can finally breathe-this sinus infection had really gotten me down but this morning I am finally feeling better. For a few days there I think I was feeling worse than when I was on Chemo, Didn't think that was possible. Today I think I'll go watch some PeeWee Football-Best Friends son plays.Hope everyone is doing great and has a wonderful weekend.

TracyNY

I got a message from my PS office letting me know that I had been misinformed about my appointment time. He sees post-op patients on Thursdays so I have to walk around like a high schooler with her bra stuffed out for almost another week!

Not to worry, I'm working from home (if you can believe that!!) in my jammies.

Kelly: I do have photos of my home decorating projects but I think they are on my desktop computer which is on the blink. I will look for some on my laptop which I use these days to share with y'all.

Debbie: I got the package last night, my stomach was full from the Thai food but I will be mauling them Black Jacks the minute I brush my teeth!! Bet they are horrible!! Remember when they used to cost 1/2p?!

Anonymous

We used to have Black Jack gum. Is that the same thing??

Anonymous

This is going to be a long one...
Lots of construction going on at the boob sites! LOL You are all so brave - and like Victoria, I am green with envy and so very happy for each of you. Glad to read that for the most part, everyone's doing well. The Chicago Komen 5k is next Saturday. My dh and I are team captains and we have 18 team members! Our on-line fundraising page has exceeded our $1500 donation goal. Our team is called No Surrender (there's a girl here who uses that name as her screen name. I sent her a PM telling her she inspired me!). I'm so excited. I have missed not being here more often. I'm having a hard time multi-tasking. I used to be really good at it, but since chemo, I just don't function the same. I think about you girls many times throughout the day. Next week will be one year since I had the Axillary Node Dissection FROM HELL. 11 nodes were removed. That surgery caused me incredibly horrific pain, I'm not kidding - I was actually screaming from my hospital bed for help! I stayed in for 4 days. They tried everything from Morphine to Fentanyl. It felt as though there were sheets of sandpaper under my skin rubbing against my skin! And all this happened only three weeks after having a Mast. I get very emotional when I think back to it. And it really suc#*% because the pain lasted the next 9 months! Not as severe as in the beginning, but still quite bad. Whew, I'm glad that's over. I wouldn't wish that on my worst frickin' enemy!

Kelly -
I love BlackJack ad Beemans! Best to you this Sunday at the Walk! I'll be cheering you on long-distance! Did you register as part of a team? Are you doing the 5k? Let me know how it goes. Post some pics if you can.

Maryanne -
Congrats! You made it through the past year and have emerged stronger than ever.

Tracy -
Hope you're enjoying the retreat! Is Cheryl the one from Ohio?

Tadah -
Congrats on the nipples. Those headlights are shining bright! You continue to crack me up.

Sherryhaire -
Glad you're feeling a little better. Congrats...you have a date with the PS!

ravdeb -
Hmmm...I'm curious about your latest venture. Who inspired you? Happy Holidays to you and your family.

Amy -
Your energy is amazing! No time to think about bc...that's great! The first night in your new house will be one you'll never forget! Happy Holidays to you and your family too!

marymelodi -
Radio interview...this may be, according to the words of Andy Warhol, your 15 minutes with fame. That's so exciting! Please, definitely let us know if there's a link to it. My dh has a shortwave radio - I could probably tune it in if you let me know the call letters. You wrote ..."I'm also going to take the pink socks and wear my pink shirt to the interview. What do you think about that???"
I think you should throw on a pair of pants? LOL

Victoria -
You're so sweet...yes I am still extremely busy! Not handling it as well as I used to (pre-bc days). I can't wait to see the masterpiece. The photo you posted of your last one, was great. You are quite talented.

Rosemarie -
Sounds like you're doing good one week later. Congrats to you and your girls!

Graycie -
Thanks for the card! So sweet of you to take the time to send it. Yeah, you and me...no doubt about it...Paranoid and More Paranoid. LOL

Debbie -
I'm so happy your Dad is doing well! You wrote... "Nothing a paper bag and bright lipstick won't cure"...that was hilarious! Here's one for you...A good friend would bail you out of jail...but a great friend would sit next to you and say..."Damn, that was fun!"

