MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

luvmygoats

Eli - were you a comic writer in real life?

elimar86861

LizzyinMI, I'm going to go out on a limb and say your life will feel BETTER as you move away from the steady stream of treatment you have been getting. At first you might feel like you should still be doing something to fight the cancer. That is normal. But as time goes on you will come to appreciate that you see your docs less and less. You will hear the phrase "new normal" thrown around on these threads and it is your task to find yours, and if your new normal happens to be not all that different from your old normal, that's probably a good thing. The ladies on this thread (especially the ones who are a few years out from their Dx) agree with me that it is important to live your life and NOT give cancer the upper hand in your mind. It really is up to you whether cancer conquers your mind or not. We have to suffer what it does to our bodies, but we can fight the battle of whether it gets our minds and WIN!

Speaking of JUST LIVING LIFE, I wonder what our poster girl, DianaRose, has been up to? Wedding planning? Holiday baking? Also, howz our main lurker (fmakj, I know you are out there!) doing these days?

I like to think that the ones we don't hear from so often anymore are all doing well and not bothering much about B/C anymore. You'd be surprised at how many of the former "regulars" I remember. You'd be surprised, because I should have more chemo brain than I actually have. Ha! My brain wins again!

p.s. Luv, Nope. I did test positive for the quirky humor gene tho.

lovewins

I wish I had that gene...but I sure appreciate it in others.  You all have given me a lot of comfort and laughs over the months....Happy Holidays.

elimar86861

That's how it is with cancer, lovewins. Gotta laugh to keep from crying sometimes.

Since I'm not doing a lot of decorating this year, I have turned to the internet to get me in the Xmas spirit.

Know what I love more than dogs wearing antlers? Dogs that show you how they feel about wearing the antlers.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are lots more.

macatacmv

Ok, so after they did biopsy and then the lx I had to sleep on my back for months. We now know that I have some sleep apnea that happens when I sleep on my back. So I have been sleep deprived for quite a while now. What are "they" trying to do to me? lol

We have all agreed (all docs and I) that I need to lose some weight. So that is my goal now. On a supervised low calorie diet. I can only have virtual snacks.I guess I am in the right place for those. I am going to lose 30 lbs in 10 weeks. I can be an overachiever just like our E.

This is the thing they want me to wear to keep me from rolling onto my back. It needs to be prescribed. But when we looked it up at my PCP's office, it was unavailable.

I said oh, thats too bad. I'll just sleep with a pillow behind me.

I have to admit that I do have more energy since cutting down on my food intake.

macatacmv

eli, lol about the pups, but I like the guy in the background wearing the antlers. I was wondering when we would catch the spirit around here.

luv, forgot to say- yay for learning to post pics. And those goats are real cute and I bet entertaining.

elimar86861

mac, Is there a reason you must do it in 10 weeks? When you drop more than 10 pounds, the body "notices" and that in itself can stress the body. You know when I was on my "surgery and chemo diet" I lost 20 lbs. and that was over about 9 mos. (like reverse of pregnancy weight gain--ha!) What I am saying is that 1-2 lbs. a week is pretty darn good, so don't hurt yourself and don't say no to every holiday treat. That ain't livin'! No, I am not trying to sabotage you in any way, just please pay attention to how it is making you FEEL.

Also, don't you try to out-overachieve me. You know my competitive nature might make me drop another 40 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks eating nothing but Cheetos brittle and fruitcake.

I could virtually devour this!

luvmygoats

Macatacmv - I've heard of accomplishing the same thing with tennis balls taped onto something. Better than a pillow. Google "sleep apnea tennis ball" and it will give you several other search options. Some say the commercial devices work better but you are certainly free to try this. Looks harmless enough but might not work well.

Eli - are you of the fruitcake lover persuasion? Me too. Inherited in from my DM.

elimar86861

I know it's usually a love it or hate it thing with fruitcake, and I love it. Has IT been linked to cancer yet?

elimar86861

luvmygoats

Eli - You know in the late 60s or early 70s there was a link to almost anything to cancer. It was really stupid things. I wish I could remember some of the things. Maybe canned ripe olives, maraschino cherries? Anyone else remember this.

