humorous (?) cute (?) cancer stories
Okay, I admit, this is a serious game we are in, but through it all, do you have any humorous stories you can share as part of your cancer journey, be it diagnosis, surgery, rads, etc......
I will start it off. My husband is a squeamish kind of guy. He does not like hospitals, kids puking, etc. etc. he starts looking ill himself when confronted by such things. So I was very surprised when he took the whole week off work to help me after my lumpectomy. In fact he made himself 'keeper of my drain' and insisted upon notifying me of the appropriate time and then emptying and measuring the fluid. (Not exactly the most pleasant undertaking ever). So I was very surprised to hear him bragging on the phone and describing the entire procedure to his boss. Turns out he was using it as an excuse to get out of a meeting.
okay, perhaps not humorous depending on your sense of humor, but I thought it was kind of cute.
Comments
-
That's a great! I'm sure my husband has done something similar.
Here's one.
My surgery was on December 23rd. The week before I get a call from my 9-year old daughter who is at school. She wants to know if we can keep Bubbles, the class turtle, for the two week Christmas break. I ask her to put her teacher back on the phone and explain that, due to my surgery, I could not guarantee that Bubbles would come back alive and that we can't do it. We hang up. A few hours later, here comes my daughter walking from the bus stop with a scowl on her face. I apologize to her for her troubles and ask her who had been picked to keep the turtle. She says (I hope I can capture the attitude) "I don't know yet but it's probably someone whose mother doesn't have B-REAST CANCER!"
Poor child. I extended my sympathy and gave her a snack. She did eventually recover.
-
LOL I have a 9 year old daughter so I can really relate.
-
Dear Shockedat,
You did indeed capture the attitude!! Thankyou for sharing!! How did Bubbles do over Christmas?
Lorie, that man is a keeper. And at least he actually did do the drain maintenance.
Really cute stories.
-
I'm happy to report that Bubbles survived and I'm already being hounded for Spring Break. Apparently it's quite a coup to be chosen for this...
-
While in a staff meeting with 30 people earlier this week....my managing partner was discussing things that we should all be doing workwise and said "My new years resolution is, along with growing hair, to....." I interupted and said "Hey, that is my new years resolution too!" Everyone laughed!
I have been wearing a wig since August but chemo finished in November and I am so ready to be done with it!
-
wow, what great stories.
schockedat39 - your sweet daughter, how very touching and cute
everyminute - your boss sounds like mine - today we traded drain stories. He is still amazed at how they just pull the drains out and was so impressed I had two tubes.
I was a little worried when I posted this thread, thinking that some folks would think I was nuts. But looks like there are others out there who think like me! Bravo!!!!!
-
Lorie - I think lots of us try to find humor to get us through the situation. With two little girls and a husband who is 100% supportive in only the way a man can be I am bound to have more stories. I'll do what I can to keep this thread going. I would LOVE to hear others. Laughter is a huge coping mechanism for me!!
-
This is a story I posted a few years ago, while I was going thru chemo...hope you enjoy!
Our family gathered over Christmas. My sister and I went to the grocery store to shop for the meals.
She picked up a large turkey, 25 lbs, great, enough to feed the 17 we had to feed for supper. I noticed the tag said, "may have parts missing". I pointed this out to my sister who wisely noted that it wouldn't matter as it's not "like it would be missing the breast".
To our horror on Christmas day when we unwrapped the turkey it was missing all the skin 0ver the breasts and half of the left breast! We laughed hysterically as that is the same side as my surgery and who would believe that even the Christmas turkey has had such a hard year... -
LMAO, Mary, that is a good one. I'm trying to think of a cute story. Nothing is coming to mind but I'm getting such a kick out of yours.
I'm relieved to hear that Bubbles is doing well
)) Better than that poor turkey for sure. -
I posted this in 2007 after it happened but I will post again. . .
While going through the expansion process after my bilat mast, my ps and I were appealing part of the charges with the insurance company, I was sitting on the table with the drape around me while we discussed the progress (or lack of) with the appeal process. When my ps said 'let's see where we are at size wise', I opened the drape to reveal two Ford Warrior wing removable tattoos in appropriate positions on my foobs at my ps eye level. He just dropped his head and blushed laughing. His assistant was next to the door laughing uncontrollably. He said that I was the first one to 'decorate' my breast mounds. He tried to sober up but every time he looked at me he started laughing again. He said that I couldn't wear the tattoos when I went in for my exchange, but who would want their ps laughing uncontrollably with a scalpel in his hand? they did get picts of the event to put in my folder and he suggested that the pict be blown up to poster size and placed in the lobby.
Sheila
-
Mine is: At friend's home for Thanksgiving. They have a teenage son. I'm very open about talking about the surgery and reconstruction (his mom is a friend and one of my nurses) and after dinner everyone there was very interested and had questions. The teenager was out of the room when I was talking about the tats and the process.
