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

carolehalston

carolehalston

MinusTwo

Wow Carole - those are absolutely gorgeous!!! Thanks for posting.

IllinoisLady

That is so pretty Carole. Your Dh is quite an artist with wood.

IllinoisLady

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
- Charles Dickens

carolehalston

Merry Christmas!

Beaverntx

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year all!

redhead403

Carole, I am so jealous. It's pouring rain here and mid 50's! Merry Christmas!

CindyNY

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

IllinoisLady

Getting ready to run over to my cousin's house for a bit. It is wonderful here. Likely to get just past 68 today. Will be very much here like several of our California Christmases where we ate Christmas dinner out in the yard. I have to admit it really didn't feel like Christmas. I did miss the seasons but at my age I can handle today pretty darn good. I no longer need the elements to compliment the seasons. I hope your day and those coming are as wonderful for all of you as can be.

ChiSandy

Merry Christmas and happy fourth candle!

IllinoisLady

Laugh at yourself and at life.
Not in the spirit of derision or whining self-pity,
but as a remedy, a miracle drug, that will ease your pain,
cure your depression, and help you to put in perspective
that seemingly terrible defeat and worry
with laughter at your predicaments,
thus freeing your mind to think clearly toward the solution
that is certain to come. Never take yourself too seriously.
- Og Mandino

IllinoisLady

The true Light is a gentle love which, rising in you, causes you to look on the world with understanding and compassion and respect. When you respect the souls of your brother and sister, you respect their lives in every way. This gentle spirit, this respect one for another, must come. For this is the generation of the one true Light, and this true light is that of love.

White Eagle

IllinoisLady

Well, yesterday temps. were the last for a while. Nearly 70 again -- so strange for this time of year but deeply appreciated. Just wonder when and just how the global warming will be here. We are in a little pocket as I've often related -- so it may be really strange. Anyway, we are headed for some rain which is a part of the cooler temps. Rain I can be okay with, but it is the gray color that gets to me. Will also muddy up my car. Definitely will have to use the car wash again. Last time it was to get the road 'salts' off and now mud. Sigh !!

Hope you all have a really good day here as we look to our last week-end of this yr. Wow !! This one seemed to have gone fast -- they start out sorta slow but here I sit wondering where it all went and why didn't I notice the speed.

petite1

Good morning, ladies. My mother died on Sunday Dec. 22. She was 98. It has been a sad and very busy time.

IllinoisLady

I'm so sorry to hear that petite. I well understand after having just lost my Aunt Mackie. We know we will heal, but I think it is difficult when you lose someone around the holidays. I'm hoping for you to be carried through this time as gently as possible while you and your family recover from this loss. As is so often said, it takes as long as it takes, but at some point you will remember something special and smile and hopefully that will be when the healing begins and you can find just as much comfort to match the sorrows of loss.

Wren44

So sorry, Petite. It seems like no matter when you lose your mother, it's always too soon. Take good care of yourself.

ChiSandy

Petite, so sorry about your mom--at 98 she had a good long run, but at any age a parent's death is too soon. May her memory be for a blessing.

It hit 64F here yesterday--wanted to grill dinner but Bob got home too late. Chilly now (low 30s, only got up to 43) but still making asparagus and finishing sous vide steak on the grill (lobster tails indoors). Gonna air-fry the last of the latkes.

IllinoisLady

When you look at the world in a narrow way, how narrow it seems! When you look at it in a mean way, how mean it is! When you look at it selfishly, how selfish it is! But when you look at it in a broad, generous, friendly spirit, what wonderful people you find in it!

Horace Rutledge

IllinoisLady

I think we will get our last warm day today. From the sound of it, lots of storms/rain tonight which will bring the temps. back down. Yesterday was nicer than I expected. Have to go over and see my puppy friends today and pick up a tin of home-made cookies. They are always the best kind. Hopefully, I will get far enough along with my re-vamping of how things work here to do more "baking" later. I prefer home-made pretty much everything. I do use boxed cakes at times for certain recipes -- like dump cakes. Especially like the peach one. With that one I do not use yellow or white cakes but spice cake. That makes a pretty fair difference in flavor.

