MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

Meece

My PS did the same thing, Raeinnz.  He decided in the operating suite to go larger.  I guess it held things up because he had to wait for it to be delivered!  I would have been happier with smaller, but I am tall and he thought more would look more balanced.

elimar86861

Where is Kleenex?  I don't think we have had her annual installment of "Texas Homecoming Mums" yet this year.  I didn't even know what the heck those were last year, but if she regales us with an account of the phenomenon again this year I will look around for the most ostentatious examples I can find of the things.  Oh, Kleenex...

Meece

I remember those last year.  Kleenex, we want to see this year's harvest of mums and all that go with them.

marlegal

Love the new pic Eli!!!  Those dogs deserve extra treats for sitting for that picture.  I don't the story of Kleenex' mums, is it short enough to share??

faithandfifty

Homecoming Mums on steroids, Mar.

But hearing the account in "kleenex-first hand" description is worth anticipating.

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leisaparis

Okay gals I have a question. I'm not sure what DOG EARS are. Can anyone tell me what exactly you are talking about when you say dog ears? Is it the triangular shape they leave your breast in after surgery or what? I've seen you gals talk about it before but I guess my chemo brain just isn't retaining it. Also I'm not sure if when I was describing the different sizes of my breast if I gave you an accurate description. So I hope not to offend anyone but I'm posting a picture. Hopefully that way someone will be able to point out from my picture where my dog ears are and see if anyone can tell me what size they think I am at from the picture. Thanks and I hope you all don't mind the picture. Leisa

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=180901&id=673709606

Okay, for some reason I can't figure out how to post a picture today. I know I've done it many times before, but not today. So here's a link to it. Thanks again.

barbe1958

Leisa, I wasn't able to see the picture as it asks me to log onto Facebook and I'm at work, but I can tell you about dog ears. They are where your incision stops under your arms. It leaves a little point and we all wonder why the surgeon doesn't just keep cutting to take all the fat off. They will tell you they'd have to decide where to stop and under your arms is the least obvious. Hope that description helps.

brazos58

My "Dog ears" are extra blubber and skin....under each armpit....and travels around to where my old boobs hit my back fat.... one side has a pinch of skin almost 1 inch. the other side much less. I hate how it looks. My armpits don't match...nor does my back fat..... This is with a BMX. This skin hangs over the edges of my undershirt..... it makes wearing sleeveless tops a pain......if not even impossible.......... If you are completely sure you are not having recon.....have them clean it up at your first surgery and consider having a plastic surgeon trim your chest incision for flat, eveness...and tidy up your pits, and liposcution any armpit/ back fat issues.. and be done. Mine BS left me this way, I think to give me the option of recon.... later. I don't think they can get the idea that I dont WANT IT. But there are those that do.... and we can all change our minds.

I don't know how this applies to those of you having recon work. This is just my experience with a BMX for what its worth. And i think my being a  big girl at 40DD did not help. Boobs like to travel in your 50's!

raeinnz

Leisa - I had both the kinds of dog ears Barbe and Brazos describe but mine were left on purpose after my first op to protect ports. I had a different kind of recon from most women. I had BMX with immediate recon with anatomically shaped one-step double-skinned silicone, saline filled implants (this system saved having to have major exchange surgery). They were inflated slowly over time by way of a line and port (which lay horizontally with the port being just before my arms at rest) and when I was happy with the size I had a short op (1.5 hours) to remove the inflation ports, tie off the lines and remove the dog ears.  He cut out an elipitical piece of skin 10 cm long and about 5 cm deep, which enlarged the original scars by about 5 cms, and did some special type of stitching that he said would make the skin lie flat.  And it worked - I have scars that go from the centre of my chest, under my foobs and round to the back of under my arms but there are no more dog ears and the end of the scar is quite flat.

Eph3_12

ooooo-Elimar-fav movie of all time!  I'm a good witch or not a witch at all, but I'm not from Kansas!

PauldingMom

I've got the Disney version of Legend of Sleepy Hollow. It and old movie and very cute. We are playing trick or treat, eating tons of sugar, making a Halloween picture and trick or treat bags and then I'm sending the hyped up little kiddies home to their parents.  

brazos58

Elimar!  was just talking about OZ....my fav movie of all time growing up. I must admit I kinda sided with the Wicked ( A GREAT BOOK BTW....)  Witch..... but still loved Glenda too... Sigh! I remember when I was old enuff and it hit me it WAS A DREAM....

Wish me luck as I try to vacuum....

Happy Friday!

elimar86861

Wanted to look like Glinda, yet still have an army of flying monkeys! 

