Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

IllinoisLady

I have had more than half a century of such happiness. A great deal of worry and sorrow, too, but never a worry or a sorrow that was not offset by a purple iris, a lark, a bluebird, or a dewy morning glory. -Mary McLeod Bethune

IllinoisLady

It's beautiful here today. The sun is out lighting up the white snow and making it sparkle in some places. I can see 'raindrops' coming off the roof so the ultra-violet rays are hard at work already. Hard to say what we will be left with so have to wait and see. I think I'm still in a tiny bit of shock over the early snow. I full way expected ( despite lots of other duties ) having my mower in operation around the yard mulching tree leaves. Did I ever get fooled by Mother Nature. Glad that it is Friday and I will start this afternoon taking care of my friend's kitties in town. Her daughter got her ( daughter will go as well ) a week-end get away for her for her birthday. Good. I'm glad something ( vacation like ) will work out since the two soirees' that had been previously planned had for different reasons to be scuttled.

Saturday ( not sure what the timing will be ) I will also start watching Dr. B's doggies and spending the night there for nearly the next week. So, a bit busy, but I hope it will just help me learn once again a bit of art to fitting in lots of random activities and feeling satisfied that it transitions smoothly for me. I use to often hear that phrase, "if you want something done, give it to a busy person" and every now and then I get a chance to see if I can make it come as true for me as it seems for other people.

Good to see you hear today Joan. Always uplifting.

I hope you all have a most beautiful day.

Di2012

Hi Joan!

I remember YOU!....college professor.

I am sorry to read of your second battle with cancer......I am sending healing thought your way.

After my fighting a battle with severe sepsis 2.5 years ago (12 days in hospital) I must admit I lost more than a few brain cell (short term memory) and gained a gratitude for each day.

HUGS!!

Di

carolehalston

Hello, Di. Good to have you pop in for a brief visit.

The sun is shining on this cool Saturday and the temperature is supposed to warm up to 70 by the afternoon. DH is getting ready to head off to the golf course. Neither of us has played golf lately because of the rain and cold and health issues. I'm happy for him and hope he enjoys himself.

I plan to visit my mother this afternoon. My big toe on the left food is still sore with redness on the inner side close to the nail. If the condition persists, I'll have to see my podiatrist when we return from our road trip to the north next week.

Jackie, you're a busy woman but you seem to thrive while being busy.

Sandy, I hope your performance goes well. We look forward to a report.

IllinoisLady

It is something to be able to paint a particular picture,
or to carve a statue, and so make a few objects beautiful;
but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere
and medium through which we look.
To affect the quality of the day--that is the highest of arts.

Henry David Thoreau

IllinoisLady

I second Carole. Di, it is always good to see smiling caring faces and you are all missed when you don't post. Life gets in the way now and then which is understandable. I don't know how good I will do in the coming days getting here though my chores at home will certainly go on. Good thing is I won't have to do the kitties in town past Sunday morning so I will have more time and a better arrangement after Sunday.

Sun is out though it may get cloudy. It won't be too cold though and certainly won't snow. We are rapidly losing most of that so hooray. Of course that does mean that I might find myself doing a tads breath of work out in our yard if I have some time this week. Not sure where I'll fit it in, but you never know.

Dh wants to go out for breakfast this morning. He is the Cabin Fever King right now. He is not released to drive as yet so he will find some difficulties with me having duties across town at the Dr.'s house.

Saying hi to Joan, Di, and all those who haven't posted in a bit. I still owe a p.m. Haven't forgot. Have a fantastic Saturday.

IllinoisLady

Your life has been designed to work, and your hidden potential contains what you seek and all that you need in your life. It is OK to be who you are and to choose what you have. The Quakers call it the "still, small voice within," that place of full awareness within that is in touch with the entire universe and is the source of wisdom. In effect, you don't have to keep searching for confirmation by focusing on being someone else or being somewhere else. There is no place else to be and nothing else to get. You will be able to grasp the levers of change in your life when you can allow yourself to be present in the moment, accept the world as it is, and trust that everything is as it was intended to be.

Ari Kiev

Wren44

My face has now turned green and brown. The color has drained from my eye area and is around my jawbone. I look like I'm made up for a war movie or something about the dust bowl. My nose swelling has gone down enough that I can wear glasses on the end. Nice to see the computer screen again.

