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

MCBaker

I am back volunteering at VA. The guy I had been feeding passed. I knew he was sliding that way when I left, really did not want to be around as food refusal got worse. I am noted for patient persuasion. Seven ml this morning!! I am having a friend scrub my kitchen floor while I am gone. Orange marmalade is messy business.

carolehalston

Another beautiful day here in south Louisiana, sunny and cool. High was probably low 60's. I went to the gym, came home and rushed to make a lunch for my mother. She loves angel hair pasta with alfredo sauce. I used a jarred sauce but added mushrooms sauteed in butter. I also had two crab cakes. She seemed to enjoy her lunch but ate so little it hardly seemed worth the effort. I feel sorry for her because she eats "institutional" food at the nursing home.

We're off to a Christmas dinner tonight at an event center. The food is always ok but pretty much the same every year. There is an open bar, though.

ChiSandy

No precip here, and 30F without wind felt positively tropical (though it's getting colder till Sun.). Had my annual BS visit yesterday, this time with the new oncoplastic surgeon. She said everything's fine and she'll do a left reduction if the asymmetry continues to affect my back and my balance; but that it'd be a good idea to wait till after my annual mammo in June to make sure there's nothing new lurking in either breast, and I get a chance to get down to a weight that's comfier to maintain (she suggested 10-15 lbs. if I don't want to be more ambitious and lose the 30-50 the insurance charts say I should).

Crisis today--my beloved little orange patch tabby kitty Happy suddenly bit my face during a cuddle session (he got overstimulated). He'd never done that before. Had to go to Urgent Care, where I was prescribed antibiotics which I'm on for 5 days. Poor Happy doesn't understand why I don't want to nuzzle & kiss him tonight.

IllinoisLady

Every time you meet a situation, though you think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the torture of the damned, once you have met it and lived through it, you find that forever you are freer than you were before. -Eleanor Roosevelt

IllinoisLady

Ah, wt. reduction which can be difficult. I'm just barely hanging in there with a slight increase. As usual, my love and bread and indulging a bit more than is good lately. I'll have to back off quickly.

Sounds like though good plans elsewise. To get your mammo out of the way and then maybe working on giving your back a break, Sandy.

Poor Kitty though. Hope she will settle down a bit and not have too many hurt feelings. Cat saliva in an open wound almost always is a totally bad thing to deal with and she ( Kitty ) just thinks it all love and games.

Some sun here, but cold otherwise. Our snow and some icy spots on the sidewalk are still out there. The snow is mainly caught up in the un-dealt with fall leaves. Looks like we will be waiting for Spring now to rid the yard of the debris.

Hope you all have a really good day.

Wren44

we made the trip down to Hood River yesterday and will be here for the parade and tree lighting tonight. Going to be cold so wearing my warmest.DS's shop is close so we can hang out there. Then we keep the kids tomorrow while they enjoy the Xmas party and company paid hotel. This is the reason for the trip

Sandy, Good for getting antibiotics right away. Come over to cats cats cats and post a foto of Happy. All kitties welcome.

MCBaker

Well, I just returned from visit with onco. With hormone neg and her2 pos, even though it is 3mm, IDC is not to be trifled with. I was told to not expect any major changes to diagnosis, but a tiny change means a lot. Sigh.

ChiSandy

Happy is a little boy cat. Here's a pic:

And this is his sister Heidi:

MCBaker

such beautiful babies!!!

IllinoisLady

Gorgeous Sandy.

IllinoisLady

Simply give others a bit of yourself; a thoughtful act, a helpful
idea, a word of appreciation, a lift over a rough spot, a sense
of understanding, a timely suggestion. You take something
out of your mind, garnished in kindness out of your heart,
and put it into the other person's mind and heart.

Charles H. Burr

IllinoisLady

No sun so far today, but I think it will be a quiet day and no rain or snow. We will just retain the lower temps. Most of the snow is gone from the leaves outside. We had enough sun to do that yesterday though it stayed pretty cold all day.

