Starting Chemo May 2008

Sable

Wooohoo we finally have poo! The things you get excited about. Don't think my drains are coming out tomorrow I am still spuing out too much liquid. I know that once those are gone and I am beyond the sting of them being there constantly I will feel better. Oh and to top things off, I think both sides might have an infection.... man it keeps getting better. Doc appt tomorrow @1

Nico1012

Nico horning in here to say....... Rock, I'm falling down laughing!! Burma Shave!  Jen, That REALLY sucks, and Otter, thinking of scuttling the life draining Femara myself. Five pos nodes so probably not too bright, huh? The refrain of "I want to live, live, live until I die" keeps bouncing round my head. Would Femara be better saved for a recur or even mets? I hate to use such a powerful weapon and feel like I'm 101 yo while taking it when I'm currently NED. Is this twisted logic? Am I justifying? Should I have my ass kicked? HELP!!

Nico

ewesterman

Long time no write. Thanks for the bar mitzvah thought...Adam (one child only) has his bar mitzvah on January 9. Am dealing with the details for 300 coming. That's what I meant to say last time.

FEMARA FOLKS,

I was on femara for a few months and it killed me. I switched to Aromasin and it has been terrific and much, much, much easier to handle. Kerry, is that an option for you? Nico, YOU? 

Hope you had terrific Christmas holidays one and all. Jenn, hang in there woman....love you all.

I went, for the first time since diagnosis, to the Olympus Women's Spa (one boobed) and Dottie went along as did four other fine friends and all went very well. More on that some other time except to say that if I could define heaven, this would be it....really. Love you all.

familyroks

First and foremost...JEN...YAY FOR POO!!  How silly is that?  How wonderful is that?! You are my hero.  I'm such a chicken.

How much do we hate change in our health?  Last month I had the first real period in 13 months.  I'm diagnosed as post-menopausal (chemo induced) and am taking Arimidex.  I had had occasional minor spotting...not requiring any "assistance".  So last month scared the crappola out of me.  It was the heaviest I can ever remember in my life.  I called the doctor, which I will admit I put off because I'm....a chicken (as noted above).  Nurse called me back and said that it was normal for the body to try to adjust to menopause and have the occasional bleeding...even heavy.  So I accepted that.  Ran my 7 days and moved on with life.  I was always 28 days on the dot prior to chemo, so I was pleased to pass 28 days with nothing.  I didn't realize how much I was watching this until today.....it starts again.  Light so far..5 weeks from last time.  Dammit...what do I do with this?  I see my Onc on the 20th of Jan.  I'm not going to call him.  It wouldn't do me any good to have someone tell me its normal or tell me to come in.  Dammit.  Why does this worry have to keep going and going and going?  I'm taking Arimidex.  Was the original diagnosis that I'm menopausal wrong?  Is this normal with chemo induced menopause?  Geez Louise...I hate the worry.  I hate that my remaining boob itches.  Is that normal?  Oh now I'm crabby, is that normal?  I wish Jeanne could come through Seattle on her way home, is that normal? 

 OK...that last one was a test of the emergency May 2008 broadcast system.  In all seriousness, I just needed to gripe and get it out.  Thank you.

Love you all, times infinity and beyond (a family saying in my house)

Adrienne

lewing

Oh, Jen; oh, Nico; oh, Adrienne: I'm thinking of all of you and wishing things weren't so sucky.  (The poo news is great, of course, but getting those drains out and being able to reach around behind will be even better.)  Adrienne, did they test your hormone levels before declaring you menopausal, or just go by the absence of periods?  If the former, I'm stumped: I thought that once our ovaries were blasted to smithereens by chemo, as shown by our hormone levels, menopause was final.  According to my primary care doc, I'm definitely, indubitably menopausal.  And I was certainly not told that post-menopausal bleeding was "normal."  It's frustrating, the different things we hear from our doc's.

