2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

Anonymous

ravdeb -
OMG - You crack me up! I drank lots of wine at Bunco last night, but not too much that I can't do it again today!

Victoria, Linny -
Thanks!

debbie -
Fibrocystic is a term used when breast tissue is prone to developing chronic cysts. When it says "changes", I think that refers to a cyst that has grown to a size that made it palpable. If I'm wrong - anyone...please feel free to correct me!

Laura

RoseMarie

Yay!!! Jumping for joy here!!!!!!!!!
I like that dEBBIE - the Divine Wine B9 party!!! I was going to skip on the wine tonight...but count me in.

ravdeb

CHEERS!

cathy987

Laura,

I'm a little late for the party, but my glass is raised to you!!!!! Great, great news.

When I gave my little talk on bc at our local senior group in LaMoure in October I called what you have "cystic fibroses" breasts and didn't even hear what I had said. Someone corrected me. LOL.

I'm in my hotel room in Emmeloord the Netherlands.

Will write more when I catch up.

marymelodi

Halleujah!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a good news day for the Rock-tober Girls.
We all love our Laura and feel so grateful that B9 is the result of the biopsy.
Yeah!! Hoorah!!!

Mary

marymelodi

Kelly:
Please add my age at diagnosis to the list. I was 52 in August 2005.

Mary

TracyNY

I would have to say my cabinet is an antique because it is old. It was built in the 1930's and I didn't get into its pedigree, I bought it because I liked it! There are many antique shops on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Brooklyn, I imagine they go to estate sales and buy stuff which they resell at exorbitant prices.

Congratulations Laura! I knew there was nothing wrong with you.

Victoria: Go to the LE therapist and take your husband. He can learn how to do the massage techniques to keep your swelling from progressing. Its very light and relaxing and a lot easier than all the work you have to do if the LE gets in full effect.

TracySeattle

LAURA!!!!!! YOU GO!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! So glad all is good!

Well, the sun is out here today - nice change. Debbie - yes, the winter & spring months are very much like they are on Frasier. It really gets me down, I am a sunshine girl!

Anonymous

ravdeb -
OMG - the photo of you and your daughter is great!
Laura

debbie444

victoria, ca'r rhosyn. eheba 'ch. - a little welsh thrown in for good measure!

( i have the rose - i will email you)

Anonymous

Kelly 42
Laura 45
Michelle 41
Victoria 51
Devorah 50
Cindy 47
Amy 28
Debbie 33
TraceyNY 38
Paula 31
Rosemarie 37
Jill 41
TracySeattle 49
Cathy 65
MaryAnneCB 44
Brenda 50
Gail 56
Mary Alice 52

debbie444

Hey Kelly - we could arrange them alphabetically or numerically ! ( note the royal we)

maryannecb

Laura, wonderful report you got today.Super.

Debbie, my kids are in their teens so likely woudn't make great pals for your aged children. Anyone else have teenagers?
My oldest sister 's name is Deborah Anne! We call her Deborah. I love the name.

Ravdeb, looks like you have "put on your big girl panties"!!!!!!!!!!!LOL. We had sunshine and warm weather today too. I almost put up the Xmas lights. I said almost....

DebbieNY ,you are having a nice long visit with your Mom. I love "old" furniture too.

Debbie , the Derbyshire talk is wicked. I read a lot of Thomas Hardy books as a young adult. I think he writes abot Derbyshire doesn't he?

Kelly your record keeping keeps us impressed. keep up the good work.

Grayce, have you posted a new pic somewhere?

I met with the oncologist yesterday. I have two infusions of Herceptin left, done December 27th. He doesnt want to see me for 6 months. I thought I would feel abandoned but I feel great.My surgeon is checking on me every 3 months so I will be well looked after. It is weird to say but I will miss the girls in the chemo room, I have been going there every 3 weeks since last October. I habe to think of something good for them. I guess food always hits the spot or maybe ...any ideas?

I have been having trouble swallowing solid over the last two months. It feels like they move very slowly down my esophagus and I often hiccup when I eat. I am booked for a gastroscopy and Colonoscopy(why not?) next Tuesday. Now I am on the colon crowd. I am not looking forward to the prep-I plan to work the day before so surviving on liquids while running to the bathroom sounds, well grueling. I think it is possible that my esophagus has narrowed from the rads. If you recall I also had a burn to my left upper lung. I do worry a little that it is even something worse. Though surely I can't be that unlucky. Right?

