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

IllinoisLady

Gorgeous morning here and cool. The nights have been nice here and that makes the mornings perfect. Dh thinks it is chilly, but he is slow to move in the mornings and I usually up and doing enough in the a.m. that cooler temps/air is a blessing for me. We are not having humidity for now so even higher temps. in mid 80's or slightly more are not intolerable at all.

A couple of small things planned and getting ready to help my friend who is going on a sm. 3 day jaunt to Chicago so life just keeps moving me at a good pace.

Hope you all have a really good day.

IllinoisLady

To possess a rich life of wholeness that brings happiness into the soul, is to show loving and caring characteristic traits toward others.

Ellen J.Barrier

IllinoisLady

This is my simple religion.
There is no need for temples;
no need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
the philosophy is kindness.
- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

IllinoisLady

Practice being gentle, respectful and loving toward the life force in all things. Remind yourself that your efforts to make a difference, even if you think they are minuscule in comparison to the magnitude of the problem. Wayne Dyer

IllinoisLady

Learn to get in touch with silence within yourself, and know that everything in this life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences; all events are blessings given to us to learn from.

Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross

IllinoisLady

If one benefits tangibly from the exploitation of others who are weak, is one morally implicated in their predicament? Or are basic rights of human existence confined to the civilized societies that are wealthy enough to afford them? Our values are defined by what we will tolerate when it is done to others. -William Greider

Values are principles and ideas that bring meaning to the seemingly mundane experience of life. A meaningful life that ultimately brings happiness and pride requires you to respond to temptations as well as challenges with honor, dignity, and courage. -Laura Schlesinger

Julesm59

IllinoisLady

I have been a lurker and I admit it. But I have come out of the shadows to tell you how much I love and appreciate the quotes that you have been posting. Just love the inspirational tone of your quote.

Thank you

carolehalston

Well, here we are in August already! It's true that time seems to fly by faster as you get older. I have no complaints about our weather. It gets hot enough in the afternoon some days to turn on the a/c but we almost always turn it off when we go to bed. The fans, one in the hatch in the roof in the living area and another ventilating the bedroom make it comfortable to go to sleep under the sheet. Later we pull up the light-weight comforter.

It's hardly ever too hot to be comfortable outdoors in the shade. It's rare that we don't have a breeze. That's not the case at home in Louisiana during the summer.

We have had our fishing boat for sale all summer and so far no buyer. The price is low enough, I think, but a lot of people don't have the cash. The boat isn't in the price category for financing the purchase.

Yesterday we hired a young man to clean the outside of our camper. He must have spent an hour and a half cleaning the top. He worked so conscientiously and did such a nice job that I paid him more than he'd agreed to. DH always cleaned the top in past years but I really didn't want him doing the job now.

Today is the women's 18 hole golf event. It's supposed to be sunny with a high about 80. I'll get some exercise that will tire me out even though I'll use a cart. I'm impressed by the number of people, men and women, who walk at Headwaters Golf Course. I don't think many of them are my age, 76, but there may be some.

Have a great Tuesday.

IllinoisLady

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light. -Brené Brown

IllinoisLady

Julesm59 -- thank you. Quotes are my joy and I usually share the ones that resonate inside of me. I'm so glad you find something of worth to you as well. Please feel free to copy and use any you like. I have a number of sources that I've come upon in the yrs. I have been a part of BC. Org.

Please also feel free to come here any time you would like -- we welcome any that feel they can find joy, understanding, good company or information of varied sorts about this diagnosis that has been the primary reason we all found each other.

Carole, so glad you ( as well as Julesm 59 ) posted. I was starting to get a mite lonesome here. How much longer are you to be in MN. Maybe someone may still come along and want your boat. Is there any bulletin boards in the close surrounding areas where you could put a for sale picture and description. With your writing skills perhaps you could write a catchy sales pitch. Well, no mind as I'm sure you've thought about all this anyway.

The weather there sounds almost perfect ( at least summer-wise ) and I've forgotten -- did you say this was your last yr. to come?

