Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?
Comments
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It's been a long time since I posted so I'm way behind on any news from all of you. And I know there are some new friends to read about and get to know. Seems the last time I posted I was traveling to Minnesota with a friend who believed she had cancer and was headed for a consultation. Surgery was Friday and it turned out to be a benign tumor in her salivary gland. Mayo clinic no longer recommends a fine needle biopsy of salivary gland tumors because they are so often not able to do accurate pathology reports. So the biopsy was pointless, but the surgery went well and things look good. Hurrah.
AND my clown business has keep me hopping. I had a party last week-end, a full day Wednesday at a business expo Wednesday and two parties yesterday. So, now for the surprise, I've been hired to clown every Tuesday at a Pizza Ranch. I started last Tuesday - they called me that morning. So you can see I clowned almost every day this week and fell into bed each night. The schedule will ease up lots now, so I'm happy to have the Tuesday night gig. I"ll do balloons one week, face paint the next. It seems like a huge obligation cutting into the do nothing regularly kind of schedule. But they pay me for three hours work and give me a giant box to fill off the buffet and take home. The kids were fun and the restaurant staff nice. They already know I'm heading to Texas the first week of December (Hey Sandra!). You can see I haven't forgotten my friends, just needed an evening to catch my breath. I'll do some reading tonight and get with the program again. Thanks to those who checked up on me. I haven't been kidnapped, but do have a plan to go visit that old boyfriend again in December with an invite to stay the night! Do you think I should wear my costume?
One more thing. The little kids are so wonderful. For kids three to four I carefully place an invisible ball in their hand and ask them to pitch it into the paper bag I'm holding. The when the invisible ball flys through the air I catch it in the paper bag snapping my fingers in the side of the bag so it sound like it is plopping into the bag. The kids actually line up to do it over and over feeling so proud they can get it to land in the bag like magic. Just gotta love the smiles you get.
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Jackie, it was so interesting reading how you started this whole thing.... And I just wanted to comment on this part......
"My reactions usually fall in the range -- boy you better need that stuff really, really bad to take the risk of the side effects it has.
So, I think too, in a lot of cases --- if we had total awareness of all the things, side effects, and total scope of the journey we end up going through -- it might in many ways be more difficult, and we might be looking for shadows everywhere. Still, the bottom line is -- I wouldn't have changed a thing about how I went through with all that transpired for me."
I don't think I would have changed anything either, but that's because I didn't know any different... I mean with taking Tamoxifen for those 1 1/2 years. And waking up one morning, and couldn't hear anything...... Or very little anyway.
And I researched this, getting more afraid, when after a couple weeks it didn't clear up, I went to see my PC.... SHE had no clue, other than to have me treat this as allergies, with the Claritin, nasal sprays, etc.
After another month of nothing, she made an appointment with an ENT.... After the exam, HE said it was permanent profound hearing loss, reason unknown. And I had to get hearing aids.
I reasearched this, asking my Oncologist if it could "possibly" be the Tamoxifen... I asked the ENT the same thing. They both seemed boggled by that question, so I researched it all myself. I quit the Tamoxifen, because that was the ONLY thing I was taking that could have caused this.
I found a lot of articles on the Internet, about this happening, because "In "certain" women, with this "certain" gene, they can have a small "infarct' in their brain-stem, near the 8th cranial nerve, causing that stroke, which caused the deafness"
And even the SE's listed on the Tamoxifen mention "stroke" as one of the possible SE's. But I never THOUGHT it would happen to me.
I copied and printed all of this information off, and the Web-sites... 5 pages worth.... I sent them to the drug manufacturer, with some of the pills. I sent this to my Oncologist, my PC, but none of them could help me understand what happened.
So yes, you have to be your own advocate... and look at things that happen, as "well, they did the best they could, knowing what they did."
And I don't think I would have changed anything either, because I would have always been afraid that I SHOULD have taken the whole 5 years of Tamoxifen. At least I tried it. I stopped taking it, and never went back to my Oncologist... she just didn't take the time, to listen, or try and figure out what happened... She just wanted me to take Femara.... and by THIS time, I didn't trust her.
If your team won't listen to your fears, then it's time to figure something else out.....
Oh! Good to see you Meemers! Sounds like you are having fun! I thought for sure you had up and DID it! Ran away with that "person" and got yourself kidnapped! Ha!
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We never encounter a mountain greater than
doubt. Doubt is a deceiver. It is as a thief in the night.
Remove it, do not let it come nigh your dwelling.
Frater Achad -
Miminiemi: You made me smile at the mention of Pizza Ranch. I used to live in southern Minnesota and we had a PR. Great buffet. Now I'm hungry.
