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

IllinoisLady

Hi Carole

As far as Tolle's books......I enjoyed them all, but I stated with "The Power of Now" and just kept going.  I also read Deepak Chopra, Dr. Brian Weiss, Debbie Ford and many others.  I always felt their was much more to life but I remained unable to connect very well until I started doing spiritual study ---  the people I read helped me get to the connections.

I think your resolution is very sound.  Even though I've eliminated much of what was pulling me off track for sorting out my life so there is a better ebb and flow ( translates to stay home and take care of business ) there is still just enough that it isn't yet working well .....so a few more changes or at least adequate re-arrangement.  I'm glad you brought that up.....I was now allowing myself to let those things settle in. 

Too bad we all can't have old fashioned Christmas every other yr. but it would not work.....where we work at a food pantry and serve dinner at a shelter, and in the meantime go Christmas caroling...no real presents -- just helping others have a good experience at a special time of yr. Sadly, I think this could be difficult -- most kids in school have been over -exposed for a long time to way too much for one person.....and all their peer group as well.  Sigh !!!!  Nice thought anyway.

Have to get ready to be to work by 6 a.m.  Off to finish laundry. See you all sometime tomorrow.

Hugs, Jackie

Chevyboy

Did you gals see this "church sign"?

carolehalston

Cute sign, Chevy!  I just showed it to DH.  This morning I'm trying to get back on track with my diet and exercise.  I plan to take a brisk walk, 2 1/2 to 3 miles. 

Kaara, I will be thinking about you today and sending out calming, healing thoughts.

Wishing everyone a happy Monday.

IllinoisLady

"The elegance of honesty needs no adornment."
Merry Browne

carolehalston

I'm wondering how Kaara is doing tonight.

IllinoisLady

{{{{{{{{{{{{ Kaara }}}}}}}}}}} Thinking of you and wishing the best.

Hugs Jackie

IllinoisLady

Overcome obstacles - grow and bloom anyway.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Kaara

Thank you ladies for all the hugs and prayers!  Surgery went as planned....no surprises.  I'm back home today...a little sore, but that is to be expected.  It wasn't bad at all..almost no pain leading up to and during the procedure.  The techs and nurses were wonderful.  Now I just have to wait for the final path report which is due in on Thursday or Friday of this week.  Hoping the SN is all clear!

I'm still a little groggy from the pain meds, so I am going to give in and take a long nap.  Absolutely no sleep in the hospital last night...it was a three ring circus as usual! 

Chevyboy

Hi Kaara.. So glad that you can look back on it all now!   I didn't stay in the hospital after my Lumpectomy....Maybe they just wanted to keep track of you more!  

My surgeon knew I had lots of help around the house, and they always kept me laughing and I didn't have to do anything!   Except shop!    Both Daughter's took us out shopping the next day....and it really was fun.... just a little tired.  But I DID set off the store alarms on my way out, because of that radioactive dye that hadn't left yet....Ha! 

Just glad everything is all over now!  Take good care....xoxo

IllinoisLady

Rest well Kaara.  Sending lots of positive vibes for your path report to be a really good one.

Jackie

Kaara

Thanks ladies for the good wishes.  I slept good last night and am feeling much better this morning.  I'm only taking tylenol for the pain...don't want the narcotics as dr. said they will constipate and I don't need that!  Now just waiting for that call on the final report.....always waiting.....will it ever end?

Got home and was glad I had all the decorations up and the gift bags done.  It was so nice to see the house looking so festive!  There was a method to my madness before surgery.  Now I can just relax and enjoy the holidays!

Have a great day everyone! 

Chevyboy

Hi Kaara....I think as soon as you get that final path report, the waiting is mostly over.

If they suggest you have radiation, they will get you on a schedule that at least you know when you are going, and why.   But the hardest part is over!

I didn't take those pain pills either, and constipation WAS a problem just from the anesthetic, and everything being "asleep"..... But you will be back to normal pretty quick!  Your attitude really helps!

Take good care! xoxo

WaveWhisperer

Kaara, I've seen you on other threads and may have responded there. At any rate, I'm glad your surgery is over and that you're doing well. I can't remember whether you had a lumpectomy or MX. I had a lumpectomy and recovered really quickly. After the anesthesia wore off, I was good to go! Hope it's that easy for you! 