I'm looking forward to today and hoping to get some things done that have as usual gone by the wayside. Sort of my life story -- I get caught up in some one else's projects and don't get as much done on mine as I should. So -- sort of a make-up day for me. Sure hope some sun comes later, but definite clouds need to clear out and they might not. Errands to run later.

Hope you all have a great Saturday.

carolehalston

It ls very dark outside with light rain. A good day to feel snug and dry inside the house, but dh has departed to go to a wood turners' meeting. The forecast warns of severe weather this afternoon so I will "wait and see" before deciding whether to drive to the nursing home as I usually do on Saturday afternoon.

No gym today at the instructions of the podiatrist who did some in office surgery on my left big toe yesterday for ingrown toe nail and fungus. Doubtful that the ailments would ever have resolved themselves as I kept hoping. I am wearing a bandage on the toe and have instructions for care during the next two weeks. Not sure if I'll be able to wear a shoe by tomorrow when we go to our favorite Christmas event, the concert at St. Timothy Methodist Church. I may have to wear socks and my homely SAS sandals.

The pain has been bearable with the help of Tylenol for Arthritis, which is the strongest version.

Some of the elderly women at the nursing home have been wearing crocheted caps. So I am crocheting a variety of caps with the intention of offering them as Christmas presents. Personally I find the home a little overheated when I'm there but some of these ladies wear sweaters. I enjoy crocheting so making the hats is pleasurable for me. We'll see if they find homes. Last year I donated a large number of hats for including in gift bags for BC patients. I always wonder if any of them are worn. I never find it cold enough to wear the hats I kept for myself.

Happy Saturday to all.

Di356

• Hi Northstar,

I am also older, 62. I was dx in February of this year. Had IDC. I finished up

my chemo in August & my radiation in November. I can honestly tell you

that I am so depressed. I'm not myself. I hate feeling this way. You would

think I would be jumping for joy. Just the opposite. Christmas is coming and

this year I am not into it at all. Not like me. My doctor said it would be about

3 to 6 months before I start feeling ME again. I sure hope so. I'm usually

Happy and enjoying the holidays..any other advice or do you feel this way?

Thank you for starting this thread.

God Bless you. ...this too shall pass..

Wren44

I think the way you're feeling could be from the radiation. Let your doctor know. There may be ways to help you feel better. A counselor experienced with BC might be a big help. Your body has been thru a lot so it needs time to heal. Hugs.

IllinoisLady

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.

- Charles Dickens -

IllinoisLady

Di -- I'm sorry that you are struggling but I think Wren gave you excellent advice. There are great txs. for a cancer diagnosis now, but it still takes a toll of your physical body as well as the phycological one. Most people do 'reach' a new normal at some point. Do speak to your Dr. or team or a counselor. There are meds that could assist you while you are on the way to your body adjusting.

Frosty out again but I think we will have some sun today. I'm ready. Looking forward to my day. Lots to do and I'm going to start deciding what to do about a holiday dinner. I am not feeling especially Christmassy, but then as is my usual to me everyday is a holiday since life is a gift.

I hope all of you have a most wonderful day. Waving hi to Joan, Chevy, and all of those who don't post too much.

Beaverntx

Di356, As others have said, your depression is not unexpected. After I finished the BC surgery and radiation I realized I was feeling very much at loose ends. I came to realize my focus has been so strongly on treatment and healing, as well as medical appointments, that when there was a week with no appointments I had to figure out what to do with my time! I've gradually picked back up many of my prediagnosis activities. Since you have a holiday season on top of figuring out what is next for you, it is no wonder you feel at the very least overwhelmed. Something that has been of a great help to me has been getting on my feet and walking when I feel down. This time of the year the walking is primarily in the house but I haven't worn a groove in the floor yet! Hang in there, check with your doctor(s), and try some exercise of you can. Things can get better.

IllinoisLady

Knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge--broad deep
knowledge--is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from
low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked humankind's
progress is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the
centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward
striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life.