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Mimi, big congratulations on the new Tuesday gig. Isn't it wonderful to know you will always have something to do??? One of the reasons I like my job so much is that pretty much without fail -- I am going to get 6 hours -- working Tues. and Thurs. morning. I also work either Friday or Saturday night for three or four hours which fills out my paycheck nicely and is needed. That is subject to more change though. It is ok with me.
I think one of the benefits of working after retirement is that you can have better general flexibility as you don't need the 9 - 5 routine weekly for a well fatted up paycheck.
Nice to hear that you are taking some time in December for yourself. Also nice that you will see your friend again. Somehow I just get the feeling that it likely means a lot to him -- and sometimes maybe it is good to do some things just because we can.
Glad you all understood what I was saying in some of the previous posts. I so often rely on "quotes" because I do not actually have a way with words. I look at a post I've done later, and even I don't always understand what I was trying to say. It sounded right when I said it, but when I go back, often I find miss-spelled words and the whole concept seems just a little skewered when it seemed a lot more concise when I originally put it there. So -- at any rate, big thanks from me to you.
Was also wishing that we would have a Target store closer to us. As so often happens, we lost our K-Mart after several yrs. of Walmart being almost across the street from it. We do have one that is 20 miles from here -- but we don't just pick up and go. Usually try to have a couple of other stores on the list if we do. We did get our own Kohls, but it is sort of the third cousin and is not stocked as good as most of the more MAIN for want of a better word stores. I will say though -- at least we have one. Now if we could just get some other good ones. We had heard an I-Hop restaurant was coming to Mt. Vernon ( 20 miles away ) but are still waiting and I wonder now if it fell through. If so -- major disappointment on my part. I loved our California I-HOP.
Well, our snow came yesterday as billed. It is nippy outside, but not as bad as I feared. Murphy's Law struck. Our furnace is not working. It is a big commercial unit that sets outside. A little less than two yrs. ago we replaced most of the expensive working parts with stainless steel -- at a cost of nearly $2,000.00. So, we have a call into the company that did our work. They do not know if they can make it out today or not. Did not have much trouble getting here when there was $2000.00 worth of encouragement -- but this trip could well be a freebie -- yawn!!!! Now, shame on me, I think cold weather tends to wake Murphy up for a lot of people and this is a pretty good company. Still, it would be nice ( thank goodness we actually have two I-Heaters ) to figure out just what is going on. Dh thinks we need a new thermostat even though the overall behavior has little to do with the thermostat -- but he may be right. We will get that done and go from there.
Shuf, Nancy Catherine, and MoJim -- hoping you just hang in there. Everything in good time saying the person with the least amt. of patience that I know of right now. See you all later, I have to get out and go feed my feral cats. Haven't seen the three-legged one for a couple of days so hoping he is all right. Talk to you all later.
Blessings,
Jackie
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Cruise, cup of tea, warm blanket...anything but the freezing and snow of this morning. My dog didn't even want to go out! Sun has melted off the snow, but it is still brrrr cold. Thursday I get to have lunch with my granddaughters' school. I was thrilled to be asked because their mother doesn't usually let me know about these events. My son who lives in Tennessee will be 25 on Thursday. He was a slow starter but is finallygetting there. We all do eventually.
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This morning, Husband and I had the pleasure of taking Teka to yearly vet visit.
Ok kitty for another year!
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Hello everyone - I got some good news tonight. My HR2 test came back negative. I'm so relieved. I know it's just a snapshot, but I'll take what I can get.
Next step is the surgery on December 12th at 7:30 a.m. No doubt more information will be available in terms of staging, etc. I have a few weeks to get the house looking a little festive for our son who arrives on the 20th. We can't wait.
Today is the first that my heart hasn't palpated trying to jump out of chest.
Gloomy/doomy day...cold, sleet and ice. Outside looked like an ice palace. So glad the little furries are trained to poop/pee in the sunroom.
Catherine
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nancydrew8....so glad you got a good report on your HR2. It's so nice to get some good news. I know you will feel some relief after your surgery. I am finally done with Drs. for 3 months. Just in time to enjoy the holidays.
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Nancy Catherine -- One hurdle done -- you're on the way now. Nice to get a start that can give you some comfort too. It is how it works best -- one step at a time. You should end up with a pathology report after your surgery ( not sure how long the report actually takes but I think not long ) and most of the time that helps in determining anything that might need to be done afterwards.
Good for you -- standing around and waiting is hard to do and leaves a lot of room for "thoughts" so doing something gives you a sense that you're taking charge and 'fighting' and doing what it takes for wellness.
We have had snow several times throughout the day but nothing that could really stick and accumulate.
We were able to get our furnace repaired as well. Two of the stainless steel jets were clogged and a switch had broken. Our furnace is outside our house ( not sure I said ) so not fun when it needs repairs. Glad to have it going though. We don't keep the house super warm -- but I was missing our heat for overnight and the few hours today until it was fixed.