IllinoisLady

This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do this for you. Nothing is too good for you—you deserve the best. Take the power to make your life healthy, exciting, and worthwhile. The time is now. Take the power to create a successful, happy life. -Susan Polis Schutz

IllinoisLady

Good afternoon. Running like a chicken with my head cut off. As long as I keep it above water I guess. Trying to do a lot of loose ends things and then sit down and enjoy a great dinner on Thursday. Saturday night I will sleep in my own bed again. Looking forward to that as I always do. We ordered a sound-bar for our t.v. I didn't realize that the free Bluetooth video player we were given sort of destroys the sound on regular movies as the volume just won't go high enough. So -- I guess it wasn't exactly free since we paid for a sound-bar that will 'sound' any movie you may be playing with the Bluetooth. You know I've said before, I simply lose it with much of anything that is electronic but I think now we will be fine.

Dh was going to get me another phone, but we found out the hard way that the newer ones don't go up very loud ( that could be a good thing ) and so I'd seldom here it likely. He is going to see if he can find a battery that will last for my old phone which otherwise ( a flip phone ) is fine. Good that Dh is home and not having to go to work and has time to fiddle with all these things. Hopefully I will end up the better for it all later.

Gray and foggy here. The fog creates mist on the windshield but at least that is all it is for now. It rained slowly of last night. We were just getting nicely dried out. I hope you all have had a fantastic day.

MCBaker

I have given up on cellphones for the time being. Once I get my new HA's, I expect to be able to link them with Bluetooth. People with normal age-related loss can now get inexpensive ones, adjustable by user. I got my first ones when I was in my forties

karen1956

I have bilateral hearing aids, but my hearing in my left ear is decent, only a mild loss, probably age related, but my hearing in my right ear is a severe loss - even with my hearing aid I miss stuff. Hearing aids have come down so much in price - I got my most recent set last year at Costco. I've had the hearing loss in my right ear all my life, but it has gotten worse - I some times wonder if it is from the chemo!!

ChiSandy

Soundbars are great, especially for dialogue.

Wren, you ought to get a camo T-shirt & pants to complete the look! Hope it's hurting less every day.

IllinoisLady

The question is not what programs we should seek to enact. The question is whether we can find in our own midst and in our own hearts that leadership of humane purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence. We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of others. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others.

We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge. Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land. Of course we cannot vanquish it with a program, nor with a resolution. But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us the same short moment of life; that they seek, as do we, nothing but the chance to live out their lives in purpose and in happiness, winning what satisfaction and fulfillment they can. Surely, this bond of common faith, this bond of common goal, can begin to teach us something.

Surely, we can learn, at least, to look at those around us as fellow men, and surely we can begin to work a little harder to bind up the wounds among us and to become in our own hearts brothers and countrymen

once again.

--Robert F. Kennedy

IllinoisLady

Going to refurbish my old cell phone with a ( we hope ) better battery. Then, if it doesn't work better we will have to look for a new one with adjustments for hearing impairment. The guy ( the one who knows almost everything about electronics ) at Walmart did say that there are options for the hearing impaired. I might be able to do something at the V.A. and might explore that as well. In the mean-time.

We got a Visio sound-bar. They were fairly highly rated and it has back speakers with a woofer in it. Okay -- I sound like I now what I'm talking about don't I? Not really, but the reviews seem to indicate that I'd be happier for that reason with the Visio. I think also it had to do with keeping the price down since a very lg. amt. of sound bars are pretty pricey -- $500.00 to $ 900.00 was the price range I saw. Way to high for someone in our situation. Also, we don't need anything too super as we sit only a few feet across the room for our t.v.

No sun today, but I'm busy enough to not get too into it. I have to finalize some things, get some bills paid and otherwise figure out how to keep everything juggled to where I don't wear out too soon.

A new blanket where I am. I think it is called ?? Calming Comfort. Interesting !! I'm still trying to decide. It is a weighted blanket and seems ( in the literature ) to help induce sleep by calming body sensations to de-stress in some way. Well, it is a weighted blanket and that is why I find it so interesting. I do feel better when I wake up, but with my claustrophobia I also find it a bit off-putting that I have to struggle my way out of a bed a bit. It is I think about #20's. Not as expensive as I would have thought either. I think a good deal less than a wool blanket. Maybe I'll be using long enough to find out.

