Illinois ladies facing bc

IllinoisLady

"Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and
disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their
proper figures."       Joseph Addison

IllinoisLady

C-squared...I picked out the quote before I read any of the entries..........and so I see here that losses ( of a friend ) and other disappointments will come to us at some time  and we will know WHY and WHAT it was all about. 

In that way, more or less, I think we never have real closure on this earthly plain, but only learn to go into an acceptance of this is how it is now.  I also believe we can know when we are THERE when we can think of someone or something with true joy and appreciation for the good times again. 

There are several people missing from my life in the last three months and though very sad.....I do think of them as released from a life that had no true quality left  ---  that was not much more than burden.  There is no joy that they are gone, but I am happy that they were released from the huge struggle and burden it was to be alive.  Quite an ambivalent time. 

Wishing you all a nice day.

Love and peace,

Jackie

meni33

C-squared I am so sorry for your loss, and will pray for her family.

lago

Just wanted to let you know I spoke with Adey a few hours ago. She's doing well although I think she might be high on meds. She was totally coherent but she's not sure if she'll even remember she spoke with me today.

Timbuktu

What kind of surgery did Adey need?

dltnhm

Saw Adey a little while ago. She's doing pretty well. She looked good - good color too! Nice visit with her. We were singing the praises of BCO to her nurse and the nurse took info down. She's a survivor too.

Agree with Lago about the pain meds. And thank God for pain pumps and meds!!!

Adey sends her best.

Keep those prayers heavenward for her!!!



Diana

spunkyboobster

Hope all went well, Adey(((hugs)))

C-squared

Thanks for the update lago.  And yes, I'm curious too Timbuktu.., what WAS the surgery???  Does anyone know?  I'm confident that we all understand if she wants to keep it private.., just let us know that she wants to keep it private.  

lago

I feel it's up to Adey to disclose the details and believe she wants to be private about this. I'm assuming she would have posted what kind of surgery if she wanted it public.

IllinoisLady

"The major value in life is not what you get. The major value
in life is what
you become."

-- Jim Rohn

IllinoisLady

Continued warm thoughts to Adey and lots of healing vibes -- whatever you had done, hope you end up with the best results ever. 

A bit overcast here but is helping to keep the temps from soaring to high.  Just hope we don't have much rain today.....and none tomorrow when we will be at a fish fry. 

Have a great Saturday everyone.

Peace and love

Jackie

camillegal

Oh Lago I'm glad u talked to Adey and everything is OK. HUGS AND PRAYERS for u Adey and a wonderful outcome.

joan888

Just catching up after returning from vacation with major jet lag. Ugg!



Adey, hope you are recovering well. We are all thinking of you.



And BTW, brrrrr! Hope it warms up soon. I am going to run out and buy some flowers today.

zap

Last thing I heard about Adey is that her child was coming home from Africa and she was so happy.  I only met Adey twice but I love her sassy spirit. 

I have news and the outcome is all good.  I had a thingy removed from my back and I was scared it was melanoma as I was a sun-worshipper as teen and young adult and I think (I am not sure....maybe someone knows more about this) that there is a connection between BC and melanoma.  It may be some sort of genetic link.  Well, no worries as all was just fine....not any sort of skin cancer at all. 

This has actually been a good thing for me as I now will be more vigilant about checking my body out and using the sun screen. Do the same, ladies!

Back to Adey prayers going out to you.

Susan

Timbuktu

After a diagnosis of bc, getting an all clear after a biopsy is particularly sweet, isn't it?

Good vibes going to Adey!  I wouldn't have asked what the surgery was for except that it was being discussed so openly on this thread, as though we already knew about it.  Good luck Adey!!!

dltnhm

Great news Zap!

So happy and thankful for you!

kjiberty

Zap:  Great news!

Adey:  Sending hugs your way!  Hope to see you this summer!

joan888

Zap... Good news for sure. I have gotten more vigilant with my skin. One the same day that I got my BC diagnosis, my dermatologist removed a very tiny raised freckle from my shin. The path report came back as pre-melanoma. I have since come to believe in the connection. It is a toss up between getting our natural vitamin D versus skin damage. Take care.

lago

Yay Zap!

camillegal

Zap always good news without that beastly word.

Hey Adey we're here, hope u'r healing is coming along well.

dwill

I live in Fairview Heights, near Belleville, Il.  I was first diagnosed in Feb and had a right breast Mastectomy on March 26th.  Still dealing with the physical and psychological aspects of this disease.  I am now on hormone therapy which seems to be making me gain weight and added depression.  Wondering if someone on this site lives near me.

C-squared

Timbuktu~ I think we both thought that we missed something.., neither of us was trying to "pry"!  Continuing to send good vibes to Adey and looking forward to hearing from her soon!

