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

Saying hi late today -- no special reason except I had bills to do and deliver and my all famous trip to Walmart. Lordy, I so dislike the way make it so hard for other businesses like the grocery stores and K-mart type stores to stay in competition. So far our new Big Lots seems okay. We had one that left ( more because I don't think they got along with the lease people at the shopping center ) and a few years later they are back. Their things are a little different but nowadays I think you have to really watch some of the 'discount' type stores. Like the Dollar General, etc. They are not always cheaper, but the name inspires more feeling that they will be.

Anyway, I end up often ( except for Aldi's ) doing ALL my shopping at Walmart for the convenience and as well -- if I need something from there it is the farthest away from where I live so if it is there I tend to just look for other things as long as they aren't something that exceeds what I'm willing to pay. I seldom buy certain things there -- $25.00 is my limit on most things. I found out a few yrs. back they often have big companies make cheaper versions of appliances -- so I usually get mine elsewhere if they cost more than $25.00. I am picky.

I think both Carole and I found out though that we did well at the Eye Dept. I was really reluctant ( even though outside people come in ) because I was afraid that they would just be inferior. In Dh talked me out of using them for a little while. Then when I checked their eye exams were about cheaper by half of most of the others around here and included dilation as well. That was extra at a couple of the local places I called. So, I thought -- well if I can get that for half surely I can find some frames ( since my old ones had become brittle ) that suit me. I've gotten compliments on these frames so I guess they are just dandy.

I had the people in the dept. help me out. I see poorly enough that even with a magnifier mirror I have trouble ( maybe seeing enlarged head and face is off-putting or something ) trying to figure out is frames fit my face and look ME rather than someone who never wore glasses before. I think if I'm getting compliments, apparently their help was fantastic too.

Chevy -- it is about you and Cammi. I think you are the funniest two people I know. You make it so much fun to be here.

It's SO nice to see Cammi and Chevy at it again. (Note to new members...it gets worse but they do love each other.) We enjoy watching them trade barbs.

I would LOVE for miss Ducky to come back.... she almost did once, but when we are old, like we both are, we tend to forget..... Hah!

As long as you guys know we are just having fun with each other, that's all that matters.... See, Cammi gets so excited when the Circus comes into town, and she follows all of those animals and guys, and she gets lost, and that's why she had a hard time finding her way back. She's probably lost again right now!

Aw geez, my R. hearing aid just fizzled.... hold on.... Okay...They "warn" you, but I wait till the last beep, then it goes..... Jackie, are yours still working good? My first pair was getting "older".... (appropriately enough) so I thought I'd get new ones, just in case the old ones went out all of a sudden... I've heard they last about 5 years, and mine were over 6....

Now watch Cammi come in and say disparaging things about me and my "ear phones"..... Hah!

Been so warm here lately.... I just don't care for the WIND!

I like Walmart also.... Just another place to go walk around and see what we can buy that we don't need..... You know what is good? I buy their packaged dried flaked coconut, and dried blueberries, and mix it with my Special K Berry cereal! And then any other fruit like Mango's and Blueberries or Blackberries that we buy from Sprouts.

There is supposed to be a "Lucky's" coming here... Have any of you shopped there? I looked online, and it looks like they are BIG, and have tables to eat from their little snack-bar? What I MEAN is, they make fresh sandwiches, etc. and you can eat them there.

We shop mostly at King Soopers, which is one of Kroger's stores.... Our youngest Daughter has worked for them for over 30 years.... We use her "card" when we shop there, and it helps her out with "gas points" and we get discounts also.

Actually BOTH of our Daughter's are older.... Hah! Isn't it funny how you still think of them as your "kids" ??? Notice how I skip from one subject to another? Haaaaaaaah!

I bet Cammi will be along here soon. I also think Ducky didn't put us in her favorites so keeps losing us. Well, maybe he will accidentally find us and see here to "favor" us in her list. We'll see.

Sun is out today but cool this morning. I think it will start getting warmer each day and then rain. I don't think that will bring the temps down though. We should be going back to the 60's soon --- it is just staying there consistently that is the issue.

My hearing aids are reaching that 5 yr. mark in May. They still work well, but I do notice the batteries which use to last about 12 or 13 days seem to be 'used' up faster now -- like it is taking more energy to get the same hearing effects. I feel so fortunate that there is something for people who have a hearing loss for any reason. There are some older people though who just can't seem to adjust to wearing the little devises/aides. Most of the older people I have sat with ( who could have I think heard well -- hard to say when it is someone else ) just seemed like they did not understand something about the aides. I don't know what is was, but they felt they heard just as well almost without them. From the first my delight at the return to almost FULL and TOTAL ability to hear cancelled out any discomforts ( and all seemed so small in comparison ) that came along. I don't even mind that with a hair-cut the little clear wires in my ears show up for a bit till my hair grows out.