As for AIs . . . since I was pre-menopausal when this all began, my onc started me on tamox rather than an AI.  He muttered something about potentially switching over to an AI after two or three years, but from what I'm hearing, I much prefer the tamoxifen.  I've been tolerating it really well - some hot flashes (which, who knows, I'd probably be having anyway), but none of the joint aches and sexual dysfunction that I hear about with AIs.  And I like not having to worry about bone loss.  The tentative plan that I'm cooking up is to insist on a CYP2D6 test when I approach the 2-year mark on tamoxifen, and if I'm a good metabolizer, just staying on the tamox and declining AIs.  (My health system doesn't do CYP2D6 testing routinely - another of those frustrating variations in clinical practice - so I have no idea what kind of metabolizer I am.)  Has anyone else gone that route?  Or thought about it?  Were you offered a choice between tamoxifen and AIs, or strongly steered to one or another?  I know that AIs seem to offer a slight edge for post-menopausal women, but I've seen speculation - nothing definitive, unfortunately - that if you're a good tamoxifen metabolizer, the two classes of drugs may actually be equally effective.

Love you all - especially tight hugs to those who are having a tough time.  (Oh, and Eddie - mazel tov to Adam on his bar mitzvah . . . and to you and Marty for raising such a wonderful kid!)

Linda

JulieC

Yay for Jen.  My FIL is still in the hospital (2 weeks as of yesterday) and now is waiting for bodily functions to return to normal before he can come home.  I suggested Traci's prune juice and Milk of Magnesia cocktail.  FIL was interested in anything and MIL said they tried "everything"  Just didn't give that recipe to the nurses.  I still give up.

Eddie - you are one brave woman.  I admire anyone who can put on that kind of party.  Your family is great.  I'm proud of you and for you!

Adrienne and Linda - let me tell you my menopause / not menopause story.  I went 54 weeks without a period and then it came back as the worst one I had ever had in my life.  I had bloodwork done back in January and was told that the estrogen was done and the other stuff was done.  I, like you, went into a panic thinking what was I going to have to "do" this year.  I went for more blood work in July and that pesky old estrogen was back!  So much for my chemo bonus.  Onc said that since I am at the age (47 now) where my body could start leading me to menopause, my body recovered.  However . . .  I only had one other period in August and it was normal. I've had the slight spotting ocassionally since then.  I don't know what to expect anymore.  You think you can put things behind you (no pun there, Jen) and you can't because you are still thinking about it.

Feel free to vent anytime.

Rock - glad you are back on our soil and that you invited us all along for a great year-long trip!

Hurray for all with warm weather.  We are expecting our coldest over New Year's and when the kids go back to school.

Hugs to all - Julie

familyroks

Julie - thank you!  That does make me feel so much better, believe it or not.  I mistakenly said it had been 13 months...it had actually been 18 months since my last real one.  So far, this one does appear to be super light and may not run a full course.  Some might even just consider it spotting.  I hope your FIL gets some relief.  We certainly know who finicky those bodily funtions can be!

Linda - they did run the bloodwork through the hormone testing and my Onc confirmed results with an OB/GYN that I was indeed in menopause, induced by chemo.  I was ecstatic to have one positive thing come out of this whole mess...LOL.  I always hated my menstrual cycle, with a passion.  I'm hoping the doctor was right and its just my bodies way of doing whatever it is that it does.  I guess it thinks I need to have a scare/worry thrown at me on occasion...in the event I somehow forget all this fun.

Hugs to everyone.  Sending wishes for a fun and safe New Years.

Adrienne

Sable

Doc's visit went really well. much better than I expected. I thought for sure that I was gonna get stuck back in the hospital with an infection or something fun like that. Said I am doing great and the temp is coming from my lungs and not deep breathing. So I have been working on that ALOT to get it under control. No drains out today but on thursday 1 drain and a few staples. I can't wait for them all to be gone. That is where a good porition of my pain is coming from.

Julie~ your fil like salsa? Give him a bottle of any heat and a bag of chips. That always goes right thru me. That and fiber one bars

JulieC

 I forgot about the Fiber One bars.  Last summer we called them fart bars.  Glad your doctor appointment went well. You are on your way, sweetie!

otter

Can't stay ... just wanted to say how much I love y'all.  Deep breathing, spotting/floods, fart bars? I was going to add something about 300 house guests, but it just didn't sound right in that same sentence.

