2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

marymelodi

Either weekend in Chicago is fine with me.
Mary

I agree that we should make our final-final plans privately through PMs or another secured group site, such as Yahoo.

I don't get it with sending anonymous e-mails. If you have an issue be brave enough to be open about it. I think we have proven to each other that we can be reasonable adults about things.

Laura, you are generous and I for one appreciate your offer to host a gathering. I would be open to accomodations in a hotel for the inportant reason of sparing you some of the stress of alot of guests. If I lived in a centrally located area I would also offer to host some kind of gathering.

That's my 2 cents.
Mary

RoseMarie

Ok - I obviously have WAY too much time on my hands...

I actually found Tracy's yahoo-group - it's really easy to join - I thought there would be more steps and that it would be more "private." Is there a way for the moderator to ok who joins? I'm all for a more private forum just don't know much about it.
30 more min. before the chicken is ready...like I said, I have waaaay too much time on my hands today. Actually, I have about 4 loads of laundry to do, hubby is sleeping thru Chargers/Pariots game...kids are......??? (at least there's no screaming)
bye!!!! Jeez, I have GOT to stay off!!! and to think how annoyed I get with dh's Blackberry!!

Anonymous

Anytime in September is ok with me.

I think Tracy can privatize her Yahoo group, otherwise we can find another spot that can be set to private and the moderator has to approve the membership.

chumfry

Victoria:

I can definitely recommend the Chicago Art Museum. I'm not a big fan of art museums in general, but the one in Chicago has more than just paintings and sculptures. There's an entire room filled with medieval armor, which I guess probably doesn't sound much like art but it is. And there's a neat exhibit of milleflore paperweights, made with canes of decorated glass. Those are my two favorite parts of the museum, but I haven't been there in years so maybe it's different now.

And there are plenty of paintings to see. Some very nice Monets and a lovely collection of ornate triptych (sp?) icons from Russia. The art museum is just about my favorite thing to do in Chicago and I'm not an artist! I bet you would really, *really* like it!

Paula15089

I like the idea of a private Yahoo group. Maybe then we'll feel more secure.

RoseMarie, great pics! I love ice-skating, of course being Russian, i grew up on my skates. The closest i can do now is rollerblading.

Aaaaahhhhh! Free the puppy!! Laura, if you don't, we will start a petition!

ok, so we have decided on Chicago? Any recs for hotel? Should we all stay in the same one? I've been to heaps of places in US, but never to Chicago, so its a good chance for me to have a little holiday there.

Anonymous

Sorry, I thought the dates where in September ....... I think late August is good for us. Teryn is off school in July so I am definitely taking her on vacation then and I would try to be there for the weekend only due to work constraints.

Tracy is gone for the weekend I heard ..... so when she gets back we can start chanting a new mantra!!! PRIVATE BOARD. PRIVATE BOARD.

Anonymous

I googled my screen name and found a picture page I forgot I had! And found that someone could easily find me here ....
that was just before the big C

And this was when I was about 4 months pg with Teryn (holding sparkling cider on a cruise)

Anonymous

Post deleted by Melissa & Tami

ake

laura....do you think this troll that is unfotunately, maybe one of us, is the same troll that wrote that nasty thing to me?

Graycie

I agree Kelly, you look beautiful....

Laura, Good for you for speaking out. I love it, I hope your husband is able to weed out the troll...I hope you are shaking in your boots....(the troll I mean not you Laura in your cheetah's....lol)

ake

i already said this to laura, but in my opinion... let's find out who the troll is before we banish her. if she is truly "one of us", then for me, personally, i would want to know what happened to make her so angry and against us all of a sudden. why now?

that's just me. i guess we'll wait and see?

Anonymous

You know it could be just another poster on this board who reads this thread all the time. I just cannot imagine it is one of the Roctober sisters.

maryannecb

Thanks Laura for your post. Kelly I do hope you are right but time will tell. By the way, great pics.

Thanks for listening about my skin ca. It is really not a big deal but..makes me wonder what will be next. I will talk with surgeon this week about removal, no rush really as it is superficial.

