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

Wren44

The WA house just voted to stay on daylight savings year round. I don't care either way, but it would be really nice if it didn't change. Maybe let the cows decide which is best. It's light so late here in the summer that every parent has blackout curtains. And in the winter it doesn't get light till 8am and is dark at 4pm. If you don't get out at lunch you don't see daylight for weeks. Changing the time is disruptive to my inner schedule. Not sleeping well at night yet.

Beaverntx

Not really upset by the time change but would love to just stay on DST! I really dislike that when we "fall back" it is dark when I have to go to an evening meeting. Unfortunately, the talk here in Texas is to do away with DST and always be on so called standard time.

carolehalston

DH and I adjust fairly easily to the time changes. But we don't have to get up and go to work.

A/C on today. It's very humid.

DH is doing his prep for a colonoscopy tomorrow. Not good for someone with "control" problems. He had sworn off any future colonoscopy procedures but his sister just learned she has a cancerous polyp.

IllinoisLady

What we are talking about is learning to live in the present moment,
in the now. When you aren't distracted by your own negative thinking,
when you don't allow yourself to get lost in moments that are gone or
yet to come, you are left with this moment. This moment--now--truly is
the only moment you have. It is beautiful and special. Life is simply a
series of such moments to be experienced one right after another. If
you attend to the moment you are in and stay connected to your soul and
remain happy, you will find that your heart is filled with positive feelings.

Sydney Banks

IllinoisLady

We will have some rain this evening I think. Compliments of the warmer weather that has set in. It will fluctuate as always between 20 to 30 degrees on a lot of days while we wait for a more consistent Spring. This is all the lead-up. So, it will be back and forth, but we hopefully ( though we have been known to get freak snows ) will start the process of welcoming all that will get us to summer. I can do this.

Going to meet my friend for lunch and get her key so that I can see after her cats while she is gone. It will be nice. Glad that it will be DST for this. I don't go late -- I will do it in the morning, but my thought is that I will feel more like working later in my day to make up for the time I will spend in her town. She is not too far from me although she is two little towns away, but as always -- doing anything different will break up my work schedule a bit -- so the extra light will encourage me ( even if I move slower ) to finish up any projects started.

I hope you all have a fantastic day.

keywestfan

Just went for a second opinion on lumpectomy scheduled for this Thursday, March 14.Wonderful Dr.Kevin Bethke , Chief of Staff, Northwestern Hospital Agrees completely with first BS - lumpectomy, no chemo, no radiation, Arimidex for 5 years. The lightness of this is because of my being 84. Told to have the lumpectomy, stop the Arimidex if SE too difficult and I will definitely not( because I 'm already so old) die of this. First time I've relaxed and felt hopeful in 2 months..

nanette7fl

keywestfan...that is good news!! Nothing like being able to BREATHE with ease!! ((hugs)) Good luck with the lumpectomy on Thursday will be keeping you in prayers

keywestfan

Thank you so much, Nanette7fl.I’ll count on your prayers

ChiSandy

YAY, keywestfan! Bethke is great--he did my Bar Show castmate's excisional biopsy (for all intents & purposes, lumpectomy) for ADH and put her on Arimidex for five years as a preventive measure. So nice that your treatment will be "one and done," with only a pill after the surgery. "No radiation" means 16-33 days in your life that won't get ruined by driving back & forth for treatments. Take each of those days and schedule something that brings you joy!

Tappermom383

Best of luck to you this Thursday, keywestfan! I echo the other ladies' sentiments - good on you for getting this over with quickly. I've found Arimidex (anastrozole) to be more than tolerable - a few SEs but nothing major. I'll be thinking of you on Thursday!

MJ

keywestfan

ChiSandy and Tappermom383,

Thank you for helping me with all this- with your thoughts and the possibility of joy. Bethke was so positive and it is the first time in 2 months I haven’t been a complete wreck. He also said that David Winchester who will do the lumpectomy is a great surgeon. I feel relieved- we’ll see what Thursday brings

IllinoisLady

Nothing I can add so I'll just rejoice with you keywestfan. So glad to hear that you don't have to face a long drawn out treatment and can 'be done' with this 'scare' sooner rather than later.

Beaverntx

keywestfan, fantastic news. Now you can take time to enjoy life again. Thinking of you on Thursday. Take care and let us know how it gors.

ChiSandy

keywestfan, if it's on your way home from Evanston Hospital, treat yourself to some killer pie at Dollop (Chicago 2 blocks s. of Main). I suggest (if they have it) the Passionfruit Meringue or Smores.

