Happy Hump day!

No, rock.  I saw your post(s) on her FB page, with no response there. Apparently, she doesn't come to the BCO boards anymore; she hasn't logged in since last summer.

I am worried, too.

otter 

Hi gals,

We are back on dry land and trying to get used to the cold weather we came back t!

The weather was great , the boat was awesome, food......way too much, all in all it was a wonderful vacation.They even had a S  G. Komen fundraiser walk that hubby and I went in. I can't remember how many times we circled the boat.    I will try and get some pics up on face book soon.

Eddie thanks for sharing the note from Zach I'm glad he recieved that, maybe one day the other package will arrive with all our notes.   Rock, happy to hear about your crush , hand holding is vey romantic I think, a good way to stay connected.

A totally unrelated subject.....after coming home found out immunizations were happening at school and they were offering the HPV shot containing guardasil to the girls in grade 9. It is supposed to protect against some of the viruses that are prevalent when they get sexually active (and I know daughter isn't there yet and hopefully not for a long time !)    that can cause cervical cancer down the road.   I haven't had any time to research it so said no for now....it's available any time you want it .  I know it is probably as safe as any of the other shots the kids get but this one is so new that you only hear about the bad reactions from it.  Have any of you with teenage girls been offered this and any feedback ? Just want to make the right decision for her.

The weekend is almost here....happy Thursday May ladies !

Hey girls. XXX Can't bear to think about Eyes...fecking thing. Angels, all our schoolgirls had the guardasil shot...maybe...3 years? ago here. Nothing bad reported in Australia. A girl died in England this week but you know how these things are..pre-existing thangs etc...I think it's a good vaccination. ANYTHING to reduce Mr. Cansuh's chansuhs! Sweet about the Cipperleys. The dentist? Well..lets face it..if any of our number had no money to pay the dentist, a surprise check in the mail would be solid gold, so I'm grateful, humbled, relieved and pleased about the outcome. (Not about the package..I loathe thieves!) I've had a rough week but a good one. I've decided to take a Femara holiday..sick to death of killer hot flashes and broken feet and hands. So I'll go off it for a month and then go back on it. My onc ( the big-time one) approved it. He also suggested sleeping tablets 2 nights per week to make certain of 2 good nights sleep, to avoid sleep deprivation, followed by anxiety, followed by exhaustion, followed by depression. Isn't cancer just fecking lovely??? Anyway, at least he is practical. The sun is FINALLY starting to shine in Tasmania, and the wind has disappeared....here's hoping! My house is quiet and full of love tonight. The 16yo stepson had 4 wisdom teeth out this week (in the chair) and I think it has 'made a man of him'. He has even compared notes with me, but not in a Life Victim kind of way. This is good. I have been praying for this change...when all is good with Alex, all is good with the universe. Y'all with teenagers...you know this stuff. I love you. I want Eyes to be ok. I hate this disease. I love the orange fecker of a once-kitten who is hilarious in the loungeroom at the moment. I wish y'all could see him. Especially you, Dana. XXX

Hey all,

Kerry, 

Have you tried aromasin? I was on femara for four months and hated how it made me feel. I switched to aromasin and my onc said any one of the big three AI were fine to take. Aromasin plus swimming made my wincing pain go away. Now, I am doing very, very well and my hot flashes are down to next to nothing. Think it over. Worth an ask anyway. Gonna' go catch the sunset. Two friends were diagnosed with BC this week. Ay caramba.

Can someone PM me Dana's phone number?  I am not very far from her, and dont have access to my list of May 08 Women.  Please, and thank you, but please hurry because I will be on the highway that goes right by her house tomorrow afternoon.

Love you all, more later.   I am on a slight vacation.

Love,

Sue

It's a gorgeous fall day here.  You sort of need a light jacket, but not really if you are in the sun.  I love this time of year.  Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of my last radiation treatment or of any treatment for that matter.  What a difference a year makes.

I hate to hear so many of you with newly diagnosed friends.  That's just not right.

I chatted with Eddie on FB the other evening and I realized how much I feel like I really know all of you.  It's amazing and I am so thankful for all of you wonderful women.  Rock - thanks for thinking of all of us when you were up on that mountain.  That was so sweet.

Sue - let us know if you got to see Dana and we can't wait to hear about a vacation, even if it is "slight".  We'll take whatever kind of relaxing time we can get.

Jen - hope everyone starts to feel better at your house.  Katie has a stuffy head and told me I was talking too loud when we were at the store, but she just can't hear.  I've had the windows open, even at night - just a little bit.  DH turned on the heat, but I keep turning it off.  He needs to put on more clothes.  I love being a little chilly.

Eddie - thanks for sharing the notes from Randie's family.  I'm so glad we could help them out with something practical that they might not have done on their own.  Isn't giving great?

That's what we are trying to get across in our Girl Scout troop.  Each month we are going to collect something to give back to the community instead of dues.  Last month we gave 14 food items to the local food pantry.  This month we are donating socks for our community service project.  All of our girls have all of the latest gadgets, etc. and I just want them to think about others who aren't as fortunate.

Have a great week!

Hugs to all - Julie

Mea culpa, mea culpa, once again.....  My otter and I have been largely horizontal since the port replacement debacle.  More on that later.

Kristy, congratulations to your daughter!  How is work going; still doing 3 jobs for one salary?  When do you start the trial?

Sue, I hope I didn't miss you!  I was at the onc this morning but my phone didn't show a missed call.  My home # is 254-933-2899 and my cell is 254-718-2013.  By the way, the nip is just lovely.  At this point I guess I shall never get to the nip part, but no le hace.

Eddie, thanks for posting the note.  I have to go back further to find out what happened.  You make me want to get some foobs just so I can toss them at truckers.