Hope you are all going to have a great day.

Wren44

Karen, There are little hairs in your ears. If chemo makes your hair fall out, it might be affecting the ones in your ears as well.

MCBaker

no, the hair cells are not hairs. They are more like nerve ends. Chemo attacks the nervous system, as well as epithelial (skin) tissue. It is not fussy about what it attacks, but we know that cancer cells are wimpy.

I took my weighted blanket to the hospital. It did help. Hope you love it as much as I love mine.

If I qualified for VA. medical help I would go there first. Especially what they do with hearing impairments.

I am scared to death of chemo, given my hearing loss and other nerve damage.

IllinoisLady

I think the little hairs in the ears are called cilia or something like that. They related my hearing loss as more due to age, though I do have a hole in one ear drum. So, one good ear ( still needing correction ) and one bad, with the hole. I could go have it repaired, but it is an operation. I chose not to since they told me that I'd still need hearing aids on each side even then. So, since I don't generally ever get water in my ears ( very careful washing my hair and in the shower ) I chose to skip the operation. Also, the repair might not hold so all in all, seemed better to skip it. If I were to start to have some sort of issues -- then I'd re-think the whole thing.

Chevy had hearing loss but it was due to -- hope I get this right -- reaction to Tamoxifen. This was something she was to take for five yrs. but she had reactions. The hearing loss and a couple of other things. She stopped taking the Tamoxifen and ended up with partial hearing ( she lost about half of it ) in one ear and less in the other. So, chemo as such may not do that much and you'd need to explore with your Dr. all the se's listed -- no matter if rare or not. Also whether it is the initial chemo or the after-care by AL's.

Having another good day. Will go tomorrow and have my eyes examined. Then later starting some of the extra's I plan to cook for the Thanksgiving dinner. I'm going to be able to enjoy it a lot as I've managed to keep my wt. down good. Of course, taking care of my doggie friends and walking through the house is enough to be of major help.

carolehalston

I wouldn't like a weighted blanket. DH and I hate those heavy duvets in some motels. We take them off the bed and search for the lighter blanket in the closet.

Speaking of motels, we checked into the Drury Inn in Sykeston, MO. Soon we will go downstairs to get our complimentary cocktails. Dinner will be the Kick Back buffet, which has a variety of food selections.

DH was up at 6:30 this morning and we were on the road by 7:30. We had a nice day of travel up good ole I-55. Weather was great and not too much traffic. We've traveled this route so many times we know who drives which stretch of highway! Poor dh gets the cities.

I have some hearing loss but not enough to need hearing aids. Glad to hear they're cheaper and better.

MCBaker

cheaper and better for people with mild loss, maybe. People with losses like mine, not cheaper. But worlds better.

Julesm59

I love Drury Inns, stayed at a couple on our way to San Antonio and back. Nice accommodations, they even upgraded us to a suite since my husband and I are seniors....oh so had to realize that, but appreciate the discounts.

ChiSandy

I like Hampton Inns--free hot breakfast, fluffy (not too heavy) real down duvets & pillows, lap desks....and HiltonHonors points. The one near us might be our home-away-from-home later this spring when we fix the rest of our ceilings, install new interior doorjambs (probably with lucite over them so the kitties don't destroy them the way they have the ones we're replacing) and repaint.

MinusTwo

I think Chevy's hearing loss was due to the Taxotere chemo infusions. Hope she'll chime since I'm not sure anymore - but I was concerned since it's the same thing I had.

IllinoisLady

The art of thanksgiving is thanksliving. It is gratitude in action. It is applying Albert Schweitzer's philosophy: "In gratitude for your own good fortune you must render in return some sacrifice of your life for other life. "It is thanking God for the gift of life by living it triumphantly. It is thanking God for your talents and abilities by accepting them as obligations to be invested for the common godwit is thanking God for happiness by striving to make others happy. It is thanking God for beauty by helping to make the world more beautiful. It is thanking God for inspiration by trying to be an inspiration for others. It is thanking God for health and strength by the care and reverence you show your body. It is thanking God for each new day by living it to the fullest. It is adding to your prayers of thanksgiving, acts of thanksliving. -Wilfred A. Peterson

IllinoisLady

Minus Two, Chevy didn't have the infused chemo's. All she did was a lumpectomy and then one of the AL type 5 yr. pills which I think was Tamoxifen. I could have this wrong since my chemo and other brain insults twice before that have rendered me often unable to sort details properly by person -- or sometimes details at all. I miss-spell easy words now ( near champion speller at one time ) and sometimes sweat profusely trying to balance my check-book. Sigh !!! Hopefully Chevy will get on and then we will both know.

