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

Very chilly here today.....really cold and windy at my grandaughter's softball game......back home now would like some more springlike weather....wasn't too bad when the sun came out, but way more clouds then sun........ oh well whati is it the song says.

THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW.............sure hope so......

A person's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.
Just as gardeners cultivate their plots, keeping them free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which they require, so may a person tend the garden of his or her mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts. By pursuing this process, a person sooner or later discovers that he or she is the master-gardener of his or her soul, the director of his or her life.

James Allen

Congrats, Carole on the weight loss. I lost about 35lbs while going thru chemo, but felt so bad, I didn't notice. Then one day I looked in the mirror. What a surprise!! Wished I could have stayed there, but if I had to feel that bad to keep it off, I'll take the weight gain.

The big kitchen remodel has begun. This is where we started

End of Day One

Today, they took the countertops off and will begin laying the new floors.

Anne

Yes Anne -- for those of us who can't -- we will immensely enjoy yours !!!!

Hi all- we are in the uncomfortable part of the remodel. My fridge and stove are sitting in the family room and the new dishwasher is n the garage. They are grouting the new floor today and removing the big window before they leave. We plan to paint the window frames while they are out. They messed up on the first and second row of tiles, not centering them correctly, so they are going to fix that as well. They are two really nice guys and are doing a great job, my only problem is they are not on a set schedule. I don't want to leave them here alone, but need to run a few errands. They get here 9:30-10ish in the morning, disappear for a while midway, then work till 7:30 or so. They always say they'll be right back. This time, they went to Home Depot which is just down the street for more grout and they've been gone an hour and a half, but we can't go anywhere, because we don't know when they'll be back. I certainly don't begrudge them taking a long lunch,they are on their hands and knees for hours, just wish hey could give us a rough estimate so we can do our errands while thyre gone. This is where they stopped last night

Anne

Anne

Stand up to your obstacles and do something
about them. You will find that they haven't
half the strength you think they have.

Norman Vincent Peale

Anne, can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs—as the smartass road construction signs used to say. Ducky, that is a dream kitchen. Maybe I can get one when I grow up.

Looking for a breathable compression cami or tank top

I love the idea of a forum for "older" women! I was diagnosed at 63 (DX below). I had a lumpectomy of right breast with breast reduction & lift of both breasts, sentinel node biopsy, chemo & radiation. Financially, I had no choice but to work through my treatments - 50-60 hrs a week. I wore myself out so badly I had to quit work and go on SSDI at 64 (fortunately did not have to go through appeals process; unfortunately limited retirement resources.)

I was aware of Lymphedema, but my ONCO surgeon told me I was not at risk, because my ONCOType showed Node Negative and Triple negative, and so OncoType report didn't really apply to me. Should've followed my instincts. When I finally pushed her to send me for evaluation, I already had Stage I in my right arm & hand. Now have Stage II under right armpit and above right breast with fibrosis at scar sight under that breast. That one just became apparent, as I had no money for therapy until I went on Medicare.

Now ... even when I was on HRT (pre-BC, and for 20+ years due to complete Hysterectomy) I had difficulty with heat. The wig was a big problem after my hair fell out (in the summer, of course!) as I am one who sweats primarily on my head: all around the hairline which then drips down my face (forget foundation in the warmer months,) my throat and neck! It's miserable. I have found the Lymphediva sleeves to be the coolest, and they are wonderful folks (having a sale online right now.) Owner's sister had BC & Lymphedema. He started this company with her in mind, and their father - who is an M.D. - is on the board.

Unfortunately they only make sleeves, gauntlets & gloves. Now I find myself needing not just a compression bra .... I need a full coverage cami or vest. Oh Lord, Help Me!!! I am avg to large in size (12-14), and I have major issues with those garments. They are HOT!!!! And an Underarmour garment in a smaller size (which our only Lymphedema MD specialist in town suggested) causes "muffins" to pop out all over. :-(

Anybody out there experienced the same problem and found a solution??? if not, at lease maybe a little commiseration would help :-D I love the outdoors, and really don't want to stay in all through late spring til mid-fall. (I live in the upper midSouth).

