Sisterhood of the Secret Handshake

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  • BooBee
    BooBee Member Posts: 860
    edited November 2009

    I found these tonight doing some research on products for hot flashes.  They may work well if you put them in the freezer. Cheep.  Has anyone heard about the pillows that help with night sweats?

    http://www.sparklingearth.com/products.asp?category=100034

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  • Rachel_BC
    Rachel_BC Member Posts: 1,386
    edited November 2009

    smithime- WELCOME :)  LOVE your t shirt!

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  • AllieM22
    AllieM22 Member Posts: 464
    edited November 2009

    Hi ladiiiies!! I'm back from weekend in Seattle and too much traveling before that and happy to be here on this new, groovy thread!!  :)

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  • j414
    j414 Member Posts: 321
    edited November 2009

    Rachel, so glad you did this and thank you for the invite!  I was following the drama on the other thread - I was afraid to post!   

    No Halloween candy for me. Last year everyone brought their extras to work (and I ate most of it), but this year not even a single kit kat was to be found.  And I was really looking forward to something chocolate with my morning coffee, so tonight I stopped off at whole foods and bought a cupcake. In my twisted little mind I really do believe the "whole foods" cupcake is a healthy option!

    Kari, I'm not a mean person, but I would have yelled at germ girl. Really, so inconsiderate. I'm a slight germaphobe - I wash my hands the second I hit my firm and touch everything with paper towel until I get in my office, which I essentially spritz down with bleach a couple of times a week - office doorhandle/ keyboard/mouse/phone - are spanking clean. And I almost never get on a crowded train - I will stand on the platform for 30 minutes, let five trains pass b/f I will crush into a crowded train and let someone breath (or heaven forbid, sneeze) on me.  And you know what? I rarely get sick since I started this protocol. Five years ago I got the vomiting stomach flu three times in a single year and that's when I became hypersentivive about germs. Germ avoidance works. And I have already put the word out on my floor at work: if anyone knowingly comes to work w/ flu like symptoms and I get the flu, I'm going to file a formal complaint with HR!!!  

    Been on tamox 13 weeks and still no hotflash, only an extra period and some wicked cramps.  My doctor said "most women" are extensive or intermediate metabolizers and he's not concerned about the lack of SEs. I'm taking the metabolizer test in a couple of weeks - hopefully I will be a good metabolizer with no hotflashes!   

    And Helena I love your pics!

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  • Makratz
    Makratz Member Posts: 12,678
    edited November 2009

    Renee, I have heard about those pillows and would love to know you what others who have used them think.  I have never used them, but would if they worked.  I think I need sheets to match!!

    Yes, Rachel, I would definitely cheer for the Mets!

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2009

    I think I am about middle of row 6 - it's starting to get long enough to be wild looking if I don't tame it down a little.

    J4 - I am with you - I have already told all of my co-workers who sit near me that if ANYONE comes in knowingly sick, I will report them to HR and then I will go home if they don't.  I've told that to HR too.  And yes, no matter what it is, if it comes from Whole Foods, it's gotta be good (that's my little twisted mentality too - helps justify a lot of purchases from there!).

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  • lbrewer
    lbrewer Member Posts: 766
    edited November 2009

    Great idea Rachel!

    Passing this along:

    Please tell ten friends to tell ten today!

    The Breast Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people to click on their site daily to meet their quota of donating at least one free mammogram a day to an underprivileged woman.

    It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on 'donating a mammogram' -- for free (pink window in the middle).   This does not cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate a mammogram in exchange for advertising.

    Here's the web site!  Please pass it along to people you know.    
    http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/
     My hair needs coloring again.  My roots are showing.  :)

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited November 2009

    Can I join your group?   There are 5 of us from chemo who get together once a month or so and another group of gals from the Northern Virginia thread, whose pics are on the thread.   If a new person shows up, we can introduce her to the handshake.   

