2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

Graycie

Deb, I hope you get some answer's too to all the aches and pains. My aches and pains aren't as bad as your's. I have more of the fatigue.

Rosemarie, I got some pomegranate juice too.. I like it, I think it tastes like grape juice. It wasn't brown so it probably wasn't natural.....It did say 100% juice on it but I think it is a blend from concentrate. I wonder if it has the same benefit?

TracyNY

I'm glad the trip plans are coming together. I will make independent arrangements because I am a little impulsive and don't want to hold up the show. I'll catch up with you guys wherever you are.

The drunken Lebanese furniture man gave me a gold leaf portrait frame (I took the portrait out) for all my aggravation. I really shouldn't buy anything else from him like you say Graycie but he does have gorgeous pieces and once I've bought all I need, I don't have to deal with him anymore.

Rosemarie: How are the love nubs? Mine are flatter than my PS would like but they are fine for me, just not enough for my piercing that I wanted for the summer.

Marymelodi: You are a better woman than I, I cannot stand the gym. I need to lose about 10 pounds right quick before I see my cardiologist in a few weeks. I don't want to hear his mouth again about weighing 150!

I am in bed this weekend, I'm kinda tired and there's no sewing class because of the holiday weekend. I'm just going to church in the morning and that will be about it for me. Glad to hear everyone is doing relatively well. All of you who are aching, painkillers are our friends, don't be a martyr!!

TracyNY

Where's Brenda?

Curlylocks

Yesterday’s shot went well, looks like I have a hickey on my tummy. I did not get the official results of any of my testing from Feb 7 as the hospital that I had all the tests is not a part of the same group of hospitals that my oncologist works out of. It can take up to 10 business days for the final reports to be released to all the doctors. He called his office as he was working in the clinic and asked the secretary to call the hospital. He told me if I didn’t hear back from him yesterday nothing was available yet. At this point in time I was told by his secretary and him as well if there was anything that showed they would have notified him pronto, so no news is good news.

I met a women yesterday in the clinic that was also getting her Zoladex injection. She is 51 and a 15 year breast cancer survivor, so had her first occurrence at age 35. She told me it was small, negative nodes and she at that time had radiation and a lumpectomy, no hormone drugs despite being er/pr+, not sure if tamoxifen was even used back then and no chemo. She went onto say that she has had a couple of reoccurrences since first being diagnosed but counts herself lucky that each time it has been small. Finally she ended up having a mast in 2003 and was put on Armidex and Zoladex injections and has been on it since and healthy as well. She said she wondered if she would have had these reoccurrences if she had chemo the first time around. Although she had negative nodes, cells can still escape through the blood stream. It was very refreshing talking to her and it is amazing the connection you make right away with another bc sister. We joked as I was going into see my oncologist as she has the same one as me, told her I was going to gang up on him.LOL.

I feel like I am getting some of my old energy back, still have to pace myself but can do a little more on the weekends and not feel totally wiped out.

Laura – thanks for pointing us in the right direction on what you posted earlier, there are so many posts here and things tend to get lost. That price sounds terrific and even if I booked it separately from the flight, it would still be a better deal that booking everything together as a package. My flight would be $495.00 CDN return. Do we have ten people willing to book by Wednesday? How would the rooms be booked to get that price, each of us book our trips on our own, is it double occupancy? I too am not a real travel person except for our all inclusives in the fall so don’t know how blocking the rooms works.

Linda – enjoy your visit with your grandson and hope he is feeling much better. Please post the recipes when you get back.

Deb – thanks for the compliment. I do enjoy life even more so, we know how precious it is. I sorry to hear that your medical team is not supporting you. They don’t realize how hard it is sometimes, maybe they should try to put themselves in our shoes for a change.

Our older dog hates the vet’s office and wants to run away as soon as she sees the door. Our puppy is still too young yet to know its not a good place for her to be, she happily goes in wagging her little tail.

Both our pups have a microchip. It is a small chip that when scanned brings up an id# so that if your dog ever goes missing he/she is easily identified. Our puppy had hers when we got her and I believe that our other dog (its been so long since she had hers, just trying to think) had hers put in through a small injection type needle. They numb the area, it doesn’t hurt them.

