MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

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  • barsco1963
    barsco1963 Member Posts: 2,119
    edited February 2013

    The water clarity in the Exumas is fantastic! The rust is starting to wear off. It will soon be time for some serious u/w photography. Until then, fun shots with the family.

    Eli - just found this pic on my facebook page - just think, this could be you soon! The water looks amazingly clear and clean.

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    Eph, that was your try-out at the first home game.  You didn't have the official boots yet.  You hadn't earned your official sweater with the team logo on it yet either.

    Barsco, That will be me soon.  I should pick up an underwater camera.  I had one some years ago in Hawaii and took pics of the fish and the kids.  The pics come out decent on those disposable cameras too.  Just realized the big (little) item I really need to get is a waterproof carrier thingy...the thing to keep your passport and keycard right with you when you swim.  I don't feel safe enough leaving that stuff under a towel on the shore when we both want to snorkel together.  Totally different than when I went to Alaska and could just carry the stuff around in a purse.

    I got to Skype my younger boy (on Study Away in Greece) one time so far.  It is a little harder than I thought with the time difference.  I don't have the fastest internet and there seemed to be a bit of a lag when trying to have a conversation, but I do like being able to see him (even if he is a bit pixilated.)  Then again, I don't have (read: don't pay for) top of the line internet speed.

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  • barsco1963
    barsco1963 Member Posts: 2,119
    edited February 2013

    Eli - we have skyped our son a couple of times. We thought he would have internet access when he moved away but alas, he does not. He has to go to McDonalds or somewhere that has free wi-fi if he wants to skype. He is our one and only, and moved west about 2 months ago. We sure miss him. I do agree it is good to see him even if the video isn't that great.

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  • heartnsoul76
    heartnsoul76 Member Posts: 1,648
    edited February 2013

    Elimar, what a great idea to have your summer now! Yeah, Eph's trip has me longing for the warm waters, too.

    My son plans to Skype with me when he moves out to Seattle (my one and only, too Barsco) and he BETTER have good internet considering he will be working for Microsoft.  Of course, that means I'll have to keep paying for the high-speed on my end, too..... rats!

    Hope you ladies in the NE are okay.  Here in the south we're just freezing for absolutely no reason - at least snow is a worthy reason here.

    Off to watch "Flight" with Denzel.  Hope it's not depressing or anything - I'm in the mood for action-y.

    Everyone have a good Sunday!

    Hi to SherryC - never see you any more.  I'm pretty sure we are cousins - I just need to find the missing link on Ancestor.com

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  • Valjean
    Valjean Member Posts: 1,898
    edited February 2013

    E ~ My best friend & DH are in Aruba now until early April. They go every year & snorkel to their hearts content. I have never been but, then, I can't swim anyway. Wouldn't be the best thing for me to try. I don't even like to get my face wet in the shower. Well, meaning letting the water run down my head & face while in the shower. I do like the beach though.

    h&s how was "Flight"? I see it's showing on Directv pay-per-view, hoping it comes on my free HBO. lol (I don't have Showtime, so if it goes there, I have to wait for a free weekend)

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited February 2013

    {{{Eli~}}}

    I Skype with DGS, not as easy now that his mama can't keep him strapped in his high chair long enough for Grandma to get her whole baby fix.  He's a goin' guy now. No time for googoos from Grandma!  Quality of images depends on the day.

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  • carollynn79
    carollynn79 Member Posts: 654
    edited February 2013

    Will check in maybe I CAN FIGURE how to  post pictures again, flicr or photobucket not working for me.  We head out to Kauai.  I am ready to relax in the sun and float in teh water!  Love to snorkel have never snorkled anywhere but Kauai but know the Carribean is supposed to be fabulous snorkling! When I return I wil be cutting back a bit at work and going in 2 days and working from home the rest of the time, with my 105 mile round trip drive this wil be great!!

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  • MENA1954
    MENA1954 Member Posts: 194
    edited February 2013

    Valjean, you made me laugh!  I thought I was the only one who does NOT like to get my face wet in the shower....but

    I guess NOT!  This is something that my husband teases me about all the time.

    Mena

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  • marlegal
    marlegal Member Posts: 2,264
    edited February 2013

    Eli, I'm glad about the trip and that Skype worked at least enough for you to see him and hear his voice :)



    Eph, you may have had the wrong boots, but at least your Mom didn't make you wear the pleated skirt. I was so humiliated.



    Our kids and their hubs got 'us' an iPad for Christmas mainly so I'd be able to do FaceTime with them and babies. Gotta say, it is pretty cool.



    Hugs to those having tests, waiting for results, or dealing with se's this week.

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    Good Morning ladies!  It's Fat Tuesday.  You know what that means.  Time to get one of the ugliest cakes on Earth and have a little snack.

