Life does not end with a stage IV diagnosis (really!)

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  • KiwiCatMom
    KiwiCatMom Member Posts: 2,553
    edited September 2015

    Macy - a Lions game perchance? When I lived in Detroit, we had season tickets to the Lions and the Red Wings. Both were awful teams at the time, so tickets were cheap. I've been a Lions and Wings fan ever since. People think being a Lions fan is crazy, but it's good to be a Lions fan. They seldom win, and I know that, so I'm rarely disappointed, and once in a while, I'm pleasantly surprised. :) They're doing some NFL all star type games here in March next year and I'm hoping to go. I'm a football and hockey nut.

    Have fun at the game!

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited September 2015
    Not a football fan (I will admit, I don't understand the game at all), but happy you're all enjoying it.
    School is in full swing and my plate is overflowing. I think I fall more in love with teaching every year and the sense of purpose it gives me is intensely fulfilling.
    On the home scene, and without revealing details, as I'm sworn to secrecy right now, I'm going to be a grandmother again!! I am beyond thrilled. My granddaughter has been the best medicine and I can't wait for the next "dose".
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  • Wendy3
    Wendy3 Member Posts: 1,012
    edited September 2015

    exbrnxgrl congratulations on the grandchild I am so envious. My children are 17 17 and 20, so I have a while to wait. I just hope I make it. That is the best medicine I would have to agree. Have a lovely sleep ladies .

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited September 2015
    Thank you, Wendy. My daughter found out several days after my dx that she was pregnant. That really sustained me through the initial, difficult months. I'm doing well now, but this newest grand baby on the way makes everything sweeter.
    My girls are 25 and 31, so older than your children, but to be honest, when I was dx'ed I seriously doubted I'd be here and thriving for over 4 years. You never know what lies ahead and with continuing advances in tx, anything is possible.
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  • KiwiCatMom
    KiwiCatMom Member Posts: 2,553
    edited September 2015

    Congratulations, Caryn!

    And...we have bought a house! It's quite colourful, which suits us because I love to paint and decorate, and the valuation report said that updating would "add substantial value", which is what we hoped for.

    http://www.realestate.co.nz/2484385

    It actually looks better in person than the pictures. And we got it for substantially less than the asking price. We move in late November, can't wait!

    Hugs to all,

    Terre

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  • DivineMrsM
    DivineMrsM Member Posts: 9,620
    edited September 2015

    Kiwi, Steelers can suck sometimes, too. Lol. Dh and I often yelling at the TV screen.

    Your house has great "bones" as they say. Love the style and all the windows and doors letting in light. I can see all the potential; our house was a handman's special years ago and we've turned it into a really nice place. When it comes to painting, I hate doing it but love the results, one of the least expensive ways to update yet so transforming.

    Exbrnxrgrl, what wonderful news of a new grandbaby on the way. Excitedfor you.

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  • 50sgirl
    50sgirl Member Posts: 2,527
    edited September 2015

    WOOHOO for the house, Terre. It is so exciting. The house looks beautiful, and the land is gorgeous. It looks you will several kinds of trees. Now you have packing to do because November will be here before you know it. Congratulations!

    Lynne

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  • GG27
    GG27 Member Posts: 2,128
    edited September 2015

    Terre, the house looks fantastic! So much potential to make it your own.

    Caryn, congrats,

    It's almost 5 am, I can't sleep... Hate it when I can't get back to sleep. My infusion is in the morning. Gonna try a book. Hope everyone is ok. De

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  • Lynnwood1960
    Lynnwood1960 Member Posts: 1,284
    edited September 2015

    Wow! Congratulations Caryn! Babies just make everything in life better!! I hope one day to be a grandmother but it is not looking like it will happen soon. Congratulations to Terre also on your new house!! Very exciting to have a new place to decorate and make your own. It looks beautiful and I wish you much happiness there

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  • Nel138281
    Nel138281 Member Posts: 2,124
    edited September 2015

    Caryn - congratulations on the new baby. I can't wait and certainly hope I will be here, but my kids are 17 and 21, so as much as I would like to be a grandmother, I can wait a very long time!

    Terre - Congratulations on the house,very exciting

    All continuing to live and move forward after stage 4 dx. I am having new floors and carpeting installed in my condo this week (hopefully they are done today) but that is another story. Very excited about how they look so far. I am going to be happy in my home for the months, hopefully years that I will continue to be here. Hence the floors!

    Be well

    nel

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  • Texasrose53
    Texasrose53 Member Posts: 354
    edited September 2015

    CT scan showed NED! It is a good day! Praise The Lord! I am Stage IV and life is not ending!!

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  • Xavo
    Xavo Member Posts: 364
    edited September 2015

    Terre, so happy for you! Wish you much happiness in your new home!

    Congrats to Caryn and Rose!

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  • Shutterbug73
    Shutterbug73 Member Posts: 791
    edited September 2015

    Congratulations Caryn! Loved the second "dose" comment. Made me giggle.