Kerry, spring has sprung?  (As in, in Texas, anyway, "Spring has sprung, the grass has riz; I wonder where them birdies is?)  Glad you had a peaceful evening with Alex.  Do you mean to tell me that ranga kitty has settled down?  My heart is broken.

Otter, of course we will go with you to all those (*&*^%^^$() follow ups.  I feel like I've done nothing but go to the dr/clinic/chemo/scans for the past month AND IT SUCKS.  And there is a perfectly good reason for those gloomy feelings--don't be so hard on yourself.  And lumps and being sent to ultrasound--that's scary.  You've already had Hallowe'en!  We don't have much real winter, either...except when there'll be 5 days of below zero or it snows on Easter.  But it was 85 on Christmas Day.

Angels, sounds like you had a lovely trip.  You DID take us with you, didn't you?

Chris, we are on our way with shovels (BIG ones).  In the meantime, carry on with Rock's plan.  Did you get the PET results yet?

Julie, I so admire everything you do!  You must be a great girl scout leader, too.

Jen, thank you SO much for the letter!  It was so entertaining and made me feel like I knew so much more about what was going on in your life.  I hope y'all are feeling better.

ROCK!  Love hand holding...*sigh*.  However, I second whoever said we'll shovel him if he hurts you.  In the mean while:  enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...and hold hands.  And watch the stars.  And feel the breeze.  And......

I will try to get to Facebook but probably not today.  It'll take me forever to go back to everything and I'm still a nougat head about how to do stuff.  One thing that's happened is that our lovely wireless internet provider has vastly improved its service by going to WiMax.  In doing so, they've dropped us off the edge of their service so that we only get a signal if it is not cloudy, foggy, windy, still, clear, rainy, dry, Wednesday, Venus is ascendant, etc.  And it is slooooooooooow.  Don't get me started on why we can't get AT&T, Verizon, TimeWarner, Cox, or ANY other broadband internet even though...nevermind.

Then...let me see if I can condense this.  Ummm...there was nausea, upchucking, dry heaves, dehydration, IV rehydration, morphine for the headache from h***, a hurry up brain MRI (which showed there was NOTHING, not even a marble, in there), anemia, skyrocketing liver enzymes which made me miss chemo, Saturday labs, abdominal CTs...and a visit with the onc today.  Turns out Gemzar can give you liver failure; who knew?  Sooooooooooooo...we are stopping the Gemzar and taking a break to let my liver heal (no alcohol...WHAT?).  I'll start on Ixempra on Nov 17, after a PET on Nov 12 AND after we get back from a 10 day trip to Kauai (yes, you'll be in my suitcase).  I'm still working my way down into my wonderful basket...thank you all, again.  Noelle, I may wait to do the chapeau photo, as Ixempra does make you lose your hair.  Anyhoo, if Ixempra fails he'll send me to San Antonio for clinical trials, but that would be next year sometime.  And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

That wasn't very condensed, was it?

I am sorry for leaving you informationless.  I haven't answered my email for a month, either!  I'll try to briefly (HA) repeat on FB since I'm not sure who/how often people post here.  But this was the first place I wanted to come.  To my sisters.

Much love to all, even if I left you out of my post.  The brain fog is pervasive.

dana

Dana , welcome back!

Thanks for the update...so sorry you had to go through all that , I hope the Ixempra makes it easier for you.

Glad you are getting away on a trip to Kauai hopefully you can rest and rejuvinate .  I hope your suitcase is big as there might be a few stowaways!  

Dana - Reading your post made my crappy day better - but sorry to hear about your crappy days   Sounds like a much-needed break in many ways...I can already taste that Kona coffee!  Have not heard my PET scan results - obviously, I need to call someone...I'm going with the "no news is good news" theory.

In honor of all bodily functions and less-than neighborly behaviors, here's today's quote from Larry, the Cable Guy:

"Support bacteria.  That's the only culture some people have."

TAWANDA!!!

So good to log on and see Eyes' post.  I'm still chuckling at "nougat head" . . . though in truth, you had me at "spring has sprung/the grass is riz."  Not being from Texas, that was new to me.

Boo gemzar for messing with your liver and forcing you to stick to virgin fruity drinks when you're in Kauai.  But who really needs alcohol, as long as they give you one of those cute little umbrellas?  Seriously, I hope this drug holiday gets you feeling better and that Ixempra* is easier on you.

Okay,, . new photo...I look distressed because I am not sure what to do with this HAIR. Ideas?

dana.

dana, dana, dana, dana.

chuck-a, chuck-a, chuck-a.  

missed you.

when my dad had his emergency craniotomy they did these brain scans.  One batch was taken when a contrast dye was coursing through his veins, a second batch when there was no dye.  Anyway, the iimages were labelled "John Smith: Cerebral cortex-- with." "John Smith: Cerebral cortex-- without." 

"Ixempra", eh.  Okay, I do like it better than Gemzar based on the name alone. It kind of sounds like one of those goddess-y drugs.  You know, "I am "Ixempra and I have come to [some airy-faerie verb here] your cancer.  case in point:

Kerry!  Kerry, look up from the pit of despair!  See us all standing looking down at you and wishing we could help? Could you climb up here and give us a hug or twenty? Seriously I hope you feel better.  Did you STOP taking Femara? I can't remember. (Chemobrain survives)...

("He's holding my hand, Oh, God, {insert name of heartthrob} is holding my hand!!!)

Eddie, I have THE SAME HAIR!!!!  Don't know what to do with it.  Keeping it short for now, because I, um, don't know what to do with it.

ROCK!! When are you coming to AMERICA!?!?!?

Love you all,

Sue