MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

Meece

gg08-Bonnie.  I think you might have mentioned where in AZ you live, but I don't remember.  DS & DIL live in the South.  we are heading there in 4 weeks for a short visit.  My brother and his family live in Tucson, A cousin in Oracle, Aunt & Uncle in...I can' remember, somewhere out of tucson.

marlegal

welcome to the newcomers ... always fun to meet new people in here.  Eli - love the new picture at the top   have a good week everyone - at least it's a short one for most of us!

cookiegal

I think I am out of date on everthing.

PM....good news? If so

Faith...book...is this THE book????

I am doing well, but busy, I got to go to the state fair today. I am also working on a cancer project at work which I have mixed feelings about, I go to work to forget about cancer. (It ain't for the paycheck let me tell you!)

Anyhow I read an article a few weeks ago about survivorship rates across the board, not just BC, did anyone else read it. 

If you have a short sentence about survivorship I could use in my project feel free to pm me.

Had some first class cookies tonight at a little town fair. 

Peace out...CG

(Oh after three weeks of antibiotics my le infection is still there, and my BS is on vacation!!!)

Meece

Gg08-Bonnie.  I am in central California.  The picture is from a Botanical Garden in Santa Barbara.

DS wants us to go tubing down the Salt River with them when we come through in a few weeks.  I haven't really been to Phoenix in years since my aunt and uncle moved to Tucson.  We used to go there every Christmas vacation.

CG, so sorry your infection isn't responding.  Don't you think Doctors should be exempt from vacations?  

Kleenex

Bonnie/Meece - I grew up in Tucson - moved away just about nine years ago. I last lived in Oro Valley, my mom lives near there, and my sister is way out east by Sabino Canyon. We've been bad about visiting, although I'm thinking we may go back over Thanksgiving... Tubing down the Salt River was a big activity in my early 20's. I remember that the sun would be hot, the water would be cold, and the views were so pretty. Except for the views of some of the other people tubing...

Cookie - bummer about the too-close-to-home project, although perhaps this project has fallen into your lap for A Reason...

Elimar - LOVE the picture.

Meece

Kleenex, My brother and sister in law work out at the Sonora Dessert Museum. He has lived in Tucson for 26 years. My Aunt and Uncle taught at the school for the deaf. Didn't know about the tubing, but its nice to know my kids still think I am young enough to do stuff like that with them, and aren't too ashamed to be sen with mye in a swim suit.

Kleenex

I LOVE the AZ Sonora Desert Museum!

You should totally wear a bikini for the tubing. A friend of mine said something wise: "I'm not getting any younger or more attractive, so I'm wearing the bathing suit." Okay, so she didn't mean bikini, but still... Just kidding - you'd get fried to a crackly crunch in a bikini.

elimar86861

Kleenex and marlegal found this pic as hi-larious as I did, so I'll put it in the thread too for safe-keeping.  It's the kind of pic that just begs you to write a crazy caption for it.

                                

Now I can go ahead and change my top pic to something more desert-y inspired by all this  Arizona talk.  My grandfather was born in Prescott, AZ when it was still a territory. 

Cookie, what exactly is LE infection?  How do you get that?  Sorry it has not cleared up by now.  Taking those long courses of antibiotics always messes with my digestive bacteria and makes my stomach hurt.   Your BS has to have someone covering for him/her, so I hope you can get it taken care of quickly.  Meanwhile, you went to the Fair.  Were you keeping an eye out for the Fried Beer?

leisaparis

Ladies, I have a question? You all seem to be very knowledgable. I read somewhere on here ( not sure if it was this thread or another ), that you shouldn't use anti-persperant that contains aluminum. If so, why? Will it cause the cancer to come back? What kind should I be looking for? The only deoderant I have, has aluminum in it. Not one of my dr.'s has said, Do not use deoderant with aluminum. Any response would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. Leisa

barbe1958

Don't know Leisa, sorry.

I want to hand in the first caption for the picture above:

Fish or beef?

BarbaraA

Leisa, aluminum clogs your underarm and could impact your lymph nodes. Not a very eloquent explanation but go look it up. Tom's of Maine has been selling aluminum free stuff for years.

Barbe - 'Another beautiful day of dolphin watching on Boca Ciega Bay '.

bluegems

leisa,

I use only a deoderant now, not an antipersperant. Tom's is a natural one that has been working for me for the 2 years now. My docs didn't advise the switch, but after the SNB, I didn't want anything to start backing up there, including sweat, so I switched. Haven't had too much of a problem with it, since the only time I'm really ripe is after yoga, and I shower at the gym.

Judy

Meece

Caption:  Surf and turf

Deodorant, this is the first I'd heard of a problem with it, other than not to wear it to your mamo.

Kleenex, you may have seen members of my family and not even known it!!!  My brother has me going on a seed harvest here in CA, to bring some seeds from a native plant to him to use in thier polination garden at the museum.

