Canadians in British Columbia

I have sent out the invite to those who came last year and hope they invite other friends too. Nov. 22 at noon and PM's yes for address etc. and email addresses if anyone wants to exchange them. 

Allyp, send me a PM.

oh noes!  I'm in town until Nov 14th 

All pain makes sense these days Ossa !!   I was pretty amazed when my physio explained how that one muscle under my arm can cause all the other connecting muscles to tighten.   I think we should all see a PT once a year to work out our kinks and bad posture we have picked up.

Enjoy your GTG and hope to see some pics.

Just a reminder!!!!! 

Hi all! We are planning another BC get together in Vancouver at Marian's house.

Saturday November 22nd.

Please post if you are interested.

Details to follow!!!

Yay!!!!!!!

Kosh 

I hope to be able to make it too.

For those listening on the news and worried about the blizzard in Nepal and the deaths of Trekkers from Quebec I checked Marian's itinerary on the travel webpage linked on her blog and the route her group was going to be taking is at a lower elevation then that mentioned on the news so snow and avelanches shouldn't have been a  danger. I was concerned.

Kathy

So relieved to know that Marian wasn't near the avalanche site!

Hope everyone is doing well.  I'm planning on going to the get together as well.

Thanks for thinking of me. No one knew really that the cyclone days before in India would cause such destruction across India and then Nepal. We still had two days of trekking when the storm hit us Wed. night but for us it was wind and torrential rain and a very wet trek Tuesday. 

My boots which never leak were soaked through and the biggest excitement wer the many leeches that came out to greet us in the rain. We did not hear about the bigger problems higher up until we arrived in Pokhara after our trek ended Wednesday. Not just foreigners but many Nepalis have lost their lives and this is apparently the worst such storm in many years. I am finding the news sketchy but that is no doubt due to the difficult communications as rescues continue. 

Again, I understand how blessed I am. I managed to hike up to Annapurna Base Camp yet again and actually felt good doing it. I had one odd heart rate issue the day we went up to ABC, actually two. My HR went above 200 for about 10 minutes on the way up then when I was feeling great coming down it did it again but this time it took about 40 minutes to resolve and literally fell 100 bpm in a second. Weird but nothing untoward since and now enjoying elephants and rhinos and beautiful bird before we return to Kathmandu tomorrow. I look forward to seeing many of you in November. I arrive back in Vancouver October 24. Big hugs, Marian

hello, this seems like a good group of friends here so i hope this doesn't feel intrusive but i am looking for input on finding mastectomy bras and forms in the Vancouver area.  Google gave some names and i did try Diane's on Granville but they don't have large sizes.  i wore a 48 double D before BMX and hers went up to 44. 

i am hoping someone here can help. Enjoying a rain free day in Kits.

Hi All!

I plan on going to the get together - thanks for all the reminders and thanks to Marian for hosting again!

Marian - So glad to read that you are ok after your recent trekking trip!

OSSA - I'm glad your pain checked out.  I'm all achey and creaky too - although I'm used to it now.  Mostly side effects from AI and a bit from old age I guess!  It's funny about pain - we worry about it now that we've gone through BC and we're super sensitive to it.  I had pain when I had my BC but when I had my recurrence in my femur/hip I didn't have any pain at all! 

Marian thanks for asking about my last MO visit. Everything was fine - my tumour markers were the lowest they have ever been and I hope to see a continuation of that downward trend.

Someone asked about tumour marker testing and I have mine done every time I have blood work before a MO visit.  I'm not sure why but I've had it done as part of my pre-appt blood work since I ended my original chemo/radiation in 2010.

I'm actually going for blood work sometime this week- I see the MO again on Oct 30.

It's true the results are not always reliable but in my case the increase in numbers indicated something was not right.  Luckily my MO was persistent and ran every test until he found an explanation. Turned out to be Mets/Recurrence to my right femur.

On the other hand I have a friend who has the same MO and her numbers have always been elevated and she is fine.

MO explained to me that they look for a trend with the test and not just elevated numbers.  It's NORMAL for some women to have high TM results.  But not for TM numbers to continually increase over time - which was what happened in my case.

As for reconstruction, I"m still "under renovations".  I had a delayed recon with a tissue expander and then implant - started 1 year post mastectomy.  I've had 2 successful fat grafting procedures and may have another next year.  My PS has been very supportive and is not pressuring me at all to "finish" the job as I hear that some PSs do the work and are done regardless of the outcome.

I see Dr Kerluke (North Vancouver) who works out of LGH and a private clinic in Surrey(?).  I'm very happy with him and his staff and I'm pleased with what he has done for me so far.

I'm looking forward to the group get together but I'd like to suggest that we do an ornament swap rather than a secret santa.  

Maybe we can set a price limit and a pot luck list as well.

What do you all think of that?

I'm happy to go with what the majority wants.

Marie

Great news Ossa! I will send out an email next week re potluck. But if anyone missed it, we are having a potluck at my place on Nov. 22.

Marie it sounds as though it was a very good appointment. My MO ordered a diagnostic mammo last spring. Enjoy Hawaii and some time away from our monsoon weather too.

My MO says similar things about exercise etc. keeping osteoporosis at bay while on Anastrozole.

wish I could join you guys for the potluck but I'm still on weekly taxol...

Marie, I had a UMX on my left side over a year ago, and just recently had a mammogram on my right.  I was a bit paranoid of getting another lump and thought I felt swollen lymph nodes but it turned out all clear.  lately I've been hearing that mammograms are not good for you, especially if you do have a lump then it would get smashed, which could cause spreading.  In future I will be getting thermography instead.

I also get tumours markers checked every 3 months...so far so good.  I have had 3 tumours spotted on an MRI but nothing showed on a PET scan, so not sure what stage I'm at.  can I ask how your MO found your met to your femur?  I'm still not sure about my MRI findings and would like to stay on top if it.

Marian, I am in awe of you trekking up such a huge mountain after what you've been through...thank God you were kept safe!

Blessings to all of you B.C. Women...

Carrie.

carpooling : great idea!!!! 

Who's all coming??

Has Marianne heard from last tears ladies ???