Victoria – did you have any luck finding studio space?

Kelly – hope you are enjoying your weekend with Dave. Teryn will be really happy to see you on Sunday.

TracySeattle – enjoy your beach weekend, sounds like fun! I enjoy gardening although didn’t get out much last year and this year we are hopefully moving so will have to redesign another garden and start all over with my plants.

Debbie444 – that’s scary that someone tried to break into your house when you were home. That is pretty bold! Poor Sam was have been shaking in his little booties…. Glad your dad is feeling better.

TracyNy – what holiday is coming up? Being Canadian we don’t have another holiday until Easter. I have only seen my surgeon twice, day of surgery and then 3 weeks after for a followup. Havent seen him since. Not terribly disappointed as he was a good surgeon but no bedside manner. My husband called him the cutting man as he basically handed us my pathlogy report at my followup and explained nothing! My oncologist had to fill in all the blanks.

Graycie – glad to hear that you are finally portless. I didn’t hear about any peanut butter recall, was it only for peanut butter sold in the U.S.?

Mary – good for you on the walking. I went out to take pups out today and was gone for about an hour. I try to dress in layers too since it has been so cold. Today wasn’t too bad. Normally I put my flannel pj bottoms under my jeans or track pants to stay warm. I renewed my gym membership in September and have been twice. I think I will cancel it as that gym is too far away from my house. There is one that is local that I may join, just down the road.

Rosemarie – I am excited about going to the Police concert. I love a lot of the 80’s bands and Sting is not too hard on the eyes either. I actually bought two sets of tickets, one for hubby and I and another for brother in law and his wife.

Hello to all my other sisters, have to run and make dinner.

Michele Wenz

RoseMarie

TracyNy-funny you should mention my "love nubs" as I was going to say something earlier and forgot. Everything is looking good - still healing - my body doesn't absorb stitches very quickly so I still have stitches BUT I love the way I look and they are shrinking down nicely.
Debbie-that's really expensive for 2 nights!! The Marriott price of $114 a night sounds pretty reasonable. Can't help much with the rental car - Orbitz.com may be a good site to check out for rentals.
Michele - the holiday on Monday is President's day. so...no mail, and no school. Btw, Nobody told me we had to clear the snow from the front of the mailbox or else the postman won't stop! I guess that's a "no-duh" but we sure didn't think about it - getting a little tired of the mess!

Curlylocks

Rosemarie,

We live out in the country and on a major roadway that gets plowed ALOT! We quickly found out that not shoveling out in front of the mailbox = no mail. Its nice though, when you get no bills, hee hee:)

Michele Wenz

Anonymous

Where's Mary-Anne?

maryannecb

Here I am!

Wow I think this is the longest I did not post here. I am trying to spend less time here and more time in real life.LOL.

I did attempt to post but forgot to copy and lost it, about a week ago. I have been reading about all of you every few days. Happy Valentine's to all.

I had a very busy week, I am now doing my whole job again. It is tough getting it all done at work and at home and having spare time at the end of it all.

Mary, glad you are committing to exercise, it can only make us feel better. I have been going to a class with my Dragon boaters every Sat and getting to a gymn one day a week too. I am starting to get little biceps again

I have also been working on a website for our Dragon boat team. I will post a link when it looks better.

My MRI is still not done...a little ridiculous at this point. JMO. I still see my surgeon every three months, rads onc every three months and onc every six months. I suffer a bit from chemo withdrawal- it feels weird to be on no treatment and to be less vigilant. I know I will get used to this soon.

, a pic of my DD and me.

Good luck with your Bone scan Ravdeb. Not to minimize your pain but your body has been through a lot. RA alone is very painful and tiring. If your joints are active, there are some medications to try.I do hope your scan will be fine.

.Debbie, your Dad is having tough times. I am sorry and hope he has better days ahead.

Tadah, your furniture saga continues. I suggest your third husband need upholstery skills!