Brenda, chumfry, cathy, Paula (I hope I didn't forget anyone) -
Hi there... hope all is well. Hope you're having a great weekend.

Rock on...
Laura

ravdeb

Laura..I can so relate to your comment about not functioning the same as before chemo.

I had really taken a break when I was in treatments, in order to heal myself. I took advantage of that time because I also wanted to quit teaching. So, I wasn't working at all. After treatments I was away for 2 months.

Now that I'm back and working on my new business, and trying to get back into a regular routine, I find that I flub up on so many simple tasks. Even grocery shopping (which I did obviously during treatments or we would have starved!)is confusing to me. I find myself forgetting things, running all over the store totally unorganized, etc. I was never like that. And I go with a list but I tend to miss things, forget to put things on my list and for some reason I can't just remember the regular stuff.

I have found this to be with my cooking, too. And the work that I did in our community on a weekly basis...can't keep that straight either. I feel like it's all new to me and everything is so confusing. I was never like that before.

This past week I really noticed it and was so frustrated. Stupid things like messing up totally with the cake I made..a cake I've made zillions of times...I must have forgotten some ingredient and I felt like I couldn't keep the recipe straight while I was preparing it.

Seems like it happens all the time. I've been really frustrated with this and I totally blame the chemo for it. I had been warned before I went on chemo that I shouldn't do such an agressive one. Sometimes I wonder if I overdid it.

As for who inspired me about my new business I'm working on...it was a woman who is no longer on the boards. She wasn't part of the Rock-tober girls. But she and I are still in touch with each other.

Thanks for the good wishes for our holiday. My son was on his base this weekend so tomorrow (still holiday tomorrow) we will go and visit him there.

Be well everybody.

Anonymous

ravdeb -
Any snail-mail from Hawthorn Woods yet?
Laura

ake

want stronger nails? well, get some nutra nail....if you get the one with my freakin' face on it, your nails will grow SO WEIRD!!!

http://www.nutranail.com/br-survivers.shtml

Anonymous

Wow!! You're famous!

Anonymous

Just wanted you to know that I won't be walking alone tomorrow! My daughter's day care teacher, my very good friend and her 6 year old and my 5 year old will be walking together.

Next year we decided we are taking our RV's to the beach (which is 5 minutes from the walk) and spending the night over there! We are going to do this as a mother daughter team annually!

ravdeb

amy,
that is really neat!

Laura..no snail mail from your neck of the woods, so to speak! Mail is slow though which is why it's SNAIL Mail!!!LOL

Kelly..that is impressive. Good luck!

debbie444

Wow Amy - that is fantastic! How did that happen?
I will be honest, i hit two before i found you - i know you dont have short hair by choice but i think it actually suits you more - you see your features better!
Debbie

ake

thanks debbie. i'll probably keep my hair to my chin, but no longer thanks for the compliment.

this all happened because a woman i'm close with in my support group knows the publicity person at the young survival coalition and passed my name along with a picture

sherryhaire

Wow We have someone famous in our group!! I will be going out to find some nutra nail!!!

Anonymous

That is so cool! I still remember your tv interview - way back when - about the Diep procedure! You're truly a (rock) star!
Laura

debbie444

We could start a fan club !
Debbie

maryannecb

Amy too cool. I also hit two others first. It is hard to imagine you with long hair. Your short hair looks awesome too.

I had a girls only weekend. I travelled a few hours from home and spent the best part of yesterday shopping. I usually hate shopping and have a hard time buying anything. Well something got into me yesterday as I was ablt to literally shop til I dropped. Stuff I needed but kept pitting off buying. You know sheets, towels socks etc. It was fun.

At 5 oclock we went to a rock concert. The show opened with Alice Cooper and closed with the Rolling Stones. Way to make me feel younger. These guys were icons when I was a teen so to see them in concert was amazing. There were 50,000 people in an open area with a temporary stage 8 stories high. And although it rained from afternoon to evening the mood in the crowd was spirited and high energy. I had a 2 dollar poncho over my clothes so was only half wet. Mick Jagger was inspiring. He can still move at 63. If you get a chance to see them, go for it.