    Terre - so glad to see you got the house! Wowzers! Can we all come hang out on your new back porch? Looks like it is big enough for us all! I'll bring drinks ;). Oh, and I forgot that you had mentioned one living in the Detroit area. No wonder you know what a Yooper is!

    Hearty congrats you you also Texasrose! Good news is always cause for celebration. I'll raise a glass to you on Terre's new porch!

    Nel - we are going to need pictures of the new floors. I've been wanting to do that for some time, but Ican't make a decision, although anything would be better than what we have!

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  • Lynnwood1960
    Lynnwood1960 Member Posts: 1,284
    edited September 2015

    Texasrose, GREAT news for you! Do something special and celebrate

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  • Wendy3
    Wendy3 Member Posts: 1,012
    edited September 2015

    Kiwicatmom congrats on the house it's beautiful , lots of potential there. Love the cabbage tree in the yard. I spent two weeks in New Zealand back in 2001 (long time ago) and absolutely fell in love with the place. Lucky you.

    Texasrose53 that's is great news stage IV is not the end at least I keep telling myself that , then I read your post and it's TRUE!



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  • KiwiCatMom
    KiwiCatMom Member Posts: 2,553
    edited September 2015

    Texasrose - YIPPIEEEEE!!!!! So happy for you!

    Thanks for the warm wishes everyone. I have moments where I think I've lost the plot, buying a house. Wendy - NZ is a magical place.

    And everyone is welcome to hang on the porch. It is huge and actually nicer than it looks in the pictures. The orange bedroom is, however, that orange. :)

    The sun is shining and the kittens are being goofballs, so it's a good day.

    Hugs to all,

    Terre

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  • exbrnxgrl
    exbrnxgrl Member Posts: 12,424
    edited September 2015
    Terre,
    I love the house. Thank you for the "tour" and congratulations. The surrounding land looks bucolic (actually, I just wanted to use the word bucolic😉). My you enjoy it and have lots of wonderful times there.
    Caryn
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  • Texasrose53
    Texasrose53 Member Posts: 354
    edited September 2015

    Terre, Thank you! And I will add to my bucket list to come to your new home and sit on your porch!

    Wendy3...yes it is possible! Keep the positive attitude! It really does make a difference!

    Shutterbug7..drinks on Terr's porch sounds awesome! Started early and having one on my back porch now! Thinking about all of you!

    Lynnwood96, Celebrating the day! Went shopping and bought myself a few new outfits! Hadn't bought myself anything in a long time! One of my BFF's brought me a bottle of champagne! We are enjoying it this evening!

    Thanks again to all for the Congrats! Praying that all can get to NED! And that Scientists find a cure for this horrible disease!

    Julie

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  • LynnMM
    LynnMM Member Posts: 4
    edited September 2015

    Hi everyone:

    I was diagnosed with Stage IV in January 2013. So far, other than having some nasty SEs after being on Xeloda for quite some months - when my body was pretty emphatic, shall we say, about not having it in my system - my life has been pretty normal other than dealing with the anxiety/depression side of it. I kept up with a fairly high pressure job as a public servant, and travelled to the UK, Spain and Italy. Now I've decided to take time off work while I do Taxol. I'm lucky to have insurance, and I figure the best way to keep my spirits up is to do everything I can to make myself as healthy as possible, and to spend time with the people and pets I love, rather than my desk and Blackberry.

    So for the newly diagnosed, it's certainly possible to live normally at least some of the time!

    I'm going through a bit of a panic phase as my onco thinks I may no longer be ER+, as I'm either not responding to co exemestane or, if I'm lucky, just not responding as fast as he would like. Up till now, he's always been the soul of optimism, so this has been a shock and I'm reeling a bit. But one thing I keep telling myself is that there is a whole new wave of immunotherapy drugs potentially on the horizon and, aside from that, other drugs coming onto the market. So the longer we can keep going, the more therapies there will be out there to try.

    Up till now, I've tended to avoid these boards - I guess trying not to think too much about the cancer. My first post was yesterday. And I'm realizing how much knowledge and inspiration is out there. I hope I can be as brave as all of you out there who are experienced posters have been

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  • KiwiCatMom
    KiwiCatMom Member Posts: 2,553
    edited September 2015

    LynnMM - welcome to the thread. Sending you hugs and good wishes. Glad you're able to take some time off and focus on important things. I have a high pressure job too, and it can take its toll. But I've backed off, am taking weekends off, and haven't checked my email since Friday (it's Sunday here). So good for you.

    I wouldn't say it's bravery that keeps me going. Instead, it's a choice - I can live in fear and depression (quite easily - rather natural state for me) or I can look forward with hope and just keep on keeping on. And there is a whole new wave of drugs coming alone.