Michele, a concert, nothing better to recharge the batteries.

I trust that BL is running free again Laura. Laura? Have you set BL free?

Tracy, so glad your basket was appreciated. Hope he shares the contents. And Kelly, the other Dave, sound very attentive too. Who would think that in the middle of this mess good things can happen?

Linny, Isaac will soon be hearing, amazing really. Hope you are not lifting too much this time.

Graycie your hair looks great, it is getting longer and looks thicker. I bet your MIL has stopped making nasty comments. I am ready to chop off my hair, it is at a very awkward stage, not short but not long. But I will leave it alone for now.

Rosemarie, were you buried under all that snow? We had a very windy wet day this week but only a little snow. Kids were off school.

Debbie, fantastic to see you are coming over in the summer. I suppose you are going to swim across. The flight path from London is over Nova Scotia, I will duck as you pass.

Not much else new here.

Fists up!

Graycie

Maryanne, What a beautiful picture of you and your daughter. Your hair look's cute. Thanks for the compliment on my hair. My mil did tell me it is coming in nice the last time I saw her. I think my BIL may have said something to her because he told me he thought she was rude for her comment.

Graycie

Laura, I will check out those sites. I am kind of like Tadah, a last minute girl on making plans.

ravdeb

I leave shortly for my bone scan.
Mary-Anne..you are right..my body went through a lot and it's rebelling, I do believe. I just want to eliminate any fears that it could be something other than arthritis, etc... I am totally sure that the scan will confirm that my body is a wreck but does not have any noticeable cancer cells lurking...

Tylenol helped somewhat, I decided, and so Tracy NY you are right..no need to suffer if there are pain pills out there. I still want to know the source of the pain and feel it so I can tell my doctors exactly what is hurting me. I want the right kind of pain pills since pain pills have their own set of side effects that I'm not interested in!!!

MaryAnne..that pic of you and your daughter is gorgeous!
Gail..love your new avatar. Your hair is long! You look good!

RoseMarie...I love that you said that you like the way you look. That sounds so good to me! You are so cute. I love that you are getting used to the snowy Indiana weather and having to plow out your mail box. I do remember those days! Seems like from a different life..and I guess it was!

Scooby..(love the name)Good luck with the shots. And thanks for sharing the story. It just goes to show that recurrence is not the end of the world and most of us in the past year or two have hit our cancers hard so we have a great chance of living long, healthy lives.
As for my doctors..the head of our bc unit was diagnosed with bilateral bc a year before I was diagnosed. When I went to her for a second opinion, she was still in treatments and not accepting patients. She works full-time again. She decided (and it's HER choice since she is in charge of placing patients with doctors in her unit)not to take me anymore. She is probably taking on all the new patients. But, she didn't take me all that seriously because I was early stage AND she whizzed through treatments and I did NOT. My dh doesn't agree with me but wishes that she would continue to see me. Instead, she keeps moving me from one doctor to the next. They have me down to see the resident who took care of me all along but she is on maternity leave and may not return to the breast care unit. So..I get the new residents all the time!

I wish we could wait a bit longer to have those blocks of rooms. The price is good, though. Michele..I think that those who are rooming together..one of them needs to book the room on their own under the name of the group. Laura could give it a party name like The Rocktober Party and then we make our own individual reservations telling them we are the Rocktober Party so we get the special rates.

debbie444

Someone just tell me where and when to book !! On expedia i got what seemd like 100s of hotels, ranging from 39 a night to 254, noneof which were the same as Cathy or Michelle showed me, so i will be sheep like and just do as i am told. Last time we just booked as we went along - none of this having to think ahead!!

gail - the front page says it is your birthday, but my list says its in May - i havent missed it have i??
Mary anne - what a beautiful picture - if that was me i think iwould blow it up poster size and put it in thewindow. I am not swimming as i have too much luggage - will come by balloon!!

Debbie

Curlylocks

Maryanne - thought you were in Sweden with your hubby. Gorgeous picture of you and your daughter. Are you snowed under in Nova Scotia? Living life beyond treatment is tough and takes alot of getting used to, we dont have the security blanket of our constant doctors visits. Although I see my oncologist once every 3 months due to my Zoladex injections.

