Here's what cheezed me off today

O MY thank you for this thread.  I was just talking with someone, I talk to everyday, have sent care packages to when they were low on food, listen to, read books they recommend, try to be supportive, and this person told me they did not have the energy to help me emotionally with my bc when I got diagnosed, and tonight when for the first time in two weeks we were discussing something besides their interests, (my other friend's suicidal daughter) I started to get lectured about being a downer, so I said thanks for the reminder to marvel and keep looking up, lets change the subject, what do you want to talk about, they went on and on and on about how selfish and negative I am.  So I said I am sorry I cant keep letting you bully me this way and left, they were shouting how dare you say that to me, I am just telling the truth etc.  Then i was fearful and very anxious about having hurt  their feelings and left them in the lurch but now I am so glad I came here instead of trying to make them feel better after that.  I really need to stop talking to this person at all.  They are unemployed, and basically a hermit living with mom.  I feel sick most days from my medicines, I am constantly busy, exercizing fixing healthy organic meals for my family, serving in organizations, and I need to have reciprocal friends.  Thank goodness for acupuncture its very helpful for restoring my good feelings and energy.  Just as I am taking in nourishing wholesome foods I need to take in wholesome conversations.  Thanks ladies God be with you Good luck with treatment!!

So... if he died before he was diagnosed how did she know he had cancer?

Must have been the great attitude that gave him away.

Leah

It was a beautiful day so my friend and I went to our favorite garden store to walk around. All went well until I used the restroom. They had some sort of perfumed "deoderizer" that instantly gave me the one-sided headache that some perfumes do. The headache got worse and worse until we decided I had to get home. I don't know why stores use that highly perfumed stuff in bathrooms. Sometimes I just can't hold my breath until I'm done. We did tell the checkout clerk why we were leaving and she promised to report it to management.

Welcome to my world !

Why have we banned smoking from so many public places, but still have these insensitive ppl wityh heavy perfumes and colognes allowed to come sit in out breathing space ?
I hate it !

I worked for a health organization for a while. They had an absolute rule of no perfume. Their reasoning was it didn't make sense to treat asthma while wearing something that might cause an attack. Needless to say, I loved that rule.

purple32, good for you for switching doctors.  I hope they know why you did.  I think after that visit was over you should have told him, Well, my insurance company is no longer going to accommodate you!

Speaking of insurance... so here is my cheeze.  I had to see a PT for what seems to be mild lymphedema.  I saw her 5 times and then she closed her practice and moved.  I didn't see anyone else because I was too upset about what I was going through and the PT didn't seem to make a difference.

So, now I'm feeling better and I'm off to a different PT.  I knew my insurance company covered 60 visits... I just didn't know they had to be in a row and within 2 months time. WTF???  I'm hoping they can bill this new PT as RIF instead of LE and call it a new occurrence.  Well shall see.

Nips Up (one just larger) carry on!

purple, is your treated breast, underarm or back more swollen then before treatment or surgery?  LE can occur from surgery alone and then the chances supposedly increase with nodes taken out.  Then chemo and/or radiation can also add to the chances.

Some ladies have it subside with massage, some with compression (like a good sports bra) and others use more professional garments that are specifically for LE.  I'm still working at getting the treated breast back to its original size.  If we can figure out how to do that, then I'll be able to manage it better for the future.

Also, LE is something that ALL OF US CAN GET ANYTIME over our lifetime.  I only thought it was from needles or a blood pressure cuff and I also thought that after a bit we were "safe."  Nope.

rohanna: It was not mean at all. Your post really made my morning. I'm SO, SO glad you said something to them and didn't just let them go on with what they were doing. I'm absolutely positive that this will impact some, if not all, of the girls in that group. Job well done!

rohanna - You go, girl! I used to ignore people and then cry about their rude comments and stares. Not anymore. One idiot stared at me as he drove through my d-in-law's apt. parking lot. He wanted me to know he was staring as the jerk did not look where he was driving - he just drove and stared at me. Real intelligent in a parking lot full of kids! Anyway - I asked him what he was staring at - he responded with, "You, Dike". 

At that point, I took my baseball cap off to bare my bald head and said, "By the way, I am not gay, but what business is it of yours if I was! I'm a cancer patient, you ignorant a##!"

I still cried later, but darn it felt good to yell at him. Some of the neighbors applauded me... 

My realtor forwarded an email to me yesterday. It was about lemons preventing/curing cancer, being 10000 x stronger than chemo, etc. sent to her by a doctor (not a medical doctor, rather environmental or such). I replied to realtor that this info was presented with absolutely no scientific research to back such claims. She replied that thIs client of hers is really smart and has 2 Ph.D's. I replied I'd be happy to be a guinea pig but only if she guaranteed to pay my kids $500,000 if I died. Silly of me but she really upset me. An additional claim, made by said realtor, was about a client who used oral marijuana for pain and her spine mets disappeared. I'd be interested if any research backs this. I cannot let this type of thing get to me.

I get pissed off anytime anyone tells me of dietary cures. I take the "long way around" to avoid a coworker who did this. I wish it was as easy as sitting around smoking pot & eating lemon bars. Can't really remember what it was like....maybe I do remember the lemon bar part, had one last week(OK 2)

...additional note to my previous post - I never realized how many medical=practioner=wannabees there were until I was diagnosed. I know they are trying to help, but "duh", would they take the chance on fly by night cures if they were diagnosed? The most ridiculous claim was that chemo is part of a conspiracy between the govt and drug companies just to make money. I will admit that the cost of chemo is outrageous, but conspiracy? Really? I asked that person what kind of mushrooms they had been eating!!

Good a.m. rohanna - Too funny! Thanks for starting my day with an awesome, laugh-out-loud post. Yes, I feel SO much lighter! 

Chatter99 and others,

I am not going to tell you marijuana cures cancer - yes, Chong does have cancer, not to mention the fact that Bob Marley died of cancer! However, there ARE numerous legitimate studies showing that cannabinoids (components of the cannabis plant) have anti-carginogenic effects, shrinking tumors and preventing mets. Treatment using injected cannabinoids is not available yet - still being studied, and mostly in coutries other than the US. There is also a lot of anecdotal evidence of cannabis oil fighting skin cancer (topical) and other cancers (oral) but to date there has not been a study published. However, considering the anti-proliferative properties of cannabis, it wouldn't surprise me if the oils were helpful for some people. Here is a link to a recent study regarding cannabinoids and cancer that was published in the British Journal of Pharmacology. If you go to www.pubmed.org and use the keywords cannabis and cancer (or even cannabis and breast cancer) you will find hundreds of studies done around the world that are very promising and support the need for further research.

*I* find it annoying when people have a knee-jerk reaction to cannabis therapy rather than keeping an open mind. In my opinion, Chemo doesn't "cure" cancer either - if it did, no one would be dying. However, it certainly helps in many cases. I am hoping the same will be true for cannabis-based therapies in the future. Certainly more gentle on the body than chemotherapy.