2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

TracySeattle

Oh Oh, that song didn't get onto the CD.... Don't kill me!!!

Anonymous

Tracy -
NO problem at all...it might have been considered annoying...

Everyone -
It was the song My Little GTO...LOL

Laura

marymelodi

Tracy - I can do that weekend. Nothing on my calendar for next October.

Laura - was that a Beach Boys song?

Mary

Anonymous

marymelodi -
There's a good possibility they did a version of it. I think about 10 different groups did versions back in the, I think, 50's/early 60's!
Laura

maryannecb

Laura, I feel sick thinking of you going through this @#$% again, possibly. It is one of my fears that my other breast might betray me too. I do hope they are overcalling things and your core biopsy will be uneventfully easy and totally benign.Then onward to your prophy as planned! It makes me wonder what to do with my other breast...

One of my favourite pics is with you Laura, with your fists up somewhere on a beach. Keep them up!

Ravdeb, you need to plan something fun . And don't forget sometimes counselling or meds are needed if your mood does not improve. Many suffer after such a hefty diagnosis.

My husband is Swiss, he has a great job there each winter. We have been married for five years and although this is not ideal it is the way it is. He has elderly parents he lives with in the winter and he is aterrific help for them. I am independent I guess. My first marriage broke down when my children were 2,3 and 6 so I learned to manage on my own. Even though he is not physically with me he is great emotional support and my best friend. It was awful last year...I had minimal disability benefits so we really could not afford him not working either. The community I work in has few job prospects so it was essential he go back. This year I am better so we can more easily do it.

Debbie, life sound fun at your house.

Amy, what a great trip. And you deserved that upgrade. I love your shorter hair ,it is more sophisticated. Your skin looks healthy too. I have found that my facial skin has never been better. Maybe we got something good from chemo after all.

Rosemarie, you had the harder task last year, leaving your home community...

Nice new avatar Mary. Tracy the Dave situation just gets better.

Hi to all the rest.

Fists up!

debbie444

Maryanne - i think the population of Switzerland must be transient! I have a friend whose son and daughter in law are Drs in Sw and travel back and forth and another friend who is married to an Iraqi but lives in Switzerland with him and here with family as he cant get a visa.
Mary - wow so much hair! I really must stop getting mine cut.
Laura - what can i say? You know we are all going through it with you xx

Today is good - Sam ( my dog ) is back. He goes to live with Grandad every bonfire weekend as Grandad doent go out and is partly deaf so the tv is so loud that Sam cant hear the fireworks. The house seems empty without him.

ravdeb

Laura... That is CRAP that you are going through all of this! I am so, so, sorry about this. I'm thinking that it just HAS to be B9 after all the treatments, so soon afterwards..can't be anything else! So, I'm going to just keep thinking this stuff.

And you know..we'll all be there next week for the core biopsy. Just picture us there!

Mary..you look great! Your hair looks great, too!

maryanne...today was much better! The sun was out when I woke up..could see it through the blinds. What a difference that makes! I got out and went to the beach armed with my new camera.

It was amazing there! The waves seem much more excited about the winter rains than I am. They were rolling and jumping and spreading themselves out onto the beach big time!

There was a group of school kids on a school trip there. They were flying kites (great for that since it was windy) and just having a ball because it was cool but sunny..maybe lower 70's. One little curly head kid had rubber boots on and he went into the sea at the edge, collected sea water, and carried it back to his friends. Not sure what he was going to do with it. Wanted to take a picture of him because he was so cute but didn't want to embarrass him!

A young woman was barefoot along the edge of the water and dancing. Yes..dancing along the edge instead of walking! It was lovely!

There was the regular fisherman out there. They actually do catch fish.

Some busload of American tourists were there climbing on the aquaduct. These were adults mind you. Besides...though there is no more sign, there was once a sign not to climb on this..it's part of the Roman ruins. But, the sign is gone as is the little fence that made it harder to climb up on it.

Debbie..Sam is so cute!

I will post pics after I get them on the computer. Now it's time to make lunch. Sun is still shining through! Thanks goodness for the sun!

Laura..you are in my thoughts..always.

ravdeb

Forgot to add... That first weekend in October would be okay with me. That weekend, according to the Jewish calendar will be my 2nd anniversary of my first chemo treatment. YIKES!
I would probably fly right into Laura's house cuz the day before is a holiday..then I'd fly to the States. Could arrive on the 5th...no problem. So, watch out Laura..here I come!

chumfry

Those October dates would work for me as well. I'm close enough to drive to the Chicago area.