Well, I pulled a boner last evening. Went out looking for one of our indoor/outdoor cats as we insist they spend the night inside. I was in-between the wooden walk-way and the concrete sidewalk -- walking slowly calling for the cat. Heard a noise ( forgetting how close I was ) and tripped on a little fence I have in front of a v-shaped area where I have ground-cover planted. I went down hard ( as people my age often do ) and hit the side of my face ( glasses flew off onto the concrete sidewalk ) and of course nose, two places on my arm ( thank goodness missed the elbow ) two places on my leg and huge burn-scrape on my knee. Pretty achy out this morning. Concrete side-walk no worse for wear. Iced my face and it looks okay this a.m. but it is evident that I did something. I'll do okay, but I do have an appt. to go see the nurse today about my upcoming colonoscopy. Not going to be pleasant owning up to my klutcy mis-hap.

Wren44

Sorry you fell but glad I'm not the only one. I was walking in our very uneven garden, holding the cat who refused to go inside on his own, and just lost my balance. I escaped with only 1 green knee on white pants. Fortunately the stain came out in the wash (thank you Zout). It's too overgrown to see how uneven the ground is plus the cat was blocking my view. You didn't mention your glasses, so I'm assuming they're OK.

IllinoisLady

Thanks Wren -- glasses seem fine. They were ( see if I can spell this right ) cockywah ( new spelling for my spellchecker ) when I got myself up and them. Of course I couldn't see to do anything with them, so gave them to Dh since he had his glasses which were in fine shape on. He was able to gently force them back into place. I have to go to Walmart later and if one of the techs are there I'll have them check that everything is seated properly still. Glad you were okay too. Hmmm, these cats. Most of ours stay in but we have about four that arrived from homes where they were indoor/outdoor, or a the other couple were never let in at all. Once they have tasted the freedom of outdoors it is difficult ( not impossible ) to get them to accept forgoing the pleasure of yard ( 2 acres here ) explorations and bug chasing and greeting visitors first. We are happy that these four agree to come in at dark but sometimes they dilly-dally and we had a program we didn't want to miss -- so wanted to take matters into our own hands.

ChiSandy

Ouch, Jackie & Wren! After last year, I have developed a real terror of falling. I sometimes get really self-conscious of my heel-toe gait (my second fall which broke my left hand and both ends of my right radius happened when I got sloppy doing a fast "shuffle" and my gum sole stuck to a terrazzo floor) but still have to look down to avoid having a sidewalk crack or uneven pavement trip me up (as it did 14 yrs ago, causing me to sprain both wrists and hairline-fracture my right elbow). My orthopedist says that if I weren't osteopenic I'd only have torn my wrist cartilage last year and not fractured anything--but I'd still have to have had my L ulna shortened to avoid it gnawing away at my wrist cartilage. There's a saying that if one has too wild a youth, they won't live till their golden years, aka "make old bones." I never thought at 68 I'd already have "old bones."

carolehalston

Jackie and Wren, I flinched as I was reading about your falls. These accidents happen within seconds and can do lasting damage to older bodies. I'm so glad you're both in relatively good condition. I remind myself to be "careful" walking down steps and just walking, but balance is just not as reliable after a certain age.

Today is forecast to be even a nicer day than yesterday. DH is playing golf and I will enjoy my leisure and maybe accomplish a few things.

Jackie, I think we will probably come north again next summer if there are no health issues preventing our summer migration. This summer has gone well. We're able to play golf in this milder weather and dh is very pleased over our success in selling his turned bowls at the farmers market.

Wishing everyone a good Wednesday with no falls!

IllinoisLady

I can do no other than be reverent
before everything that is called life.
I can do no other than to have compassion
for all that is called life.
That is the beginning and the foundation of all ethics.
- Albert Schweitzer

IllinoisLady

Lovely morning here though the a/c is pumping already. I think mainly there is no breeze outside and the morning sun hits more of the house now since we have lost a few trees. Later, it will all settle as the sun moves away from the house.

I'm all set now for my colonoscopy ( pure joy right ) and will be glad to get it over with this coming Tuesday. My very first one two yrs. ago was okay. I think it is considered the contrast which is why another one was recommended so soon.