Helen Keller

IllinoisLady

Sun today -- good for my blooming. Re-arranged my kitchen yesterday and will finish up today. Progress being made. That is good for me. I sort of had run out of ideas and at something of a stand-still which I hope will be over now. Dh likes it so I think that is one of the biggest tests -- to avoid whining from the better/well sometimes, half.

I think most of the places the elderly reside tend to be a bit on the warm side. Many have come to a point where their circulation doesn't warm them so much anymore. I have found that is something of a feast or famine occurrence. I once worked for a person who kept it near 80 in her house during the winter/cold months and I would leave -- usually not actually needing my coat or boots on just from my own personal over-warming after cleaning house. Then in summer I often cleaned without the a/c on or if it was set so high that I left boiling. It made it difficult, but it was her home and she was entitled to be comfortable. I kept a lot of water available and either drove home in winter w/o needing my car heater on, and running my a/c full blast in the summer.

Carole since heat is lost through the head and feet -- anything crocheted and donated I'm sure is deeply appreciated by the residents where your Mom lives. How wonderful of you to find joy in giving them something that they can well use. Little things can mean a lot. Your a blessing to them.

I hope you are all going to have a fine day.

carolehalston

Sunny outside. View through the window is cheerful. Yesterday was cold and windy but we ventured out in the afternoon to a Christmas concert and dinner afterward at a lovely restaurant with another couple.

Other than laundry and some housework, not sure what today will involve. It's good not to have an appointment or obligation.

Wishing everyone a good Monday.

ChiSandy

Saw the Urgent Care doc Sat. and he is delighted that the cat bite is healing (one toothmark is actually gone). He was on the fence about my finishing my abx Rx, but decided better safe than sorry--cat bacteria can cause a systemic infection that can lead to life-threatening sepsis. He did leave it up to me whether to follow up with the P.A. tonight, but I might because I have to pick up my Dexilant Rx from CVS on the next block.

Bob's office's ornament exchange is tonight. We used to have a Pier One in the neighborhood, which was our holiday-decor go-to, but it was replaced by a mattress store. He thought I wouldn't pick up an ornament in time, so, unbeknownst to me, at the liquor superstore he bought one: Santa on top, with a polycarbonate "belly" filled with wine corks. But after I went to the doc on Sat., I went trolling the neighborhood for an ornament. (Andersonville--the originally-Swedish but now merely trendy next 'hood to the south--is full of hip gift and tchotchke shops, and more so during the holidays). I saw a corner shop called "Foursided," and it turned out that for the season it sells almost nothing but unusual ornaments. I got two for Bob to decide: one was a snow-globe containing a faux-Main Street storefront and a black Scottie puppy in a Santa hat; the other was a triple cheeseburger with all the trimmings. He chose the latter.

IllinoisLady

Vision stands on the shoulders of what is actual
to get a better view of what is possible.
- Mary Anne Radmacher

IllinoisLady

Sandy, I like the safe, not sorry approach and more so when it is a cat bite. Dh spent several hours with an I.V. infusion for a simple ( if any of them could be termed that way ) cat bite. They wanted him to spend the night but he refused. It did turn out all right, but it sure made me a big believer about using a lot of caution. Probably all animal bites -- even human ones should be looked at on a very serious level.

Ornament story is just funny. Most of us have probably done that one too.

Gorgeous outside -- going to have lots of sun today and the temps. will go to 50. I'm thinking could be a tad warmer here. We often are 3 to 5 degrees warmer than then the forecast which is geared more for St. Louis, Mo. I just know it will be nice. Far better than the bitter temps. of the last few days.

I hope you all have sun and a wonderful day too.

Waving at Puffin.

ChiSandy

Mouths--any mammal, especially human--are germier than toilet seats. Without antibiotics, such bites don't end well.