Right now, I feel like Laura and I are in similar boats, rocking on the same stormy sea. I get a core biopsy tomorrow on a thickening in my good breast that I'm pretty sure is just scar tissue from my reduction surgery. The docs at Mayo are very cautious, which is good, but it's sometimes nerve-wracking.

debbie444

Cindy - thinking of you too. Oh well, i guess its something we are going to have to live with.
Victoria - Sams dad was a Yorkie. Everything in this house has more hair than me - even the guinea pig!!
Mary - the new pic you have posted looks like my aunt! Will post a pic if i can find one.
Debbie

Anonymous

Cindy -
I will be thinking of you tomorrow! Hang in there...rest assured knowing each of us will be there with you. B9 would be fine! I really wish there was a diagnostic machine that could decifer scar tissue and cysts from bc...wouldn't that be great. Please let us know how it goes.

debbie -
OMG - Sam is adorable! His bed is too...he obviously rules the house.

Laura

ravdeb

Cindy... One thing for sure..glad you are at Mayo and they are taking good care of you. I am thinking B9 and scar tissue. My rads doc thought something was weird by my scar but two oncs said it was scar tissue. Surgeon said all was okay too, though he asked for more mammo and US.

I'm thinking that you will be fine,too! But, yes..nerve wracking it is and I'm with you Victoria..but another 87 years??? yikes. I'd be 138! Not sure what good I'd be! HA!

Okay..so who is in for October 2007:
ravdeb
Victoria
Tracy
Laura
Cindy

Nice group but we are missing some names here!
Please add on to the list! We want 100% if possible.

ake

what were the dates again for October?

ravdeb

The dates that Tracy suggested were Oct. 5,6,7,8...a long weekend then???

RoseMarie

Count me in - I'll definitely be there next October!!

Cindy- will be praying for you too!!
Laura - ditto!! I HATE that you're going through this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think you guys have seen this picture - it's the one I e-mailed to my wig lady right before chemo:

Here is a recent picture...

RoseMarie

Mary - Your hair looks great! Your bangs are so long!!
Amy - I like your short hair too...

Gotta go...

Anonymous

Laura and Cindy, I am so sorry you are having to go thru this so early again!! It seems like we barely caught our breath and then get hit in the stomach like this.

I think of cancer every day. Someone said they didn't think of cancer until 12 noon one day. I think about it from the time I wake up. I think about it when I hear some song and I will tear up. I think about how awful it would be for my poor little girl if I were to get it again. I am really thinking about getting the prophy mast so I don't have to worry about the other boob.

Rosemarie and Mary, your hair is so long. Mine is still so short. I miss my hair. The other day, a couple came in to buy another trailer and I recognized them. The wife said no I had not done her paperwork 2 years ago ... it was a young woman with long hair. I wanted to cry. It was me. Chemo has aged me, put weight on me and taken my hair. I no longer look like me nor feel like me.

----
Debbie, my dog is named Samson, Sam for short. My dog would use that bed as a pillow!!! What a little cutie he is.

chumfry

Thanks for all the good wishes. I'm dreading the procedure but it will be good to know what's in there. I took great comfort in what Amy wrote earlier, about her husband saying she'd have the strength to get through another episode if necessary. That really calmed me down.

I keep reminding myself that the docs and I are on a fact-finding mission right now. We need info to make good decisions. And I'm trying not to "what-if" myself. I can't make decisions without information and we're in the process of getting information. So I'm telling the "what-if" part of my brain to SHUT UP!!

ravdeb

Okay..so who is in for October 2007:
ravdeb
Victoria
Tracy
Laura
Cindy
Rosemarie

Rosemarie..I LOVE your present picture with your new hair. You look GREAT! Of course, I saw you in person and you looked great then. But it has grown! wow! Mine has grown too but mine is out of control. Maybe it's the way it has been cut. The guy probably doesn't know how to cut it.

Kelly..I've been not recognized so many times it's pathetic! I can walk right past people who KNOW me! Sometimes this is a good thing..can go incognito. But sometimes I'd like people to say hi back to me because they know who I am and not because they are being polite!

Kelly..you look terrific in all of your pictures and you look very young...really! But, I know the feeling you are going through.

I'm there with you, Laura and Cindy! Can't believe this is happening.

TracySeattle

YAY!!! We have a date for our Get Together and hopefully we can all make it! We can consider other dates if there is a problem with the fist weekend in October. What a party we are going to have!!!!!

