2012 sisters

Avocados in moderation? Lololol. Once I found them at Aldi for nineteen cents each. Bought ten and ate them all in short order.



The link provided just says avocado should be avoided because of the fat content. I don't eat much fat normally. Livestrong.com says that avocado has no effect on bc, either way. Until I see an actual study proving otherwise, I'm going with that.

2friedeggs, apologies to you. I am the one with two fried eggs on my face now, pun intended - LOL! Chemobrain? Who knows? Love your suggestion to Juneau about the two different colour lenses. Now that will be funny.

Teeballmom, I'm sure the dogs loved it! That blue cheese dipping sauce sounds delicious. I made Paula Deen's lemonade the other day, and it was so good. We are beginning to sound like a food blog here . . . 

Jpmomof3, did your PT give you specific stretches to do? I can tell you that two months post rads I can feel how my left arm and shoulder have stiffened up. Before rads I had full mobility. I was never told to do stretches during rads to prevent this, and I'm wondering what I can do about it now. See a PT? Maybe I can still salvage something. Would swimming loosen up the muscles? Just hate the idea that this has happened, because I would have done the stretches if I knew.

Tazzy, where do you get all the pictures? These big panties are hilarious!  

Tazzy; all this sleeping and laying around and I'll fit in those panties! LOL! Shit they're so big I could join you and 2fried, and maybe bring a friend!



OK, whose got a beef with chicken liver?! (punn intended) this is a Jewish staple and you've all made me hungry now... I can eat chopped liver with crumbled hard boiled eggs on a bagel; well like avocado on ANYTHING... Double yum.



I have decided to not read any food articles so I can remain ignorant and eat as I please for now. My diet gets limited enough by this fucking Crohns disease and I'm still pretty resentful about that. I miss big salads.... Yup, no raw vegetables for me, no red meat, no really super spicy food. I don't do so well all the time and I SUFFER for it. So yeah, I'm eating all the fucking avocado I damn well please.



Scorchy; woo woo for you! You go find an MO who gives a shit about you. Its a BIG city and I'm sure she's out there (yeah I said she... All my doctors are women except my GP, and he's really just a record keeper these days).



2fried; the eye Dr nixed my color lenses (they require a prescription). He started explaining the problems they can cause just by adding a foreign object into my eyes... Yadda, yadda, yadda.... Short story; I got me the same old brown eyes....BUT their HEALTHY EYES! LOL! I Came out and gave my DH a big hug and said, "finally, a doctor who tells me I look great come back next year!"... YAY ME!!!



I also joined a exercise program for cancer patients. It will meet on Monday and Thursday at the local YMCA, at not cost. Its run by a local hospital. I can't seemed to get my ass moving so this will help (see earlier panties comment). Mondays are poolside so that should be interesting, and I will get to meet more people who are 'living the dream' like we all are. It starts next week and runs through the first week of November; so that brings me right up until the new job begins.



Sleepy time for me... Ramols, hope your doing OK. You were quite today.... happy Zzzzs ladies!

Here I am. In a steroids wakeful state on the couch. Have an annoying little cough that I'm gonna chalk up to allergies. Managed to get a reasonable amount of work done today but maybe should have napped a little more. By 8ish I was pooped. Brought my 2 year old on my evening walk around the block with me and the little buggar had me practically running. Hate how out of breath I get with almost no exertion the first few days... Been following all posts today and sending you all big hugs. I too don't plan on eliminating avocado. Love them too much... Nighty night!

Morning, sitting here drinking my avocado/ spinach smoothie, no, not going to give it up either; after all, what am I, chopped liver?

You guys are all very witty, that's about all I've got



Juneaubug - good for you for joining the exercise class and the support group. All doctors but my surgeon are female, all have been great.



Don't have much more ladies, life is kind of quiet right now, going out for lunch today with a couple of friends and looking forward to that.



I was a little overwhelmed to hear from a co- worker that she has created a team for the local Run for the Cure for me and there are now 36 people signed up on it. I will attempt to walk with them for 5 km, looks like there will be lots of people to pull me along if my post chemo legs aren't working quite right that day.



Take care everyone

Ok... have any of you ladies had experience with fluid retention in your legs/ankles? 2 of my 3 dr's are telling me it's Lymphedema and they are sending me to an LE therapist but I don't go until next Monday. (I was in to see my BS and MO on Aug 29 & 30th). When I was at the BS, they did the L-dex and my numbers have gone from a 1.2 baseline reading to 1.7 @ my 1 week post-op visit to a 1.9 on the 30th.
The 3rd Dr (My RO) thinks it is from the chemo treatments (Edema IS a known side effect of Taxotere) and he says it will go away in time. I'm agreeing with him as it has affected both of my legs more than the arm on my surgical side. (My rings are tight.)
I was put on a mild water pill, but it doesn't seem to be doing much of anything... I read that flax seed can help with it but I can't find anything on how much flax seed you should use per day. I've been drinking a ton of water and trying to get in more walking, but I am still getting indentations when I press on my ankles.
HELP!!

Yep, not a fever until its abouve 100.5.  the "normal" 98.6 is just an average and 99.6 is only 1 degree above the average normal.  our temps vary that much in a normal day based on our circadian rhythms.

 PAEagles my RO said to stay away from flaxseed if you are ER+.  it has phytoestrogens.  THat only applies to the supplements.  eating foods containing flaxseed is fine.  With all these dietary things it is fine to eat the natural food form of these things in moderation.  The supplements concentrate them and can provide enough phyto estrogens to be problematic.