I am lonely without my DH, I have so much free time it is strange. I went to the bookstore on the weekend so will fill my time in with reading likely.

Fists up!

Anonymous

maryanne -
I hope everything goes well with your test. I had the upper endo and colonosc. done together last March. Have you ever had a colonscopy? I'm asking because the day before when you start the "prep" you are definately going to want to be at home - very close to the bathroom. JMO Atleast that's how it was for me. I know the worrying part, hang in there. I see the fists are still up!
Laura

Curlylocks

Hello by bc sisters...

I have been crazy busy at work, this is our busiest time of the year being in Human Resources - benefit plan renrollments, profit sharings payouts, upgrade of payroll system, year end, etc.

Its amazing how many posts show up here in a day. I have been reading daily but have had no time to respond.

Laura - I came home from work and immediately came to my computer to see your news, SO HAPPY is B9. You must be so relieved and can sleep tonight.

Jill - I dont think we have met, wanted to say hello. Hogmany sounds like fun, kissing everyone sounds interesting as long as the men are tall dark and handsome.

Tracy Seattle - Thanks Tracey, I love to take pictures now if only I could organize all the loose ones that are not in albums. Is pomengrante juice sour? Never tasted it.

Debbie444 - We normally stay in for New Year's. However, this year we are going to a New Year's party at the "newfie" club where my sister in law lives. There will be 30 of us in our group. My hubby and I will celebrate this year like no tomorrow. Last year at New Year's I was bald as a billard, just finished my 2nd out of 8 chemo treatments, feeling like crap and thinking I wasnt going to be here this year. B9 thoughts for your mamo on Monday. All of my followup tests are on February 7 including my mamo, this will be about 14 months since diagnosis, 6 months from the end of treatment. Glad to hear Sam is on an upswing.

Cathy 987 - nice to put a name to the face.

Ravdeb - the pain in your ribs is mostly likely a side effect from radiation. Love your donkey story. Our neighbour has two small ponies, ducks, an ostrich, a dog and who knows what else. I will also remember when my late aunt came over to our house one day and heard a duck in our neighbours house, we could not believe it was actually in the house! Your discussion on conventional treatment is interesting, it is all a very personal decision. Although with my diagnosis I would have never entertained the ideal unless there was no hope the conventional route, just no proven stats to back up the claims.

Victoria - Good news about your labs. Your oncologist sounds like mine, he has a wonderful bedside manner, is funny and always reminds me each visit that my prognosis is good although I am stage IIb, 4 cm tumour and 3 positive nodes. Your discussion about Zoladex shots peaked my interest. I started Zoladex shots on Tuesday and am on Armidex. You mentioned that they didnt put you into menopause, isnt that unusual? I was a little freaked out when I heard that as I am estrogen positive and was premenopausal prior to diagnosis. Am definitely having major hot flashes, sleep disturbances, whole nine yards, so hope it works for me. My oncologist is going to retest my hormonals in February.

Maryanne - Your hair in your avtar looks like mine, rather curly. Does your husband always travel away from home six months every year? It must be really difficult, I would miss my husband like mad if he went away for that long.

Paula74 - I really enjoyed following your hair growth as at the time I had no hair and was soooo looking forward to having it return. I think that would be great if the thread could be restored for the newbies to give them the hope that it will come back.

Rosemarie - nice to meet you. I recently went to a local support group meeting with another bc sister that I met that lives not too far away from me. The group had about 20 women which is quite large for a population of 90,000 people. Not sure whether or not I like it, will have to see how it goes. It is tough sharing your feelings with strangers although we have the common bond of bc.

Tracy Ny - I like your idea for pomegrante juice. I'm not a big drinker but certainly like to have a few on vacation and special occasions - Christmas, New Years, Bday.
You mentioned knock off handbags. While in Bahamas last week we went to a local market and they were selling knock off Prada, Gucci, etc. I asked the lady how much for a Prada handbag and she said $70 US and I said I could buy one at home for that, she then said how much you pay I said $30 US....her response lady dont waste my time! I thought she doesnt want to sell the handbag that bad if she wouldnt even barter with me.

Kelly - It will be nice once you finally finish your herception treatment. I am er/pr + so on Armidex for who knows how long, studies havent proven length of time drug effective for and then on Zoladex injections once every 3 months to shut down my ovaries so I can continue to take Armidex.