Hope you are all well and happy.

Fists up!

Anonymous

Here we are ....

Anonymous

I have to tell you all about today. It was soooo emotional to pull up to the area where the Komen Walk was held. It was 7am and the place was packed. There were vendors and easy-ups set up and thousands of people. There so many women wearing pink. I cried as we pulled into the parking garage.

I was with the Zeta team and they had sent me a VIP parking pass and VIP area pass so parking was so close and very easy. I cried about that ...that the head of the soriority had chosen to give me the passes. We got to the sorority booth and I got two care bags ... one for survivors and one for raising the most money on my team. Great goodies. But I cried about that.

I went to the Survivors Tent with my little group and I couldn't even cross the threshhold without breaking down. Another survivor grabbed me and helped me to get coffee and register for the raffle. It was so awful to see THAT many women with this awful disease that we had. It was so emotional to see how alone we ARE NOT. The Survivor's Hospitality tent had lots of goodies and too many women.

The Survivors' Ceremony was another emotional venture and I met Grace. Grace just finished chemo and was full of tears as well. We decided to walk the survivor parade together and sit together for the ceremony. We both couldn't believe what was happening. Grace is like many of us ... young with children, 2 of them. She wonders about her hair and she fears the unknown.

This walk was the 15th walk in Orange County. There were women with 30 strands of beads ..... one strand for each year of survival. There was even a man there with several strands of beads! Boy did he get cheers for sitting smack dab in the middle of us. When I got my beads (in the Survivor Tent) I broke down again and the lady giving me my beads hugged me and cried with me. It was so hard to do this!!!! It was not easy and not a fun day. But it was a necessary day. The Komen foundation raised so much money today ... millions (I forget the total) just from today's event.

Teryn was a registered walker and so were my friends and my friend's 6 year old daughter. Along the walk were posters of women who are survivors or have passed away. One lady had no clue her family had ordered her picture to be made into a poster and hung along the walk. She broke down when they came upon her pic on the tree. There were cheerleaders from the high schools, there were Boy Scouts with water and live bands along the way. It was a true community effort to put this event on.... Next year we will stay at the RV park and do an overnight so we don't have to get up so early.

Here are some photos:


Grace and me


The Survivor Parade

Grace

A poster

Anonymous

Look at the weather, it couldn't have been better!!

Anonymous

Kelly -
I was so incredibly touched to see you and Teryn looking so beautiful and smiling with your rocktober shirts on! What a day you had! You look fabulous. I thought about you all day...wondered how everything went. The weather was great for you! You are such a trooper and a great MOM. I'm all choked up...

Laura

TracyNY

Wow! Everyone is doing their part for the cause. Congratulations Amy, Laura, and Kelly. I am not up for all that.

It looks like you had a good day and Teryn looks like a little doll in her t-shirt.

maryannecb

Kelly, what a day for you and Teryn. I cried when I looked at the two of you in your pink shirts.

I did a relay for life earlier this year and was unprepared for the everwhelming despair I felt for being part of the group. In the past I watched and this year I was part of it...Like you I also felt hopeful as there were so many longterm survivors.

Congratulations on your fundraising and tell Teryn she looks great in pink.

Tadah, hope your dinner went well. any news?

Fists up!
Fists

debbie444

Oh Kelly, no wonder you cried, i cried reading about it. Your hair looks fab by the way! You look really young in the one with Teryn and she looks suitably proud of her Mum.
The weather made me laugh. Here in the UK our walks usually get rained on big style. Last year was so wet that the dye was coming out of my trousers. Its a good job the Tshirts are big, we intend wearing them OVER our coats!!
Debbie

ravdeb

Kelly...I, too, had tears when I read your post and saw the pictures. You are beautiful, Kelly, and Teryn is just absolutely adorable. How wonderful that the two of you did this.