Fluid pills dont usually work on lymphedema unless you have an underlying heart liver or kidney problem causing it.  The best thing for most lymphedema is elevation mild exercise and there are some massage techniques that they can teach you to help the lymphfluid drain better.  The lymphedema clinic will teach you all that.  If it gets bad they may have to get you compression stockings.

Tazzy those panties are awesome!

Liefie, yes the PT gave me some exercises to do while on rads to hopefully prevent some of that tightening.  I already have a muscle that is contracted because its tendon got wrapped up in the scar tissue from my AND.  I just stretch throughout the day on whatever is around.  Prevention is best of course but seeing a PT can help, they will give you exercises to stretch things out again.  They should be more proactive about this stuff if you are getting radiation to the chest wall and neck.  My RO didnt send me there I just went there as a precaution for lymphedema prevention but that included things to help through radiation and general range of motion.

 Will be getting number 4/33 today.  Got a little pinkness around the nipple already.  I hope it doesnt get worse quickly or this is going to be a long 6.5 weeks.

Mining ladies. Nothing to report on my end. I'm bored from being out on medical leave. Blah blah blah

My nurse decided that my infection wasn't going to improve as long as the drain was still in. I was down to 40mL fluid output yesterday, and it's been going down steadily. So she went ahead and pulled the drain.



After the initial pain of it coming out (OUCH!), I feel tons better already. She gave me more prep kits to continue cleaning the infected area.

Regarding avocados... a ‘veteran' on this board posted something about avocados and for the life of me d'you think I can find it... darn chemo brain. I still intend asking my MO when I see her again in October about food and nutrition. I am not giving up all the things I enjoy either... like wine, avocados, beer. 

Google is where I get all my images.

Juneaubug... shame about the contacts but least your eyes are healthy. Great about the exercise class. I am still only walking and don't feel motivated to go to the gym. I am thinking of taking up swimming and yoga again when all this crap is over.

Hi Ramols.

PAEagles.. sorry cant help with the water retention. That was one side effect that I didn't get on taxotere.. and I am grateful for that.

Jpmom... good luck today - how about counting down from rads... so now you are on 29 instead of 4. 4 seems such a long way to 33.    It did that on my chemo tx.   8...7....6.. and so on. 

Mcook... I hear ya on the thongs.... Me to and I switched to regular knickers for appts.. ha ha!!

Cottontail... yay on the drain... the freedom.

MrsCich... boredom is a horrible thing. I can honestly say I haven't been bored since being off work. I love it... I putter lots though.

Wishing you all a sunny day with minimal se's.

ha ha ha Scorchy... least we can cure cancer... cant cure the tase of liver

omg scorchy, you are too funny.  I might be with you on that one...

Ramols, sending energy your way.  You'll feel better in a day or two.  Although its counter intuitive, i always found that a walk helped... everything tasted like cardboard dust while i was on that stuff.

29 rads to go.  I was only away from work for 45 minutes.  Wish they were less efficient:)

Scorchy, my first good laugh of the day. liver or cancer, cancer or liver. I was just thinking I guess liver when I read your answer and that got the laugh. My husband must wonder what I am reading some days when you all makes me laugh. 

Tazzy, I like your prioities, wine, avacadoes, beer. I have one ripe avacado left and plan to so something good with it. I was reading about juicers and recipes last night. This cookbook called Staying Alive, Cooking for Cancer Free Living was another pass me down from a friend survivor. More of this and that we should and shouldn't do though they try not to say DO NOT but rather think about it. Back to Juicers though, this book suggests it is one where better to pay more. Anyone care to weigh in on types? I got a really good pressure cooker for Christmas last year and paid more and got more than the cheap one I got at Canadian Tire - worth every penny and now that I am doing way more beans etc. from scratch it is so useful.

As for smoothies, I honestly can say I have never had a vegetable one and it seems almost sacreligious to put my avacado in it but hey I am up for trying anything new on the food front if it tastes good.

As for exercises, I went to my physio who I already love, for my first post op appt and it was great. He knows all about LE and though he wants to refer me a to colleague who does LE massage in a few weeks for two sessions, he will handle all my physio for my right side (shoulder, arm, underarm, breast, the whole shooting match) and today gently went through the whole thing to check on muscles affected, nerves (all good on that front) and was totally reassuring. I see him every two weeks and feel so good about that. He has kept me trekking for the past two years and now we move onto a new phase. He and his family have a chicken coop and we going to visit them this weekend and check out theirs before my DH builds ours - can't wait to have our own eggs. And I don't want to hear that eggs are bad!

Now back lying in bed as I am walking 5 k later this AM and am feeling tired - one week ago today was my surgery.

Not bored yet but of course early days and still surrounded by books, notebooks, newspaper, cookbooks and breast books. Some of them put me to sleep thankfully.

Tazzy back to wine, avacadoes, beer - I have been really good with dropping most alcohol and consider it a good day if I don't have my one glass of wine but honestly I feel OK about that one glass since I went from 2 or 3 more often on weekends. Habits. So I guess it is still a good day with the wine but I like it that I can also not drink at all on some days! Still not sleeping great since surgery but stopped any pain pills day before yesterday and finally at midnight took .5 mg Ativan - maybe not being as active as before has an effect too. 

Marian 

jpmom - thanks for the reminder about the walk. I've been trying to force myself to get out at least twice a day - even if it's just around the block. Just wrapped up my 2-block route and feel pretty good about that. And I ate some of my hubby's leftovers from last night - which were chock full of garlic and actually had some flavor. My mouth still tastes like crap - but at least the food tasted almost good. Think I'll go brush and rinse, and have me another lie down. Hugs to you all. And thanks for the support. At least I know this time around that the fog will lift and I'll have a good week to enjoy before round 3 hits. Halfway done with this nasty AC shit!

LOL sounds like exercise to me!