                                                                     

    Good thing they don't taste as bad as they look.  I'll be down there this weekend, so maybe I can get the day-old (make that 4-day-old) leftovers.  Maybe I will see evidence of the parades' aftermath...broken beads and confetti plastered on the streets by rain.  Ah, I remember going down there in my youth, so long ago that the beads/boobs connection had not even been forged yet.  I don't know when the topless business began, but the time I went, it was about forty-seven degrees and there was no way my top was coming off regardless.  Not like when I was in B/C treatment and my top came off every day there for a while.  No one gave me any beads for that!

    Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday/Paczki Day is another one of those kind of crazy holidays that I just love.  It's all about the eating!!!!!!!

                                                      

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    I don't even know who is in active treatment anymore.  We haven't had many Newbies lately.  A few popped in, but we might have been too zany at the time with what seemed to be not enough seriousness that goes along with B/C.  I have to think back to my own first couple of months, when I WAS seemingly a lot more serious; but I have the exact same amount of seriousness and worry except now I HIDE it underneath a thin, filmy layer of scoffing humor.  I know that anyone who sticks around gets that.  Really, I am just looking to lend my support to the newly diagnosed.  Hear that Newbies?

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  • macatacmv
    macatacmv Member Posts: 1,386
    edited February 2013

    eli, I am a lurker on this thread. I thought about popping up for Groundhog's Day. But then the surprise on Fat Tuesday would not have worked. I am at the older end of the ish for age. But I love the humor here. I was very serious a year ago, but now that I can breathe again I just want to laugh.

    My friend and I were talking about Fat Tuesday this morning while eating the cinnamon rolls I had made for the occasion. Yeah, I didn't get any beads for taking my shirt off all the time either. They did have a candy dish, tho. 

    This is how my day went yesterday. I started to wash the dishes in the kitchen sink. The faucet sprang a leak and sprayed me in the throat. I turned the water off and went in search of my pliers which had not made it back into the toolbox the last time I needed them. I wandered around the house for a while forgot what I was looking for, ended up in the kitchen noticed the dirty dishes, turned the faucet on got sprayed in the face. Oh, I need to find the pliers, turn the water off wander around the house forget what I was looking for, end up back in the kitchen notice the dirty dishes, turn the water on get sprayed remember what I was looking for, wander around the house.........

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    Hi, macatacmv, my Dx sister.  Glad you are doing better, a year out.  You SHOULD have popped in on Groundhog's Day, because NOW you are forced to repeat this holiday ala the G. Day movie.  I don't know how you will break out of the endless loop, but if it starts with the cinnamon rolls, it won't be all bad.  Innocent

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  • barsco1963
    barsco1963 Member Posts: 2,119
    edited February 2013

    macatacmv - Your leaky faucet made me laugh. I can relate. There is always something that needs to be done around the house isn't there?

    Eli - your humour is definitely what keeps us feeling that life isn't all bad. I enjoy the laughs and comraderie that everyone contributes. Upon joining - I found this thread and it quickly became my my favourite.

    I just finished a pancake lunch at work. Our social club made pancakes and sausage for everyone, complete with blueberries, strawberries and maple syrup. Delish!

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  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited February 2013

    I want pancakes & sausages.  All I have at work are some mandarin oranges, a couple slices of roast beef & peanut M&Ms-welcome to Fat Tuesday, Joni style!

    I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Mardi Gras.  I am going to look into that for 2014-yes I am!

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  • fad60
    fad60 Member Posts: 26
    edited February 2013

    I haven't been on this site for awhile - I completed my chemo and radiation by 9/30/12 and felt like I was taking a "break" from cancer concerns.  Happily, I had a normal breast MRI and mammo in January.  My only concern now is that my CEA bloodwork came back at 5.2 last month and then I had it repeated today and it was 5.3.  I am a non-smoker.  All my other labs are within normal limits.  I have a call into my doc and am waiting to hear back. I am just wondering what my level of stress should be, based on these lab results?  Any of your input would be appreciated!   

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    fad60,  What had your CEA been before?  What is normal on that, below 2?  I don't know.  I don't think it is time to stress, 1) because the number is not really high and 2) because it has not gone up.  I have heard other things can elevate CEA too. 

    Now some more questions/commentary...I thought the tumor markers done for B/C were the CA-15 and the CA 27-29?  Do you get either of those?  I am familiar with CEA because I had that done myself, only for colorectal cancer.  Mine was not elevated and I had a big freakin' tumor in there, so who the heck knows?

    I'm curious.  Let us know what doc says.

    p.s.  Focus on MRI & mammo results for now.