Amy - I love peanut butter sandwiches and cookies too! I have a meltdown about once a month, sometimes if I think too hard about things the reality of everything comes crashing down and the tears start. Some days even though I am a 1 year survivor I still cant believe that I got cancer. It was always something that I thought happened to other people... Sorry to hear about your friend....its especially hard when the ladies involved are so young. Celebrate your 30th birthday with style. I love your family picture with the hands waving.

Brenda - you look much younger than 50 in your avtar. What's your secret?

Gracyie - Thanks for the compliment on my hair. It is so curly and am thinking about letting it grow to see what it looks like. I had long curly spiral ringlets past my shoulders prebc, but its much curlier now.

Mary - love your sense of humour about roaring....need I say more.

Have a great evening ladies.

Michele Wenz

Anonymous

I have two names: Laura Helene (the 2nd e, is a hard e) 2nd name was my Busha's first name (paternal).

Victoria and EVERYONE -
Here's the link to ravdeb's photo...if you want/need a good laugh, check it out: (Hope you don't mind rav!)

http://community.breastcancer.org/ubbthr...e=0&fpart=3

Laura

cathy987

Comments on names–I was named Catherine Sedonia after a great-grandmother. (Sedonia should have been spelled Sidonia) I hated my middle name growing up but really like it now. Besides Cathy I was knick-named Kinky when I was little and my dad shortened that to “Kenks.” I did not have kinky hair so don’t know where they got the name from.

Debbie, I think my grand daughter, Erin Catherine, (wonder where she got her middle name) would like to write to your Catherine. Her 11th birthday was last week. This picture was taken just a couple days before. I’ll give her Catherine’s address when I see her next week for Thanksgiving if that’s o.k. with you.



Thanks for the Derbyshire lesson. I really like languages and history of the English language was one of my favorite classes I took years ago. I’ll see my English friend Michelle, Saturday and I’m going to test her knowledge of Derbyshire. She was in Iowa last week and knew what jammy dodgers were. She lives in Hertfordshire.

I also thought of you today when I picked up my car in Amsterdam and the guy showed me how to open the “boot.”

About antiques–my dh and I were in the antique business (as well as farming) from the mid 60s until we started our collectible business in 1978. Although antiques technically are 100 years old a whole lot of what we sold was fine, and some not so fine, collectibles. Everything from primitive hand tools, small pieces of vintage furniture, glassware, china, silver and toys. TracyNY–with your love of dishes your china cabinet should fit right in with your décor.
Ravdeb–found the panties picture after lots of looking. Really, really funny. How about just posting it here too?!!

I keep wanting to post this book but then someone else posts and I feel compelled to say something else. (Do you think I’m becoming obsessive?)

Debbie (again) I have been arranging us by age of diagnosis. I am obsessive!!!

Mary-Anne–I’m just about there with you-only 3 left. I plan to do chocolate covered potato chips (a specialty of Fargo) for my chemo girls. I took the afternoon off the day before my aborted colonoscopy, and very happy I did. I tried to go to a meeting in town that evening and had to excuse myself four times. I’m not looking forward to rescheduling but will because I’m worried about some symptoms which I have discussed with my NP. I understand completely the loneliness of separation. On the light side of my dh’s early departure (He was 59) I now have possession of the remote control. And along these same lines the s** discussion. It’s been six years, does that make me a virgin again?
If I go to bed now I should beat the jet lag.
O.K. Michelle tomorrow for you and Laura where were you when I needed you earlier with that link?

ake

LAURA.....YIPEE YIPEE YIPEE YIPEE YIPEE!!!!

I'm so excited for you. It just confirms that you are NED all over again Have the best sound sleep of your life tonight

I just got an accidental letter from my surgeon's office saying that my mammogram was abnormal and I needed follow up. Remember in May when I had that lump (fat necrosis) and everyone took me seriously and I had to have a mammogram and then biopsy and it was nothing? I guess they forgot that it was biopsied and then taken out when I had the nipple reconstruction so they sent me this letter. I almost passed out. It was like hearing it all over again. Thank G-d I can reassure myself it was a mixup. Isn't it great to be reassured???

Like the pic Ravdeb Nice undies on your noggin.