This Friday we will have the Celebration of Life for my youngest BIL. Work is ongoing on his property as well as being in the midst of finding a buyer for his car. Seems like the man who lived next to BIL wants to buy the property for his mother. She is fine right now, but at some point he feels having her 'close' would be a bonus for everyone. Until then he would rent the property out. If you choose good solid renters that could work out quite well

Hope you may be able to return to MN next yr. Carole. It just sounds so nice there.

Puffin2014

I'll add my summer fall to the list. I was standing on the concrete slab next to the back step, leaned over to pull a week in the flower bed and my foot moved up against a little 2" high metal pipe in the middle of the slab and threw me off balance and I toppled over, hitting my shoulder on the house and my head hit the heavy pipe that goes along the house to the gas meter. As I laid there I realized if I'd knocked myself out it would be a long time before anyone saw me back there. The only traffic in the area are the students who walk along my fence from the alley to get their mail on the front boulevard. When my head was still tender in that spot a week later the nurse in me started to wonder if I should have had my head checked out. I wasn't acting any weirder than usual so figured I was OK.

carolehalston

Puffin, I'm glad you're ok. I can visualize your situation since I have visited you at your house.

Today is mowing day and we have a gorgeous day for it. We'll wait until the dew dries.

IllinoisLady

There are those of us who are prisoners of the future. We don't know what will happen but we worry so much that the future becomes a kind of prison. The real future is made only of one substance, and that is the present. What else can the future be made of? If we know how to take care of the present moment the best we can, that's all we can do to assure ourselves of a good future. We build the future by taking care of the present moment.

Thich Nhat Hanh

IllinoisLady

While I hate that it happened to you gals ( Wren & Puffin ) I have to say misery loves company. I'm still sore, but otherwise feeling like I'll mend okay and vowing to be a bit more careful. Of course, like you, at the time I thought I was being as careful as I could, but guess I'll have to remind myself that complacency can take over silently. Hmm, how to stay a "step" ahead of that.

Hope the weather continues to be nice for everyone. We could have a stray shower come through, but the last stray didn't do much at all. In fact, it was over before I realized it had begun and the only clue was really wet grass. Sidewalks dried immediately. Fingers crossed.

Looking forward to day to Dh's son arriving from South Dakota for his for the Celebration of Life planned for tomorrow. He is driving his favorite car which is a ( an older but in pristine condition ) Corvette. He has wanted one for a very long time but waits patiently until he finds one totally to his liking. He is VERY fussy so we know it will look like brand new.

P.S. Puffin, your sense of humor is great -- I'm still smiling.

nanette7fl

hi all 8) I just love that story and yes I agree about the life lessons in it. I have only 3 more week of radiation to go!!! 35 seconds is a l-o-n-g time to hold your breathe too!!

IllinoisLady

Two things awe me most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me. -Immanuel Kant

IllinoisLady

If a person walks in the woods and listens carefully,
he can learn more than what is in books,
for they speak with the voice of God.
- George Washington Carver

ChiSandy

Still being hyper-cautious about walking--but I never know when a sole edge can catch on a stair, sending me sprawling. In my (relative) youth I used to multitask quickly--able to pivot, do stuff with one hand and a single motion, etc. Now I have to go more slowly lest I get caught off-balance or drop stuff (sometimes breaking it). Have a bit more energy now that I've cut back to every other morning on Lasix (at first, when I had really bad foot & ankle edema that ballooned me up to 211 lbs. in April, I was on it BID) and have a week of taking daily B12 under my belt. Might take a walk later.

On the Invisalign board of RealSelf.com, a fellow BCO member who finished her geriatric orthodontia suggested my high serum calcium levels might not be from over-supplementation (my MO ordered me to go from 800 to 200mg/day of Citracal) but a parathyroid malfunction, as hers turned out to be. I have to make an appt. for my annual Medicare "wellness visit" this week (not sched. to see my MO for another 6 wks. before my final--I hope--Prolia shot). I'll ask about blood testing for that--as well as to see if I'm anemic again and whether this low-carb diet and (still-modest) weight loss has improved my glucose & a1c.