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  • fad60
    fad60 Member Posts: 26
    edited February 2013

    Elimar - thank you for your reassuring words!  My CEA level a year ago, before surgery, chemo, and radiation was 4.8.  My CA-15 is normal.  I heard back from my doctor's nurse who said the doctor is not worried since it is essentially the same from a month ago.  She said that it would have to go up quite a bit to have concern.  So, I will relax and not stress about it until I have it repeated in 3 mos.  Interesting that yours was not elevated with a large colon tumor!  I've read some info on the internet that the CEA isn't the most reliable test. 

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  • marlegal
    marlegal Member Posts: 2,264
    edited February 2013

    Ah, FatTuesday...now I don't feel so bad about that cookie I had after lunch! I was in New Oleans in 2002 for a work conf, yrs before bc. Wanted to flash and a coworker talked me out of it..said I could wind up on internet. I pointed out to her that my shirt would be covering my face and that not even my husband would be able to recognize my boobs enough to say 'oh look,there's Mary'!!! But she was so paranoid I didn't do it. It's one of my few regrets in life to be honest.



    Maca, I literally laughed out loud at the faucet story. I can sooo see myself in that scenario.



    Fad, I hope everything works out for you. I get confused by all the tests and numbers so I just wait for my doc, in whom I have great trust, to let me know if there is anything to be worried about.

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    fad60,  Forgot to say that a while back, a lot of us here were remarking that about half the docs don't even seem to bother with tumor markers, probably because of false scares and such.  It really seems to go with the docs personal preference.  From what I have seen online, CEA is one of the recommended follow-ups for C/C so maybe I will be in the tumor marker club from here on out but, like you, I have read that the reliability is questionable.  Glad the nurse made it official for you not to stress.

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2013

    Fad, my doc explained that the upper limit of normal is set based on the 95th percentile of healthy women getting the test. In other words, some people just normally hit above the upper limit of the test. They look for pattern more than for a specific number.

    Just the other day I met a woman who is about 10 years out and she said her tumor markers were always above the normal range. She is fine.

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  • fad60
    fad60 Member Posts: 26
    edited February 2013

    Momine, thank you for sharing with me what you doctor told you.  I hope to remain around the same result (or lower!) when re-tested in 3 months and maybe I will be one of the ones who just tests above normal with the CEA.  I am happy to have a 3 month break to not dwell on cancerLaughing

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2013

    Fad, welcome and I know just what you mean about enjoying the 3-month doctor break. I mean, they are lovely people and all, but I still prefer not having to see them.

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    I went to MO for routine blood test (check up) and I am still a bit low on both my RBC and my WBC.  I thought the WBCs regenerated quicker and I was a little disappointed about that since I am getting ready to travel with a few thousand others who might like to sneeze in my face and going to several lands of foreign microbes.  Once again, I'm a crazy daredevil.

    Also, I had one other stop to make.  I never did take treats to my RO team on my last day, so since they are in the same building with the MO, I decided to surprise them with some snacks today.  Last time, I took them some muffins, but everyone does that.  This time, I wanted to do something different, so I went to the Asian market and picked up a snack assortment:  Shrimp crisps, bean cakes, tamarind candy, crunchy seaweed snacks, banana fritters, mango cakes...stuff like that.  Although they came from a few Asian countries, I said they were snacks from Japan and left a little note...

    ...with a picture of this guy and a dialog bubble saying......THANKS FOR ALL THE RADIATION!

    Hahaha!  I crack myself up!

    My son said I was racist.  I'm sorry all my Japanese sisters.

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  • Momine
    Momine Member Posts: 7,859
    edited February 2013

    You know, I am a year past active treatment and my blood counts are still on the low end, hovering on the lower edge of normal. My mother has the same thing and she is 5 years out. Not sure why, but as long as I feel OK, I choose to ignore it.

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  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited February 2013

    E-zilla! hahahahahahaha

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  • macatacmv
    macatacmv Member Posts: 1,386
    edited February 2013

    eli, you crack me up too!!!!

    Are you traveling with Carnival? Boy, what a nightmare, the ship that lost all it's power. I hope you have a great trip and don't catch any bugs.

    I like the hearts at the top. Last year I had my first rad on Valentine's Day. This year I get a DEXA scan. I go to see the RO on Friday. Maybe I'll bring some snacks, but I have to admit that they had the best candy bowl. When I finished rads the techs threw confetti and I whooped so loud the docs came running. LOL I hugged everyone, gently, of course.

    Hope everyone has a good heart day!

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  • elimar86861
    elimar86861 Member Posts: 7,416
    edited February 2013

    Hey Middies ...     I made your favorite ... 

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  • Meece
    Meece Member Posts: 19,483
    edited February 2013

    Happy Valentine's Day to a wonderful group of ladies

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  • Eph3_12
    Eph3_12 Member Posts: 4,781
    edited February 2013

    Happy VD Middies!  Enjoy it! Chocolate is calorie-less on this day only!

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