Tomorrow I have Mammo and MRI. Wish me luck.I hate the MRI, it takes 30 minutes and you must be still for that whole time while listening to a very loud knocking noise. And ,will they get my IV?????

Rosemarie, sounds like the skating was fun. Being Canadian , I was born on skates but I admit I suck at skating. Not a skill I picked up.

Amy, I loved all the baby names passed around last week. Best was Roxanna. I have a chocolate lab. She is the best. Very gentle. Hope you can find one soon. I had to wait 6 months for mine.


Fists up!

TracySeattle

Hi Ladies, I am back and OMG - things have been happening! I am so sad that our little group has been infiltrated!

I have not looked at the yahoo groups info lately, but let me go out there and read more about it. I do think I can set it up so that I have to approve the members....

More later - I love you all!

ps - the August date works for me too and Chicago is fine!

Paula15089

Laura,
it is certainly possible to check out the person's IP address. However, now that the post is gone, not sure if it still can be done.
I dont know... i would just feel terrible if it is one of 'us'.. .. we have been here for each other through thick and thin... i just find it hard to believe that one of us would be bitter enough to make a post under a different name.

I still would like to think that is was perhaps a family member who has access to this board and who is unhappy with the idea of our get-together because of safety issues as well as financial ones. This is just my 2 cents..

anyway, this whole story is very sad. We need TRUST above all on this board. What happened just takes it away.

ake

Victoria...DON'T LEAVE!!!!

Ladies, we may have trolls and we may have attacks, but our core is strong and we can get through these things. We DO have trust in one another because we've been through so much together. What happened does take it away, but it is not permanent....it shakes us up and then we get that much stronger. If we all start to leave, those trolls win, those with anger win, and we get dismantled. We must stay strong as we always have been together.

Love you all!!!!

TracySeattle

Ladies - please PM me when you have a chance - Victoria, please PM me too....

CherylG

Hi Ladies
I have been lurking (dislike that word) for quite some time and posting the odd time when something related to me directly.
I read that post the other day before it was deleted and I cannot tell you how sad it makes me.
Although I did not "travel" at the same time as you all, I went down the same road you all did and I cannot tell you how comforting your posts were to me. You are all exceptionally warm and intelligent women and an inspiration to me.
I so envy your get together and hope you can sort this all out so that it can happen.The idea of forming a private group elsewhere is one solution, but would be unfortunate for others seeking support information. Might I suggest not using our pictures as avatars(for annonimity) and requesting help from the moderators... maybe a higher security when registering... I don't think we should be able to post or PM on here anonomously.
VICTORIA... your posts constantly amaze me, please stay
LAURA GTO... your avatar shows what a warm and caring person you are
MICHELE, MARY_ANNE... my fellow Canadians!
RAVDEB... people do not notice the difference in us as much as we do.Don't be so hard on yourself
AMY, TRACEY, KELLY,CATHY,PAULA, GRAYCIE,TADAH,MARY, DEBBIE... I know I must have missed some ... but I think of you all.
I created my website and the Circle Map to honor all our sisters and I am now in the process of setting up a support group here in the small town where I live. I am using the knowledge and courage that I gathered from you ladies to help other sisters who need it.It will be a physical space where women can come to share ideas and issues... much like our virtual world here. I have an LE therapist willing to come once a week for therapies, a registered nurse (my home care nurse when I was in tx)who will answer questions by email (on my website soon), a library for people to look up information provided by a local organization, Look Good Feel Good is willing to give a session here once a month, Cancer Society will provide some free wigs and arrange transportation services through me and other things that I am sure will be added as time goes on or as the need arises.
All this rambling to say that I think you are all wonderful women and would hope that the moderators can do something to resolve these issues.Please don't give it up!
Cheers

CherylG

ake

ladies,

i'm getting ready to go to bed, but here are my thoughts...

we can have a private forum, but i feel that in that sense, we are being chased away by someone who is unhappy and angry. we are strong and we have a stable core of who we are as a sisterhood.

also, if we leave this forum, other people who don't know what it's like to be in a sisterhood, who may find strength in knowing a bunch of women who go through chemo can become each other's lifelines, who find strength in us, will not have that anymore.

i'm not sure what to do, but in one way, i just want to move on in any way that we can to keep our sisterhood alive and not dismantled. i don't want to loose anyone, like victoria, and i don't want to be chased away. that being said, i don't know what to do.