We just hit 40, partly cloudy. Going out later, not sure where. Tomorrow is my last orthopedic surgeon follow-up (unless he orders another MRI to see if I have any soft tissue damage causing the arm pain that hasn't abated). Thursday, Gordy scored a pair of tickets to a free afternoon WXRT concert at Subterranean starring Jeff Tweedy of Wilco (who's also a member of my temple). After that, Gordy goes to rehearsal and I go to Cellars for their holiday "20 for $25" wine tasting/buffet (3 carving stations! Champagne! Hot mulled wine!).

IllinoisLady

That discipline which corrects the eagerness of worldly passions,
which fortifies the heart with virtuous principles, which enlightens
the mind with useful knowledge, and furnishes to it matter of
enjoyment from within itself, is of more consequence to real felicity
than all the provisions which we can make of the goods of fortune.

Robert Bridges

IllinoisLady

Another 50'ish day here expected so should be plenty of sun out there as well. Yesterday we had some coldish wind which dampened the 'warm' a bit, but I didn't mind to much. Most of my work was inside so not a big issue.

Nothing much to do today but keep working on my projects -- and hopefully will have them mostly done for this holiday. Challenging but I do enjoy trying to change things for the better -- or what I hope is better.

Dh seems to be doing okay now that he has graduated from the walker to a cane, and from the cane to nothing now. He will have his therapy and hopefully will learn how to keep from some of the slouching he seems to have happen when he doesn't use the aid of a cane and just relies on 'memory' to stand up straighter. Hopefully he will get there.

I hope you are all going to have a really pretty day.

ChiSandy

Low 40s today, partly cloudy with a few bursts of sun. Felt weird not to need a hat or even gloves. Rain & 40s tomorrow & Fri. Sunny & 40s all weekend.

Went to my hand ortho surgeon for final followup today. He is at a loss to explain why I suddenly developed pain in the soft tissue over the ulnar hardware after hefting luggage, pushing recalcitrant drawers, hauling groceries and leaning too hard on my hand. The pain isn't constant, but only "dynamic" (torquing my arm, pushing, pulling, steering hard while parking, yanking on falling bra straps. etc.). X-rays look great. An MRI might show inflammation, but maybe not--and he doesn't want to have to put me through that "enhanced interrogation techniques" ordeal again. He posits that the flexor & extensor carpi muscles are being irritated by the ulnar hardware, and/or that I accidentally broke up scar tissue too forcefully. He is sure that I didn't tear, strain or sprain anything. He says that if it doesn't get better by the end of Feb., it'll be safe to remove the hardware and see if the muscles quiet down.

But he says that it's likely to get better--and meanwhile, I have his blessing to use as much CBD as it takes to blunt the pain (and a little THC if it helps). He reports his patients love it. I used a little (2.5mg) transdermal CBD with about 6% THC (absorbs into the bloodstream), rubbed some "targeted topical" CBD balm on the sore area and ate a 10mg. CBD brownie. Pain is much less. I think that till today, I wasn't taking enough CBD, nor often enough (I'd only been using it at bedtime for sleep).

Wren44

High 40's here with rain in the lowlands and lots of snow in the mountains. One ski area got 17in yesterday, so the skiers are super happy. I would like it a little colder to seem more like Christmas. We lucked out coming back home on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday the interstate has been blocked by wrecks involving semi trucks. Not a good work around, either.

We've decided to get each other half an electric blanket for Christmas. Ours is getting old and doesn't really heat up as much as it used to.

carolehalston

Wren, very practical Christmas gift. DH put in an on-line order for items he wants for his work shop (he has an ongoing list). I recently bought myself a pretty onyx ring, an impulse buy. I just happened to see it when I went to the jewelry counter at Sam's Club to buy cologne for my sister's birthday. So DH and I have Christmas presents! We buy whatever we want and need and can afford all year long.

A gray day outside with rain in the forecast. Hope it's not storming this afternoon when I really must go to the nursing home to deliver clothes to my mother.

This morning we're off to the gym.

A good Thursday to all.