Illinois ladies facing bc

spunkyboobster

Purple-I sent you a pm. I had oncotype of 17 on one breast and 18 on the other breast-so I understand the anxiety you're feeling.

Welcome to the illinois ladies-never hesitate to ask questions or share a thought. ((Hugs))

Adey

Cheers boobster and kj!!

C-squared

purplelilacs~ welcome to the IL Ladies.., and SO sorry you have to be here!!!  You have come to a really good place though!  There are so many women here with so much knowledge & experience (which = knowledge IMHO). Lilacs are my favorite flower!  I actually used lilacs as my Avatar until I was ready to post a pic of my face -lol!

lago~ can you help me post my team picture?  I know that you are really good at this kind of stuff!

all~ just wondering if anyone has an opinion they'd like to share about AJ's prophy MX?  There's a pretty intense discussion happening on anothe board if you're interested.  I'm interested in what some of the IL Ladies think about it???

virginiab

c-squared--

I think Angelina Jolie made an extremely sensible personal decision to have the surgery, and then she made a decision that is useful to all of us by going very public about it. I think people are going to look at her cleavage and think breast surgery is an okay thing to do. It may make it easier for a lot of people to face decisions about surgery, whether they are in her position of doing it as a preventive measure or in the position of most of us, of having surgery as part of a cure.

IllinoisLady

I thought it was a very brave decision to make.    I think of the women who may have felt so devasted to lose a part of their body that so defines being a woman and how rough to go through..... 

Anyway, I'm moved that AJ would share this very personal choice and decision and hoping that those who will have to make that decision or one close to it will see that she made her choice before any problem and did it while being a 'movie' star. 

Peace and love,

Jackie

kjiberty

Had a great visit with Spunky!  Adey--looking forward to our visit!  

mdg

I think AJ made a good choice....heck if I had that choice before getting BC I would have done it too. With such high odds of getting cancer, why sit around and wait to get it - especially when you have 6 young kids?  I still think that the message that needs to get out is that the GREAT MAJORITY of women that get BC  do NOT have any gene/family history.  Most people know if you carry the gene or have strong family history you are at a greater risk but most women don't realize that without a family history or gene that you can still get BC.  I always worried about having a heart attack because I have strong family history of that....I never really worried about BC. Just my opinion. I am glad she shared her story. 

spunkyboobster

Had a wonderful visit with kjiberty, and enjoyed her suggestion for dinner-looking forward to my next visit to Peoria!

My first thought regarding AJ was-if I had a bmx before my dx I probably would have been able to keep my nipples...so I think it's a good thing. She's in control, not the cancer or the circumstances.

lago

I met with Invisible today. She looks great. Her hair is curlier than before but she looks so good.

Just an FYI. Illinois Ladies ACS Strides Against Breast Cancer Team is going to walk again. The site for the event went up today. I registered our team again. Anyone who would like to join be sure to select team Illinois Ladies. I hope we can grow. If you don't know the link pm me and I will send it.

The walk is October 26th at Soldier Field this year.

mdg

Thanks for doing that Lago!  I will be planning to walk again this year!  Do you remember how much we raisedlast year?  We need to crush that number this year!!! If you didn't make the walk last year....it was lots of fun!  Join us this year!

camillegal

Hi everyone--I hope everyone is doing OK. The  weather is stil warm and I already don't like it, just complaining for my feel better about it rant.

My opinion about AJ--What she did was remarkable thinking it thru cuz her mom died so young from all this stuff and going public is a good thing to let others be aware--of course ins. would or might get in the way for people and now she's also having something )I don't remember) with er uteris taken out, but I don't know how many kids are the ones she gave birth too cuz now all she needs is an airplane, she doesn't need a uteris at all.But I do doubt if Jennifer Aniston cares.

lago

MDG Last year the team raised over $13,400! The current goal is set to $13,000 for the team. If we reach it I will raise it.

Thanks so much for joining the team again. We also have one other that's PMed me and wants to join. Feel free to have others that are not "Illinois Ladies" join that includes friends, family neighbors and coworkers.

IllinoisLady

We can always learn something from everyone that has ever come across our lives. They were there to help reflect the needed knowledge and experiences for us to grow.
…No matter what happens in LIFE, always take the positive and leave everything else behind…and don’t look back!
~ Embellished Minds

IllinoisLady

Every morning when we wake up we’ve been given a wonderful
gift—another day of life—so let’s make the most of it.  No one
can do it for us. . . . Genuine happiness can only be realized once
we commit to making it a personal priority in our lives.  This may be
a new behavior for some of us and a bit intimidating.  Be gentle with
yourself.  It will all unfold.  Like any new behavior, happiness can be learned.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

IllinoisLady

The
number of the hours in a day is fixed, but the quantity and quality of energy
available to us is not. It is our most precious resource. The more we take
responsibility for the energy we bring to the world, the more empowered and
productive we become. The more we blame others or external circumstances, the
more negative and compromised our energy is likely to be.