Debbie444 - I went on the expedia.com site to see if I could explain how to get to the hotels that Laura was talking about.

So here goes:

Log into site
Click on Vacation Packages at top of page
On Left Hand side of Screen it says "Build Your Trip"
Make Sure hotel+flight are clicked on
Put in Your Leaving from destination and going to
Fill in Dates
The Screen will come up with 100's of hotels
Narrow it down by Click sort of Hotel Name which is at the top above all the hotels
Click on the link for H for Hyatt Regency Chicago or M for Marriott Linconlshire.

Does this help? Keep in mind if we can get the group rate for the hotel it may be cheaper to book your flight separately from your hotel.

Deb - I am willing to book whenever. Are you still going to bunk with me? Hopefully we can get enough people to book the group rate.

So far it looks like Mary, Myself, Laura, Maryanne?, Debbie444? do we have anymore that we could get a block of ten rooms reserved but only have until Wednesday of next week to keep the rate.

Have a great Sunday ladies.

Michele

debbie444

Whats a barrio??? Are you going to live there or paint there - or both??

ravdeb

MaryAnne.. I kind of can understand what you mean about not being on treatments and so on... I was really happy to be done with them but ya know..as I look back on the last 8 months since I finished treatments I have to admit that I'm so extremely aware of every ache (I know you all know THAT part)and anything that could have any relationship whatsoever to cancer. I think this is because I don't want to forget it too quickly just in case it sneaks up on me again.

xGirl..those are pics of possible studios, right?

Michele..yes, I'm still going to be your bunk mate. I hope that Jill and Paula will join us and we will be a foursome if they allow that in the hotel. So, I would reserve a spot for me, too. In the back of my mind, though...I am concerned that my son will end up starting the army that exact weekend, with my luck. That is the only reason I'd like to wait it out a bit, or just so you understand that...

Well, xGirl..I'd like to meet the woman behind that name!

Okay..so I did the bone scan. My dh took the train early this morning and picked up my bone scan I had done in Haifa so that I could bring it in and they could compare. So, we get there and I told the technician I had the cd of my previous bone scan and he said he didn't need it..he already had it. I asked him how that could be since I did it in a different hospital. He said..no..you did it here in December of 2005. Then he went on to say that I was a patient in the hospital. I am still trying to remember them wheeling me in for a bone scan there! Both my dh and I were in shock because first of all..HE was on top of everything that they did, or so he thought! Actually, they did all these tests in the morning before my dh arrived to visit me. I just can't believe I slipped up and forgot!

When my dh and I went to eat something so I could drink all my water, I started having flashbacks and vaguely remember going in for this scan when I was hospitalized. Very weird, though..so foggy!

Anyway..I should be getting my results tomorrow or Tues. That is really fast!

Mary Anne...you should bug them about your MRI! I know that when I had an MRI on my hip it took several weeks but that is because the MRI dept is kinda messed up over there.

At any rate, I am sure my bone scan will show arthritis and other normal degeneration. I'm not worried. Well, I THINK I'm not worried.

Curlylocks

Deb - I will wait to book our room when you are more sure of when your son will be going into the army. When do you think you will find out?

The regular rate for the Hyatt Regency is still very reasonable. The Lincolnshire's rate is $300 more with my flight. Even if we dont end up all staying in the same hotel we are all in the Chicago area so pretty accesible by shuttle or cab.

I'm sure your bone scan will show arthritic changes from chemo, but it is a worry isnt it?

Michele

debbie444

OK - i followed the instructions and i found them. ON the UK Expedia , Hyatt = £254.08 and Marriott £270.08. Yes. pounds not dollars!! Looking at that, block booking would work for me!!

debbie444

So Deb - you go from having no scans to multiple copies in one fail swoop!! Thats not bad going.

Heres Catherine with the Parrot she made out of card while we were stuck in all ill. It came within an inch of being thrown from a window but she got there, ( she says dont look at her hair , it hadnt been straightened when i took the pic!)