    Hugs for all,   Nancy 

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  • pclarky
    pclarky Member Posts: 37
    edited November 2009

    Hello -

    Hope you don't mind me joinin' in - not a frequent poster, but a devoted reader!  Too weird for me over there, now.

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  • ktym
    ktym Member Posts: 2,637
    edited November 2009

    I never thought of calling HR if people come in knowingly sick.  That is a great idea

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited November 2009

    lbrewer, thanks for posting the link to the site.  I used to link to the Animal Rescue Site and visit everyday from there, but I lost the link in the last computer switch.  Now I can add that back to my daily to do list.

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  • Rachel_BC
    Rachel_BC Member Posts: 1,386
    edited November 2009

    Allie- Yeah Baby Groovy!  I am SO into the Austin Powers thing (plus I grew up in the 60s, well I guess all of us did... )

    j414- we def gotta hang ... germophobes R us... I LOVE the winter because I can wear GLOVES... everywhere.  Especially the subway.  I buy them at the holiday market, fun velvet gloves.  I do the whole ritual in washrooms, use a paper towel to turn on the water, wash hands, use a towel to touch everything- and when I leave I use the paper towel to open the door, and i am really p'o'ed if there's no trash can near enough the door when I leave, if there isnt, I make my best basketball shot to get the towel in the nearest trash bin, and if not, throw it behind the door thinking they should know better! At RADs I wore my gloves and it got to be a fun thing with the techs, they'd comment on the day's gloves.  One time a woman came in and was really scared and also cold.  I brought out my collection of freshly washed gloves, she selected a gold velvet pair I think and went for her RADs.  That made me feel good.

    Lefty!  Good to see you here!!! Thank you for coming.  I been reading your posts for a long time :)  WELCOME.

    Gosh I am just lovin this... OK gotta put all the ingredients for the chick pea soup on my shopping list...

    lbrewer COME BACK TO THE CITY BABE.  I need a color too, and a cut, but lemme know when you might be back and I will wait til then. 

    chelev- good luck to us today...  

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  • Rachel_BC
    Rachel_BC Member Posts: 1,386
    edited November 2009

    Estepp- its WAHOOO not YAHOO, right?  And was this secret handshake around before Mary and I thought it up in the parking lot?  Makes sense actually... :D

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  • Rachel_BC
    Rachel_BC Member Posts: 1,386
    edited November 2009

    and hmmm- welcome!!!!  

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  • prayrv
    prayrv Member Posts: 941
    edited November 2009

    Thanks for the invite Rachel - I hadn't seen the secret handshake.  Hilarious!

    Linda - You changed your avatar - awesome pic!

    Back to work - I'll check ya'll later

    Hugs,

    Trish

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  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 5,056
    edited November 2009

    Thanks for accepting me in your group.   I am going to try the soup and add a bit of garlic or did my old eyes miss it as an ingredient?    Rarely do I host any meals at my apartment, but I am the designated "bringer" of something when invited out -  chick pea dip with ... adding a bit of avocado?    Any thoughts on it ?   

    Time to go vote - big governor race going on here.    

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  • cparandjuk
    cparandjuk Member Posts: 33
    edited November 2009

    With all our concern over weight, I thought you all would enjoy the following...Smile

    Recently, in a large French city, a poster featuring a young, thin and tan woman appeared in the window of a gym. It said:

    THIS SUMMER DO YOU WANT TO BE A MERMAID OR A WHALE?

    A middle aged woman, whose physical characteristics did not match those of the woman on the poster, responded publicly to the question posed by
    the gym.

    To Whom It May Concern:

    Whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, sea lions, curious humans). They have an active sex life, they get pregnant and have
    adorable baby whales. They have a wonderful time with dolphins stuffing themselves with shrimp. They play and swim in the seas, seeing
    wonderful places like Patagonia, the Bering Sea and the coral reefs of Polynesia. Whales are wonderful singers and have even recorded CDs.
    They are incredible creatures and virtually have no predators other than humans. They are loved, protected and admired by almost everyone in the
    world.