I think it is very exciting that so many of the Rock-tober women are taking part in so many activities that can help bc. I hope to learn what is going on in Israel that I can take part in when I go for my follow-up with my onc in October. There must be something here somewhere! They just don't advertise much so it's really hard to know what is going on. I went into the Israeli Cancer Society website but I didn't find anything on it.

TracySeattle

Hi Rock-Tober Sisters!

Kelly - what a story. Wow. You brought tears to my eyes too. Isn't it amazing the number of women that are dealing with this disease? And isn't it amazing the connections we have all made because of it? You and Teryn look so good!

I too wore my Rock-Tober Girls shirt this weekend. I shared our story with my group at the retreat. They loved the fact that we have all become such close friends. I bet that some of them might come visiting our little Rock-Tober corner of bc.org. The retreat at Harmony Hill was such a wonderful experience. There were 18 of us there, we split into two groups for support group sessions and then we had meditation, guided imagery and yoga classes as one group. We were at all stages of the Breast Cancer journey. One young woman who is just turning 30 is dealing with Stage IV metastisied bc (lungs & liver). She was such an inspiration to us all, she has embraced her situation and it is doing what she can to live her life to the fullest. She has two kids ages 4 and 6 (I think). Then there was another woman who just started chemo, she was pulling her hair out in clumps yesterday which just made me cry & hug her..... What an amazing experience this was! Our group included a doctor and an attorney, we were from all walks of life, with different situations and experiences. We have so many sisters out there.

Well, I am at work, but I wanted to stop in and see what is going on with all of you this morning and let you know about my weekend. Jan took pics, I will post the link when I have it.

If anyone can make it here to the Seattle area, you definitely need to experience Harmony Hill.... What a gift to those who are deaing with cancer. I wish that each of you and every cancer patient could have the opportunity to experience what Jan, Cheryl and I did this weekend.

I love you all - more later

ravdeb

Sounds wonderful Tracy. You are OUR inspiration. You have the gift of touching others and reaching out to others with such grace.

ake

kelly...you and your daughter are beautiful. right after i saw those pictures, my husband and i signed up for the komen race in virginia beach. we debated whether or not to do it or take a break from it all, but we have to...we just have to stay involved.

went to the drugstore...saw the nutra nail...but they were sold out of my face!!! grrr.

have a good week ladies...i'll be touch and go. i'm going to nyc tonight for my brother's art opening! then coming back on wed. and closing for our house on thursday then going to a wedding for the weekend then moving on sunday!!! no time for cancer in this broad's life, that's for sure

love you all

-amy

debbie444

Your face must be the most popular!! I am glad you no longer have time for BC , thats the way to go.
Today was good at work, the little boy i work with, turned to me and said 'you are the smiliest person i know Miss , why are you always happy?' How do you explain that life i sso precious that i dont have time to be miserable anymore? He also said that he liked looking at books with me now, which is fantastic because it wasnt that long ago that he wouldnt speak or take any interset in anything, now he is teaching me Bengali! ( not sure whether he laughs because i am really bad or he is teaching me rude words tho)
Good to hear from you Tracey. I am not sure whether i could do a retreat like that, maybe a bit touchy feely for me, always been better at facing other peoples problems than my own.
Debbie

Anonymous

Amy, there were young women who were told they would never have children because of the chemo and estrogen. They had babies! You will have babies, too. I also met a 37 year old, 4 year survivor, who will be trying to get pregnant after she finishes 5 years of Tamoxifen. She is on some other medication as well to suppress the ovaries right now.

There was also a young woman that chose not to have children after cancer instead, she had puppies.

I am glad that you will do the walk, you will raise so much money and awareness.

---------
Tracy, you would make a great Cure Director. Have you looked into that?

ravdeb

Amy..I cracked up laughing when you said that your face was sold out!!! I sent the link to my daughter and she wanted to know if you were famous before bc and thought that was really neat that your face is on the nail polish.

Debbie...that's a beautiful story about the little boy you are teaching. I'm sure that your wonderful smile has helped him progress. He'll always remember you as his happiest teacher.