Can we have a forum for "older" people with bc?

Teka - I had lymphovascular invasion, and I was told it put me at higher risk for local recurrence (as opposed to distant recurrence). I had very few and small cancer cells in 2/3 nodes, which I was told was considered insignificant N0(I+).

I gave up fretting about my pathology report 6 months ago. The best thing about having gone through this is that I am really focused on all the good things in my day, and dismiss the petty stuff that used to bug me (especially at work).

Passion doesn't come from business or books or even a connection with another person. It is a connection with your own life force, the world around you and the spirit that connects us all. YOU are the source. Books, work, music, people, sunsets all provide sparks, but only you can light the fire.

Jennifer James

My son Ryan, 31, went into a behavioral treatment center yesterday afternoon. He needs to go through alcohol detox and then begin treatment for severe suicidal depression. His doctor, whom he adores, drove to our house, picked Ryan up, and stayed with him through the admission process. The man is fabulous! How many doctors would do this? He's been Ryan's primary care doc for 10 years and always goes above and beyond for my son.

Ryan was supposed to take care of the house - cats, mail, plants - for a month or so while we are in Houston for Mike's leukemia treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He only lasted 6 days. He is so afraid that his dad will die here and he'll never see him again. The last few days he's had numerous phone calls with Dr. Bromley. I'm so thankful. Otherwise Ryan may have given up. I nominate James Bromley, M.D. for Man of the Year!

A friend who has a key to our house has stepped up to take care of the two cats. Ryan will probably be at Laurel Ridge for a week or more while he detoxes from alcohol. Afterwards I hope they will accept him into their outpatient program where he can spend each day there in various group therapy environments, but come home each evening.

I feel guilty about not being there for my son but he is 4 hours away and Mike is so weak now, he cannot be alone. Sometimes he doesn't have the energy to stand by himself. Tomorrow we see the doctor for the third time. Hopefully all the detailed molecular studies are back and have identified what subgroup of AML Mike has. MD Anderson has identified several experimental chemo combinations to target a few of the subgroups. I do know that he doesn't have the FLT3 subgroup, which is a huge relief because that one has little hope.

Jackie, your optimism and philosophy of life is such a fresh breath! Those curves do seem to make us appreciate life through a different set of eyes. I love seeing the sun here during summer, but the heat here becomes oppressive and lasts through about October. Since I'm most likely heading into rads now, not looking forward to the heat at the same time. But I'll try to adopt your outlook just be very appreciative of the little things that are the very best! Enjoy your summer also. Dara

Sandra, sending strong thoughts to you and all your family. You have so much on your plate right now. Don't forget to take care of yourself as well. Gentle hugs to you! Dara

Sandra, Sending hugs and good wishes for your entire family.

Sandra, Thinking of you and the load you bear. May you continue to have strength.

"Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn't make me stronger." ~ Lou Holtz

Glad you got to see some birds Puffin and just wow --- the bonus. Not sure how I would have felt, but I'm sure you were safe. It is a shame to have missed a picture of something sort of large and hairy when likely most of your pics are of something small with feathers.

Just a quick FYI, I got my Prosigna test results today, and was shocked to find I'm in the high risk category. I'd really convinced myself that I'd at least be intermediate or low risk, but that wasn't the case. Will need to start chemo next Monday, 4 cycles, 3weeks apart and following each cycle, and injection of Neulasta. Really bummed :-(

Dara, what a shock for you. I know you will process this in your own time and come to grips with it, but for now of course you are upset.

Puffin, what a thrill to see the bears! You will always have that memory, even if there is no photo to prove it to others.