Yea -- life is good.
Jackie
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Nash -- good for you too. It is a great time to get a break from medical issues -- great Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. All great celebratory times. Hoping our weather is nice for travelers at that time.
Jackie
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Teka -- hugs and love to little furry Teka. Glad she passed her tests with flying colors.
Jackie
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NancyDrew, great news! Glad you're feeling calmer and more able to cope. The visit from your son is something wonderful to focus upon.
Jackie, yay for getting your furnace repaired! Good news that the problem wasn't expensive.
Mimi, there's a Pizza Ranch in Park Rapids, MN. We pass it all the time during the summer but have never eaten there.. I assumed it is similar to Pizza Hut.
I played the role of Maid all day today and got the basic housework done. It got colder as the day went on and the temp. is supposed to drop into the high 20's tonight. I don't know if I can recall a year when we had a freeze before Thanksgiving.
Jackie, I've never shopped at a Trader Joe's. From what I've heard about the merchandise, I wish we had one in this area. We have Sam's Club but not Costco. I've heard good things about Costco, too.
Wishing everyone a restful evening.
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Oh yippee for Nancy Drew. Take a little time to sit and enjoy good news and look forward to seeing your son. And Nash, isn't it nice to have dr appointments so far off you can put them out of your head a little?
This was a great day to get the furnace cranked up Jackie. Too cold to go without heat today. And also glad Teka kitty got a good report - we love our pets. I live alone with Peggy the giant golden retriever. She is just two years old, but feels so a part of my life. It's been 40 years since I lived without a pet.
And aren't we all shoppers. Target is such a wonderful place to kill an hour or two with a friend just looking. And now they have Starbuck's inside some of them.There is one about 15 miles from me. Not much in my small town except Dollar General and Wal-Mart. Dollar General is like clown paradise. Trader Joe's is fun too, if you can get to one sometime. My catalog for The Vermont Store arrived today. There is a Costco about 50 miles from me, but I don't shop there since I seldom buy anything in bulk.
Now about Pizza Ranch. They have delicious deep fried chicken if you ask me. They are exclusively a buffet with salad, pizza, chicken, mashed potatoes and more. The Pizza Hut here has a small buffet bar, and order off the menu. The biggest risk for me at Pizza Ranch is eating chicken until I am about to burst. Jackie I do enjoy the idea of always having something to do. I enjoy quiet time by myself, but would much rather be busy with an obligation that I enjoy. I'm at my happiest with a full schedule. There was nothing on the calendar for today so I put up my Christmas decorations. Last year with biopsy after Thanksgiving and diagnosis Dec 12th I didn't get much in the decoration mood. This year is better!
Tomorrow the second night at Pizza Ranch. I'll be doing face painting, but plan to only offer four choices. The kids can become a princess, kitty, spiderman, or have a snake swirled across their face. Below is a sweet four year old as she gets her first glimpse of her face paint in the mirror. This was at her fifth birthday party. I was invited to do her sixth birthday last Saturday. Sweet Vivian was a Frozen Princess for sure.
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Mimi -- what a darling little girl -- her facial expression I think is at least 4 pages worth if it were words. No wonder you like being a clown so well. What a lift to the heart and soul.
Jackie
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Another freeze in San Antonio tonight...our 3rd. It's going to be a l-o-n-g winter if this keeps up. We put up with 104 degree summers so we don't have to put up with 28 degree Novembers.
Mimi, I'll be excited to see you in two weeks! Keep me posted on the details.
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nancycatherine: so happy for your negative test results!
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I've been reading and thought I was caught up then...saw 2-3 more page just this week end.
Welcome to all the new ladies ....sorry several of you are facing surgeries and treatments. Hang in there...we will be here for you when you are on the "other side" and life slowly returns to a new normal. That's what we do here...talk about life and the little things that bring joy and gratitude. And we also listen and understand those down days as we've all had them.
Best wishes for quick healing...to our upcoming surgery and treatment group.
Magical Beans, I also had the experience of my MO telling me to make my own decision about some treatments. It caused a lot of stress for me...but I did the research and felt OK with my choices.Rita, glad to see you back here.
Jackie, I think you mentioned "where is Joan lately"...in the past 11 days, I've been in Florida, Washington Dc, and Boston area. All involved good times with family and grandkids. It's been very hectic and exhausting but I decided that while I can still do it, I will say "yes" as much as possible to spend time with the kids. This week end was a "Frozen" party for my 7 year old granddaughter in MA. It was over the top with a snow machine and guest characters Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, who entertained the girls with songs and crafts and photos. It was good to see my granddaughter smile, as my DD and SiL are in the process of separation. It is taking its toll but all went well this week end.
