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

Not so nice today, but not raining. Could later on -- but what I'm thinking about more is that evening night time temps could produce a bit of snow. Nothing that would stay -- but it is sure not what I want to have happen amid the Easter Lilies that still have some flowers on them. It will revert back to warmer once we are thru the little cold snap that really won't be that cold, but just not too fun when it has been warm enough to have the windows open for three or four days. Well, we can get some weird weather while we are waiting for consistency after Spring has popped in.

Going visiting some of my favorite dogs this afternoon. Two different places -- Doc's house and my cousin's house. My cousin here recently had the fireplace ( a pretty good sized one ) removed from her living room. They never really liked it and felt they would rather have the room it was taking up rather then re-do it in any way. So, I haven't been back over to see it yet. They also had new flooring ( wood look though I think it is sort of a rubber type product ) and painted.

We are totally in love with the new kitchen doors that fit like a glove. We talked about new doors a couple of yrs. ago so we didn't rush the project. We did however, have a bit of a change of heart once we started looking at them. We were going to go with what we had which was full glass in both the interior and storm doors and though I liked being able to see so much through the doors ( out here in the woods ) the dogs always had their noses on them as well as the cats sneezing on them -- so the glass on the bottom of them should have been a whole lot thinner just from excessive washing required -- on all sides of them too. So -- we ended up more with three quarter glass in both.

Dh off today -- so not much else going on. Hope you all have a fine Sunday.

"The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart."

– Robert G. Ingersoll

I've spent the last 24 hours listening to ice pellets hitting the ice. The screens are completely obliterated and everything outside, including my car, is laminated in a thick sheet of ice. Now it's snowing and we're getting at least a couple of inches today. Thank god I'm retired, although I have an appointment on Wednesday. I hope it'll clear up a bit before then.

A cool sunny day here, high in the upper 60's. I went to WW meeting and learned, not surprisingly, that I was up a little less than a lb. Thanks for small favors! I will try to do better this week.

Tomorrow I will skip gym and do a little more yard work.

Chilly this morning but supposed to warm up to 80 degrees. Once again I will skip the gym and work in the yard for a couple of hours. One job is to lop off the small trees growing in the big azalea bed.

Jackie, I've been missing a long time member of our group, Rita. Does she still speak up in the Illinois group?

Happy Tuesday to all.

Good morning from a fine sunny day in southern Illinois. I'm so glad the sun chose to visit today. It has come and gone the last few days and while I'm not as affected as when it is grey all day --- I still have a deep appreciation for being able to go outside in the sun.

Carole, Rita is in Fla. right now but I'm pretty sure will be returning home soon to Bloomington. She doesn't post as much here when she is gone but does post now and then ( with pictures ) on Facebook. I hope she will soon ( when she gets home ) return her and say hi. I also think ( like so many that are fairly well past their original dx. and tx. ) that she just doesn't make the same time for coming on the boards.

I admit that if you hang around it is easier to stay up to where every one is and what issues may be going on -- thing is, if you don't come too often we miss the greats joys as they happen as well as helping to share the not so wonderful things and try to help relieve the pressure. So sometimes I think there are times when people feel just sort of not up to snuff and feel like it is difficult to discuss things with each other if you haven't followed along the way from the beginning.

Anyway -- hope anyone who hasn't said hi for a bit will. You are all thought about and missed by someone and you'd likely put a smile on a face or two. I hope you are all having some wonderful sunshine out your widows too. I shall have to go out and feed the feral cats in a minute so I will get to feel the sun directly on me. Keep smiling.

Hi Everyone,

I finished my 8th and final CMF infusion on 4/9/18 and in the past couple of days I’ve developed an occasional cough and occasional hoarseness. Of course I worry that it must be something awful and maybe cancer spread. Has anyone else experienced this side effect from chemo? I don’t have an abnormal temp. I have had reflux the entire 8 infusions. Any thoughts, experiences would be most helpful.