I'm looking forward to this yr. ending as it has presented some really un-expected challenges along the way. Still, I don't do resolutions for Jan 1st. I do those in Spring when I watch the trees budding out and the Daffodils and Tulips showing off their beautiful colors. Spring and Summer are coming back to life and that seems to be when I too get most inspired. So, since adulthood it has never felt right to make all sorts of plans for how I might try to develop my yr. Spring comes and I feel that renewal so deeply that I want to share in it and feel all the positivity of starting over to do 'better' than last yr.

Hope you will all have a great good Saturday.

CindyNY

Petite1- sorry for your loss. Losing your mom is hard no matter her age. HUGS

carolehalston

Petite, I empathize with your loss. My mother died in May at age 96. Yesterday was her birthday. I miss her every day. It feels strange being an "orphan" with both parents gone.

It's a drizzly gray day. I should get myself moving and go to the gym for some cardio exercise. I went to Silver Sneakers yesterday and felt like I benefitted from the workout, which included some good stretches as well as cardio.

Jackie, I'm not much on new year's resolutions either. I do hope to lose some weight during the next few months and get healthier as a result. I plan to change to a new primary doctor and a new dentist.

I recently went back to my gynecologist after several years of not seeing her or her NP, whom I really like. I'm glad I went because I learned that I have a vaginal skin ailment whose name escapes me at the moment. It causes the itching and burning that I interpreted as signs of a UTI. The treatment involves use of a steroid cream. I also have a hormone cream to use weekly for dryness. The use of it was okayed by my bc doctor. I have to wait on using both creams until the soreness from a biopsy has healed.

Soni-B

I am reading this thread with interest. I am 67 years old, diagnosed 6mths ago, lumpectomy followed by 30 radiotherapy treatments. I have started taking Femara and am experiencing hot flushes and joint stiffness. I was only given the choice of 2 anti-hormone drugs, Arimidex and Femara. My MO said he preferred Femara while my RO preferred Arimidex, so I decided to go with the MO because it was his area of expertise. Does anyone know the difference between Arimidex and Femara? I was told they are the same drug made by different companies? The cynical side of me wonders why different specialists prefer different drugs.

IllinoisLady

I think Arimidex may be newer than Femara. Arimidex became a 'generic' while I was taking it. I started it back in 2008. The 'generic' is called Anastrozole. It seems almost all of these drugs give you some sort of side effects to deal with. I can't say I noticed much of anything with the Arimidex. I did though have some when I was switched over to the generic version of Arimidex. They lasted for about 3 months and were about what you described for your Femara. ( it seems it might be associated with the carrier portion of the drug ) and then I stopped having the issues. Femara and Arimidex are both aromatase inhibitors and I think drugs are likely recommended due to Dr.'s having gotten more satisfactory responses for them. I think others will come on that are far more knowledgeable than I and will be able to give you far better answers since it has been some time for me -- I have been off those drugs for yrs. now.

HikingLady

Soni-B Here are a couple of discussion threads specifically about Aromatase Inhibitors, and they would be a good place to ask your questions:

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics/790338?page=566#idx_16978

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/78/topics/854403?page=40#idx_1189

There are three different Aromatase Inhibitors: Letrozole, Arimidex and Exemestane. Femara is a version of Letrozole. You might ask your MO what research says about the various different AI's, and whether one is more efficacious than another. Here in the USA, it's usual for our MO's to take over the whole treatment plan and our overall cancer follow-up care, and to prescribe hormonal medications, and for the RO to step aside once radiation/radiotherapy is completed.

My MO told me that the three types of AI's were all seen to be equivalent, but it might be an interesting question to ask your own specialist why he started you on Letrozole, rather than another one. Some people tolerate one better than another, as far as side effects. Here in the US, most of our MOs' decisions and recommendations come from the NCCN (National Comprehensive Cancer Network), which means that a lot of data and long term outcomes have been mined to reach those conclusions.

It might be the case that your particular diagnosis, and your specific pathology information (from the surgical pathology report) put you in a category where one is seen to be better than another.