Yesterday I decided to get ready for my upcoming trips (NOLA this weekend, Amsterdam & Israel end of March/1st wk. of April) by upgrading my iPad. I have a few old ones (a 2014 Air, a 2011 Mini and a 2013 Mini 3 with cellular) that don't hold a charge very long, and have been using them for the bathrooms and kitchen. Last year I bought the 10.5" Pro, with the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio, and it's been my travel "laptop" ever since. (Nice not to schlep the actual laptop, and the Pencil lets me scribble notes at lectures & seminars without amassing & having to save legal pads). But the problem had been that I'd chosen the wi-fi-only version, figuring I'd use the Mini 3 (Verizon) and my phone (AT&T) to "tether" as mobile hotspots if I couldn't find free &/or trustworthy wi-fi. Thought I had it all figured out--I was sooo clever.

Let me tell you what a PITA (and I don't mean Middle Eastern pocket bread) that was: had to carry the Mini 3 with me, along with my iPhone, because I needed to maximize available data on both carriers' plans w/o overages*--plus the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, accessories, yada yada. Picture me sitting on a hotel room bed with the iPad Pro with keyboard on my lap, with the Mini and phone scattered about within range...and needing 3 USB ports to plug all of the stuff in. (Not to mention Bob plugging in his Kindle and iPhone). And last year's Pro had no place to park the Pencil, so I had to use a clear plastic shell around the back of the Pro with a clip to hold the pencil. That Apple Pencil charges via Lightning, so I couldn't charge it and the Pro at the same time w/o buying another adaptor...and therefore, needing yet another USB port or outlet to acccommodate a charging cube. Then there was the pencil case to hold the Apple Pencil, rear cap, tip protector, charging attachment & cable, yada yada. The plastic clip didn't hold the Pencil very securely, either--and the combined weight & dimensions of the Pro, its rear shell, the Smart Keyboard and (insecurely) attached Pencil were about the same as my actual laptop (sans clamshell protector).

So when the 11" iPad Pro came out, I read a lot of reviews and decided to get it: even though I had to buy a new Smart Keyboard folio (the magnets that dock it to the tablet are in a different place) and Apple Pencil (the old one won't work with the new Pro). But even though the 11" model's screen is bigger, its dimensions are smaller and weight lighter than a "naked" 10.5", and much smaller & lighter than the 10.5" model with accessories attached. The new Pencil charges by magnetically attaching to the rim of the tablet--and stays much more securely than the old Pencil did in the clear shell's clip. Only downsides are no "home" button, which means FaceID instead of fingerprint sensor, and charging via a USB-C port & included short cable instead of Lightning. (Both Pros lack a headphone jack, since most users now prefer Bluetooth, but the iPhone's Lightning earbuds work with the earlier Pro). I am a comparative dinosaur). My Lightning cables will still work with the iPhone, but I had to pop for a USB-to-headphone-jack adaptor so I can use old-fashioned earbuds rather than burn through the battery in my AirPods (which I have linked to my Apple Watch).

(Sorry if I'm losing the tech-averse here--I still can't believe I understand all of this at 68).

And most importantly, the new 11-incher has cellular. All I had to do was swap out the generic SIM card with the Verizon SIM from the Mini 3, and confirm with Verizon that the cellular data number ported over. I mentioned offhandedly to the salesperson that I guess I'd have to find somewhere to give away the Mini 3. She typed in its serial#, and said "Well, you just saved yourself $175...unless you'd rather have an Apple Store gift card." I took the trade-in offer. Meanwhile, I looked up Apple's buy-back program when I got home--and I'm getting $70 for the iPad Air and $30 for the original 2011 Mini. Of course, those will have to be gift cards, but I could give them to Gordy if he wants more accessories for the MacBook Pro he's buying with the Apple gift card we gave him for Christmas. (Or I could always use them for replacement cables & accessories).

So the 10.5" Pro will be seeing kitchen "cookbook" and bathroom "library" duty...unless I get tired of it and decide to cash it in, too. I think the salesperson said I could get upwards of $400 for it. Alas, the old Apple Pencil & Smart Keyboard Folio are not eligible.

--------------------

* A data horror story: when I visited Spain (Madrid, Barcelona, Granada, Seville) with the Bar Assn. in 2015, I flew business class on Iberia because it wasn't much more expensive than Premium Economy. One of the perks along with our free tapas & sherry was a little gift card for 250MB of onboard wi-fi. The forums I frequented back then were Bonesmart.org and the Acoustic Guitar Forum (not having yet been diagnosed with bc, I didn't know of BCO). When airborne, the wi-fi signal kept cutting in & out, so I gave up and put both my iPad Mini 3 and me to sleep. When I arrived at my Madrid hotel, I got an e-mail billing me for $250 for in-flight wi-fi overcharges. I hadn't read the fine print to buy another block of data, nor did I realize that unless the tablet was completely turned off, it would remain online; so I racked up that overcharge MB by MB--my tablet remained technically online because I hadn't turned off the wi-fi when I turned off the tablet and it was merely "asleep" despite its cover being closed. Never again.