Graycie

Debbie, Tell Catherine she is so cute and her hair looks great. She is lucky to have such beautiful hair. Tell her she get's her good looks from her Mom or is that Mum? she look's so much like you. She did a good job on the bird and I am glad she is feeling better.
Boy is it good to look out a window and see NO SNOW......

ravdeb

Love the parrot. She is beautiful. She looks just like you!

I forgot to tell you about the hail we had this morning. We didn't have it at our house but as we left for the scan, there was what looked like SNOW on the sides of the road that leads out of our village. A mom actually pulled over to the side so her kids could get out and play in it. It was little ice balls just piled everywhere! As we drove into the next village, I was shocked to see how much of it was on the roads, under the trees..I really missed my moment because I didn't have my camera. It REALLY looked like snow!

Then..hours later when we returned from the scan, my dh went into one of his fields where he has netting over his peach trees to protect them from hail and there were big ice balls on the netting that he had to shake off!!! HOURS LATER!!! How weird is THAT?

Anonymous

mary-anne -
That photo is GORGEOUS!

Michele -
That's very strange that the Marriott would be more $$$. Doesn't seem right... but if you're rooming with others, have them book the hotel portion. Also, the two hotel locations are not located very close to each other. The only way to get back and forth would be via taxi - for about $40(?) or car rental.

ravdeb -
I hope the scan comes back normal. Do you take any meds on a regular basis that an se could be joint/bone pain?

debbie -
That bird is incredible! How many and which days are you going to be in Illinois? And, you may want to check into Medieval Times while you're here - http://medievaltimes.com/

------------------------------------------------------------

EVERYONE -
With several of you not being able to commit at this point, I think we can forget the group rate. As of today, we cannot guarantee/book 10 rooms (according to the list below, there's only 7 rooms). But the non-group rate is only $10 more per night $124! So, for those of you sharing a room with someone, that would be $62 per night person. As for the downtown location, whether it's the Hyatt or any hotel downtown, the rate will be at least $175-$200 per night (but for those sharing rooms, divide the price by 2).

Room shares (those ready to commit):

Mary/Cathy
Maryanne/Tracy Seattle
Paula/ravdeb/Jill/Michele
RoseMarie/family
Victoria/dh
Debbie/family
Cindy/dh

I think Kelly knows how to add a poll here - so when she gets back from her weekend get-away, I'll ask her to help me with it.

Laura

debbie444

OK Laura - how do i get it at that price as they are wanting to charge me for the privelidge of being Brithish???? Is there a hotel website i can try ???? AAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Going to look at the website - not sure how long we are in Illinois - depends when we do Washington , before or after!! It is all running away from me at the moment - and i have to go back to work tomorrow!!

debbie444

I have found the website for the Marriott - phew , thought i was living in a parrallel universe for a moment there ( WardWorld!!) Mark now wanting to book the package where he gets pop and pizza thrown in!!) Let me know when we are going ahead and booking

RoseMarie

Me too - ready to book -
also, I read on the Marriott website that you can cancel up to the expected arrival date without being charged - I'm sure that's not through the package deal or if we do it as a group but thought that that was good to know.
Catherine's parrot is amazing, Debbie!
Glad your scan is over, Deb. I'm so glad you'll be getting your results back quickly.
MaryAnne - Wow! what a beautiful picture!!!
Ok - off to help my dh pack for the week. He'll be in Chicago for the first part of the week and then San Diego for the rest of the week. Sure wish I could trade places with him!
Have a great day ladies!!
Lots of love!

maryannecb

Debbie, your DD is sweet. I love her curls. Amazing how they spend hours getting rid of them...My daughter will not go out unless her hair is straightened to within an inch of her life.

Ravdeb, glad your day went smoothly, now the WAIT is on. Hope you can get the report soon. I have been bugging them in the MRI dept. But... they are a little strange there. All on their own within the hospital. The machine is two years old. When I had my first one, while diagnosing the BC a tech said to me, "oh, it seems only doctors and their family are getting MRIs", like it was my pushing that got one. I felt guilty being there.