We're back at home, snug and warm in front of the fireplace.  I'm loving it.  (Sorry, Jeano ... I just hate ice and snow. Don't know how I survived up there for 30 years.)

And Adrienne has come up with a new communication plan, in case of crisis:  "The Emergency May 2008 Broadcast System."

Hugs... 

otter 

drcrisc

I'm with otter...bar mitzvahs and periods and drains...oh my! 

Jen - Glad to hear that "all's well that end's well" (I remember that one being kicked around a few times!) 

Julie - If FIL can't do the salsa or aptly named, fart bars....try plum juice.  I still can't walk by the bottle in the store without shuddering, though.

Adrienne - I think the answer to all your questions is yes!  And I know the pain of the "Return of the Period".  Aaaaagggghhhh.  I hope, for your sake, it was only a sequel and not an entire series. 

Rock - Are you here??  Really???

Okay, this is Cristine on drugs trying to fight off, yet again, another flu.  <Sigh>

Jeano77

Know that I am laughing and smiling because of all of you  . . . as I go out to shovel . . . AGAIN. 

Secretly loving the snow (not so much the shoveling), but looking forward to my trip to AZ. 

Posting photos later. 

Jeano

angelsaboveus

Hope everyone survived the holidays,..never thought I could get tired of eating but I think I'm there!

Our youngest son made it home safely and enjoyed having him home even if it meant late nite visits with his friends and worrying about him when he was out. Does it ever end ....the worrying?  He has just left this morning and the snow is coming down and he has a 8 hour drive over the mountains to Calgary.....the funny thing is our eldest son in driving in the opposite direction from Calgary to come home for New Years, so now I have 2 drivers to worry about

Have one more big dinner on New Years for our son as he missed out on xmas dinner..so I will cook up a turkey for him with all the trimmings, it will only be 11 around the table so that won't be too bad.

Jen glad to here you are starting to heal  and yahoo for upcoming drain removal !

Rock so glad you are back home safely....what beautiful pics you have on FB , the animals and scenery is unbelievable !  Have you thought of going into photography ? you sure have the talent for it ! 

Well....I need to go strip the bed and tidy up for the next arrival and stock up the fridge...I forgot how much 20 yr old boys can eat !!!!

Have a safe and Happy New Year everyone

Cheers !

otter

Cristine, I hear you about the flu. 

I had not mentioned that I've been dealing with The Cold from Hell for the past, oh, (wait while otter is counting) ... 2 full weeks.  It started innocently enough, with a mild sore throat and that itsy bitsy ache that makes you want to drink a cup of lemon tea ... or just hold it in your hands as you huddle under a warm blanket.  That feeling came and went for 4 days, until I finally was hit with real cold symptoms. They came as we were traveling northward to visit my family.  Really bad timing.

So, by the time we reached that Great Frozen Land of the North, I had the chills pretty bad, even though I still did not have an actual fever, and I had started to cough.  That's been the most annoying part of the whole thing.  I've been coughing for more than a week now, and I think I've pulled a belly muscle.  (I know, that's nothing compared to what has happened to Jen's belly muscles, which are now somewhere in her upper chest!)  The cold has finally migrated to my sinuses, which is where my winter colds often end up.  I'm feeling tired, but much better today. I don't know if that's because I'm convalescing from the cold (virus), or if it's because I'm just so glad to be home from the Cold Northland.  I can actually walk outside here with just a heavy flannel shirt over my T-shirt. No need for my parka and snow boots.  YAY!!!

Anyway, that Cold from Hell was one reason why our visit with my family was not as pleasant as I'd have liked.  There are other reasons, which I will not entertain you with here (fearing that there might be people who've finally figured out my screen name).  I am writing a memoir, which I will burn upon completion. Just thinking about that is therapeutic.