Beauty of a sun out today. About 29 degrees when I left Doc's house to come home for coffee with Dh and to get the morning chores out of the way. On to Walmart to get an eye exam and finalize the choice of new glasses -- which I'll do whether the prescription changes or not. I got a mar on the glasses I chose last time right away and since I couldn't find my old ones could not turn them in for repair which I had paid for knowing my ability to klutz myself through life more often than I use too.

I don't feel "older" but I certainly can tell in things like he klutz department, balance at times and some of the simple chores that can get difficult for me now ( hmm, that checkbook balance ) and they are simpler than ever, as much of what people can do can happen on line.

Today will be the day that I could easily end up at the grocery store two or three times for things that I discover that I have forgotten. Hmmm, that getting older thing rears its head again.

Hope it is sunny and bright for everyone.

EDIT: Forgot to say that I had Adriamycin and Cytoxan. Then after having that once every three weeks for a total of 4 rounds, I had Taxotere every three weeks for a total of 4 rounds. The Adriamycin did a number but I got through it. I was so nauseous with that that I remained nauseous ( vomited most of the time on the earlier A & C treatments ) during the Taxotere and stomach bile came up then. But -- by then I was looking at being done so I did my best to ignore the se's and just get through.

Just to put it in perspective, and I hope and pray it doesn't even come close to happening, but I'd do it all over again. Life is such a beautiful gift and though I had a couple of times where my spirits sank quite deeply, we are here to overcome trials and so I'd keep looking for ways to keep reaching for the power to achieve.

IllinoisLady

I am thankful and grateful for waking up every morning and having another chance to do something good. To bring some sunshine to someone or something else ( thinking of my feral cats here who will get turkey from a can today ) and hoping for love, caring, humbleness, and grace to spread acceptance throughout the world of each other, our needs, and a shared destiny that is far more positive than negative. Let there be peace.

I hope you all have a loving and joyous Thanksgiving and are blessed a thousand times over.

IllinoisLady

It isn't always easy to act on what's in your head instead of what's in your heart. And it isn't always right to. The whole trick to knowing what to do is deciding when to make yourself listen to your head, and when it's okay to just follow your feelings. --Steven Brust

ChiSandy

Steven Brust is a friend of mine from the science fiction fandom community (MN-StFF--Twin Cities), specifically the music side!

IllinoisLady

Ah-ha, after many yrs. of putting my quotes on the site, but that is what makes it all so good. It is nice to find connections in what can be a small world. I was struck by the quote because often ( if your like me ) you really don't know what to do. I try then to just go with any intuitive feeling which comes more from the heart.

Tonight is my last work night. I will spend a part of the day washing the towels and washcloths plus bedding that I used and remake the bed and put away the linens in the closet. There are a number of ( or so I think ) really good turkey left-overs that can be made into a suitable meal.

Have thought that for now the weighted blanket may not be for me. I generally sleep quite well -- always have, and have continued to have issues with getting out from under it. I usually need to get up two or three times a night to use the bathroom. I always ( even at home ) easily go back to sleep. The next day I only barely can recall hoping that I drop right back on which I must do immediately after the thought.

I am more inclined at this point to be happy with my gel memory foam. I have always used a firm mattress and I find that I still can if I add a 2-3inch ( whatever size they have ) memory foam on top. It retains the overall firmness while giving me the comfort of a much softer sleeping area/experience. I've tried softer mattresses and it just makes me feel like I'm on an old beat up mattress -- yet the firm is a bit too firm. Makes me sore and I don't rest well.

Raining lightly here. Grrr. Oh well, its not snow. So, I'm grateful. It is not really cold either so its okay

Hope you all had a great day.

IllinoisLady

Something a bit different for you today.