    On an somewhat related/unrelated note, a colleague of mine was diagnosed with mesothelomia (that's not spelled right, but you know what I mean). Typically diagnosis to death is less than a year; it's right up there with pancreatic cancer. Anyway, he went to London and had a very new procedure where they basically flush out the chest (mesothelomia is on the outside of the lungs and in the chest wall). He's now cancer free. NED! And he's started on immunotherapy and his prognosis is excellent. I know it's not BC, but shows how far things have come - a friend of mine's dad was diagnosed with mesothelomia about 2.5 years ago and was basically given pain relief and sent home because there was no treatment. So things are moving fast!

    Sending hugs to all,

    Terre


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  • artistatheart
    artistatheart Member Posts: 2,176
    edited September 2015

    Good for you Terre, I know that is easier said than done. I too am a more natural doom and gloom person, but I have found that the bouts of heavy anxiety only serve to shoot stress hormones through my body and make me miserable. I too hang very high hopes on new treatments coming out just as we need them to keep on keeping on. Thanks for the sunny outlook!

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  • GatorGal
    GatorGal Member Posts: 2,550
    edited September 2015

    Congratulations are in order! Wow, so much good news! Caryn, I love hearing you talk about how much you love teaching. I think your children are blessed to have you as their teacher. Their parents probably request you for the children! Congratulations on the grandbaby news. My daughter is having her first, a girl, in late January. She has two stepchildren (a 6th grade daughter and 10th grade son) and is looking forward to the baby very much! Delilah Raven will be #5 for me. Can you tell my daughter is a ravens fan??

    Julie, oh, I am so happy for you. Such wonderful news from your scan! Hope you and NED have a very long relationship!

    Terre, your new house looks like such a fun project! I hope you will share pictures as you go along. It has lots of character and I can just imagine how much you will love turning it into "your" home.

    And Lynn, welcome. I think there are many of us who spent time lurking on the threads before we finally found our fingers typing away! Good to have you here! And yes, there are many new treatments coming along. We all hope to be here a long time to give some of them a go!! Glenna

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  • Wendy3
    Wendy3 Member Posts: 1,012
    edited September 2015

    So much good news on a lot of fronts this is so encouraging. I started my morning with a panic attack blood in stool..nothing makes me more freaked then that. I don't care if they told me CT scan was clear I still think I am riddled with cancer. The CT scan was two months ago....

    It's so hard to stay happy sometimes it's a constant monkey on your back...

    Sometimes I just can't find the strength to be positive...

    Sorry I'm kind of a bummer today

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  • Wendy3
    Wendy3 Member Posts: 1,012
    edited September 2015

    Now would be a good day to do something really fun

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  • Lynnwood1960
    Lynnwood1960 Member Posts: 1,284
    edited September 2015

    Wendy, is the blood is bright red and around the edges of the stool, chances are that is a sign of hemmoroids. If the blood is dark and mixed through the stool, I would consult your doctor. Hang in there! Many of our treatments cause some bowel issues

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  • Wendy3
    Wendy3 Member Posts: 1,012
    edited September 2015

    Thanks Lynn , funny how your fears can make you seem so foolish and over paranoid . Bright pink so I may be okay for now....

    I'm making myself sicker with the worry

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  • artistatheart
    artistatheart Member Posts: 2,176
    edited September 2015

    Wendy, I know exactly how you are feeling as I found myself doing the same thing. I am about 6 weeks out from Dx and am SLOWLY coming around to fighting those gloom and doom thoughts with everything in my arsenal. I get so much great advice from this site and anywhere else I can. I have such a better day and feel physically stronger when I convince myself to feel the calm. The fear will always be there but when I try hard enough I can usually push it back and have a pretty good day. I do not want to waste one day feeling sad and miserable. Staying busy and taking care of myself helps tremendously. I am not always 100% successful but it gets a little easier every day.

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  • KiwiCatMom
    KiwiCatMom Member Posts: 2,553
    edited September 2015

    Hi all,

    Wendy - I totally get it - have the same issue. Mine is largely due to irritable bowel stuff, which is a result of the pain meds. Some days I feel like the old woman who swallowed a fly. And Lynwood is right. I had mine checked (another story altogether which is quite funny) and all was well. It's hard not to freak out over every little or big thing.

    Artist - you're doing amazingly well - six weeks! Wow! You go girl. You're right; the fear is always there, but it does get easier with time and once you get your mind into a space where you see fear versus happiness as a choice, it makes it even easier. Not that I don't have crap days.

    Hugs to all,

    Terre

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  • artistatheart
    artistatheart Member Posts: 2,176
    edited September 2015

    Thanks Terre, I am only maintaining because of all the help here really. It is like another full time job! I'm hanging in there but wonder what my state will be with the first bad news that comes along. Trying to remain positive until then and bracing the fortress!

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  • KiwiCatMom
    KiwiCatMom Member Posts: 2,553
    edited September 2015

    artist - got some good advice from someone; they said, "be PRO - Pragmatic, realistic, and optimistic." It's what I try for.

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