Cindy & Laura you are in my prayers and I just know everything will be fine!

Last night I went to our Kiwanis meeting. My EX was there. UGH - Seeing him just brought a lot of bad feelings flooding back to me. On the way home, Dave asked if I was OK and mentioned that I was unusually quiet (ha! You would think he would be happy about that!). I'm fine with it all, but I just wish my EX would go away....

Debbie - I love your dog! I am such a dog person and want one so bad (left three of them with my EX), but I realize that I am just not home enough to have one. My two cats will have to suffice for now.

I am so happy starting a new relationship, but you know what? I am really afraid of messing it up or finding out that it is not the right relationship. UGH - as wonderful as it is, it is hard too....

Tonight is our Cancer Support group meeting! Hope we add more people!

Have a good day everyone!

ake

Rosemarie...I love your hair short It's sassy!

Count me in for October

ravdeb

Okay..so who is in for October 2007:
ravdeb
Victoria
Tracy
Laura
Cindy
Rosemarie
Amy

Tracy..just take it one day at a time and slowly. You have nothing to worry about! If it is meant to be, it will work! If not...not. Just enjoy the fun of it. You deserve that!

Kelly... where are you? Can you come in oct? I remember something about your RV stuff. You are our secy not me!

I agree with Tracy..if this isn't a good date (Oct 5th, 2007) let's choose another one!

debbie444

Horrible day.
As i was letting my dad and cousin out of the house, Sam ran up to the road and was savaged by a dog being walked past. It slipped its lead and chased sam onto my lawn where he grabbed his throat and tossed him around. It took us 5 mins to get him free. To start with he was screaming but them he went quiet and limp and was like a rag doll. Dad was hitting the dog with a walking stick as i pulled its tail and the owner tried to get him off. When i got him free he was still and bleeding with holes in his head - it was awful. I ran about like amad thing locking up and dad rushed us to the vets. He stopped breathing in the car and i had to keep pushing his chest. When i got to the vets i was covered in blood and unmentionables. They said he stood no chance as he had gone, and they didnt know whether i wanted him putting down. Dad went to pick mark up from school as he was waiting for me. Roger was hours away with work. I spoke to him on the phone and he spoke to the vet and asked for the xrays and tests to be done.
Then Aunt mary who was with me was ill and the paramedics came for her ( after she had been on the vets oxygen). She had a heart attack. Dad had to go to the hospital with her so my father in law came to fetch mark and take him home to let Catherine in.
The vets told me he had a punctured windpipe, fractured bomes in his spine and had lost the use of his legs.
When Roger arrived they took him in to talk to him and said that Sam was fighting. They had him on a drip, antibiotics and oxygen. He was trying to move his front legs. They have shaved his head and neck and are keeping him stable. Now , if he survives the night they are wanting to operate tomorrow - he is not strong enough yet but he is trying. They are hoping it is just bruising that is stopping him from moving his hind legs.
The woman whose dog attacked him, just disappeared. Roger is furious. If we can get him better we will pay whatever, but he has to have quality of life. The vet has said that he is a fighter - they thought he would not get to the point he is at now - cant believe how tough he is. The vet have put a rough estimate of £750 on the op . Touch wood - think we have had more than our share of calamities

ravdeb

Today's picture at the beach taken with my new camera!

ravdeb

OMG Debbie! That is horrible, horrible, horrible! I've been through this with my dogs in the past. It's just horrible! I'm so sad for you. It's such an awful feeling.

And your aunt! I wish her a good recovery. What an awful day!

I hope your day is better tomorrow and that Sam improves..poor thing.

TracyNY

How awful about the dog. One minute I'm admiring the photo and the next he's being shaken like a ragdoll. That's dreadful. I hope he recovers.

I'll come to Illinois for the trip next year. My calendar is empty at the moment.

Did everyone vote today?

TracySeattle

Oh Debbie! I am so sorry!! I am praying that all works out OK for Sam and for your Aunt....

We love you.....

ravdeb

Okay..so who is in for October 2007:
ravdeb
Victoria
Tracy
Laura
Cindy
Rosemarie
Amy
Tadah

Anonymous

No, Ravdeb, October is totally out for me. I have a huge RV show every October and one of the finance people that works for me takes a vacation in October and has for the last 20 years.

Anonymous

Debbie-
OMG! I am heartbroken! Please update us on both patients.
Laura