Love,
Amy

Anonymous

Speaking of French...I don't think I've ever mentioned that my dh was born in France. A tiny town near Bordeaux, named Bersherac (sp). Hmmmmm...maybe that's why we love wine so much!...gotta blame it on something.

Laura

Anonymous

Big dance party for Laura!

Graycie

I only have a minute but I wanted to check to see if Laura got her results yet.
Yipeeeeeeee, I am so glad to hear the GOOD news.. ...What a relieve.
Hugs...
Gail

ravdeb

Mornin' Ladies...

I enjoyed every one of the posts. Smiled through them all. I love to wake up to reading about the Rock-tober girls and drinking my coffee. I rarely finish the cup of coffee but I always finish reading the posts!

I'm glad we are all celebrating good news..Laura's, Cindy's, Sam's...

As long as we are in the party mode..let's have a grand old celebration this weekend and keep maryanne from getting too lonely!!

So..we'll keep Kelly's dancers and all the wine (is there any left over? I have a stash here just in case!)

And Cathy..bring those chocolate covered potato chips..another thing I've never heard of. (Must tell my friend in Chicago about them..her two favorite foods all in one!!!).

Speaking of which...we need lots of good positive thoughts for my friend in Chicago. She's my best friend, we were roomies in college and she is like family to me. She was diagnosed with melanoma insitu years back and goes for her follow ups and this last one..they only scraped the spot off and it looks suspicious, so she has to go in for margins and will now have yet another battle scar. She's upset, to say the least. I'm nervous. Get more nervous now that I've been struck with cancer.

So, we wait and see. I'll be talking to her over the weekend. Not sure when the biopsy is..next week, I'm guessing.

She's had plenty of these and they have all been benign so no reason that this one won't be too!

Amy..just wanted to tell you that peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are not popular here though peanut butter is sold in all the grocery stores. But, my daughter's boyfriend had never had it, and my daughter loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so I bought him some Skippy peanut butter and am anxious to see how he likes it when he comes over this weekend!

So many beautiful names we all have! Love it!

Off to do some baking to sweeten the weekend a bit.

debbie444

Quick quick quick - i a,m supposed to be on my way to work.

Well i have yet to meet someone who likes peanut butter and jam sandwiches!

Cathy that would be great - pass the address over and if she wants to pm me the other address - that goes for everyone.
Deborah Ann - the only time i see that is when i get my passport out! Catherine is Catherine Mary ( MIL was Kathleen Rosemary and mum was Patricia Mary) and Mark is Mark Thomas - Mark after my brother and Thomas because Catherine was allowed to choose and she liked Thomas the Tank Engine at the time ( thankgoodness it wasnt a teletubby!)
Ravdeb - your pants seem to have frozen th eother window i have open - it wont shut down!

Where in Hertfordshire Cathy, i have a relative in Herts, Stotfold.

Amy - what a shock! It just shows how things have changed for us and we can be happy at a mistake! I always remember when my maternity drs got my notes mixed up once and gave me somone elses prognosis. The relief when we got the right news and i only had an ectopic was overwhelming - who thought you could be happy with an ectopic!

Throw some baking this way , partial to anything that doesnt have pomegranate in it!
Debbie

Paula15089

Laura - FANTASTIC NEWS!!!!!

girls, miracles do happen.. i dont know if any of you know Leanne from Sep05 chemo thread. She is from Australia as well, and we have been keeping in touch via emails. Anyway, about 6 months ago she was diagnosed with liver mets.. understandably, she was devastated. 2 young kids, partner away a lot. She had to endure more chemo, was in and out of the hospitals for the last 6 months. Finally the tests... no changes whatsoever to leisions, no growth, no shrinkage. Something wasnt right about this, so she INSISTED on more tests. Had to really fight for them in fact.

And guess what? Just recently she was told IT WAS ALL A MISTAKE AND SHE NEVER HAD METS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!
She is beyond happy... and furious with the doctors i presume. You know this phone call that all of us secretly waiting for, telling us it was all a huge mistake - well, she actually did get it.
I am sure she wouldnt mind me sharing this great news with you - you can read her threads anyway on mets board and Sep05 Chemo. Hows that for one rollercoaster ride!!!

Paula15089

oh, one more thing from me..
Belinda Emmett (Australian actress who died from bone mets at the age 32 a few days ago) was buried today.
She wrote this song 3 years ago.. i just wanted to share this with you.