I just realized I should have posted this on Traci's moan-and-groan thread.  It's pale, compared to what some of you are dealing with.  rock, I am (secretly) glad you are back on our shores, but I know (I think) how much you'd like to live in both worlds (while somehow keeping them separate). Jen, I was glad to read that the infection you thought you had was probably just coming from your lungs. Wait a minute -- is that a good thing?  Remember, there is a tremendous amount of tissue damage in you right now (as if you don' t know that), and your body is trying to patch itself up and repair the damage.  I am convinced sometimes we can get a mild fever and feel poorly just because of all the "stuff" that's going on then, even if there is no infection.  

The best thing about getting home yesterday was finding and opening all the cards that had accumulated in our absence.  It was like a treasure hunt, digging through the bin of accumulated mail and pulling them out.  I appreciate them all.  A special note goes to Karin, who found and sent a children's book called, "Do Unto Otters....".  I love it!

Those of you dear May '08 sisters who did not send cards:  please, please don't worry about it.  I don't want any of us to feel obligated.  We each have our own way of supporting each other and contributing.  There are times I crave the connections, and can make myself crazy by thinking of things I could say or do or send.  I want to reach out and sweep us all together, so we can mingle around a table of snacks or sit on the sofa (or the floor), and talk.  Other times, I want to hop on a plane (much as I hate flying, now that it's like paying several hundred dollars to be imprisoned for a couple of hours), just so I can rendezvous with one or more of you and sip a cup of coffee.  I like to send cards.  It makes me feel happy.

Mostly, though, I just love that we are all here (or on FB, or on the phone...), by whatever schedule we can manage.

Time for lunch, and then otter is going to snooze for awhile.

Hugs and love...

otter 

Sable

Just made it back from the doc again. Got 2 drains out and he promised the other out on tuesday! I feel so much better already. He didn't mention staples yet hopefully it will all come out on tuesday. I asked him about how we were going to reshape in tum-boob area and he looked at me and laughed. He said "I don't even think about that for at least 3 months, you have too much swelling right now going on. And within those 3 months this side is going to change like crazy anyway" Good to know.... I feel a tad deformed at the moment. Live and learn

Sable

Robin~ I wanted to make sure you saw this before your surgery. I'm sure you probably already know it but just in case. With the drains never let them get more than 1/2 full or they stop working. I didn't know this and wish I had. I bet I would have all of mine out now if I had known it.

otter

Hi, Jen!  Now you tell me about keeping the drain bulbs less than half full.  I wish I'd known that when I had my drains for my mast/SNB 2 years ago.... 

Glad to hear you've had two of them pulled and the third will be leaving soon.  I didn't have all that much trouble with mine, or so I thought.  But it sure was a relief, once they were gone.  I guess they were causing more irritation than I realized.

Your surgeon must not have known how eager you are to get all this done... heh heh.

I hope y'all are having a great old year/new year transition today.  Party hard!

otter 

Gracie713

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Not much going on here, but reading and keeping up with all of you.  Jen-you are braver than I am!  The thoughts of more surgery and drains are just too much for me to handle--I am glad that you are doing well and you are in my thoughts and prayers!

Have to work all weekend, so that is how I am bringing the new year in.  Better than last year-I was starting radiation treatments!  Don't tell anyone, but I'm glad that I am working--beats radiation any day. 

Less than 2 hours and it will be 2010!!!!  We May '08 women really are special.  Love you all so much.  

2010---Let our future begin!!!!!!

otter

You are in the Eastern Time Zone -- not fair!  (My dh and I are struggling to stay awake during a football game in which Tennessee failed to show up.  It's a snoozer.)

otter 

JulieC

Happy New Year!  You all are the best.  Still have over an hour to wait.  When I was growing up, we watched all of the Times Square programs and felt let down after their shows ended because we still had another hour to wait.  Today we can celebrate with our friends in so many time zones.  That IS something to celebrate!

JulieC

Also thinking about and missing Randie as we move into 2010.  She was such a great part of 2009.  Happy New Year, Randie.  I was looking outside and saw the blue moon which only comes around every 19 years.  It is a special day.