Doing home teeth-whitening. Ortho & dentist advised against professional bleaching due to thinner enamel from aging, and suggested either white-strips or a whitening "pen." I know I will always have teeth that are some shade of beige due to the dentin showing through the enamel (why older people's teeth tend to yellow--never seen someone my age or older with pure-white teeth that aren't either implants or dentures). So my routine (with my ortho's blessing) is brushing with a whitening fluoride toothpaste (Colgate Optic White Platinum Express), flossing and rinsing with Optic White mouthwash 2x/day. Any extra brushing is with a regular or desensitizing toothpaste (Sensodyne changed its formula and now tastes nasty--like sage & cod-liver-oil--so I have to find another one that tastes better) followed by Listerine Sensitive Zero-Alcohol or Tom's of Maine mouthwash. Every other day or so I also use a whitening pen or put "5-Min. Whitening" bleaching gel in my final Invisalign tray for 5-15 min, followed by that sensitive-teeth or plain mouthwash. My upper teeth are now the same shade of ecru as the fake porcelain tooth in my 15-yr-old "Maryland" bridge, so I guess it's working.

ChiSandy

Oh, and just bought my next 90 days of Benicar HCTZ (blood pressure med): $141 at CVS. Ouch! (Still don't think I'll fall into the PartD donut hole this year). I told Bob and he says he'll ask one of his patients about the seniors'-drug-run bus day-trips he takes to Windsor, ON. (On those organized trips, they take you to a local MD who reissues your American scripts so you can fill them more cheaply in Windsor). He says, though, he'd rather take a long weekend vacay in either Toronto or Vancouver, so will check his UW alumni roster for classmates practicing in either of those two cities, who can reissue me paper scripts and mail them to me so I can fill them in Canada while seeing the sights and enjoying the foods. Bob's never been to Toronto (except for a quick breakfast stop on our car trip to NS with BFFs back in 1983--the fateful trip where I barfed up my retainer at a party); if we can get a cheap flight on Porter Air and a Hilton property stay using HHonors points, we'll do that. But oh, how I miss Vancouver & Victoria--the scenery, the wines, the oysters!

IllinoisLady

Nice day here -- which means not too hot though the air still needs to be on. Most mornings we can have the door open for an hour or two and get cooler fresh air in for a bit. Doesn't last all that long. Starting into the Fall activates somewhat. The squirrels are eating nuts our of the trees which leaves the wooden walk-way as well as the front concrete ( these two sidewalks come close to one another in one small place ) sidewalk heavily littered with little bits of nut meats all over. Thankfully, they are all pretty small so you can walk w/o issues, but it really is the signal that maybe the lawn and trees are going to lose their colors and even in slight degree thin now. Sigh !! I'm not ready, but then I never truly am. It seems the older I get the shorter the summer is while the winter lengthens out.

My colonoscopy got put off till the 23rd. I can't say I mind though I did look forward to just being done with it and now will have to work around if I get any work calls. So far I haven't which is good with me. I do have something ( in fact I think maybe two things ) coming up in Sept. and then my friend told me that there was someone else that might be calling. Ah, a chance to actually salt even a small nest egg away would be very nice. All the work I did earlier went to pay for needed car supplies and repairs and a couple other things. At least though I was able to pay for everything needed so there are silver linings -- but nest eggs are nice too. So we will see.

pingpong1953

As much as I sympathize with the exorbitant prescription prices patients in the US have to pay, as a Canadian I'm not happy about people from a country with 10 times the population coming up here and plundering our medicine supply. Perhaps the politicians who are arranging for busloads of Americans to get their Rx's in Canada could grow a pair and get prescription drug prices under control in the US.

MinusTwo

pingpong- RIGHT ON!!!!

ChiSandy

Don't blame American seniors who live near (within a day's drive up & back) of the border--we are a minuscule fraction of the population. The politicians aren't "arranging" the bus trips--they're totally private enterprises (which are technically illegal but the Feds look the other way so long as we're buying only limited quantities). We're not coming up to poach your healthcare system--even if we tried to emigrate, Canada wouldn't let us in except as tourists. You pay out of pocket for drugs--your prices in most cases are less than our co-pays but even if they're higher (as they sometimes are), we seniors still get to avoid involving our insurance and thus keep from falling into the infamous Medicare Part D "donut hole" that drives our co-pays even higher. (Extremely difficult to "climb out," BTW--unless we end up needing horrendously expensive "specialty drugs" which wouldn't be sold to us in Canada). If we're up there long enough, we're also spending money in your restaurants, stores and hotels (and petrol stations if we're driving).