Thanks,

Kate

Hi everyone,

Kate- I have had a cough since I finished chemo. Most of the time, I cough occasionally and it’s not a problem. Sometimes for several days, I cough so hard, I can’t catch my breath. I have been to my primary care Dr, who has sent me for exrays. And a pulmonary specialist, who did a CT scan, and every other test possible, and they cannot find anything. When it was at its worst, I was given antibiotics for 10 days. It’s been 4 years, and it has gotten bad maybe 3 times, the rest of the time! I hardly notice it’s there. My breast surgeon says it could be damage from radiation, but the tests don’t show anything. If you have no other symptoms, I would wait for a few weeks. If it hasn’t gotten better by then, I would have it checked.

The weather here is incredible. I said to my brother, it’s days like today that make suffering thru the summer worth it. I have started to walk again, and I am up to about 2/3 of a mile. I have also changed my eating since Jan., and have lost almost 20lbs. That, of course, meant a shopping spree. I wear capris most of the time, but had ones that were elastic waisted and very generous in width down the leg. I have gone to more fitted capris and even some “jegging” capris. I got the first delivery of he capris, and they were too big. I got about 6 pair of joggings at Walmart, got then home, and realized they didn’t have pockets. They went back and I ordered ones with pockets

While ordering for me here, I also ordered a second set of everything for Ga. The first ones with pockets arrived yesterday, and again, they are too big. So I am trying to cancel everything that hasn’t arrived yet, to reorder in a smaller size. Have to be honest- that’s a good problem to have. Problem is, with my memory, I can’t remember what is cancelled and what is reordered. I was going to have my daughter in Atlanta get them all washed and ready before I get there next Fri, but now I’m afraid they may be too big.

My daughter from Ga is flying down on Fri and we are going to spend the weekend with my youngest daughter and her kids in Lake Placid. Nancy wanted her visit to be a surprise, so I texted Jamie’s husband with the details. A few minutes later, I get a call from his phone, but it’s my daughter. First, she checked that it was me, then asked if I knew I had texted her husband, not her. I said “yes, that was who I texted”, then she asked why. I said the text itself was pretty clear, but that it was supposed to be a surprise. She is very glad she found out about it, because she knows I can look past the chaos and mess, and enjoy her and the kids- but her sister’s house is so clean! She would have been so upset at the mess. We are all excited that we will be together.

Jamie was here Mon., and we got to talking about beds. I knew she as sleeping on a mattress on the floor- I didn’t know it was a mattress they cut in half because it was too heavy for them to move. I looked online yesterday and found her an inexpensive mattress, box spring and frame. Since I bought them a new washer and dryer, she won’t let me buy anything else or I would already have ordered it. Then I asked her what colors did she want in the bedding. Poor baby has been living in such chaos, she had no idea what I meant, then had no idea what colors she likes.

Hopefully we can find some time this weekend to narrow down the choices. I said that I am really itching to fix her bedroom for her. I said I want it to be a place that when she enters it, her stress level drops. She got teary-eyed at that, because she has not had anything resembling that since the day she moved out of my house.

Hope everyone is doing well

Anne

GERD (reflux) is notorious for causing cough, hoarseness, need for throat clearing, even asthma. See your MO or primary, or get a GI referral to treat the reflux. (Might require a few dietary modifications; also try to elevate the head of your bed and don’t eat too close to bedtime). In the meantime, take care of yourthroat and see if you can get an Rx for a bronchodilator inhaler (Ventolin). Stay away from the combo inhalers which have steroids, since you are still so recently past chemo that you are likely immunocompromised.

Jackie, thanks for the update on Rita. I'm glad she's doing well. I know how she likes FL in the winter.

We had a pretty day here today. Started out a little cool, in the 60's, and warmed up to low 80's. A little breezy. I travelled about 45 minutes to play golf with three other women at Carter Plantation golf course. Our pro set up the tee time for a good price because our courses were closed to members because of a tournament. After golf we had lunch at the restaurant.

So that was my day. All I plan to do is cook dinner a little later.

Hope everyone had a great day. I know Sandy did in Rome!

Will skip gym again this morning and work in the yard. It's the only way I can get the yard work done without skipping golf or missing my visits to the nursing home three afternoons a week. If I had more stamina or more incentive, I could fit everything in as I did when I was younger. As it is, my house is in need of cleaning.