Back to work....
I will try to read back....I love the stories here.
Have a wonderful Tuesday!
Joan -
I posted this on another thread...my daughter threw a great party!
All those "gourmet" candies were hand crafted by their nanny.
These princesses with me are my 3 granddaughters.
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Morning gals! This poem is on "someone's" info, and I can't find "you!" I think it is beautiful!
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This forum and everyone hear has become my sanctuary. When you're 23 years out with the first go around, cancer becomes a remote thought. Oh, I'd lend an ear, hear and there, with some news or glance at an article, but it was no longer my reality. It is now and now I have all of you to whom I bring my doubts and fears and you're always there to listen and help. I am grateful to be hear. Thank you.
Catherine
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*Good Morning*
Wind is just a whipping and 22*F.
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"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only
makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner
happiness and peace." ~ Dalai Lama -
Oh Chevy -- I loved your graphic so much that I'm just going to say right here and now -- I filched it big time and it is now in my pictures gallery here. I'd hang my head if I knew how too.
Well, Joan -- you have been busy just really big time. You will be able to do what you do for a long time to come. Your interior won't get enough time to figure out that what you do is becoming difficult. Well, that is about the way it goes. Sometimes we just don't have the time and patience to get older -- so I just let myself stay younger. Nobody to stop us you know.
Nancy Catherine -- Yes, this is a good place to stick around most of the time -- of course, frankly, I do feel if this were any other kind of blog a lot of us would never likely have hung in so long -- but we too, though maybe quite a way out from diagnosis had the fear, upset, un-certainty and all the things that go with a dx. like we had. That kept me here and it didn't hurt that people on my first and other long time thread wanted me to post an up-lifting quote for them everyday. They gave the task and is was, had been, and remains one I treasure -- so I'm am still here for anyone I can lift up -- even if just for a very short while. When I started I was carried through, no questions asked and love and caring and hope always present. We are glad to stay here and try and give back those things we were given freely with great and loving care and feeling.
Colder as they use to say when I was much younger than I am now, than a witch's tit and yes -- I guess one of these days I'll have to look up that statement and see what info might be found because I still don't completely know exactly what it means --- got to admit though---it has a ring to it.
Off to work -- see you all later.
Blessings,
Jackie
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Just finished cooking and freezing 13 pounds of yams, did 28 pounds last year and still have some left so cut back. Yams were on sale for $.57/lb. The taters that were longer and thinner I baked, peeled, sliced in 1/2" rounds and froze individually and then put into containers with wax paper between the rows so they wouldn't stick to each other. The taters that were more round I baked, peeled, mashed with brown sugar and butter, and plopped 1/2 cup globs into Pam sprayed muffin tins and then froze. Might need to set pans in a small amount of hot water before the globs will pop out, and then I'll put them into containers in the freezer.
I love being able to take a single serving out whenever I want a healthy veggie.
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Great idea Puffin. It's a good way to make cooking for one or two economical.
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Puffin, I love sweet potatoes. You got a great price. I paid almost $1 a lb today at Winn Dixie supermarket. The potatoes were really nice though.
I also bought two small turkeys, one to cook Sunday and one for the freezer. My mother and one of my sisters cooked up the plan to have Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday before dh and I leave to go to IL to his sister's house for the real Thanksgiving day. So I don't get out of cooking after all.
It's quite cold here today, in the 40's, but the sun is shining and it's a brilliant day. I called the golf pro shop to cancel out on golf tomorrow and learned that everybody else had already cancelled! It will be much too cold to play at 9 am, our usual starting time. DH will play about noon with the group of men he plays with.
Joan, it was good to hear from you. Glad you're having the opportunity to enjoy your grands.
Off to the kitchen to make some tomato soup. This time of year we like to have soup in the refrigerator to heat up.
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hi guys, I received good news today. The biopsy on my other breast was normal! So I now can schedule my lumpectomy on the original bc cancer. Still waiting on oncotype dx since I am her2 positive but am praying that it comes out good as well. Looking forward to the closeness of family and friends. I read others got good news as well. Would love to get in a good snow ball fight with the positive vibs I have right now. Cold here in tennessee! Thanks for being there it has been a god sent to have each of you. Shuf
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Big congratulations shuf. I'm so glad to hear you had a b-9 biopsy. Of course, yes -- you still face a lumpectomy, but I know what a relief you have gone through. Back in 2007, I had biopsies on both breasts and it turned out the rt. side was "clear" and so I know how much weight lifts off when you get a partial reprieve.
I'll be hoping and praying right along with you that your Oncotype comes in at a low number. Your on your way and I hope the good news just keeps on coming.
Jackie
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Shuf....always good to hear good news!!!
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