anyone starting chemo in Nov 2005

Good morning. Love and (((((Hugs)))) to all my sisters. There is so much happening...weddings, new job, grand baby, doggie and vacation, weight loss, new home and job search, and finishing another chemo milestone...carbo. Life is good.

Have a great weekend!

http://www.myspace.com/bcsisterhood

Okay girls....please read this blog, I added you all at the end....

Please let me know if I forgot anyone...

and tell me what you all think....

I tried this before, lol...didn't know what I was doing...right deb!

Mary- Love your myspace page. And especially the picture of Kaye. I always think of her as rambling on in her camper, in this world or the next.

Fabulous pic Lat56- what a beautiful face and smile.

Have some cheese, some wine and some melt-in-your-mouth pastries for me Anna!


Good luck finding a job Deb. My sis just called me today, she has to find one too.

Nancy- miss hearing from you.

Odalys- how are you and how is your boss?

Kim- I hope that havingthe carbo behind you, you are finding strength and are feeling good. Are your kids are out for summer? My vacation is over in 3 days!

No really, we are heading up to the cabin later this week for a few days and then next week we will leave for Seattle/Alaskan cruise. Be back July 2nd! Exciting and panicked- how to pack for 5 people, 11 days, still be able to get thru the airport when the kids can't haul their own stuff? I might need to go back and look at our travel advice for Anna.

I am all healed up and so glad to be feeling "normal" for once.

Glad to see another summer,

Margerie

Hey everyone,
LAT56, glad to see a face with the picture. Beautiful picture with the boys.
Margerie, glad you are feeling great. The cruise sounds wonderful. You will all have a great time. The kids are officially home. I haven't heard I'm bored yet, LOL!
MaryLou, great site.

I got chemo today. Blood work was ok, hemoglobin is still a little low. I need to keep up the iron and eat more meat.
The only down side is that my tumor markers went up. The last time they were 36 now they are 48 Not a terrible jump, but still a jump. Oncologist is not worried at all because the jump is not a lot. He really didn't want to tell Anthony and me, because he knew we would freak out. Of course we did. I just remember how excited we were when they went down 5 pts, now to go up 11. Just pray they stay where they are.

Kim

Kim- maybe the little increase in markers was because those tumor cells are getting fried and the markers are collateral damage! I know oncs don't panic until they start doubling and tripling consecutively. Always put a positive spin!

Wishing the best for all of you,

Margerie

Omag, good to hear from you again! So good to know you are doing ok. No, we don't know about Kaye, but we all worry.

No job yet....still looking!
Gotta do bills now (ick). I just spent money like a wild-woman at Target (fifty percent off seasonal merchandise!). Therefore, bills are a scary task.
Love and prayers, Deb

PS-ML, love the site. One thing though....can you change the spelling of my name? I spell it "Debbie." Silly lady!

OH crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is so horrible. I will pray for her family.

Today is my one year anniversary of my bilateral mastectomy! Daniel and I sat and relived last year at this time. He remembers that Daddy and he watched "Increbables," or, translated, "Incredibles," while I had surgery. What an angel.

Love and prayers, Deb

Hope all the daddies had a great day! That was a great poem Odalys.

Love to all my sisters. I wasn't able to get onto your myspace site, Mary Lou, but I'll keep trying. We have dialup here (like in VA) and it's soooooooooo slow!

I hope your chemo sessions are painless, Kim, and I am praying for those numbers to go back down. I still don't understand why some docs do tumor markers and some don't.

I have put my whole oncologist question on hold... the new one made me go through all that testing just before we left and she never even got back to me with the results! I got them from my breast surgeon. So lucky I made sure he was on the list to get the results. I just don't know if I should stay with someone who puts me through that kind of mind-bending horror and doesn't even discuss the outcome with me. She's an anti-tumor-marker doctor and almost (but not quite) poo-pooed the other oncologist for doing them faithfully.

The other oncologist has moved to an office that's a real bummer to get to, but I just don't know. Maybe I should return to her anyway. I hate having to make this decision, so I'll put it on hold a little longer, don't you think, and be on vacation.

So, here in Brittany it rains a bit, then the sun shines a bit, then it rains a little more and finally the sun settles in for some gorgeous brilliance.