Jeano77

Happy New Year to ALL!  Just a quick note to wish you all a healthy and happy 2010! 

Jen - great news that you are 2 drains down, 1 to go.  I had no idea either that they were never to be more than half full.  Although this sounds like a long process, I am hoping that you are feeling stronger each day.

Rock - As I watched the celebration in Times Square last evening, I could not stop wondering if you were there. 

Linda - after 2 months of no running (only biking), I finally had got an x-ray of my foot.  One large bone spur - which explains the nail like sensation in my heel.  Seeing yet another doc on Friday, hoping they can do something quick and painless.  Have you ever tried acupuncture?  That is all I have left in the bag of tricks that I have not tried.  

It may be cold, but it sure is fun!!  Snow shoeing in the regional park. 

Love to all! 

otter

Hey, Jean, aren't you supposed to be upright when you're snow shoeing?  I've never seen the whole-body technique.  Looks like fun, though.  (I can say that, now that I'm here in AL.)

[Time out while I advise Mr. otter on where the mayonnaise might be in the fridge....]  Oops. Gotta go. Things are getting tense locally.  Talk to y'all later!  Happy New Year!

otter  

robink

So I've had my 1st trial of 2010 - wrote a lengthy post (over several hours coming and going from the computer) only to find it gone after clicking the submit link, having to sign in again.  Oh well - so DD and I just went on a nice walk and I'm now sitting  here trying to remember what I wrote.

Eddie - Your Adam sounds like a remarkable young man. Congrats to him on his bar mitzvah Jan 9. What's with the 300?  Sounds like quite a massive under taking. Looking forward to reading about your day spa adventure. Have you had any SE from Aromasin?

Adrienne - Emergency Broadcast System, good idea.  I get reception here in Colorado! No periods for me since 2001 (hysterectomy, all parts gone). Sometimes I wonder if the 7 years of HRT contributed to the development of my ER+ BC, but I don't dwell on it cause I can't change it, just haven't taken the HRT in almost 2 years.

Linda - what is that CYP??? test you were referring to? Guess I'm too lazy to look it up. (Otter this is where you weigh in with you research). When offered the option of the oncotype testing I declined, sometimes wise I would have pursued the option but this is another thing I can't change so I don't worry about it.

Julie - any poo for FIL? I'll need to keep the recipe you mentioned in mind for keeping things rolling after my TRAM. Do you still have all your hari? Haven't pulled it out deeling with MIL and FIL? Will he go to his home when discharged from the hospital?

Jen - reshaping the tum-boob for why? Cause it's bigger than the other one? or what? My PS mentioned he may have trouble getting the new one large enough to match the existing one. Don't get me wrong, I am niether large chested or skinny, I just happen to have the majority of my belly fat above where the fat harvesting needs to take place. Not thrilled with the idea one making Girl #1 smaller. (It's funny - to me - sometimes I'll stand in front of the mirrow and play around ith repositioning the fat, trying to flatten my belly to envision how it will look.) Yay for having poo, and yay for having two! Great to be minus 2 drains, I'm excited for you that #3 will be out in a few days. Thanks for the reminder about frequent emptying.  Drain pain, I remember that with little fondness.

Jackie - Good to "see" you! Hope your weekend shifts go well, and that you and your patients will be blessed by one another.

Cris - anothe flu? How many times have you been sick? Is this a respiratory version? The H1N1 and seasonal flu around here has subsided, however there is a nasty GI bug that is going around. Hope no one else in the family got sick.

Jean - heel spurs, very painful. I was just reading that one year of conservative treatment is felt necessary before surgical intervention ofr heel spurs or plantar fasciitis. Let me know if you consider accupunture for your pain.  I felt it to be helpful with hot flashes after chemo/ Femera. Great picture! 

Otter - Cold From Hell and Great Frozen Land of the North, what a combo.  Glad the waiting card were soothing for you. DH wants to live some place warm, after 3 months of snow an cold so far this year I would almost consider it. I vote no on posting on another site, them we wouldn't have seen it and been deprived.