IllinoisLady

IllinoisLady

Hi everyone.  Good for you Kaara.....glad that you can stay away from some of the heavy-duty drugs.  I didn't take anything when I had my surgery......I seldom do.  I won't say I'm impervious to pain....but sometimes I almost think it can last longer when you are taking something.....still, I didn't have enough to bother ( or so I thought ) with anything.  I did however, take a fast acting Tylenol capsule during chemo as I had to inject Nuepogin for a week after ----  it was to stop pain it would cause later.  Worked just fine....but I always disliked taking it anyway. 

Warm here today --- makes me nervous this time of yr. when it is easy to get snow. 

Hope you are all going to have a really great day.  I'll be checking back as I always do.

Hugs, Jackie

Chevyboy

Jackie, you were talking about fast acting Tylenol, is it about the same as "BC"  "Aspirin, pain reliever, etc"....and it is carried on planes for emergency's when they think someone is having a heart-attack? 

I bought a couple boxes with the little powder packets, and I have used them twice.  One when I had a really hard pain in my chest, and it instantly went away.   And then again, for the same reason....

But I carry a couple "packets" in my wallet, and so does my DH...  You just sprinkle the packet on your tongue, & then swallow....better with water, but not necessary. 

And I LOVED your picture and saying....It really is true....It's just so easy to let emotions dictate anger...If we could just "stop" and "breathe"..... 

Wave Whisperer!  Good luck to you too!  What after-surgery treatments are you doing? 

Kaara.... How are you doing today?  Till later gals...xoxoxo

Kaara

Chevyboy:  I'm doing great today!  Except for the little pinch in my left boob, I feel perfectly normal.  I'm forcing myself to take it easy.  Some friends came by and brought lunch which was nice!  I got some rest once I got out of the hospital!  Honestly, if you had to stay there long it would kill you!

My BS used surgical super glue on my incision, I don't even have sutures...so no pulling.  I love my doctor...he is so compassionate and easy to talk to, and funny.  When I was asking the anesthiesiologist about what he was giving me, he said "Propofol" and my dr. chimed in and said "don't try it at home!"....poor Michael Jackson...he put that sedation on the radar for sure! 

mommarch

Kaara, glad you are doing well. 

I started on the Hormone blocking med, did not sleep for the first several days, changed it to taking it in the morning and am sleeping.  By afternoon am having alot of muscle pain.  I am terribly cold.  I god home after work and crawl under the electric blanket take a pain pill and wail until I finally get warm and then get up and start my evening routine.

Chevyboy

Mommarch...what pill are you talking about?  Hormone blocking?  Are you taking Arimidex?  Let us know... I took tamoxifen in the mornings.... didn't have muscle or joint aches & pains, just those leg cramps...

Kaara... I had the same "sleep" med, ha!  And he told me it was the same stuff also!  It was great, and I felt just like new when I woke up....I wanted something for my stomach though, because I have trouble with anesthetic, so they included something for that.  Glad you are doing good!   I still get little "pinches" in my boob....and I'm 2 years out....but I just figure it is scar tissue, or SOMEthing weird!

Kaara

Chevy...now we know why MJ liked it so much.  He could sleep and wake up refreshed...he's getting a good long sleep now though.  WOW!

IllinoisLady

"Beauty is whatever gives joy."

- Edna St. Vincent Millay

IllinoisLady

Morning everyone.......poured rain last night -- incredible, but thank goodness it wasn't snow....the house would have been buried.  I had to put my coat over my head to get inside and it was all but dripping water by the time I got inside. 

Marcha....those pesky pills......you can always switch and try another one, but I think sometimes ( not always ) the se's calm down.  I was doing great on Arimidex.....a few things, but so mild I had to think about it almost......then the generic came out and wham.....I was getting a lot of pain in my my left hip and leg and wondered what to do.  I did not get around to anything and after 4? or so months it seems to have calmed down to a state where I only notice during wild weather changes and then not to the original amt. of discomfort. See no reason to do anything now. 

Hope you are all going to have a fantastic day.  I'm thinking we will get more rain but hope it is not the major pour-down type we were having last night.

Stay well, and I'll see you all again after work.

Hugs, Jackie

Kaara

Good Morning!  Waiting for call from my BS to give me the final pathology report which he said should be in today.  I was on the phone first thing this morning to remind them that I wanted my file right on top of his desk when he came in from surgery!  I probably won't get called until later today, but I know the drill now...he has to be reminded and then he does a superior job of communicating.  I try not to be a pest, but this is important to me.