Thanks for reading!

Want2LiveHappy

Dx 3/19/15, Age 63; Initial Biopsy path report showed 1cm tumor with numerous pre-cancerous calcifications, Triple Negative, Stage I, DCIS. Hospital's own Path report showed DIMC, High Grade with associated DCIS, HIgh Grade, ER+ weakly (6% w/ 6.5% and above shown as positive!!!???), PR- and HER2-.

Chemo: Cytoxin & Taxotere ; Radiation - 6weeks daily right upper quadrant. Arimidex for 18 months - could not tolerate side effects. Refused further Aromostase inhibitors.

Want To....

I too found my; own LE....before my Lumpectomy, I read everything they had to say a bout LE.....so I was repared when it happened..it is such a long story I will not bore anyone, but bottom line is 1/2 of the medical profession has no clue what it is.....most poo poo it off cause they don't know..and the majority of the people who do "physical therapists have no clue how to treat it"........

I had one of the best LE PT's known to man....she did fantastic had my arm almost down to normal.....showed me how to "wrap", and could do it like a Pro.she even video'd me doing it to show Newbies how it can be done even for someone living alone, without any help doing it.......

Guess who screwed up....I needed a custom sleeve...went to a reputable place......made a sleeve.......wrong length.....gave it another try...same place....made the 2nd one too short.........and this was me being measured at their facility...........my LE-person got so fed up she found and gave me a sleeve that was not custom.....it worked but was not really what I needed....upper arm is where most of the LE fluid settled....

Bad news.....my very good LE person retired........why you ask....she was middle age.......the hospital who had her in the Chemo area for patients to go to decided they no longer needed her, and let her go......didn't matter that her husband was the Chief Pathologist at the Hospital.....so much for favors............

They advised everyone to go to one of their "sister hospitals" who had a PT Dept that was going to take care of LE patients......I went, they all sucked.....1 hour with a $30.00 co-pay, 3 days a week, and while I was there they did "shit"...........measure and talk.......talk, talk, talk, and try to teach me stuff I already knew how to do and was video'd doing it........Great huh.

Well I got fed up...said screw this, and that is my story and I am sticking with it.......no one cares, or gives a crap about LE.......I have learned that over the past 6 years, and many of them are Dr's in.......Regional Cancer Centers.......

I hate my arm and the way it looks, but at 82 there are a lot of other body parts not fun to look ;at also.....LOL, so I just "Let It Go"......and my feeling is ...other then my super LE; Th;erapist who they decided to let go.........They all suck..............I'm done venting.........LO

Want2Live - there are a number of really active threads with LE women on BCO. Some of them even helped write this wonderful site: http://stepup-speakout.org/

My LE is truncal & breast. I use sleeves & gloves only for flying or repetitive motion, but I wear a compression bra 24/7. Take a look at this site. I order the Sydney bra - style # 780, which my LE/PT says is high enough under the armpits and up the back to be good compression. It's even sort of pretty. I live in Houston, so anything is hot. But I've adapted to this.

http://www.wearease.com/

They often have a BOGO free. This weekend is 30% off the entire order. I wear 12/14 clothes for the most part but I buy this Sydney bra in a large. Interesting that the nude is usually just a tad larger than the colors. Please do come back & let us know when you find something you like.

I just noticed that I need to correct my last post big-time! I was 22yrs old in 1968 not 1986. I WISH I was 18 yrs younger LOL! The baby born in 1968 graduated high school in 1986!

DH and I had to make a quick trip to our home in Central Oregon (near Bend) as we got a note from the HOA that the over 2ft of snow we had all winter damaged a portion of the railing on our deck (not noticed until it all melted last month)and needs to be repaired asap! As much as we love the place, this is the not fun part of owning a 2nd home.

Anne, I feel your pain with your kitchen redo. We recently completed a 3 month complete overhaul.....down to the bare bones and many changes. I spent that entire time cooking on a hot plate, microwave or crock pot and washing dishes in the bar sink in the little set up in our family room. Looking back it wasn't horrible but did get old. When it's finished you'll forget the mess and just love your new kitchen!