Yep, I have had some melt-in-your-mouth pastries for you, Margerie. I have had some to-die-for cheese and some what's-your-name-again wine. I love it all. The best thing is the chicken is NATURAL and the eggs, mild, etc. have nothing added. The fish is caught right off the shore and we go to the fishmarket to get it. I'll be one happy rollypolly.....

Little dog hasn't made friends with any of her French counterparts but she sure is liking the smells over here.

Good luck with the job search, Debbie.

My daughter arrives for a three-week stay at the end of next week and I yearn to see her.

Love to all,

Anna

Yeah...Anna glad you can check in from over seas so we don't have to wait 4 months to hear from you. It sounds like you are just having too much fun eating all that good food. Enjoy...that is what vacations are for. I can't believe the doctor did not call you back with results. That really speaks volumes as to the kind of physician s/he is. I agree with Kim, maybe it's worth going a bit farther for a more caring physician.

MaryLou - I don't see our names in your web site. What am I missing?

Love to all,

LOL, the names are in the blog part. It starts out saying "Why I started this"

I have so many people that have stopped by and added me as a friend. I can't believe how many, if you do a search for breast cancer sisterhood you can see them all. I use the picture of the women walking with their arms locked side by side. It represents us.

I think Marg, posted it, or Odalys....

Can I post you all too. I only have Kaye now. I have a picture of Nancy some place. I will have to find it.

Kim, hope all is well with you, I need a picture. Try to email it to me.

Anna- I'm glad you have a way of being with us while you are gone ...it wouldn't be the same with out you.

Deb, name is changed....LOL

Love to you all...

Hey ladies!!! Where are you?

Tomorrow is my 32nd birthday (yes, the 4th! My mom had a 4th of July birthday, too!) I welcome another year of life with great happiness and my arms wide open (as far as my slightly less range of motion arms will go!).

Have a blessed 4th, ladies, and eat lots of barbecue! Love and prayers, Deb

Kim,

Sorry to hear your updates. I hope you have a fun/busy month planned so that you don't have to think about it too much. Easier said than done! I have to laugh too about the "don't worry" part and "I'm sure it's nothing!" I certainly hope it is nothing but a couple of cysts and some cancer cells dying a horrific death (the tumor marker rise).

We just got back from our vacation and I must say I didn't think about cancer hardly at all. It was wonderful! I will post pics once I get them uploaded. The kids had so much fun. And they even got along ALL DAY yesterday, even though I had to drag them around and do errands until 2:00. We had no groceries, etc. Of course, today the bloom is off the rose!

I also have to warn you gals- I had a friend that fell down in the shower and the glass door broke. She was laying naked on the floor with glass all around. Thank goodness she had closed the door so her dogs didn't come in. Anyway, she was fine and she pulled herself up by the towel bar.

Well, this morning I stepped into the shower and forgot I needed another bar of soap and stepped out and wham! Before I knew it I had totally slipped and twisted my ankle and banged my cheekbone on the door frame. Thank goodness I had no shower door to worry about. My friends glass door was from the 50's- I think they have shatter-proof now.

So please be careful going in and out of those showers!

We are just going to hang around our pool for the 4th!

Be safe and happy everyone!

Love,

Margerie

Kim, I am imagining those tumor markers going down, and soon! I totally agree that the wait is so HARD! Unbearably hard.

About falling: I think I mentioned falling flat on my face (and knee) the day we left the States, four weeks and three days ago (already?). I have been to the chiropractor ten times now and my knee is still really tender and hurts when I bend it to go down stairs. I think I need to get some kind of picture of what's in there, maybe it isn't just a bump but something out of whack. My husband and I love walking here above all else (except the cheese, the pastries, the food, the wine....) and he goes every day but I haven't been able to go with him yet, it just hurts too much. I guess it's time to find out what's going on.

Other than that, all is well. I have put all the testing I was sent for those last two weeks right behind me and can't even really remember the outcome. It is all so far away. Maybe this is good; maybe I am letting the ball drop. All I know is I am having fun training this little dog, seeing my daughter, listening to the ocean, seeing my friends, going through all the little projects I left unfinished here when we had to race back for the biopsy two years ago, just being my old self.

Lots of love to all of you, and Kim, I haven't and won't ever stop praying.

Anna

As always, thank you very much for all your support.