    Mermaids don't exist. If they did exist, they would be lining up outside the offices of Argentinean psychoanalysts due to identity
    crisis. Fish or human? They don't have a sex life because they kill men who get close to them not to mention how could they have sex?
    Therefore they don't have kids either. Not to mention who wants to get close to a girl whose skin is all scaly and smells like a fish store?

    The choice is perfectly clear to me... I want to be a whale.

    P.S. We are in an age when media puts into our heads the idea that only skinny people are beautiful, but I prefer to enjoy an ice cream with my
    grandkids, a good dinner with a man who makes me shiver and a latte with my friends. With time, we gain weight because we accumulate so much
    information and wisdom in our heads that when there is no more room, it distributes out to the rest of our bodies. So we aren't heavy, we are
    enormously cultured, educated and happy. Beginning today, when I look at my butt in the mirror I will think, "Good gosh, look how smart I am"!

    Rachel, thanks for the pic of the secret handshake.  Love it!

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  • AllieM22
    AllieM22 Member Posts: 464
    edited November 2009

    cparandjuk--so great!! :)

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  • AllieM22
    AllieM22 Member Posts: 464
    edited November 2009
    also--Rachel--hope it goes well today--let us know...
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  • ktym
    ktym Member Posts: 2,637
    edited November 2009

    cpar, love it, thinking how smart I am right now

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  • smithlme
    smithlme Member Posts: 1,322
    edited November 2009

    Thanks for the invite Rachel. I'll repost my question now that I'm "official!" If I don't have breasts, boobs, foobs and don't wear fake ones, can I still be here? I have nothing to "shake!"

     I love the hair photos. I'm a little over 2 years past chemo, but I can remember those days all too clearly. I never thought it would grow back, now all I do is complain that it grows too fast and I have to color it often! But I've decided to keep the hair!  Chemo did a number on the color, my nails, eye brows, neuropathy in my left toes...

     And I'm with you cparandjuk...I'd rather be a happy whale!

    Linda

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  • kfinnigan
    kfinnigan Member Posts: 1,729
    edited November 2009

    Rachel and Chelev, good luck today!

    cpara - I want to be a whale toooooooooooo!!!!!!!!

    Leggy & Allie, Hi'ya!!  So happy to see you here....I was getting really ticked on the other thread, now all sweetie pie happy faced again.  ahhhhhhhhh.... 

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  • hmm
    hmm Member Posts: 2,183
    edited November 2009

    Rachel,

    Thanks for the "welcome"................. love the humor here!!!

    Pat :)

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  • kfinnigan
    kfinnigan Member Posts: 1,729
    edited November 2009

    LittleRed, I forgot everything from the previous page...I have Raynaud's too, but not as bad as you.  I have to carry a sweater everywhere cause if I get cold the blood goes from the middle finger first then progresses and its painful and I gross people out...mostly myself! LOL  But the Taxol chemo left some minor neuropathy in my left toes and fingers, not too bad but if I push it during the day, its worse at night.   

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  • lisa-e
    lisa-e Member Posts: 819
    edited November 2009
    Linda, I don't think this thread discriminates on the basis  of boobs, foob, forms or lack there of.  If it does, then I don't belong here either.   No worries . . .  Cool
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  • Joyce-PA
    Joyce-PA Member Posts: 122
    edited November 2009

    Hi Rachel,

     Thanks for the invite.  Will be checking in.

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  • Rachel_BC
    Rachel_BC Member Posts: 1,386
    edited November 2009

    quickies- 

    1- PIMPLE!!!!  Not even bothered to do US :)  I apologized for wasting her time and asked if there was any thing I could use myself to determine if I need to be checked and she said just get your ass in here.  :)  No charge either.  WOOHOO

    2- smith and all The secret handshake does NOT require the presence of boobs, foobs, etc... it is a gesture... which reminds me of a joke to make the point - (some of you have heard/read this before) A man wins big gambling and buys himself alligator boots.  He comes home and announces his winnings and asks his wife if she notices anything different.  No.  So the man goes to their room, disrobes completely save for the alligator boots and returns to his wife.  "Now" he says, "do you notice anything different?"  She eyes him up and down and says dismissively, "Same husband, same little thing hanging down between his legs."  Enraged, he retorts, "Its not hanging, its POINTING to my new alligator boots!"  "Schmuck," she replies, "You shoulda bought an alligator HAT!"  So... the secret handshake is just sort of pointing to the general area that brought us here.  And of course you have something to shake and shimmy... they have to leave you your ass, so you can always shake that!