Ducky, we both have the same kitchen floor tile.......great minds thinkin alike lol.

Ducky- I love your kitchen. Looks like it is right out of HGTV. And it is so incredibly big. We changed the footprint of the kitchen last time we remodeled about 20 years ago to the best possible layout. There really isn't any other way to rearrange it, without taking down walls.. I don't have he money to do that, and I like the current layout. The only thing we are really changing is the peninsula.we made that a little smaller last time, but it was still large enough to seat seven for dinner every night. This time it will seat three on one side and the other side will be for prepping with the possibility of seating three more three people around the peninsula for parties or having one person over for dinner

. Yesterday they finished the floor, they are not coming today at all. Saturday the cabinets will be put in, Monday the countertops will go in and Tuesday the backsplash will be put up. That should complete the job. Then we need to reorganize all the new cabinets and stuff. My daughter is repainting the aluminum frames around our sliding glass windows, which will give the kitchen a much cleaner look. I have no problem with the way the timeline is going, Ducky, you are correct in saying they are working other jobs at the same time. Our contractor came all over the other day and said that he had unknowingly scheduled five jobs for this week. Again I have no problem with the number of hours they are working, I just wish we had a little bit better information from them on when they would be here.

Wanttolive, I also have lymphedema in my arm and under my armpit. Mine was a bit unusual because it it was the biopsy that started my LE. I like the lady who is my therapist, she is actually the mother of my grandson's friend. I screwed up in doing so much work emptying in the garage , putting it back together and then emptying in the kitchen. I did not wear my sleeve because I find it very uncomfortable. On her visit Wednesday, she suggested I get a low compression sleeve to wear at night and then yesterday she wrapped me for 24 hours. The sleeve I got for the nighttime is much softer, but, even more, is very very comfortable. We realized that the sleeve I was wearing during the day is way too long which is why it was so uncomfortable. I am going back there today to see if I can get one like the nighttime one but with that greater compression. Welcome to our group, hang out and get to know us. We are a bunch of ladies with different lifestyles and hobbies but we love sharing our days, good and bad, and whatever curve this stupid BC throws us, usually someone in th group can relate. Ifnot, we surround you with gentl hugs and non-judgemental support. That is true for non-BC issues as well.

Anne

I believe one of our souls' major purposes is to know, love, and express our authentic selves. To live the life and be the person we were created to be. However, our true selves only emerge when it's safe to do so.Self-condemnation, shame, and guilt send your true nature into hiding.It's only in the safety of gentle curiosity, encouragement, and self-love that your soul can bloom as it was created to do. - Sue Patton Thoele

You and I are pretty much on the same page. I have wanted to do the kitchen for at least 10 years. But, my husband did not see the need to do it again, then life happened. I decided I wanted my dream kitchen so I think I shocked everyone when I decided to do it. It's funny, my brother was telling me his thoughts on taking the house down to the studs, and I liked a lot of it, but I don't want to do that big a renovation, or spend what it would cost. We have 4 good sized bedrooms, a living room, dining room, family room and an office which fits us well right now, so unless the Property brother's knock on my door and offer to pay for renovating it, it will keep the same footprint. Not holding my breath on that happening.

I chose light wood cabinets, like a honey color, then started doubting it, because I have not seen wood cabinets on HGTV in months- everything is all white. I've had cheap white cabinets for twenty years. I also went all out and bought a pot and pan organizer, a Tupperware organizer, I'm having 2 cabinets turned into trash cans- one for trash, the other for dog food, I am getting a two level silverware drawer, and I can't even remember what else.

I can't wait till I can put everything back in the cabinets. I will only have a week to enjoy it before I leave for ten days in Georgia for my oldest grandson's HS. Graduation. Waiting for them to start was not a problem- now that part of it is done, I am going crazy with it not being done.

Hope everyone has a healthy and restful weekend

Anne