Meece

They could have eliminated the monkeys from my version.  That was the only part that ever bothered me.

marlegal

The Wizard of Oz was on every year during Easter time - no idea why - when I was growing up.  It was the only time my entire family - Mom,Dad, 6 kids - sat down together.  I think that alone made it a favorite long before I understood the movie.  To this day I have to watch it whenever I come across it.  And then later in life I met a special friend and we decided that she was Dorothy to my Scarecrow.  Faith, you know of whom I speak    So thanks Eli for the memory and Paulding, shame on you!!!

marlegal

Ladies - I want to share something with you.  Many of you know that I'm attending the Rock the Ribbon celebration tomorrow night at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.  If you've been on bc.org within the last several weeks you should have seen the ads for it!  I am attending as a guest of bco as a result of participating in a video shoot they did a while back in the Phila area (thank you again Angie for that!!!).  Anyway, one of the things I'm most looking forward to, aside from listening to Harry Connick, Jr. for a while, is meeting Dr. Marisa Weiss at a gathering after the event.  I've said to many of you over the past few weeks that I'd give her a big hug on behalf of all of us.  Well, I got to thinking about it today, wishing I had thought ahead of time to pick up a gift for her as a token of our appreciation.  Then - voila - I got a great idea (which is actually very unusual for me!!)  I could get her a gift certificate from SpaFinder.com, an outfit that works with thousands of spas across the country.  So I checked to see how many spas in the Delaware/Montgomery County area accept them, and there were dozens.  And who can't appreciate a good massage or facial now and then?  So anyway, I got the gift certif ... you can print it directly after purchase ... and I'll give it to her tomorrow night with a note (already written) saying how at some point we all wind up saying that we just don't know what we would have done without bco in our lives after diagnosis, and that we're taking this opportunity to show her a small measure of our appreciation.  I signed it "Chatters and Boarders".  I am at a good point in my life where I can comfortably afford to do this on behalf of all of us, which gives me more joy than I can tell you.   I'll be thinking of every single one of you tomorrow night as I sit there listening to the speakers during the 10th anniversary celebration of breastcancer.org, and maybe even during the after party, which we have comp tickets for also!  I am soooo psyched about this    I'll try for pictures if I remember, but I have a tendency to forget I have a camera when I'm excited!

Eph3_12

Thank you Mary for your generosity!  That is a great gift!  I'm not certain where I would be right now without BCO!

elimar86861

Good thing Dr. Weiss is probably too busy to be reading this thread; and anyone else who knows her better not give away marlegal's surprise!  Mar, that sounds like a very thoughtful and thankful offering.  Since most of us are not even geographically near this event, we are going to have to experience it vicariously through you...so be sure to tell us everything.  Have a great time there.

faithandfifty

Elimar, I am so grateful for your including the header picture..... seriously, it keeps my simple brain organized and happy at the same time.   

Mar. LOVE to you for being so kind on behalf of all of us. PLEASE take as many pictures as you possible can. Such an extreme act of generosity. You're such a sweet-heart. I am so selfishly grateful that you have become such a multi-tasker and now both chat & board...... I've missed you so much...... and now I feel like I can have my cake and eat it too.

Just tryin' to ween myself a bit as next week I'll be on the road the entire week. Heading to CA for our national convention. BIG opportunities for me & I'm thrilled. Twill do my best to take good care of myself in the midst of all that goes on & the demands of enthusiasm & energy.

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Has anybody heard from our Cookiest??

Cookie??

Sending you happy vibes.

Elimar hold the fort till I get back here.

raeinnz

   Mary! Have a great time and I'm with Elimar - we want to hear all about it!

Valjean

Mary ~ Have a wonderful time!

Thank you for taking us along!! 

marlegal

eli, i was counting on the fact that marisa would be too busy the day before the event to check posts, so i felt i was safe!!!  faith, i missed you too much in chat, so i had to follow you to boards to stay up to date with your life buddy    and as for hearing all about it - helllloooo??? have you guys not seen my prior posts???  like i hold back?  LOL ..... watch for sunday postings ... my guest and i (a good friend) are staying overnight in the city, so i won't be home till sunday.  we're doing it up right!!!

Edited to add picture for top of page ... chatters in vegas 2008

marlegal

and if pressed, i can still name every single one of them ... that was a trip to end all trips

barbe1958

Mary, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am NOT in a position to spend money like that but know it must feel wonderful,  so I understand your generosity. Present it with love from me as well.

marlegal

barbe, believe me, there have been more times than not when I couldn't either, so to find myself able to do it now has given me more back than I gave at the risk of sounding cliche.  i just know she'll feel all that love from hundreds of us when i open my hand ... shit ...gives me chills!!

NativeMainer

marigal thank you for representing us to Dr. Weiss at the meeting. I really appreciate your representing us to her. 

Meece

Marlegal, thank you for your generosity of adding us to your gift!  That is selfless!  Like I need to tell you this, but Enjoy every minute! I only wish I had found bcorg when I was going through dx and tx.

Raeinnz, love your avatar!

BarbaraA

Mary, thank you from the west coast of FL. I bought a ticket but could not find a reasonable hotel.  I am going to the LBBC event in two weeks, however.

Have a great time and hurry back here to fill us in on how cool it was!

Anonymous

There is a regatta with over 5,000 participants going on in Philadelphia this weekend, and many of the teams and spectators booked their hotel rooms a year ago, so hotel room bargains are tough to come by this weekend. 

elimar86861

Recognise these?  Oh! the horror!!!