Elimar,  Love the picture, even cactus can be beatiful.

elimar86861

Barbe, I kind of thought it was "surf & turf" myself, but eating Flipper just seemed so wrong!  (I guess that applies to both if you are vegetarian.)

During rads (mine was in late summer) I used a deodorant on the non-treated side, and just used some natural "wipes" with aloe on the treated side in between showers.  I figured that since I was using an aloe lotion to moisturize during rads, the wipes would be safe enough.  (If you do this, make sure to check all the ingredients.)  I wore nothing on that side before getting the rads blast for the day.

Carrol2

hmmm my doctors just told me it's ok to use deodorant didn't say no aluminum. I think I will look for Tom's now thanks for the heads up.

luanne

  44years old ...married with no children and about to start chemo this afternoon (wednesday).... It's thursday am and I feel pretty good so far had a bit of breaky and took my tablets, had a little nap to get rid of headache.   I did wake up feeling sick last nite and my legs were sore but did some nice deep breathing and feel back to sleep

sadams42

I just been told I have breast cancer. I think I am falling apart. I just cannot believe it..I do not know the stage yet, nor what I am going to do. I need all the support I can get. This is something I know nothing about. Anyone please reach out to me I really need it. I am a mother of 5 children and I want to be here for them.

marlegal

sadams, take lots of deeeep breaths .... you'll be okay.  stay on this website, go to lots of the forum threads - maybe even look for one along the lines of "just diagnosed" where you'll have more people in the same situation as you are, but come to others like this one to reassure yourself that life goes on, and goes on very well indeed, for most of us.  I was diagnosed more than 5 yrs ago and the last 5 yrs have been full of highlights.  I had surgery, underwent chemo and had radiation.  Can't say those months were among the highlights, but that's all in my past now.  One piecie of advice ... buy a notebook and take it with you to every doctor appt, and write down what she or he says - ask them to stop while you write things down so you won't have to rely on your memory because trust me ... your memory is going to be out the window for the next few weeks while you navigate through all the medical jargon.  I hope your course of treatment is as smooth as possible.  Stay in touch.

Eph3_12

luanne & sadams42: life does go on. Chemo can be daunting luanne, but there should be a thread entitled "Starting Chemo in Sept 2010" or something similar.  Go there and get plugged in to the other women who will doing chemo at the same time as you.  I'm sure it's elsewhere, but I know "Starting chemo in July 2009" has lots of dos, don'ts and shopping lists if you want to check it out.

sadams42: 5 kids, how old? It's tough getting through this very 1st stage of just being told.  You're lucky you are here so quickly.  I was diagnosed in April 2009 & didn't find the site until June 2009. Tons of information out there so just keep breathing.

And both of you, check in with us.  Questions to specific people can be done by clicking on the person you want to communicate with & then clicking on the private message tab. 

bbryant04

I am 45, was diagnosed with breast cancer on August 6th.  Had a lumpectomy with Sentinel Node Biopsy on Sept. 1st.  I have two approximately 4" incisions, one right around the areola, the other closer to my armpit.  Anyone else have this?  How long before I should expect to feel energized again?  I stopped taking pain meds 3 days ago (except for occasional ibuprofen), I just feel wiped out.  I tried to go back to work today (have a low-stress desk job), but only lasted about two hours.  I then came home and napped for about 2 hours.

elimar86861

sadams, besides what marlegal just told you, ask to get your own copy of the biopsy report.  There is information on there that you will want to look up online, plus the information contained on there has a lot of impact on your surgery decision and treatments.  The information on there will give you an idea of what Stage your B/C is, and whate Grade (how aggressive) it is.  Please let us know more details as you find out.  Remember, all of us here were in your shoes.  We do know how you feel.

luanne, I'm not so good on the time difference, but in case you have not yet gone to chemo, I will say good luck, you will do fine.  There is a chemo forum on this site with tons of thread topics.  Check them out.  You can find groups that are doing your exact chemo "cocktail" I bet.  We have many women on this thread who have gone through chemo also, and we are happy for you to share your feelings with us through it all.  Venting allowed, if you need to.

Welcome to both ladies new to this thread!

elimar86861

bbryan04, I had the same surgery about a year ago.  You will get your strength back soon.  You should feel much better in a week or two.  Some of those anesthesia meds linger and make you feel like crap for a few days post-surgery.  You will heal pretty quick, but report to Dr. if you have redness or swelling (meaning signs of infection) at the surgery sites. 

Now, I have to assume you will also have radiation as it is a package deal with lumpectomy in almost all cases.  That gets fatiguing after a few weeks for most women, but some find a way to work thru' those by getting the rads late in the day.  Look on this site for the Radiation forum, and you can find out more about that.

One other thing to all new B/C sisters:  If you are able to fill out the diagnosis part in the Profile section, then we can comment more precisely to your situation.  You can just click on your own name (right here on the thread) and it will take you to your profile page.  Thanks!

gingersfavorite1

I just wanna hug all of you new ladies!   I'm glad you found your way here - yet sorry that you meet the criteria to be here.