And on that earlier cruise, I kept getting nasty messages from Verizon that I had exhausted my travel data (a paltry 3GB for two weeks' use), and racked up some overcharges--though nowhere nearly as humongous as the one I'd incur on Iberia three years hence. I learned my lesson and between my current AT&T and Verizon int'l day passes, I get up to 500MB per day on each, for $10 per day of use. Last year in Rome, I didn't hit that daily cap on either the AT&T phone and Verizon tablet,

jo6359

chisandy-WOW? That was really the name I have a love-hate relationship with my iPad when I travel overseas.

keywestfan

It is so wonderful for me to have all of you. In 1969, when I was 35 and had a misdiagnosed and aggressive cancer of the cervix, a radical hysterectomy, surgical menopause, etc., I was so completely alone with it- was forbidden by family and, to some extent, society, to mention the word, cancer. It is so great to be able to talk freely, to have our community, to be here for one another.

ChiSandy, I will certainly stop at Dollop for Passionfruit Meringue. I, too, am a techie and thinking of requesting an iPad Pro for my birthday.

Still a little scared about Thursday, but feeling so much better than I have been.

ChiSandy

I used to have the first iPad to offer cellular (Verizon), and on my Mediterranean cruise I decided not to bring a laptop. The wi-fi on the ship was iffy, and unlike with our river cruise three years earlier, cell service away from ports of call was even iffier. (Verizon, in fact, did not even include a special cruise ship data plan). I did use that iPad mostly as a higher-res camera, and the photos would go to iCloud so I could access them from my iPhone. Sprint & Verizon phones are CDMA, which for a long time was an architecture incompatible with int'l use; AT&T and T-Mobile are GSM, which is worldwide.

The reason I have two carriers was that in order to get an early iPhone (3GS) when the smartphones I used on our Sprint family plan (which Gordy uses) kept freezing & crashing, I had to get AT&T because it was the only carrier available for the iPhone back then. I also gave up on Sprint personally because despite it having unlimited data, there were infuriating dead zones even in Chicago. I used a Samsung Galaxy S3 in my car for the sole purpose of GPS navigation and internet radio (XM's "The Village" folk music channel, which was dropped from satellite and exiled to online-only due to the small labels and indie artists refusing to join the major labels' agreement to accept low royalties. Of course, XM insisted it was because "nobody listens to folk"). But every time I'd enter a dead zone, when I'd emerge I'd have to reboot the GPS and XM apps. The GPS dropping out often caused missed turns and exits, and rebooting XM required me to find some place to pull over so I could re-enter my user ID and password. Huge PITA. Gordy uses the Sprint account.

In Europe, Bob's phone was on Sprint--paid for by his practice. I was surprised that even though it was CDMA, he and I were able to call and text each other just fine when we'd go off on separate walks. However, in 2017 Advocate Christ Hospital made all its doctors switch to Verizon, in order to use Advocate's proprietary pager app. So he got a Verizon iPhone 8 to replace his Sprint iPhone 6.

So why did I add Verizon? I used to travel extensively throughout the Northeast, upper Midwest & Mid-South when I was a touring musician--and a LOT of my driving was in rural areas where only Verizon had coverage (including the studio way downstate where I record). When I had some repeated spontaneous screen-cracking issues on that iPad, I switched its Verizon account to first a mobile hotspot (which was a disaster) and then the iPad Mini 3. And I keep AT&T for my iPhone 8 Plus not only because it's dependable here & abroad but because I was able to negotiate a lower monthly fee for DirecTV when AT&T took it over.

ChiSandy

keywestfan, best of luck Thursday--and be good to yourself! (If you don't want to order your iPadPro online, I suggest the Apple Store in Old Orchard. Next door, Williams-Sonoma sometimes puts out samples of stuff to taste, just like Costco on weekends. Five doors down is the Nespresso Boutique, where you can taste the coffees for free--even a cappuccino or latte.

keywestfan

ChiSandy- I believe you are a tad more food oriented than I am.I’m more the Due’s, Pequod’s type. I love your suggestions though and will try. IPadPro will be a gift from my son- he’ll probably order online, but maybe when I tell him about Nespresso, he’ll run to Old Orchard. I used my iPhone X on an Aegean cruise lasr summer but screwed up the International Data Plan and pad way way too much.,How world I be good to myself on Thursday? By staying in bed, reading, not fretting about exercise? Things like that?