TracySeattle

Cheryl - thanks for yor good words and we enjoy knowing that you are out there. You are welcome to become a Roctober girl as we like to include everyone!

Amy - I feel the same way that you do - not sure what is best. I don't want to loose Victoria and I also don't want to isolate our group when we can be here presenting an example and support to others that happen in to visit with us....

I am signing off for tonight and will check back in with all of you tomorrow.

I love you, sisters!

Paula15089

Amy, I am with you.
I just tried to master the Yahoo groups, and feel like it doesnt have the same warm spirit as our board here. Heaps of ads too. I started missing BC board immediately!!

I am also getting a suspicion all the 'new' ladies on our October thread (Victoria, Cheryl) now feel like there is a finger being pointed at them. This is NOT how anyone should feel here. Everyone is welcome... until proven to behave in a destructive manner.

so, like Amy, i am at a loss what to do..

CherylG

Thanks Ladies
I would be honored to be a Rocktober girl. All I need is a Tshirt LOL
I don't feel like the finger is being pointed at us new girls... I just agree that this is a serious issue that the moderators need to resolve before it destroys these boards. There was some annonymous crap on the Circle your Wagons thread tonight also.
I was the victim of some unpleasant mail when I started my map. It wasn't annonymous though so I put them on ignore.
WOWWWWWW! Just realized what time it is!!! To bed with me
Have a good night ladies ... will tryand check in tomorrow
CherylG

snowmen_n_thongs

wow ladies....
i guess i should venture more... there is so much more to bc. org than i could imagine...
nice to meet you ladies!
tracey

ravdeb

Okay..somebody please pm me or e-mail me with details of what this troll said. I am at a loss here..I feel like I'm reading through a fog! Why would any of you be afraid of a discussion board troll? This is what I don't understand.

I cannot believe that it is one of the Rocktober girls. I looked at our list which is taped to the wall next to my computer and there is not a ONE on the list who would do anything to hurt anyone. The Rocktober Girls are a special group. You can lurk anywhere on the boards here and you will find other strong groups (the Wagon group for example) but it does NOT compare to ours.

I would be extremely sad if Victoria or anyone else decided to leave our boards because of a troll. I know that many people lurk here and that is the whole point. (Remember that "lurk" is not negative on discussion boards..it just means they read but don't post.) We WANT people to see our group. We are special and we want to show others a very positive way to support each other. We have a bond that those outside of the bc world do not understand, and we just all clicked together.

Please..somebody pm me with the troll problem info, or e-mail me if you have my e-mail address.

Thanks.
Ladies..you are all the best! Love you!

linny

I have no clue what is going on! I had enough trouble just keeping up with the posts, and now feel quite distressed to see there has been trouble. Victoria, I got a bit of a scare when you said we can be seen on google, and when I checked it, you are correct. Much of what I say here is personal, things I do not say to others in my life, so that does make me nervous. Also, I removed my picture, I had never asked permission from my son and daughter in law to have their baby's picture online with mine. I will try to post a picture of me alone.

On a lighter note (!!) we are having a freezing rain storm as I write this, I never drive in this type of weather so I guess I am stuck at home for the day.

I was so tired last night that I was in bed by 8 p.m., which is why I am up now. The fatigue is really annoying, I am planning my next trip to New York to see my kids, but I am so exhausted when I come back home.

I don't know what to say about the issues that have come up in this group, since I did not see the post, and I find the support here helpful and important for all of us.

Linda

ravdeb

I'm back.
I know that I have an addiction to this board! I went back and wanted to see when I joined this thread.

I wanted to see who I was back then. It seems so long ago but it's not.

