MI Survivors

Hello. I'm Judy B., from Garden City MI. I am a full-time student at U of M Dearborn, going to be an elementary teacher. I have 17 & 14 yr. old daughters, 6 year old son; married 20 years this June (hubby has been wonderful thru all of this) I'm 40. This was my first mammogram. Dx with DCIS on March 12th, rads to start next week, possibly at Beaumont.

Love my (small) flower garden, can't wait to get it started again if it ever warms up! I like MI, but summer's are too short!

Judy

Hi, my name is Cherrie and I live in Portland, in between GR and Lansing. I am 49 with a daughter 21 and a son 18. I am a teacher as is my husband. I was diagnosed 10/02, lumpectomy, sentinal node biopsy, 33 rads, tamoxafen, and lupron since I was premenopausal. I am having a tough time with the hot flashes and night sweats.
I was stage 1, er positive and pr positive. My biggest fear is getting this back.

It's great to talk to some Michigan gals.

It's nice to meet you all. Maybe we can get together some time. We seem to live pretty much in the same areas, not too far apart.

Thought I'd post again to keep this near the top, maybe more Michigan gals will notice it.

Take care
Judy B.

Hi All:

Another Michigander (or is it Michiganian) here. LOL I was diagnosed in May '03 with IDC and micrometasis in one lymph node out of about 23 or so. I did 4 AC treatments followed by 33 rad treatments through Beaument in Royal Oak. I live in Bloomfield Township and if ever anyone wants to get together, I would be more than interested!! I'm in my sixties and so it sounds older than you gals, but if you don't mind, I sure don't. I'm young-thinking and that's what really matters, right?

God bless,
Pat

Hi Michigan Ladies,
I did my first 5K walk for the "Race for the Cure" in Detroit today. It was very emotional. I rarely go downtown but there were thousands of people!

If anyone gets a chance to see the play "Menopause" at the Gem theatre, you will really enjoy it!

Can you believe it - no rain today!!!

xxxxoooo

Nancy

Hi everyone!
I live in Troy, MI and had my surgery May 4. I just went to RO for my simualtions and will be going to Troy Beaumont for treatments sometime this month.

I am 48 (YIKES) with two teenage daughters, 15 and almost 17. My husband, left us in March, but has been with me every step of the way during this trying time.

I would LOVE to get together and have dinner or just meet you all!

Please PM me or write here. This is great, don't know how I missed this post or where I've been for the last month, oh yeah, I know recouping from surgery!

I am looking forward to hearing from you all!
Debra

No sun exposure on radiation area for three years??? I live in Brazil... good luck avoiding the sun 13 degrees south of the equator!

but I was born and raised in Kingsley Michigan a little village 20 miles south of Traverse City. I have not lived in Michigan for years as I mentioned to Debra on another post, but I was back in Kingsley last summer for a family gathering. And discovered that out of my highschool graduating class with a grand total of 70 students, at least three of us were diagnosed with cancer before 40. One good friend died of lung cancer at 38 (she was a smoker, but still that is pretty young, no?) and another developed colon cancer at 39, same year I was dx'd with BC. I had long since moved away from Michigan and lived in polluted urban centers on the East Coast but the other gals stayed in Kingsley their entire lives. Apparently a rural paradise but 3 out of 70 getting cancer before 40 is high I think. Fruit growing (cherries, apples, peaches) is the main crop and they used a lot of DDT on them to keep the bugs away, and as a kid I used to eat the fruit right off the tree....

Then when I was a teenager, there was that whole problem with PBB-- anyone remmber that? and people at the time wondered if after they buried all those cows, it hadnt percolated down to the ground water and contaminated it...

anyway the monkeys in the back yard are calling out to me, they've popped in for a visit and i really must go

Lisa

LorieAnne: I grew up in Canton, my parents still live there, around Ford/Lilley. My how Canton's grown! I'm 40 now, but when I moved there, Ford rd was only 2 lanes, there was a fish bait stand on the corner, and it didn't take 15 minutes to travel 1 mile!

Hope you are feeling better soon. Yes, it was muggy yesterday; I was having an outdoor graduation party for my daughter, luckily it didn't rain til after dinner.

Judy B.

Hi Michiganders,
I'm not on the boards as much lately but do come back to check on Tink. The 5K walk was a piece of cake. Of course, it was just a walk. Not Me – It is great that you ran 5K, I envy that. If I had tried running, I would have been wheezing in minutes. I'm really out of shape compared to how I was just before diagnosis. I put bc.org on the sign on my back for the walk. I was hoping to run into some other women who knew what it was about.

Yes, I sure do remember DDT and PPB and all those chemicals they used everywhere around here! We used to go camping up North and drink the water from the streams without boiling it or anything. I remember swimming in Lake Huron as a kid and dodging all of the dead fish floating around. I read somewhere that they have cleaned it up. The worst memory is you would drive to the place and get hit in the face with the overwhelming stench of dead fish! Still, we swam in it.

Now, the Wayne drive-in....what a place! They did the mosquito fog where you had to close your windows and still couldn't breathe from the chemical!

Lisa – that seems like high numbers from your school to me also. I envy you with having monkeys in your back yard! NotMe – same with the plastics company. You just cannot dismiss these as being coincidental! I save all the articles about Pall/Gelman since they are now being sued by the City of Ann Arbor. I'm not sure how to find out if there are more of us affected.

Lorie – hope the spasms go away soon and you recover quickly! Sending good vibes your way.

Candi – I went through chemo all last spring/summer. Just think, that by next summer it will be a bad dream and you will have your energy back!

Pat – I'm 50 but feel younger also (on most days). It is when I look in the mirror that I am shocked.

Debra – yep, that is Michigan. Heat and air-conditioning on the same day! This rain is sure a new one. What next, cicadas? Oh yeah – they are supposed to be waking up soon but I haven't heard any. I'm kind of looking forward to them.

Judy - glad you got a good day for the graduation party.

Have a great day everyone – there are flash flood warnings for today!

xxxooo

Nancy

Candi: I used to hang at the Rusty Nail back in my 20's!! My friend worked there as a waitress.

Did you go to Salem or Canton High? I was at Salem, class of 81.

Judy B.

Canton High...Class of 84........how funny is that....I've never been to the rusty nail....when I got to bar age, we hung out at frankies on ford rd......lordy that was so long ago.....lol......

Junie:

It's weird, but I've lived here for almost 30 years, and have not been to the U.P. The closest I've been is Mackinaw. I'll have to venture up there some day. I do love camping on the west 'coast' of MI, though, near Ludington. It is truly a beautiful state.

Judy B.

Hope all the Michigan gals are doing fine (and of course all the other gals too). If there is a get together I would certainly be interested!
Lorrie (Lorraine)

Hi Debra,

We don't live very far from each other. I live at 24 Mile and VanDyke.
My Drs. are out of Troy Beaumont which is very close to you!