DH is working this weekend and I have a pkg of fruitcake fruits. Hmm - maybe time to make the fruitcake. I make the little loaf pan sizes and freeze them. Need to look up a good recipe unless YOU have one to share. Sometimes I just buy the little loaf in the grocery. DH thinks fruitcake is just nasty. Lol. In 37 years never seen him eat it.

elimar86861

I never tried to make fruitcake. Rum cake is my thing to make.

Don't want to leave the cat-fanciers out...

The holiday cat scratch injuries are under-reported. That third one appears to be looking for a jugular.

elimar86861

Oh, no, they di-in't!

macatacmv

lol, that little bird!!! how in the world did they get it to hold still for that. And the cats, for sure those people got scratched.

luv, thanks for the info. I googled it. Now I just have to get a tennis ball away from the dog and fix it to a strap. I can do this. I'll tell you how it works.

I am doing a rapid weight loss program, while learning to eat better. We will see how fast it works. I am allowed some veggies, but it is mainly shakes and bars. As long as I'm going virtual I'm gonna have a piece of rum cake, please.

Loral

Eli...what did they do to my bird???

Here's one that doesn't look too Merry!!!

............

Eph3_12

E-Fruit Cake IS cancer!

Valjean

E~ Fan-damn-tastic News!!!! (re: your thinner utie)

A big hello to LizzyinMI. I'm inMI, too, tho up in mid-MI. 

I was thinking of DianaRose the other day. Hope she is spending her time preparing for her BIG day as well. And, maybe planning a way for us gals here, her BFF's (ha-ha), a way for us to order some of her lucious goodies via mail-order!

ETA: I have no fondness for fruitcake. Now, why would I edit this post to say this?? I have no friggin' idea!!!!!

NativeMainer

Great Cheetos snack recipe!!!!!

Happy looking goats!

If stress causes cancer, why doesn't every US President leave office with cancer?They all leave office visibly aged due to the stress. . . .

Lizzy--welcome, and yes, the fear does ease with time.When I finished rads and started on arimidex I didn't feel comfortable planning anything further in advance than a few days.Having a doc's appointment for 3 months out seemed so strange, I mean, what if "IT" came back and I died before then?No problem making an appointment a year out or even further.It does get better. Never goes back the way it was, but it does get bearable and eventually feels kind of "normal" again.

elimar86861

Eph, A great big HA! I take it you aren't a fan of the fruitcake.

Native, I applaud you bringing the President into the equation. Those are type of paradoxes that usually cross my mind. Of course, if the Illuminati docs at Bethesda actually know how to cure cancer, but are keeping it a secret, that might explain things. (It wasn't just the humor gene that got passed along in my family. I got the conspiracy theory gene as well.)

Loral, That dog has a slight pink tinge around his mouth. You just know he bit the hand that stuck that monstrosity on his head.

Newbies, Don't be afraid to jump into our talk of fruitcakes and pet antlers, to air any concerns you might have about Breast Cancer and treatment. We just digress this way when we don't have any pressing B/C needs. O come, all ye Newbies!

Momine

Native, 'xactly! I don't think that being busy and having a lot on your plate can logically be the culprit. It probably has more to do with how you clear and handle stress (if it has anything at all to do with it).

macatacmv

Momine

lol

staynsane

I agree with Eph, fruitcake is disgusting, but probably not as disgusting looking as those Cheeto snacks. When I was a kid, almost every year my Mom would make a fruitcake. But not just your everyday cake with candied fruit and nuts. No. She would marinate the sucker in some kind of booze for a couple of weeks, then just when you would think it would be ready to toss out due to age and the prospect of little moldy patches, she would proudly put it out for consumption.

We were not well-to-do, and to put out a fruitcake was her yearly crowning achievement. We didn't have many other treats, so every year I would take a little piece and try to convince myself that it was good. Shit, I could have become an alcoholic at the tender age of seven, if I squeegeed out the alcohol from even a tiny piece. It was bitter, and just nasty!