Less Than Perfect - words & music Belinda Emmett/A. Furze

Looked into the cards
My fate amongst the spread
Following my stars
And analysing what's been said

Been writing down my dreams
Which later I'd dissect
Just trying to find some meaning in this life
Less than perfect
This life less than perfect

Looking for a signal
A sign amongst the throng
A glance into my past
To see where I went wrong

Been writing down my feelings
Which I fiercely protect
Just trying to find some meaning in this life
Less than perfect
This life less than perfect

Have you ever wondered
What it would be like
To be somebody else
With their perfect, perfect life?
But it's mine to carry
Mine to own
And it's not so scary
To carry it alone

And the wonder of it all
Sometimes it's hard to see
Sometimes I wanna crawl away
And go to sleep
In this life less than perfect

Have you ever wondered
What it would be like
To be somebody else
With their perfect, perfect life?
But it's mine to carry
Mine to own
And it's not so scary
To carry it alone

So here I am with my
Less than perfect life
Here I stand with my
Less than perfect life
Less than perfect life
Less than perfect life.

ravdeb

Lovely words, Paula..thanks for sharing them with us.

I know about Leanne..have been following her story and was so upset with it all, and yet happy that she's okay. Still, she got very sick on a chemo that she didn't need to take. She was hospitalized in isolation..she had such a rough time and she didn't even need the chemo.

Paula...your pictures on the picture thread from your trip are spectacular!

Debbie..sorry my panties froze your window!

cathy987

Mornin’ to you Deb and everyone else. The sun is shining here and I’ve had my breakfast so am ready to meet the day. Today I’ve scheduled nothing so will probably stay close to my room and try to catch up with some computer work. The chips are really good and come in lt and drk chocolate as well as almond and peanut butter coatings. I’ll bring all four kinds to the party!! Check out their website. It’s bc pink! The comments about “Fargo-Moorhead’s Only Widman Family Owned Store” alludes to the fact that Carol (the original Widman) and hubby were divorced and he got the business name “Widman Candy Store” in the settlement.

http://www.carolwidmanscandyco.com/

So sorry to hear about your friend. I had a dear friend who survived melanoma only to die from MS. Life is so weird. I also had a best friend, maid of honor at my wedding who had diabetes from the time she was very young. We met at church camp as teens and became long distant friends (we live 200 miles apart) She was often hospitalized with infections connected to her diabetes and I was always afraid she would die during one of these times. Instead she died in a car accident on Christmas day 1964. Now here’s the weird part, when I first got the Rocktober names and addresses there was our Graycie with my friends exact same name first and last. Needless to say I was momentarily shocked.

Debby-–my friends live at Therfield, Nr Royston. My first trip abroad was to visit them, eighteen years ago. On one of our trips there my dh and I were put on a train at Royston to return to London but we ended up in Cambridge and had to take the next return train back south. It was a Sunday and we couldn’t purchase a ticket but were advised by others that we probably wouldn’t be checked but it made me nervous never the less.

Michelle–good to read your post this morning. Were you in NYC? Or just NY?

Amy–Reassurance is great! Happy-happy it was a mix-up.

Victoria–I tell people at home that my traveling is not all that wonderful but honestly I’m grateful I’m able to do it and have to admit I enjoy most of it–especially the people I get to meet.

Paula–what an incredible story about Leanne. Thanks for sharing it and also for sharing Belinda Emmet’s song. That “perfect, perfect life” we see in others is often just as imperfect as our own. But only we know what our life is really like.

Curlylocks

Cathy,

We were in the Bahamas and they were selling the knockoff purses at a market, pretty funny.

Michele Wenz

cathy987

Michele

chemo Jet lagged brain!! I knew you were in the Bahamas! Look you're right there with your hubby in your avatar. Is it Linda who was in NY?

ravdeb

Cathy,
When my girlfriend told me she was diagnosed with cancer..this must have been 10 or 12 years ago, I was in such shock that (it was over the phone of course) I accused her of joking. Well, you can imagine how angry she got with me. I was so totally upset...my cousin, only a few years before that, died of melanoma. When she was diagnosed it had already spread to her liver. I think she lived for about 5 years with liver mets after going through rigorous chemo and experimental chemo/treatments..not sure what it was all about.
So, when my girlfriend called me, I was devastated. I would never be able to live without her, ever..even with her so far away. She's family..more than family..to me.