DGD and DGGD are coming over for a visit so I must prepare...put up all the glass dishes and such as she is beginning to crawl and pull up on things.  I won't be able to pick her up which is a bummer, as she doesn't qualify in the five pounds or under category.  She's a chunk!

Enjoy your day everyone! 

Chevyboy

Waiting is awful Kaara!  Good luck whenever you hear the news.  Ask your Doc to send you a copy of the final path report.  I wasn't told anything before the final report, only that right after surgery, she told me it was clear margins, and the 3 nodes were B9!  

They did the "freeze" thing, before they closed me up...just in case.  She waited for a call for each tissue sample she sent them.  Evidently it's super-fast, & they can "test" the sample right then.  And the final report is when she told me what grade, and which stage, and the exact size.... and about the clear nodes....

But I later found out that cancer sometimes spreads through the blood, and not the nodes!  The nodes have lymphatic fluid.....That's why some women have further progression without node involvement.....And that is also why chemo is suggested, along with radiation.   The Onco test is one of the many insights as to what is going on...

Let us know....fingers crossed! 

Kaara

Chevy

 I didn't get a call back today, and I am disappointed about that.  If the report didn't come in I would at least expect a call to tell me that.  As for the node involvement, my research shows that there will be no need to take add'l nodes if the SN is cancerous because it doesn't effect the outcome of long term survival.  I would, however, need radiation to the auxillary node area in addition to the breast.  All I'm worried about now are the clear margins from surgery because I don't want to go back in again...that would suck!

I'll be on the phone first thing in the morning again! 

IllinoisLady

Kaara.....doesn't Chevy have the neatest pictures.....I'll be hoping your reports come in first thing tomorrow and that you get nothing but good news !  Until  you do here is something that might help....a little:

Hugs, Jackie

IllinoisLady

"Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do
whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and
are willing to work with a power that is greater than
ourselves to do it."

-- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

IllinoisLady

Good morning every one on this sunny morning that I'm hoping will last --- the sun that is, I know the morning will.  Was gray yesterday and I don't bloom very well when its gray.  Hope you are all doing well and I so hope you get your report Kaara.  The waiting is agony and for anyone like me.....the sooner I have some information, the quicker I can move onto the decision of how to handle things. 

I'm sure nearly everyone feels close to the same about that.  Hope you are doing ok, Marcha.  It is so great to get to the end of the chemo txs.  You had a long time to get through too.  Hope you find a way to celebrate later on. 

I'm saying a big hi to everyone else too.  Hope things are going well for all of you and that you will have a fantastic day.  I'll be checking in later with all of you.  See you then.

Hugs, Jackie 

Kaara

Good morning all!

Jackie...almost used that stress buster this morning....just before I got the call that my margins and nodes were all clear!!  Chevy...your picture captures what I was doing just prior to hearing my BS's report!  I was so happy I cried for the first time since my dx...tears of relief!  Boyfriend cried too....just before he left for his tee time!  Guys...gotta love em, but he's been such a trooper that I can't begrudge him this passion.  It's his way of celebrating the victory.

Me...I'm going to celebrate by taking a nice long nap.  I would take a bubble bath, but I'm not allowed to submerge myself in water yet, so that will have to wait.

BCO is a wonderful site and I've learned so much and met so many wonderful women who are brave, strong and inspirational.  My life is forever changed because of this disease, and I mean that in a positive way.  There is so much to give back when you reach the other side.

Love to all! 

Chevyboy

Kaara...You were talking about radiation?  The type I had was the MammoSite Device....and this was in January of 2010.... My surgeon, and Radiologist had recommended this...

But for me, it was implanted "during" the surgery....I know they also do it after..... but I don't know why some Docs are "unfamiliar" with it.  My SIL also had this... That's one of the reasons I wanted radiation the same way.  Also...check with your Insurance!  The MammoSite WAS very expensive.  There is a lot of "positioning," pictures, etc. involved while doing this, but it was very easy.  And only took a week.

http://www.mammosite.com/breast-lumpectomy/view-a-demonstration.cfm

This short video describes the procedure...but honestly, if your Radiologist doesn't want to do this, I wouldn't go against him.

There ARE other short term radiation choices, but I don't know if they target the tumor before?  Or after removal, from that area?  I don't know anything about that.

I think you should just ask what the Radiologist suggests, and then go from there....

Take good care...