But today Mom is gone, and I have fond memories of many years of dissing her favorite holiday tradition. Today's fruitcakes are very bland in comparison, and I've been known to nibble away at the cake and nuts, leaving behind a little stack of candied fruit. But only if no better options are present...

luvmygoats

The Presidency might not cause cancer but it does seem to cause heart disease - Clinton and Bush 43. Can't remember how many others - didn't Eisenhower have heart disease (but then wasn't he rather old for a Pres.) The quite the opposite with Reagan.

Every year the Ft. Worth Star Telegram used to run the most requested recipes. This one was #1. I cannot find it on the ST site but did find it with comments on "Taste of Home". I've never made it but supposed to be a great fruitcake. Maybe I'll make this one Sunday afternoon. I have to make the Cheetos Brittle and Chicken/Black Beans/Rice for Saturday Mexican Food Christmas. I will have to have food police DH monitor my consumption of food/beverages. I think my IBS is acting up though why not with the craziness around here. Time to go eat my prunes.

http://community.tasteofhome.com/community_forums/f/30/p/122868/1742088.aspx#1742088

barsco1963

I am not sure where my love of the fruitcake comes from but I sure do look forward to it every year. There is a lady in town who bakes some every year and sells it. MIL used to buy one (quite a big one) and give us half. DH doesn't care for it and I was a bit disappointed to learn that DS does indeed like it also. Have to share now.

Liking all of the antlered animals too. Can't believe that someone actually got a bird to wear some.

mac - good luck with the food restrictions - especially at this time of year. I have plenty of faith in you though. But like Eli mentioned, it does no good to totally eliminate all treats. It just makes you eat more of them. Keep us posted on how you are doing and feeling.

macatacmv

thanks bars! ha ha love the shortened name. I am drinking mass amounts of water. But of course, today a package came for me and it was the snack of the month club (that my DD signed me up for). Guess what she is getting for Christmas this year? I'm packing it up quickly and sending it off.

I just watched the news and of course there is news breaking from San Antonio where the BC top people are meeting. They are touting the less side effects of arimidex to all high risk bc women. I see many angry women in the future. I know we don't all get the same side effects, and I know the risks of tamoxifen, but the way they say it is like it is a walk in the park. I told my DS someone should wash their mouths out for lying.

Finally am getting out my decorations. New motto for this year, throw out everything that does not work. DO not put it back in the box!!!!!!!

lovewins

Good way to put it about washing their mouths out with soap for lying...I feel that way to when I read about how easy chemotherapy is now in an article.  To myself I have been thinking the medical community really down plays chemo...at least that is how it felt to me.  And it honestly makes my blood boil.  Thanks for letting me know this new drug is not a walk in the park.  I have it written down to discuss with my dr because my boyfriend was so excited today when he told me about it. 

luvmygoats

You would have had to convince me I was in mortal danger to have taken Arimidex pre BC. But I did take Evista pre BC. Have a pretty astute gyn. who did it for the bone building and prob. got some anti-BC benefit from it too. I think I took it at least 2 years maybe 3.

I saw the Arimidex blurb on the news but caught it after it had already started. So the great SABC. The research highlights thread says you can listen to the podcast. I think at the moment I'd rather watch the hockey game.

Loral

Mac...I saw that about Arimidex too, ask the ladies on the Arimidex board if the SE's are a walk in the park...Dr. Nancy Snyderman mentioned no side effects for Arimidex and all the worst ones caused by Tamoxifen. My MO gave me a scrip for Arimidex but decided to keep me on Tamoxifen because of my osteopenia in my hip. I don't quite understand them mentioning the study now.

Anonymous

trying to catch up on reading. Gone a couple days and pages to read.

LOVE the animal photos! Almost wet my pants seeing the bird with antlers. DH looked at me with disgust I was laughing so hard.

Elimar, thanks for the header photo change