We all depend on our senses -- to see, hear, feel, and not being able to hear for me was a huge discomfort. I do recall getting to a point where I dreaded having to tell someone I had not heard what they said because I had to do it so often. I also know others in the household here must have been un-comfortable with how loud the t.v. had to be in order for me to NOT miss portions of things said. So, a lot of times you are making life less nice maybe for someone else if you are having some sensory deficiencies.

I love our Aldi's store here and just 21 miles away is another one. They carry just a bit more in theirs so when I'm in Mt. Vernon I do try and stop there to see is there is something there I haven't tried and may want too. They also carry a line of goods for sale that are generally cheaper than what is found in dept. stores. It is where I got my set of aluminum cookware. I've been very happy with the set and they all sorts of other usually small items or sets of say glass or plastic storage, scales, for food and or people. Some exercise equipment. It is a nice variety. I don't buy things like that a lot since in general I've had most of those type of items for years -- but do run into something from time to time.

I use to shop at a Lucky's store when we lived in Santa Barbara and I loved that store. Even my mother would drive all the way to Santa Barbara ( probably a 45 mile trip for her ) and bring a cooler just to buy Lucky's generic ice cream to take home with her. She was a real ice-cream addict and their generic brand ( likely not after all these years ) of vanilla ice cream tasted just like you made it in the old fashioned home ice cream makers where you put in all the ice and then turned the crank handle until the ice-cream froze. Oh, I even loved that ice cream. Not even sure why I bought it the first time. I think it was in fact one of the first "grocery" store generics I tried. Not only saved money but the ice cream was fabulous.

Okay --- going to go before I take up a whole page. See you all later. Hope you all have a fantastic day.

Oh THANKS Anne! Yes, it's fun when that BAD girl shows up.... and ducky with her Pilot fantasy.... Hah!

When I lost my hearing over-night, the Doc & I just treated it like it was some allergy fluke or something.... so trying to hear again by taking Claritin didn't do a thing....

Finally gave in, and eliminated all causes, except what I was taking.... I stopped the Tamoxifen, after reading a LOT of articles & web-sites where "There is a risk of stroke" while taking Tamoxifen.... And another gal on this Web-site found the same thing happened to her.

She had a stroke hear her 8th cranial nerve, in her brain-stem, which affected her hearing.... Also taking Tamoxifen.... So you sometimes have to figure out things for yourself, because everyone is "different"...... like Cammi!

But it isn't the same with hearing aids.... Your hearing will never be the "same".... but you get used to it.... The new ones I have now, have a "sound gate".... This little remote thing, that I can push a button to turn something either "up or down"....

I sound like Kellyanne Conway, right? Haaaaaaaaah!

Okay.... gotta shake the trees to find Cammi & Ducky!

I am 68. Was diagnosed at 65. Had a lumpectomy. Bracytherapy and am now taking letrozole daily to help block estrogens. I am noticing weight gain and am not happy with it. Is this normal?

Pudimom1,

Sorry I can't help with the letrozole as I took Tamoxifen for 6 yrs. Stopped taking it this past January after the se's were becoming more frequent & duration longer. But I can say that w/ Tamoxifen I began losing weight. Surely someone on the list has been just where you are. Be patient & check back in often. Let us know how you are doing.

Mazel tov, bonnets!

Pudlmom, one of the side effects of aromatase inhibitors is a reduction in metabolic rate, so it takes a lot of work (diet & exercise) just to maintain the status quo (much less lose). Sadly, I have not done that work. But today I began personal training sessions and went back onto low carb (with my doctors’ and trainer’s approval—the only diet that worked, was not difficult to follow, and let me maintain my loss longer). Did lose a pound since last week’s training evaluation.

Ducky, I’ll see your pilot obsession and raise you a 30-year-old personal-trainer fetish. (He is SO adorable I don’t know whether to have a crush on him or go into super-maternal mode).

Glad to see Ducky back, to hear news from everyone and to welcome Pudimom. (Sorry, I do not take any kind of med after diagnosis...had a double mastectomy.)

Anne, I laughed when I read you have to put on your glasses to answer the phone. My husband is just like that. Even after his brain hemorrhage in October when he barely knew his name, he had to know where his glasses were. He couldn't wear them...broken nose was covered with big bandages, but he HAD to have his glasses.