Heather - did son #2 make it home safely?  I envy you, DS hasn't been home for Thnaksgiving, Christmas, New Years for the past 3 years. Currently he is in Taiwan. We did get to talk to him yesterday and was thrilled about that! Enjoy and savor the time with both your sons!

Julie - loving the full blue moon also! Like Fievel sang - Some where out there, beneath the pale moon light, some one's thinking of you, and loving you tonight!

Happy New year to each of you, to your family and friends as well. May you be blessed with the things you need.  And when you are blessed with the things you want, savor those moments as well.

rock

quicky.

I had a period in early September and early November and since then... nada.  

Tamoxifen and I have achieved a separate peace. When I start to come off the rails, I stop taking it.  Took a 2 week vacation from it when I was on the road trip and I FELT FANTASTIC. But i'm back on it, now.

I have oncos appointments next week. My breast surgeon left MSKCC to head up breast surgery at Montefiore-Einstein.  I am having some "twinges" in the area of my ovaries I will check out on Monday.  Got home to discover that sex was really, really painful but we are pretty sure the problem was the brand of condoms we were using. (Which is a major relief.)

Speaking of relief, I hope you drain-havers and cold/flu sufferers and clueless relatives endurers get some relief soon.  

Gosh, but it is good to post and see all of you "here."  I have nothing exciting to report other than I am happy to be back in NYC even as I miss, miss, miss Cape Town.

Mucho love to all of youse.

(I celebrated New Year's in Harlem, but I watched the ball drop downtown, does that count?!)

JulieC

Happy New Years Day!  I'm just now drinking my sparkling grape juice.  Should have bought something stronger.  I ran lots of errands for in-laws yesterday and I noticed everyone at the drug store had alcohol except for me.  I had Miralax and V8 (not mine, of course).  That would not have been a fun evening.  As of yesterday no poo, but my husband forgot to ask today.  My MIL won't want to use the one recipe because it wasn't her idea.  He came home Thursday and will have 2 visiting nurses checking on him.  He starts some type of PT next week.  We rescheduled our family Christmas to next week.  I hope they will come over, but MIL already said he will start PT.  I think getting out of the house might be helpful.  We'll just have to see.  He has appointments with onc and surgeon next week.  I suppose I will be taxi girl again.

Jean - you make the snow look fun.  We've had some off and on, but not enough to do anything fun.  The kids are waiting to have an awesome snow ball fight, but there just isn't enough of it yet.  We live across from a school so the walls are made when the parking lot gets plowed.  It's just cold today.

Jen - only a few more days until you are drain-free.  That is so exciting!

Rock - we are glad to see you here, too.  I looked for you on TV but didn't see you LOL!

Cris - just get over this crap already!  You've got better things to do than fight a cold/flu.

I need more grape juice - talk to you all later.

ewesterman

Happy 2010.

Jen -- what a journey.

Period issues. A year and a couple of weeks ago, I dumped the ovaries in what was as simple as an dentist appointment. That was that. AI SE...femara sucked for me...Aromasin has been quite tolerable....seems like it is different for everyone.

Rock, good to hear your New York voice.

Jean --I wish it would snow in Seattle....but not until after the Jan. 9 bar mitzvah. Burried in details here. 

Adrienne -- hope the spotting was your last period. Period. 

Love you all.

Jeano77

Helllloooooooo!  Nothing fun about the snow today - wakeup temp was -15 and it has now warmed to a balmy -5.  Cold as crap!  Going downstairs to bike. 

Jealous of those in warm climates and shorts. 

Happy day!

Jean

Sable

Brrr jean! Its about 11 here and I am whining.

This healing process sucks to say the least. Everyday there is something else going on. I just want to get to the end of most of it. I'm tired of all the crap. Think I might have had a fever break last night, woke up dreanched... bad enough I had to change jammies. Hubby swapped out sheets for me today because of it. I think my fevers might be coming from being dehydrated, so I am sucking down gatorade, water, and propel like crazy.