Jim
Loehr and Tony Schwartz

C-squared

Hi ladies~ I need you support, prayers, optimistic thoughts, karma.., whatever it is that your comfortable with for a dear friend of mine (started out a s my very 1st LE patient, many, many years ago!) who was hospitalized this past Tuesday with a systemic blood infection (they believe was caused by her port as she has had it for many, many years).  She is having a difficult time coming out of sedation, no doubt conserving her energy to fight this infection.  Her BP initially dropped to 50/35, her temp was 102.5.  They have her on a mega-dose of antibiotics, and a a breathing tube.  She had 3.5 litres of fluid removed from her abdomen (paracentisis) due to liver dysfunction and has had this done numerous times in the past. Her kidneys are barely functioning.

I am so fearful that she is coming to the end of this awful journey though there is no talk of that from her husband.  She has 2 beautiful daughters age 9 and 12 who need their mother.  

She and her family are so strong in faith but I didn't think it would hurt to reach out to my fellow IL Ladies and ask for some additional support.  

Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful weather.  I was able to get some gardening in today and came inside to learn that there hasn't really been a change in status for my dear friend.  I am SO sad and I don't know what to do!  

hope49

C-squared, I am so sorry to hear about your friend.  I will keep her in my prayers over the coming days.  I hope she will make it through this difficult time and be here with her family for years to come.

Timbuktu

I will pray for her c-squared.

IllinoisLady

C-squared....prayers and lots of healing energies for your friend.  I'm sure everyone here is hoping that things can get far, far better.

Hugs and love to you as well.  I hope you are able to find a place of peace as you gather healing energies for your friend too. 

Peace and love

Jackie

peki007

C Squared -I will keep your friend in my prayers today and in days to come.  It must be so frightening to see her go through this when she has been through so much already.  My heart aches for her and her family.  She has a good friend in you.

mdg

C-squared...so sorry for your friend's difficult times. Sending prayers for her and her family.  I hate cancer! 

C-squared

Thank you all for your kindness.  I pray that she will regain her strength and beat this awful infection!  Cancer sucks!  

zap

C-Square, I know it is heart-breaking.  She is in my prayers and keep the thought she can rally.

Susan

zap

Yesterday we went to an all-day seminar on lymphoma (dh has a very rare one) and there were about 500 people from across the nation there.  It was informative and great to be among people who found comfort being in a room with so many people of all ages and color and nationalities and religions on the same journey.

We broke into small groups depending upon our interests/needs.  I did mostly nutrition, stress-reduction and then one with my dh that was so technical that it was way above my head. I am so far away from BC now (knocking forever on wood) that I would not likely attend a syposium on BC like this one on Lymphoma, but I would strongly encourage anyone here to seek one out if you in the mdist of the battle.  So comforting and so infomrative

Susan

IllinoisLady

Hoping I don't have the dreaded marks as this is a great quote:

Life rushes us along and few people are
strong enough to stop on their own.  Most often, something unforeseen stops us
and it is only then we have the time to take a seat at life’s kitchen
table.  To know our own story and tell
it.  To listen to other people’s stories. 
To remember that the real world is made up of just such stories.  Until we stop ourselves or, more often, have
been stopped, we hope to put certain of life’s events “behind us” and get on
with our living.  After we stop we see
that certain of life’s issues will be with us for as long as we live.  We will pass through them again and again,
each time with a new story, each time with a greater understanding, until they
become indistinguishable from our blessings and our wisdom.  It’s the way life
teaches us how to live.

Rachel
Naomi Remen

Just happens to dove-tail with zap's entry today.  Susan, hope you know how nice it is to read your emails.  Your ability to present serenity in the subjects you talk about has such a calming influence and it is very appreciated.

Peace and love

Jackie

dltnhm

C-squared,

Praying for your friend and her precious family.



Diana

C-squared

Thank you again ladies!  I am so fortunate to have this support system & I want you to know how truly grateful I am for your kindness!  

I am thinking that I will let things settle a bit (been a non-stop stream of visitors according to the ICU nurse) & plan a visit for Tuesday afternoon.  I feel like I need to gather myself before I go to visit.  I cannot seem to say much about this without tears welling up in my eyes.  I feel like I need to be much stronger than that at her bed-side.

Not to sound cliche, but she is truly one of the most spiritually grounded people I have ever known.  I am confident that the "stream of visitors" are from her church and that they are ALL praying HARD for PEACE for herself, for her husband and for their daughters!  They are so strong.., I feel like I need to be strong in their presence.  

Thank you ALL again for your kindness, thoughts, intentions and prayers.  I promise to keep you posted and hope to bring you "good" news.   

IllinoisLady

When we look for the good in others, we discover the best in ourselves.

Martin Walsh

camillegal

C-squared I'm so sorry ti read this--my prayers are coming u'r way.

C-squared

Thanks Camille!  I haven't received an update since Saturday and I'm hoping (praying) that "no news is good news."