Mike is making amazing progress this week. He was able to make ham & bean soup by himself. Doesn't sound like a big accomplishment, but for someone recovering from a traumatic brain injury, it's hard to organize your thoughts so you can do that. What do you do first? What size pot do you need? How long does it cook? He had to cut ham and dice onions. (I was cringing when he grabbed that knife. With low platelets of 22, he couldn't deal with an accidental cut.) He got everything right, produced a delicious meal, and best of all, felt confident that he could do it. Confidence isn't something he's had a lot of. His short term memory loss is still there but in the past week or so he isn't asking me things we just talked about 6 hours before. He is keeping a calendar so he doesn't have to ask me what we have to do the next day. Physically he is doing even better. He is walking several times in the neighborhood and spending an hour or so doing the exercises the physical therapist gave him. It's so cool to see his body and mind coming back to normal. I don't feel like I have another child now. He's more of a husband and partner. I've missed that in the past year. Kudos to the Traumatic Brain Injury program at Brooke Army Medical Hospital here in San Antonio. Their team is expert in working with people to bring out the best in them without pushing them into doing something they aren't ready for.

Oh shut up!!!! Now how in the dickens can I be.... no wait.... yes, you are right!!! Hah! I AM the oldest if Ducky is not here! But when she IS here, then all that changes!

And that IS a funny story about your friend, and YOU laughing your butt off! I do that all the time, with DH and our Daughter! I can HEAR the words mostly, but by the time they get through my ears, they sound different! But it just makes me laugh, and what I THINK they said is funnier than what they really said anyway.

Okay, wait.... You "was a boss"???? Of what???? Did people actually mind you when you told them something? Or did they just stand there laughing, and then turn around and swish their tail-feathers and walk off??? Wouldn't we have had fun, trying to work together? It's like now that I am older, things just seem sillier.... And you can laugh at almost anything... probably cause I can't hear them right.... And so what's your excuse?

You still have that 1-900 number where people.... (men) call you and you actually "work" for "someone else" and you talk to them in that low-sexy voice of yours? You know what that's called, ... right?

But your typing is just so much better!!! Than I remember!!! Did spell-check come and knock at your door and threaten you with taking away all your electronics? Yes, I mean ALL of them??? Until you decided to do it better??? Hah! Can't believe you spelled WIND right........... What would I do without you? And Thanks little Camm, for coming back here with us....xoxo

Sandra, I can't believe Mike is doing that much better.... MAN!!! Talk about a turn-a-round! That is a miracle, I think! You know, I have had a spiral note-book, that I keep as my calendar... Each page has the month, and I write down the numbers and days.... I can keep track of appointments or just what we DID, or any phone numbers stuff, THAT way.......... And it's easy to go back, if I need to remember something... shut-up Cammi..... See? She will say something like I have to write my name down to remember it. I'm just so happy you have Mike "back" with you! You have been blessed!

Over the years I have come to believe that life is full of unchosen circumstances, that being human has to do with the evolution of our individual consciousness and with it, responsibilities for choice. Pain and joy both come with life.I believe that how we respond to what happens to us and around us shapes who we become and has to do with the psyche or the soul's growth.

Jean Shinoda Bolen

Well, Sandra that is just a big HOORAY for you and Mike. No matter what may happen -- look at the storms you have weathered and they have not changed your abilities to feel love and gratitude for life and each other. I'm glad for you both but especially so for Mike. I know there was times of depression for him and so I think these GOOD milestones for him and you must seem even better. Congratulations to both of you and let the good times just keep on coming.

Cammi and Chevy -- you two are such crack-ups and make things just pop around here. I guess we get a little stodgy but you sure know how to deal with that. You put the F in fun. Now don't try to make something of that.

Cammi, Aldi's is a German store. I love our Aldi store here. Lots of fresh veggies and fruits along with a big majority of things you find in other stores. I get my steel cut oatmeal there. You do have to watch that you get the pkg. that takes about 25 minutes to cook. It sounds like such a long time but I'm convinced that not only does it taste better, but that the extra cooking really un-locks all the good nutrients. I remember my Uncle cooking oatmeal for the family ( it was a nearly everyday thing at their house with 6 kids in the family ) and this was back in those days the Mother's Old Fashioned Oats and it had to be cooked that long as well.

The only time I buy Mother's Oats now is for some cookies I make -- so it is the smallest container. I've heard some nutritionists ( not naming brands mind you ) saying that the INSTANT varieties of hot cereals just don't give you anything for nutrients and that SOUNDS right to me. Besides, the steel cut oatmeal just tastes ( now ) a lot better to me as I've been using it a long time now.

It is a beautiful sunny day here and will get up into the high 50's and hopefully stay in those areas now a bit more consistently. Have a beautiful day everyone.

Hmmm, who is in the back seat taking that picture -- bet it is another guy, don't you gals???

Hi, I put this on another thread also.....has anyone ever had, or knew someone who had Abraxane.....I know it is used for BC, but a good frined just had surgery for liver cancer and that is the drug they are going to put her on as follow-up treatment.... it might be combined with another drug, but this is the one they mantioned........anyone Info would be grately appreciated......thanks ladies.

Hi Wren..........good to see you.......I cannot belive 82.....in April..........to me 77 sounds like a Toddler.....LOL