I wasn't addicted yet. In fact, I felt weird writing on a discussion board..had never done it before.

My first fear of course was losing my hair and Amy came to my rescue. I will NOT forget that.

But, I was such a different person then. I had more energy then than I do now. As I read through the few posts (didn't spend too much time on this)I remembered who I was then and who I am today.

Then, with my scarf covered head, I would walk bravely through my neighborhood for my daily one-hour walk. I hadn't discovered the beach yet. I just knew that I had to walk off the cancer as my onc nurse had told me to do! I was so determined to do this. I had stopped driving for a while because my mind was in a fog and I had found myself not watching the road too many times. So, going to the beach on my own was not in the picture.

But, I had energy despite the chemo and being sick. Even when I was very, very sick in the hospital, and I was in terrible pain, I think I was more energetic than I am today. I cannot get myself out of bed in the morning and by noon or shortly after that, I am in need of a nap big time.

I am now in charge of a committee and am not sure I have the energy to do it.

My new business is just sitting there..I have plenty of great ideas in my head but physically, I have no energy. I don't even feel like walking on the beach today, but I will force myself. I love the beach..it's the process of getting myself up and out...Once there, I'm okay though yesterday I found myself half way through, just sitting on a rock checking out the sea shells... I did the walk..but with less energy.

It could just be a mood thing...I am tired though. My family doc asked me if I wanted anything else checked out besides the cholesterol (blood test on Wed) and I said no, thinking that I'll have less blood to be taken this way and it will be easier on my vein, that barely made it the last time.

I will tell my onc instead, next month, and see what she thinks.

I trust her more, anyway, than my family doctor. He's kind and all that..but I don't know him that well (he is new since I started chemo)and since I live in a small town, we do not get the best doctors coming to our clinics.

Enough complaining as it's time for me to get myself out the door and off to the beach.

Be well. I love you all.

ravdeb

Ladies..
thanks for the pm's. I got them.

RoseMarie

Ravdeb-I just pm'd you.
I was stressed when I didn't know what the message said. Now I'm not freaked out, just a bit sad if it is one of "us." - it's amazing that the 20+ of us get along so well and are so close - I just wish the person would have honestly talked to us instead of hiding behind a fake ID.

I love you ladies -

Victoria, you mean so much to us!! I can understand how you feel but please consider staying!!!
Kelly - you're so pretty!
MaryAnne - good luck with the MRI and the Mammo!

ravdeb

I pm'd those who pm'd me.

I was so upset with all of this...I forgot to mention that you are GORGEOUS Kelly! I mean, I knew that..but those pics are good enough for the movies!!!

MaryAnne..is this your day for MRI and Mammo? I wish you lots of luck.

Where is my brain? Who am I missing??

Just know that you are all in my thoughts...I am in a fog these days..so very tired. Not sure why..

Brenda..how are you? How is Aug for you??
Can't remember who else..Jill?
I heard from Linda...
Where is Sherry?

Tell me if this is correct for those who have answered about Get Together...those who said the Aug. date was okay...

mary
sherry ?
debbie
paula..maybe
Laura
maryAnne ?
Tracy in Seattle
Kelly
Gail
Cathy
Cindy
Victoria
TracyNY ?
Brenda ?
RoseMarie
dEBBIE
Amy
Linda (she can't make it)
Jill ?

Just trying to FREE BUDDY LOVE

Also..as long as I'm playing out Kelly's role.. mary has a birthday coming up...Friday!!!! I LOVE BIRTHDAYS!

ake

ok, i'm still upset that all this drama is going on and that we've lost victoria from our group. i think we need to figure all this out....mainly how we can ALL trust each other again because that was the beauty of this group. how ironic that as soon as we plan to meet each other, this happens, and now some of us are in a yahoo group, some of us want to leave the group, issues of trust are coming up...i keep saying it...what the hell is going on?

i really want to stay here with all you ladies on our thread. when i took my break, i missed you all immediately. yahoo doesn't have the same flair and i'm always amazed that other women find strength in our group.

i'm feeling really frustrated.