Zap~ such good news for you.  And, yes, I DO believe that there is a connection between melanoma and BC.  My friend, who just passed this week, had melanoma followed by BC.  The melanoma resolved.  The breast cancer was a 9 year fight!  

camillegal

Dwilli I'm not sure---well I don't know were belleville Is---Im' about 35 miles west of Downtown Chicago.

Are u in Southern IL?

IllinoisLady

Dwillie....I am fairly near you.  I'm in Centralia....a little over one hr. or so East of you.  Don't know how many more on this site are directly in your area or around both of us.....a couple I think maybe though don't know if they are still posting even at this point.  We often go to Fairview Hts. for REALLY good shopping as there is not much around us.  Also across the river to some St. Louis stores.  So wishing F Ht's would get a Trader Joe's and a Costco would be really great as well. 

Anyway --- your pretty much right on wt. gain, depression, and other se's from the hormonals.  Sigh!!!!

Peace and love,

Jackie

IllinoisLady

Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.  Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something in them.  Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your won. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.  Give everyone a smile.  Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger.

Christian D. Larsen

lago

Dwilli4483 looks like you are South and west of Chicago, near St. Louis (294 sw of downtown Chicago). I know we have some gals that are south but not sure how far south. If you were closer to Kansas City I could hook you up with a BCO gal there. Hopefully someone will come forward.

But we all can still chat, PM here.

Also try calling the American Cancer Society and ask for the Reach to Recovery program. If they say there don't have a program near you tell them you can do it all by phone, email, text etc. There is no need for you to have to meed your reach to recovery partner in person. What they do is match you up with someone who has gone through it before that is a similar age and what ever your concern might be. Might be the same treatment, or kids issue etc.

Have you told your onc that you are dealing with depression and you think its from the ESD (estrogen sucking drug/Arimidex)? S/he needs to know. This is a very real problem that needs to be addressed! It is a very real SE of the ESDs so don't think its just you and you have to deal with it.

2ns_Jenn

Good morning!
I am counting down the days until surgery and I am trying to start getting prepared.  Can anyone give me recommendations for post-BMX camisoles with drain pockets?  There are quite a few options that I have seen on the internet but they seem so expensive I want to make sure I am buying the right one.  

What about tops after the drains have been removed?

Adey - sending good thoughts your way!

Zap - good news!

Hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend (despite the cool weather)!
Jenn

C-squared

2ns_Jenn~ Do you know how many drains you will be getting, by chance?  I had only 2 & I ended up using just the pouch that was given to me for the "On-Q Pain Pump" (http://www.iflo.com/prod_onq_classic.php), which if you haven't heard of I HIGHLY recommend asking your surgeon about. 

When is your surgery?  Good luck to you!!!  and keep us posted. 

lago

2ns_Jenn I really got so tired of spending money on "cancer shit" that I never planned on using again. I had 2 drains. All I did was get big safety pins and pinned them to the surgical bra. Worked just great for me. I wasn't allowed to shower with drains but if you are then just get some kind of lanyard or even a clean shoelace from a gym shoe and make a necklace. Then pin the drains to that.

For camis I just wore what I usually wore once the bandages were gone or I wore nothing at all. I found stuff on sale at various discount stores but my favorites were the ones from Jockey. I also just wore some tanks from Jockey as well. Summer I didn't wear anything.

BTW be sure to put everything in your bathroom a bit lower. You will not be lifting your elbows above your shoulders. That means you will not be able to reach above your head. I had to rearrange my  medicine cabinet and also put the shampoos and stuff in the shower lower.

Also be sure to have a pillow for the rid home. You'll need it between you and the seatbelt. I also had lots of pillows in bed. I made a wedge so I slept at a high angle. As I felt better I would remove pillows till I finally was sleeping flat. Nice thing about surgery is you feel better each day. They give you good drugs… but I never used any. Some of us actually have a high tolerance to pain. I didn't even use the pain pump. I hope you have the same experience.

Do check in when you feel up to it and let us know how your doing.

BoatinGirl

Returing to this forum, after a crazy couple of weeks.  Someone PM'd me that cancer is a time suck,and they were NOT kidding.

2ns Jenn - I'm out in Algonquin/Crystal Lake area.  A fellow far NWestern-ite.

C-squared - I was catching up and read about your dear friend, and I am so sorry.  I have a good friend who has been a rock for me.  She was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer a couple of years ago, and found out she had BRCA 1 gene.  She has done 2 rounds of chemo and called me Friday to say they did an abdominal scan, and will find out Tuesday if she has cancer again.  I feel like someone kicked me in the gut.  Again, I am so sorry.

I read about the IL team for the walk on Oct 26th.  If I am starting chemo in August, I wonder if I would be able to pull it off??  I love walking, and walking for this cause would make me feel like I am doing something.   Have to pay forward all this wonderful help!!