A bit later, everyone was in the kitchen when we were saying goodbye, and the teen piped up with excitement on his face "Hey - I heard you were getting a tattoo!" Everyone went a bit quiet and looked around. I said "Yes, nipple tattoo!" He nearly died of embarrassment! Poor thing!! I'm sure he was thinking how cool that a 50 yo friend of his parents was getting tattooed!! LOL!!
Amy
-
Amy, My son would 'brag' to his navy ship mates that his mom got a 'boob job' and tattoos. They would think that his mom was hip but then tell them it was because of BC.
Sheila
-
LOL! Oh Sheila that is cute! You should get him that shirt that says "My mom fought breast cancer. How tough is your mom?" LOL!!
-
When I was going through the bald stage of tx I had picked up my 3 year grandson at daycare, Heading home, I turned off the highway and he, overcome with exitement yelled "hey, there is a head like yours and it is on a dirl, Grandma!" I said a what??? " a DIRL, Grandma, like you are a dirl". One of my favourites. The other
At my 6 year old grandson's birthday party, (again, I am bald) one little guy looked at me at said, "Do I know you?" I told him he did, that I worked at their school, but hadn't been there for awhile.I also said that when I was there I had hair, but I had had some medicine that made it fall out and it would grow back. He asked the other kids at the table, "if you were sick, would you rather have hair or medicine to make you better?" They went around the table - remember these are 5 and 6 year olds and each one said medicine. Out of the mouths of babes. I still get angel bumps thinking about it.
Cheers HB
-
These stories are all so great!
I will most certainly be repeating the turkey story. That is an absolute riot!!!
-
I want to know where Bubbles goes for March break.
-
Ok, I did not realize my story was funny until, all the ladies in the waiting area started laughing:
While waiting for results of my mamogram, we were all watching tv, they were very busy and, of course there was a tv in the waiting area, and I am siting there with all the other ladies with our gowns on, they are giving a wedding on tv, and after watching the parade I get called, just when the bride is coming out. (I told the girl, wait, the bride is coming out), lol
-
Okay, I finally thought of a cute (not funny) story. When my hair fell out from chemo I did not have a wig (my choice) but I also didn't have any scarves. So I asked friend's for loaners. One of my gf has two children. The older boy gave me his head thing.........there is a name for it which I forget.......but it was his favorite he wore while sailing. And his younger sister gave me one of hers with dogs on it because she knew I liked dogs. I have a rather large head and her's was WAY too small but I just thought it was cute that they weren't horrified by my bald head and wanted to help. I returned both of them at the same time and said how much easier it made things for me having them to wear. I thought it was a lovely gesture and it still warms my heart when I remember.
-
My mother and I really laughed after the fact....But one day, mom was really nauseated, and was was throwing up in her room. (Not funny). I felt so bad for her and sat beside her on the bed and started rubbing her back, nothing else I could do. I thought I was consoling her, but in between heaves she eventually was able to ask "what *blah* did you *blah* eat?!" and "Gross" ......I just finished eating a huge ceasar salad (must have had lots of garlic LOL) I thought I was helping, but my smelly breath just made the whole situation worse!
Boy did we have a giggle afterwards. Sorry, this post is a little TMI maybe.
-
During chemo for original primary in '95, I tried to keep things light for my 4 teenagers, 3 of whom were males. One day I bought a dirty clothes bag which attached to the back of their bedroom door by suction cups. One of the boys got the rather large cups and stuck them on my head, to the delight of the others.
The next day, I had an app't with an Estee Lauder beautician at the local chemist shop, to have a complimentary facial done. Due to living in a small town, I was missing out on the "Look Good, Feel Better" program which, at that time, was only held in the cities. So, feeling like a little pampering the day she rang up to make the offer, I accepted.
I didn't like wearing wigs, so I wore a nice pale blue turban to the shop. After taking me into a very small room - average toilet size, she settled me in and then asked to be excused for a minute. As I lay on the chair, I started to feel very hot under an array of bright lights around the walls, so I removed the turban. When she came back, I apologized to the young woman and explained about my treatment, which then lead to a discussion about the "Look Good, Feel Better" program. Naturally, on completion of the facial and a full make-up session, I bought a couple of items from her.
As soon as I got home, I went to the best mirror in the house to check out the new make-up style and, apart from 2 eyebrows which arched above my eyes like inch worms, I was impressed. Until I turned and saw my bald head.
Uh ohhhh. I had forgotten that it was covered in BIG RED SPOTS. The suction cups the night before had left big HICKEYS all over my scalp. I dissolved into a giggling fit as I imagined that poor girl coming eye to . . . hickeys when she sat behind me to start my facial. I often wonder what she thought as she sat there with a hickey covered bald head facing her as she worked on me that day.
I felt very guilty two weeks later, when I received a phone call from the chemist shop to pick up a parcel which had arrived, addressed to me. When I went to pick it up, I was astonished, and humbled, to find a complimentary pack of Estee Lauder cosmetics had been put together for me by the EL beautician in an effort to make up for the lack of FGLB in our area.
AussieSheila
-
When I was first dx'ed, my boys were 15, 11, and 10. We had just finished telling them I had bc; I told them that we're going to try to laugh through this as much as we can. Well, oldest ds decided to go make some tea. He returned to the room and said, "One lump or two, mum?" (referring to the tea, of course). Our eyes locked for a moment, then we burst out laughing. Lump, indeed!