Who's to blame? Well, our politicians are bought & paid for by the insurance and pharma industries and have no incentive to give up all that PAC dark money campaign cash that the SCOTUS Citizens United decision ruled they could access to their evil little hearts' content. And why are drug prices so high down here? Not because of "R&D" costs the drug companies blame on FDA regulation (which is laxer than the elastic in that 30-year-old pair of jeggings you forgot you had rotting in the attic).

No, it's advertising--direct-to-consumer, which just about every other nation prohibits. Until the late 1980s, the only Rx drug ads were in medical journals; the first TV commercials for them were on weekend cable channel CME programming for doctors. The bulk of P.R. was done by drug reps ("detail persons"), usually the youngest and best-looking new college grads the pharma companies could find and train. They visited doctors and provided perks like tchotchkes (pens, pads, accessories), dinners, even vacations to convince doctors to prescribe their products over theor rivals'. The Feds cracked down, so all the reps can do now is visit, educate and hand out samples (which most ethical doctors save for their poorest and uninsured patients).

So how to ramp up demand? Convince the FDA to allow direct-to-consumer print & TV advertising, always ending with "ask your doctor about..." Of course, the FDA requires consumers to be fully informed in simple layperson English about how & why to take the drugs and of all the possible effects and contraindications. (The doctors, of course, get printed materials from the reps or can find out online on members-only websites). But ad space--print or broadcast/cable--is wicked expensive, even more so because of those consumer-education requirements. The average magazine ad for any other product is one page (maybe two for cosmetics or designer duds & jewels in upscale fashion mags). The average Rx drug ad? Four pages--two for the graphic & photo "splash" and two for the fine print disclosures. The average TV commercial for any other product is 20 seconds. The average drug ad? 60 seconds, sometimes even 2 minutes (mostly to tell you in gruesome detail why you might not want to or absolutely shouldn't take the drug...but "ask your doctor if it may be right for you" anyway. Notice how when you try to skip commercials on your DVR time seems to stand still for the drug ads, like when you got stoned in college). Sometimes, when sales slip or patents are about to expire, their R&D teams search for other ailments for which the drugs may be useful--often diseases most patients may not know even exist. Sometimes, when ad space is scarce and too expensive, the drug isn't even mentioned, just the disease, ending with (duh) "ask your doctor about..." Or "find out more at (name of disease or drug website), which will exhort people to--all together now--"discuss this with your doctor."

If you watch U.S. TV, you'll find that most prime-time commercials are for cars, cancer centers, and prescription drugs. (I almost miss cigarette & booze commercials).

And now Trump is thinking of allowing us to freely buy prescription drugs in Canada. The pharma industry probably decided it would cost them less than if they had to negotiate prices with Medicare or even if Medicare bought their drugs from Canadian distributors.

pingpong1953

Sandy, it's your last paragraph that causes me the most concern. I don't begrudge seniors (or anyone) who live near the border taking a day-trip to save on their meds. It's the idea that Trump is proposing it, especially after his comments about drugs from Canada not being safe and lacking QC. All of a sudden, our drugs are perfectly good. Bernie Sanders has taken people to Canada in search of cheap insulin (I know, he's a presidential candidate and is doing it for illustrative purposes.) Google "Bernie Sanders drugs from Canada" to see how we feel about it. There's some real fear that we'll face increased prices and shortages. Our government has done their job, so why can't the US do the same? It's Big Pharma's influence over the lawmakers who give lip service to their constituents but do nothing substantive about the problem.

As far as the marketing is concerned, my niece-in-law, who lives in Columbus, Ohio used to work for an advertising firm that created ad campaigns for pharmaceutical companies that produce cancer drugs. She made a very generous salary and fringe benefits, and that office was a happy place, what with the "morale-building" outings and wine in the lunch room fridge. This is all part of that advertising budget that explodes the cost of prescriptions. And don't get me started on the companies' whining about having to recoup R&D expenses. I've been known to scream at the TV when that's being discussed.

Don't you love knowing that you're paying for the privilege of being screwed over by Big Pharma?