IllinoisLady

No one can give a definition of the soul. But we know what it feels like. The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that stirs in us thoughts, hopes, and aspirations which go out to the world of goodness, truth and beauty. The soul is a burning desire to breathe in this world of light and never to lose it--to remain children of light.

Albert Schweitzer

IllinoisLady

Sandy, and others, I'm chuckling to myself about the I-pads and other 'data' of which I am pathetically clueless. I nearly didn't 'learn' the computer. We didn't get our good ' first ' one until shortly before moving back home here in 1997. I was sure I'd do something hideous to us and our expensive it seemed then, purchase and melt it into some puddle -- a total goner all because I attempted to use it. Obviously I got over the panic I often felt just looking at 'our' computer. It is very important to me now, and I marvel at anyone who can flit through descriptions of electronic equipment and accessories. That said, while I'd likely love it, if I could get through it all, I am able to listen to all the descriptions and be all the more grateful that I have my 'own' ( Dh has his own ) computer and that over time I have taught myself to do the things that I am able to do with it. It is not much, granted, but it is more than enough for me since it is my capabilities overall that undergo limits. I do love reading that others are not challenged much at all. It is our differences a lot of times that foster the best in each of us and so I enjoy hearing about it even if I can't seem to do it. Same for those who travel for bird watching or whatever. I get to go along to places I wouldn't get to go save for the willingness to share here.

I love food too, but I confess Sandy that often what you describe is a bit over my head. Coming from ( born and grew up in a tiny town of on a good yr. 200 people ) a very small place the things I learned to love were mainly handed down recipes generally passed through our entire lg. family. I still love them though I did branch out a fair amt. more as an adult. Again, I love hearing about it even if it unlikely that I'd ever be someplace to try it. Variety is after all the spice of life and I have ( or did, til' I condensed way down ) 4 spice racks in my kitchen.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Saying hi to Anne, Puffin, Joan, Carole and anyone who doesn't post daily. I hope you all have a marvelous day.

carolehalston

Jackie, I really like the quote about living in the moment. That's my goal but I seldom attain it.

Keywestfan, wishing you the best. Of your surgery options, the lumpectomy is probably the easiest and recovery is usually uncomplicated. I'm a Key West fan, too!

DH and I turned off our reading lights at 10 pm last night. I slept until 8 am this morning and he didn't get up until 8:45. That's a lot of hours of sleeping! We were making up for lost hours night before last when he was doing his prep for a colonoscopy. I'm thankful to report that nothing scary was discovered. We're both very relieved.

I will be visiting my mother today and delivering some clean clothes.

Happy Wednesday to all.

Wren44

Keywestfan, Something more rewarding. Think cupcake, ice cream cone, flowers, taking time to read and nap, etc. They won't want you to do a lot of exercise for a few days. Take some time to heal. We all tend to overdo it and regret it later. So TLC for a few days and then you'll be right as rain.

keywestfan

Wren44- Thank you, Thank you. I am cery anxious; you give me encouragement that this is doable.

ChiSandy

If you want to try something a bit different, Jimmy’s NY Pizza Cafe is my fave (talk about childhood comfort food!); they are at Foster & Lincoln and deliver at least up to Rogers Park. If you tell them why you’re ordering out rather than picking up, perhaps they’ll cut you some slack

keywestfan

Will try when able- used to work around there at Martha Washington Hospital. The pizza looks great. Enjoy NOLA.

ChiSandy

They also have beignets!

Puffin2014

Another blizzard moving through tonight, I hear the wind picking up. We have so much snow already, every night on the news another roof has collapsed under the weight of the snow. I spent over $500 to get my garage and house roofs cleared of most of their snow, I still have a 3 foot pile along the top of my roofline as the roof rakes wouldn't reach there. Fargo is in a narrow band that might luck out and only get 3-6" of snow tonight, just a few miles west of here they'll be getting 6-12+ inches. Even with less snow, with the strong winds we'll officially be in a blizzard by morning. So glad I'm retired and don't have to worry about getting into the hospital in the morning. Hope the power lines remain up in this wind.

jo6359

Keywestfan- we have all shared your anxiety at one time prior to surgery and scans. It does get better. The best part is when the surgery is over with . I'm only 90 miles from Key West. I used to love going to Key West when I was a kid. It was so beautiful and unspoiled. I rarely ever go now because of the Tourists. It's still a beautiful place to visit.

keywestfan

jo6359- key west is indeed a great place to visit. We go every January from Chicago for the Literary Seminar. But my favorite thing in Key West is just to walk down the streets, look at the houses and all the roaming cats. We stay as far away as possible from the disembarking cruise ships and Duval street. Unfortunately, this January there is where I found my little lump which leads to all this anxiety and tomorrow mornings lumpectomy.

ChiSandy, love beignets- who doesn't