Even though I ended up finding out I was stage IV just a few weeks after my initial dx, we've tried to keep things as normal as possible around here and that includes laughter. My kids have great senses of humor. It'll be 3 years since my dx in a few weeks. My bald head has inspired countless giggles. I want them to know that I'm still the same kooky mom I was before my dx. The addition of chemobrain just adds to the kookiness sometimes.
)(((HUGS)))
Diane -
Those are beautiful stories Auss and Dianne.
-
Humor is such good medicine!
-
Hello, funny girls!
Sorry to post another story so soon, but the Chemo in January 09 thread made me think of a good one. A few of us are lamenting the obviously well-intentioned folks who LOVE to tell us that our chemo will get worse each time. We're not talking medical people or even other patients, but friends and loved-ones with no connection to breast cancer other than us! We are all in agreement that we could go our lives without hearing the word CUMULATIVE again.
My mother (who has been my rock, my savior and all around nearly perfect - other than this issue) is one such offender. I told my sister that if she said the word cumulative to me one more time I was going to belt her. Fast forward a few days. My sister and her husband have been at my parent's house for dinner. Well according to my sister, mom got a bit...um...tipsy on Chardonnay and started spouting her views on my situation, including the fact that I would get sicker with chemo because the effects were....you guessed it! The problem? She was so hammered she couldn't say it. She kept saying "cumative" and "cumacitive" and "cumlative"...LOL. It is actually so much more satisfying than belting her. I laughed until tears came out of my eyes. I wish I could have been there to see it, but my sister paints a great picture
-
Cumalitive - yah that word sux. For the record - I had dd ac and then dd taxol followed by hysterectomy and now radiation. I have 2 weeks left and I ran 4 nights this week. Only thing cumaltive is the miles I am racking up! :-)
-
Thanks for sharing these stories! They are cute!
I have a funny story, and I have told it before, but I thought I would share it here.
I had a bilateral mast., with delayed reconstruction. My surgeon set up the appt. to include my ps, because he insisted that I have my nipple from my 'good' breast attached to my leg, in the (UGH!) groin area. (I know, TMI!!)
I thought about it a great deal, and finally the day of my mast. arrived. I was sitting in pre-op, waiting for them to take me to surgery. While I was sitting there, a woman, who was also a nurse, was taken in to the OR. Seems SHE also had bc, and she was having breast reconstruction with my ps. They said it would take about 45 minutes. I sat there for awhile, and finally, I got up the courage to tell one of the nurses, "I need to talk to my surgeon." ok... Almost immediately, my surgeon came into the room. I said "We decided.... I'm going to use my husband's nipples!" My surgeon just shook his head, and pointed. The anesthesiologists (there were 2!) put the 'happy juice' in my IV. As I felt it going in, and the other anesthesiologist gave me a numbing block, a shot in my upper back, to numb my chest, I started feel the effects of the IV, and as I fell backward, I heard this LOUD ROAR! They were LAUGHING!!My surgeon tells me that NO ONE at the hospital will ever forget me!!!
-
Speaking of nipples. I had my nipple recon surgery on December 20, 2007 (my 10 anniversary) and when the nurse came in asking me what I was in for that day, I broke into the famous song 'I'm getting nipples for Christmas' she laughed at me. When the anesthesiologist came in to give me the 'happy juice' I was again asked what procedure I was having that day, once again I broke into song 'I'm getting nipples for Christmas!' and once I got into the operating room, the anesthesiologist asked me again what procedure I was having so my ps could hear my wonderful rendition of 'I'm getting nipples for Christmas!' I never did get to the next line due to laughing but I came up with 'my patient husband is glad!'
Sheila
-
too funny!
My dh HATES the word 'nipple', but for a little over a year, that word came up in our daily conversation. I had to wait from 5/2/2007, when I had my bilateral mast, until about 5/22/2008, to get that nipple off my leg!! It was truly gross when the ps first put it there! YICK!!! I told my surgeon the first week or two post surgery, "every day it's a different color!" It was disgusting!
My dh said that he thought it was amazing that they can do something like this. I also think it is wondrous, but at the same time, it was so gross!!
-
I had to ressurect this post to let everyone know that Bubbles (class pet turtle) is staying with us for Spring Break! So far she's been an excellent houseguest and my daughter is very happy.
It makes me feel good to look back on my last post on the subject in January and realize how far I've come since then. I only have one chemo left...it looks like I was just past my 2nd when I posted here last
And of course I have lots more humorous stories to share since then.Hugs to everyone!
Diane
-
I was hurrying into the grocery store the other day and of course, April is cancer month. There was a rather good looking guy standing by all the daffodils trying to get all the ladies to donate. He looked at me and started to open his mouth. I opened my coat, flashed him my flat chest (under a top of course) and said "I already donated my breasts! There was about a 3-second pause and then he hooted in surprise as I passed him. hehehehehhehehe
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team