Robin~ before you go for surgery, stock up on tons of gauze. Especially some of the big fluffy stuff, you'll need a cushion. And as for the reshaping, if you looked at me right now I look like a d on one side and maybe a ee on the other. He filled in ALL the gaps that were taken out. in 3 months there will be lipo I think. He said not to even think about it cause it will change alot in the next few months. :O(

otter

Aw, Jen, ...  It will get better.  It WILL get better.   Close your eyes, tap your heels together three times, and keep saying that.  It WILL get better.

I hate the cold.  (Have I said that before?  Of course I have.)  My onco warned me that the achiness I have from Arimidex would probably be worse this winter, when the weather is damp and chilly.  It gets that way, even here in AL.  She suggested I stock up on ibuprofen, or even try Celebrex if ibuprofen didn't work.  She wasn't worried about SE's from Celebrex.  I think she thinks taking it would be on a short-term, as-needed basis, and I wouldn't need it for long.  Some days I ache like an old woman and all I want to do is curl up under a blanket ... or in front of the fireplace, since dh has been making nice (real) wood fires the past few evenings. Other days, I'm fine.  There seems to be no pattern.

So ... about that healing process.  Jen, you can do this.  It's awful, I imagine.  No, I can't imagine.  Actually, I am such a chicken that there is no way I would voluntarily put my body through what some of you are doing to restore your boobiness.  I don't like my flat side, but I hated the boob that used to be there because it grew a tumor without asking me if that was okay with me.  Maybe everyone who has already gone through this post-recon, healing phase will chime in and tell you how much better things will be in a few weeks.  Sue?  Are you reading this?

Watch out for fevers, though.  I don't know if being dehydrated could cause the night sweats.  (I get night sweats really easily now, if the thermostat is set just one degree too high or I forget to turn off the electric blanket.... HOT FLASH!!!!)  Be sure there's no infection in those boobies, okay?  Probably it's just like I was saying awhile ago, about all that tissue damage resulting in cellular signals that incidentally produce a fever.  (I am not making that up.)

Robin, when is your surgery?  Just a few days from now, I think, right?  Were you really cheering for the Buckeyes, and not for the Ducks???  <sigh>  As a former student of one of the other Big Ten schools, I'm afraid I've always cheered against the Buckeyes...  I'm glad they won, if it made you happy.

Jean, if I remember correctly, snow is fun ... but that icy, arctic cold that follows is not fun.  I hope that bike you were using is indoors.

Hi, eddie!  Can't think of much to say, except that bar mitzvah for a child doesn't happen very often, so I guess prepping for 300 guests is tolerable.  I just read that someone doesn't "have" a bar mitzvah.  They "become" (?) bar mitzvah.  Um...  Did I get that right?

Hi, rock!  rock, it's always painful for me now (since menopause, but even worse since Arimidex).  We manage with lots and lots of lube.  Way too much lube.  It's a real mess, afterward.  I need to find a miniature version of one of those devices contractors use to apply caulk.  What's it called?  Oh, yeah:  a caulk gun.

Oh!  Here's a pink one!

Whatever works, I say.

Julie, I had some champagne on New Year's Eve (and yesterday), but not very much.  I used to have a glass of wine with dinner every night, pre-BC.  That's all I ever drank, but I stopped even that, once I was dx'd with BC.  I read all that stuff about alcohol and BC risk, and, well, .... I don't go around blaming everything for my cancer; and there are things that supposedly would reduce my risk but I don't do them (enough) -- like exercise.  But, the one thing I can do that isn't very difficult is cut out the wine.  So now it's down to something less than one drink per month (on average).  Sometimes dh brings home a bottle of a wonderful wine that I just can't resist.  I always thought the wine would reduce my risk of heart disease.  <sigh> 

Warm hugs to everyone.  It's 28 F here... dh just put another log on the fire.  He's so sweet. Special, gentle, squishy hugs to you, Jen.  I'm wishing I could be there with you, but I think you're in good hands!

otter