I do not know if you are women of faith;  but I fear not for the Lord is with me.    I really,  never did hit the panic button.   I cried upon my diagnosis.    I cried a few days after my bilateral mastectomy . . . but other than that have been chin-up and full steam ahead.    

My first suggestion would be to grab an advocate!    Whether it be a spouse, a friend, a relative, or another survivor . . . grab someone smart and strong that you trust and who loves you,  and don't let go!   Get a notebook and start writing down your concerns and questions.     Take this advocate with you to every appointment and have them take notes.    You will be overwhelmed with information.   

It's not fun but  you can do this!     

OG56

Hope everyone had a good Holiday. I am naming the picture "Whats for dinner"!  

I was reading the last few pages and it was a wierd moment because I am 2 years post SNB but my armpit and down my arm a little is driving me nuts lately and after 4 excisional biopsies + the lumpectomy and Mamosite my boobs are beginning to look odd there are divots, one is higher than the other because the BC boob seems to have had a lift and I have to make sure my nips don't go wandering in the wrong direction. My skin looks like orange peel (not IBC) just wierd skin texture now and my ribs still hurt off and on. WTF I wonder if I will have to go to Betty Ford one day because I still take pain meds frequently or I could not sleep or get off the couch...

Oh that was such a good whine, and so nice to come here and read that others are still bothered by strange phenomenon's too.

faithandfifty

A special welcome to all the newbies. We are good company, somewhat addictive, and as a group, offer a ton of knowledge. Wish you didn't have to find us, but now that you're card carrying, you'll find us a joy & delight -- all in all.

My Cookiest. First I had to finish this picture book project that I have been working on forever, or so it feels like. To an earlier song I wrote for 9/11. Recurring lyrics: Red, White & Blue followed by "I love you." (remember this is for preschoolers.

One of the illustrations I made from fabric is the village of Ephraim, on the bay, complete with both church steeples and the red & white awning of Wilson's Ice Cream parlor.

As soon as I get this launched, it's on to THE book. I have a couple chapters of that committed to type. Keep prompting me.

Barbe. I give you the winning caption ribbon. Always clever. Often first.

I, too have a love of Tucson and a fanclub there. Too funny. Dear friend out in Sabino Canyon & often where I stay...... an uncle & auntie who winter there..... expanded to Phoenix outreach on occasion. I love flying there in Jan from the dead of winter midwest. LOL.

xx00xx00xx00xx

Be well everyone.

Sleep deeply.

Eph3_12

E-I love the cactus photo!

Meece

Welcome, newbies, and BIG PINK HUGS.

I rememebr how my head spun during those first few days and weeks.  Here I sit, nearly seven years out.  Among my few regrets about the BC experience, not finding this place.  I will celebrate my first anniversary here on the boards the day after tomorrow.  I was facing the unknown once more, and my DH found this website, shich helped me get through a vacuum assisted stereotactic core needle biopsy, and learn so much while waiting for the results.  B9 thank goodness.  I will celebrate on Thursday that I have found such a fun, inciteful, and caring group of ladies that I can call my friends.

PauldingMom

Gosh I have missed so much. 
Welcome Caroll2- Hoping and praying your results come back good.

I thought the two turtles in the video were going to do fist pumps at the end. Very cute video.

Eph-love the new pic! 

Luanne-I hate that you are going through this and sending prayers for you. You will be stronger than you think! 

Sending good vibes and prayers to all the newbies. I'm having trouble keeping up. This topic is such a strong one and so much help to me. 

Kleenex

Re: the antiperspirant issue from the prior page (man this thread moves fast!!!) - the aluminum and other chemicals can interfere with images on a mammogram (and make a mess of the equipment), so as you know you're not to wear antiperspirant/deodorant to a mammogram. The metals in these products can also interfere with radiation, so when I had radiation, I had one fresh powder-scented armpit and one nasty apricot-and-body-odor pit - the "natural" deodorant didn't do it for me.

I am back to my regular products - the data on deodorant/antiperspirant and safety and any possible role in breast cancer is not conclusive, and there are SO many other known and unknown things that are more likely contributors. If it was my antiperspirant that caused this, it managed to skirt all the way around my left breast to 11 o'clock and skip my nodes... I live in Texas, and life is too short and stinky for me to not use antiperspirant. I know others disagree, and that's their choice. My money is on the 19+ years of BCP use, especially those estrogen-packed early pills, but there's allegedly no link there, either. We could spend all day pointing to dangerous things we subject ourselves to, but we have to make our own choices until we know what really happens.

elimar86861

Yes, Kleenex, life is too short and stinky. Well put!  ROHFHMBBSLOL. (Rolling on Hardwood Floor Hurting My Back But Still Laughing. Out Loud.)