My MO started me on the AI that he'd had women have the fewest difficulties with, over many years in practice. He told me we'd switch me to another AI if I struggled too much with difficult side effects on Anastrozole.

As for the side effects, lowering estrogen can cause some discomforts, and each person is different. For me, 1 hour of daily exercise, and drinking a lot of water every day has helped me feel better. I do have some stiffness, slight "warm" flashes (flushes in Australia :->) a bit less stamina, occasional thumb joint weakness, and it's all annoying, but not terrible. Mostly everything was better at 6 months than at the beginning. I've been on it for a year, and I really feel okay.

Beaverntx

Soni-B, there is information about hormonal therapy, including aromatase inhibitors on the BCO main site in the treatment section. Arimindex and Femara are not the same drug but are in the same classification of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors. All of the hormonal therapy drugs have potential side effects and we each may experience those effects differently. As "older" persons it is sometimes difficult to know if we are experiencing a side effect or if it is part of the aging process! Hang in and keep in touch. Feel free to ask questions.

mac5

Thanks ChiSandy!

Sorry for your loss Carol. This too is my first Christmas without my Mom. She died in June. But in some ways she had left so long ago. My Dad died 4 years ago. They had been married 69 years and I don’t think she wanted to be here without him. I didn’t blame her. I think of them together, holding hands like they did in Life.

I had my 3rd CMF Treatment and another Breast MRI on Friday. I really hope it’s working on the ILC, but first results aren’t encouraging. It appears the chest involvement is the same cancer as the Breast. What little effect the chemo has had on the Breast appears to be on the chest wall too.

Is it too much to hope this is not Metastatic

Taco1946

Soni-B - welcome. None of want to be here but you will find great support and help. I seem to remember reading an article which detailed the slight differences in how the various AI's work but I'm not finding it. Your diagnosis shows that you are both estrogen and progestogen positive (the ER+ and PR+ in your profile which you undoubtably got from your records). All three AI's and tamoxifen are used to suppress these hormones which feed the cancer cells. The AI's are generally used only for post-menopausal women. Even though we are post menopausal, our bodies still manufacture hormones. Many SE's are the result of suppressing these more.Because each one works in slightly different ways, they may cause different SE's in different people.

My MO started me on astrozole but I switched to femora at about 8 months. I think her choice was personal experience but she assured me that she would work with me to find the one that gave me the least trouble (never did she suggest that my SE's didn't exist). In the US, it is often an insurance issue to get the original drug rather than the generic. Some do find the original is better because the generics have "fillers" which vary by manufacturer. Some experience menopausal systems again - hot flashes, insomnia, moodiness, vaginal dryness etc. My MO switched a mild tranquilizer that I was taking with another, and those went away. I have not been sexually active for many years because of DH's heart condition, but others can help you with that if intercourse is painful.

I switched AI's because I was having almost constant headaches. I also realized after I switched that I was much more mentally stable. I had a terrible temper on astrozole. DH definitely noticed the change when I switched. I have lost more head hair on femora but I've comfortably become a "hat lady."

I had joint problems and arthritis before BC and did have a total knee replacement this summer. However, many of my non-BC friends are also walking around on "replaced" something. I think it's age and genetics more than the AI's.

I can't get back to the beginning of this long message, but ChiSandy or PotomacPeggy probably can help with a more scientific explanation than mine. Keep asking questions and check out some of the other threads. I like the one that says "doing well on AI's." Remember that many people don't post if all is well so you may not be getting a fair representation of SE's. I also remind myself that I'm closer to 75 than 70 (when I was diagnosed). My body and mind would be over 3 years older whether I had BC or not.

Taco

IllinoisLady

When humility enters our souls, we are at last able
to perceive that we do not live alone in the world
but with millions of brothers and sisters, and that hidden
in the heart of each is the same animating spirit.

U.S. Anderson

Wren44

I think it might be that different countries favor one AI over another for starting. Here it seems like Arimidex is the usual starting drug. I took anastrazole (Arimidex) for 5 years with almost no symptoms. Now that I'm 9 years older I have stiff joints in the morning and am getting arthritis in my thumb. I think it just comes with aging.