Great pics on the other thread Scooby. By the way , as you sign your name Michele W. , you still get googled right to here. I know you were trying to change that...

I really think we should try to be in the same hotel. I can just imagine all the mix-ups if we are in different locations.

Weird weather Ravdeb. We had -6c today, but it was sunny so felt a little like Spring. Michele we have full snow cover but only about a foot.

I leave for Switzerland on Thursday, I am mentally packing already. My husband is busy cleaning our flat. Hope he does a good job, I haven't been there for two years!. Too sick last year. I'd love to paint it but am onlt there a week and he refuses to let me work, bless him. I just hate the "dusty rose" bedroom wall that his Ex-wife selected. Oh, well will have to shut my eyes....

Hereis anther pic of DD, the photos were done for her Graduation this year from high school. We have yet to find a Prom dress...she is starting to panic.



Fists up!

Curlylocks

Laura - I went directly to Marriott Lincolnshire's website with the help of Rosemarie. I called her and we had a great conversation. She was so surpised to her my voice. She has a southern accent and is very sweet.

Maryanne - I never thought that I could be googled back to here by signing my name Michele W. Maybe I;ll just use Michele. Your daughter is gorgeous.

Deb - I am booking our accomodation tonight with 2 double beds. If Paula/Jill come we can change it. It is $124.00 U.S. per night, I will be arriving on Thursday night and leaving on Sunday. So even if you cant make it for some reason the price is still reasonable if I have to do it on my own. I am just worried about the flight prices going up as they are really, really cheap right now.

You can reserve your room now on a credit card and it can be cancelled up until 6:00 pm. the day of. Your card is not charged until you actually checkout, it is used to hold the reservation.

Getting very excited to meet all of you now!

Here are some goofy pictures of myself and Scooby taken today after our walk. She didnt want to stay still so couldnt get a full shot of her.

Your bc sister
Michele

Curlylocks

I'm booked for Aug 23-26 at the Marriott Lincolnshire!!! Just have the flight to book.

You can cancel the reservation up until 6:00 p.m. the date of arrival. Check in time is 3:00 pm. but you can request early arrival but it is not guaranteed and checkout is 12 noon.

The rate is $127 U.S. per night and it looks like a nice resort. Anyone else booking now?

Michele

RoseMarie

How totally cool to hear Michele's voice! It makes our get together that much more exciting! I can't wait. I was waiting to talk to my dh before booking because I know he does something with Marriott reward points.
MaryAnne- again, beautiful pictures of your daughter! I know you are looking forward to being with your husband!
Have a wonderful night everyone!!
Lots of love!!

Paula15089

hey girls
just wanted to pop in quickly to say hi...
had a busy weekend, went to Russian restaurant for belated b'day celebrations... that was FUN. have heaps of pics to show you!
love everyones photos!!

Ravdeb keep us posted on scan results - i am sure all is well.

I am starting my piligrimage to plastic surgeons re my recon. Have a lot to share... this will keep me busy (and broke!! - todays consult was $200 for example) for the next few months.

i am happy to share the room with as many as possible!

more to come later...

Curlylocks

I am now fully booked, flight and hotel!!! Arriving on Thursday, Aug 23 at 9:15 p.m. and departing on Sunday, Aug 26 at 3:45 p.m.

Paula - I booked a room with two double beds but we also have the option of adding a roll away bed too. So you are more than welcome to stay in Deb(Ravdeb) and my room. You can have up to 4 people in a room! You sound excited to finally being getting your reconstructive process done.

Rosemarie - I am now really excited about the get together as it is now just not talk but a reality. Hey its 1:56 a.m. and I couldnt sleep so I'm on here.LOL.

Debbie444 - forgot to say your daughter's parrot looks so real!

Deb - in case you have already read my earlier posts, I changed the reservation to arrive on the Thursday and leave on Sunday so I can get the most of the whole weekend. Will be arriving on Thursday evening after work.

Good night ladies, do have to get up at 5:50 am. for work and should try to go back to sleep.

Michele