Although today has been one hell of a long day, it had some good news. All the molecular tests were back so the doctor at MD Anderson could finally decide if there was anything they could do for Mike. Yes!! Turns out he has a mutation called IDH2. Lucky for him, it's one of several that the Leukemia Center has a targeted therapy for. It's an experimental chemo called AG-211 that has shown some effectiveness for his subgroup of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Mike was accepted into a clinical trial today. They are investigating the effectiveness of this new chemo combined with a standard rescue chemo protocol. It's a Phase I trial, which had me worried because that usually means a drug has just passed the tests with the rats and moved on to humans. But the AG-211 when used alone has shown promise and the standard chemo is not experimental. They just want to see if combining them will be even better. He will go into the hospital on Thursday for a month in a protective environment. That means I'll be waving to him from behind glass, which will be difficult for us both. But it's for his own protection. The drugs are harsh and he is guaranteed to be quite sick for most of the month. He could die from a drug reaction, a side effect, or an infection so they must keep him safe behind glass. The doctor said his particular type of AML is extremely aggressive and that's why it was able to break through the new immune system after the transplant and cause the failure. The prognosis is poor but it's a chance, at least, and we're happy to have it.

Hi all,

Dara, so sorry you have to have chemo after thinking you wouldn't. It must feel almost like getting the DX all over again.Good news is it will be finished before the holidays. I know needing chemo is never good, but there are so many worse things.

Sandra- so glad they have something that might help Mike. Here's hoping it will work perfectly. Only being able to see him through a window must be very hard and lonely for both of you.

My brother seems to be doing ok in Hospice. He has days where he won't eat and days when he sleeps most of the day, but when my sister visited him Sun, and he found out her daughter and 2 grandsons had driven her there and we're waiting outside, he asked them to come in, and had a good time with the boys (7 & 4). His wife had to go to the emergency room one night last week for another transfusion. My younger brother and I have decided to go up around Aug 20th, which will overlap our nephew and his family for a few days. They live in Germany and I haven't seen him for about 15 years and have never met his wife or kids. Our original plAns were to go up as soon as he left, but decided we both want to reconnect with him while we can. We have also decided that if they don't want my brother to know we are there yet, we will wait till the son leaves before seeing him. His wife was the one who said my brother knew we were coming up after theirs sons visit and didn't want to scare Bill by us turning up earlier, but wanting to see his son and grandsons seems like a perfect reason to come a little earlier.

Other than that, I am keeping busy, school shopping for school clothes with my 2 oldest grandchildren. They go back Mon, but the kids in Fl have an extra week, which will give me time for them when I get back next week. I am really looking forward to shopping with Victoria. She is going in to middle school and no longer needs to wear uniforms.

Anne

Sandra - Wonderful news that there is something to try!!! Once he gets started, you'll have lots of sitting around time. Please call me and I'll come take you to lunch to give you a break. I'm still in PT two mornings a week for my broken arm, but we can work around that. Funny, I thought we'd meet in San Antonio first at one of your book stores, but I am looking forward to meeting you.

True humility is intelligent self-respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or meanly of ourselves.It makes us mindful of the nobility God meant us to have.Yet it makes us modest by reminding us how far we have come short of what we can be. -Ralph W. Sockman

Hello from north MN. I arrived back in MN last Tues. and already a week has whizzed by. The weather presented a wonderful contrast the first 4 or 5 days. Now it's somewhat muggier and warmer but nothing like Louisiana. For those of you who have not experienced summer in the south, walking outside is like being hit by hot bricks.

Sandra, I hope the experimental treatment at Anderson turns the situation around for Mike.

Dara, good luck with your treatment.

DH and I went out on the lake fishing this morning. It was lovely with a gentle breeze. I caught a pretty "sunny" and a small crappie. It's just as well I didn't catch more because the pump that operates the live well wasn't working which also meant the bilge pump wasn't working either. DH recently installed a new depth sounder and might have messed up some wiring. Now he has to do some trouble shooting and find out the problem. As Rosanna Dana said, It's always SOMETHING. These are minor irritations, nothing to grumble about.

Anne, that's so nice that you'll be teaching your DGS to cook. I love the idea of the two of you spending that special time together.

Best wishes to everyone, including Chevy and all those who haven't checked in for a while.