    3-  I bought all the ingredients to make chick pea soup.  News at 11.

    4- In like to check out a woman was wearing a jaunty newsboy cap and had very little hair.  I was reaching in front of her to check out the calories on a bag of vegetable potato chips. Then I noticed. A moment later her friend called her to come join her in front of me in line.  It occurred to me then that maybe this wasn't a style statement, maybe she was a chemo patient growing out.  So now I am kicking myself, if I had seen she was a chemo patient I woulda asked her to  get in front of me anyway.  But was she a chemo patient?  How awful would it be to ask someone if they were a chemo patient when they were NOT?!?  That could start a fight.  So I was trying to see if she had eyebrows and eyelashes but now she is in front of me and I'm trying to catch a glimpse without her thinking I was giving her crap for getting in front of me or some other weirdo thing.  I want to quietly say "Chemo?" in a way she could catch if she wanted and ignore if she didn't.  Then I am thinking, what would I say?  I know now from hanging with the Hair girls that no one wants to hear "You look great".  I wanted to like, flash my bad boob or pick up my hair and say "Oncotyped out"... then they called her next and my register was an aisle away and there was nothing I could do that would be even slightly cool.   What could I have done that would have been nicer and let her know that she looked so good that I couldn't even be sure her look wasn't intentional? (Remember I live in NYC and downtown, where everyone looks strange and yes people do shave their hair and eyebrows as a fashion statement).  

    OK I said I'd be quick and now going to run outside and see if I can catch my kid playing with the nanny in the nice weather.

    COME ON CHELEV... !!!!  What'd they say?

    (yeah you know what its like when you have some small thing checked out... you dont know if your day will be anything normal or that whole personal 9/11 scenario again...)

    Damn the kid just came in but he had a great time playing outside :) 

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  • Ainm
    Ainm Member Posts: 781
    edited November 2009

    Aaargh... I just finished a post and my Internet connection went down before I had time to post.  I'll never remember everything I had said!!

    Well first of all what have I missed?? What are chevel and rachel up to?? 

    All this talk of chickpea soup got me in soup mood but there were no chickpeas in the pantry so I just made a thick veg soup -- yum!!  Went for a walk in the wind and rain and got soaked and then called to mum - it was lovely and warm in her house!!

    I just love that stages of hair growth poster.  It should be produced and distributed to us chemo girls so that we could have it on the wall like those height charts we have for the kids!!  I'm about row 5 at the moment (21 weeks PFC).

    cpar - I'm thinking I must be one of the most intelligent people on this thread!!! LOL.

    Hugs to all.

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  • hrf
    hrf Member Posts: 3,225
    edited November 2009

    This is a fun place to be. I love reading everyone's posts. Maybe one day we'll even plan an event where we actually meet each other in person.

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  • kfinnigan
    kfinnigan Member Posts: 1,729
    edited November 2009

    Rachel, that same scenario has happened to me 3 times now where I've wanted to approach the gal and played the 'what if' game too...and then never said anything... one time was when I had my wig on during chemo and was out browsing and saw this gal who clearly had no hair, eyebrows, lashes, but she never made eye contact...so I came back to work and told my coworker that I wish I'd have said something and she suggested I walk by the gal and say "cancer? yeah me too..."  But what if it wasn't cancer?  That would suck if I said that!!  so I kept quiet...and wondered...

    AND THANK goodness it was just a pimple!!!!!!!!!!  Now waiting for Chelev... 

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