Hope to finish pruning the giant azalea bed this morning. DH's responsibility is loading up the branches (not clippings) and transporting them to the burn pile behind his workshop. He can do that at his leisure. He will be going to the gym this morning. There are three more overgrown azalea beds that I hope to get "whacked" before we leave for the summer.

I shake my head as I recall that I planted all these shrubs 20 some years ago when I landscaped this large yard. Even laid out and built the flower beds. In those days gardening was one of my hobbies and I had no problem with weight gain.

Thinking of Sandy off having a great time in Rome and eating wonderful food.

Happy Thursday. Do I have the right day? LOL.

Yard work to do here as well in my Illinois yard. Not sure but today may be the day for some. One of the things I do dislike about getting older is that I too can't as they say 'cut the mustard' like I once could. I always start out thinking I can and before long I'm on track, off focus and figuring out that I have to curtail my personal expectations for the day by quite a bit. Rare days come along when I'm able to do much more -- but they are definitely the exception now.

I also saw myself as someone who was always mainly under-wt. Oh what joy back then, and I assumed it would always be that way more than the other, if ever. Well, if ever has been a constant friend for the last 20 yrs. I'm now 'always' concerned about my wt. It is not horrid -- I am tall, but while I might look okay I am not doing myself any favors. One thing to think about for people like myself --- the coach in the nutrition class I liked so much says a lot of people would do better by focusing on healthy habits ( like enough fresh air, sunshine, and healthy foods ) rather than trying to maintain what they are told is the 'right' or by the book wt. for them. I try to see it in that way but still feel disappointment sometimes -- when I'm trying on clothes. Anyway, I'm going to have to make it work for me.

Sounds like a real headache, Sandy. Once you're home, you'll forget all that and remember the good experiences.

After 5 hours of labor on two different days, my giant azalea bed still isn't completely pruned. But I'm close. Another session with the loppers (sp?) and hand clippers should do it.

Great forecast for today. Cool this morning and warming up to 70 degrees. I'm supposed to play golf at 9 am and will probably carry through with that plan.

Happy Friday to all.

Sandy, it does sound like mucho headache time returning home. I stopped traveling a long time ago, but just a normal ( like from here to Calif. ) flight would put me in a major tailspin. Too difficult to do what was once easy to do without a second thought. I'm sure your right -- going to Boston will be about like going three blocks and back.

Yards are hard work aren't they Carole -- and I don't have anything really planted in the ground. But then living nearly in the woods there are plenty of green growing tree-type bushes and we have a couple of raised places where a couple of things have managed to survive.

Sounds like our daytime temps are going to start holding steadier so we are getting ready. Now I'll have to try and inspire Dh to get the deck ready ( it truly needs re-done with deck stain ) so we can bring out the outdoor table and chairs -- start having coffee and sit in REAL chairs rather than the fancy built-in benches which are nice for short periods -- but no backs to lean on. I'm spoiled at my age and want to lean back. Good for you to get in some golf. You have to have GOOD exercise now and then.

Lisa, anyone who lives in the San Diego area, the perfect climate, doesn't need to go anywhere! Goodness, your last trip that resulted in broken ankles must have been the trip from hell.

DH and I visited his uncle and aunt in Vista, CA, a couple of times. On one of those visits we took a fast, quiet train to San Diego. The route went along the ocean and provided beautiful views. We stayed in an rv park in Oceanside that was on the ocean. There was a path leading out of the rv park to the ocean. A short walk. I greatly enjoyed watching the surfers as I took a walk along the ocean.

In San Diego we took a tour bus to various parts of the city. It was an interesting day. I remember we ate lunch in an upscale Mexican restaurant with seating in a lovely outdoor area.

I'm feeling a little fatigued this morning from an active week. I'm opting not to don the gardening gloves, not to don the gym clothes. Instead I'll do some things around the house, maybe a little sewing before I visit my mother at the nursing home this afternoon and wheel her to bingo. Like some of the others daughters and relatives, I assist residents who don't have a family member to help them.

The new Louisiana budget has deep cuts to hospitals and health care and the majority of the residents in the nursing home are there, thanks to Medicaid.