2005 ROCK-TOBER CHEMO GIRLS

Meeshell -

Are you basking in JA land? Just checking in on you...

and

IS DEBBIE FINE?

Geesh...I think I have to get the ol' search light out! LOL

Happy Saturday My sisters!

 

We have been pretty busy gearing up for our move in a little over 7 weeks, yikes!  This week we bought a new king size mattress and box spring and picked up our sectional and took it to the storage unit we have rented for a few months.  We have also ordered a new pine bedroom set which will be ready for pickup in 2 weeks.

 

My boss is still off sick and it has been crazy busy at work and this upcoming week I will be out of the office Thursday and Friday at meetings. 

 

We are gearing up to close our trailer down for the season as well as the weather is turning cool and the park closes on Thanksgiving which for us is October 8^th.  Next weekend will be the last weekend that I go up to the trailer as dh is working the following weekend and then it is time to close it.  Where did the summer go?

 

Today I am volunteering to sell the Acton Firefighters Calendar at the “Annual Fall Fair”, my timeslot is 2 – 5:30 pm.  I have been teasing the crap out of my dh saying I am going to post his calendar up at work (seriously I’m not as I work in an hr department).  I haven’t seen the finished product yet so it should be fun!

 

My appt with a gynecologist to remove my ovaries is November 20^th and then hoping to schedule the surgery for early next year.

 

When are we making a switchover to the Yahoo board, any thoughts?  I try not to visit the other threads now just so that I can truly move beyond and live life to the fullest without the extra worry…..

 

Cindy – how are you feeling these days?  Your trip to the Eagle center sounds really cool!  My dh loves watching birds and the outdoors…so do I for that matter….

 

Graycie – have to get off my butt and do some more packing this weekend in between all my social activities, haa haaJ  Your little icon things in the email made me laugh, especially the one with the little girl chewing the gum.LOL.

 

Mary – big hugs, you certainly have had your share of grief and deaths to deal with this past year.  Healing thoughts. 

 

How was the wedding in the castle?

 

Deb – OMG it sounds like the house is falling apart without the organizer being there.  They will probably do a huge cleanup before you get home, hopefully….glad to hear that your Florida trip was enjoyable.  Do you leave to go home tomorrow?

 

Laura – we are going to Jamaica on October 20 and cant wait!  Tell the goat I say hi back.LOL.  How’s are little Shelby doing?  She is such a sweet child and has a huge heart!

 

Don’t burn yourself out with your work deadlines!

 

Maryanne – you must be lonely without your daughter, this was the first year she is away?

 

You are brave having reconstruction done, another surgery and more healing time.  All the very best to you.  Forgot to ask my mom again about the relative thing?

 

Tracyseattle – wow, your Reno weekend sounded amazing and uplifting!

I will email you the answers separately.

 

TracyNy – I hope that we too can also move over to the Yahoo boards, another big step in moving on with our lives.

 

Kelly – your trip to Catalina island makes me jealous, is it ever pretty!  Love the pictures of your and Teryn and the jazz hands with Teryn on the beach is too cute for words!  That drink looks like it could last someone a whole night….

 

Brenda – you are so funny my dear, I miss your sense of raw humour.    Hope the mask helps out with your sleep.  My dad has a machine but never wears it, mom is always after him.  She is being tested for sleep apnena at a sleep clinic tomorrow night.

 

Paula – how are you my International roommate, I miss you too!  Is the weather still cool in Australia.  The temps here today are 11C!  Hope you feel better soon…

 

Debbie – that sucks that you still haven’t got your thyroid situation straightened out.  What kind of chemical are they giving you?

 

Cathy – Do you know if Real Simple is available in Canada?  I haven’t seen it here?

 

Rosemarie – its important to have that Couple time together, good for you.  Glad you enjoyed your date!

 

Amy – hello, hope everything is well with you!

 

Have a super Saturday ladies, off to do my volunteer duties amongst all firefighters.LOLJ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meeshell - knowing my luck its probably Napalm!!

Is there any particular reason that we have to start a forum at Yahoo or anywhere else for that matter?  Just hitting "reply all" to the e-mails we send to each other is working just fine for me. 

Since most of our posts are non-cancer related at this point I don't think our conversation on this board adds major value to the  community at large except to share that life goes on.  Just my 2 cents worth.

Where in Jamaica are you going Michelle?  I love that island, it is beautiful and the resorts I've stayed at have been wonderful.  I need a vacation now myself.  I think you only need one move on your resume, the one I just completed was mine.  If I hear a whiff about moving anywhere ever, I'm turning in my resignation!!

Tracy NY

Paula -

Wow...those photos are beautiful! Snow is in our near future and sand is in yours!...lucky you.

Hi,

I had a great weekend with other women from my province who are survivors. Wow two survovor weekends in one month. Run for the Cure is in 2 weeks. Pretty soon I will be survivored out for the year.

Tracy I think some of our conversation is relevant to the greater picture as we are demonstrating getting back on track after the cute treatment. I was surprised to meet a fellow real life survivor who asked me if I was Mary-Anne from BC.org....some peole are following us! Laura, you are right!

I suppose, making it emails with copies is a way of keeping in touch but if it is anything like all ythe other peolpe on my list you may never hear from me again! I get sort of lazy from time to time. I like the comfort of coming and going here without necessarily adding a long letter...And I still roam the other boards for info and occasinally to offer advice and support. But ,I am willing to go with what ever.

Shelby is really identifying with you Laura, that is so special. Maybe as her Aunt she will never find you "uncool" as some teens find their Moms. How old will she be? Yup, house clleaning may have to get to the top of my to-do list too soon.

Tracey, Seattle, I will PM you the info. Congrats on being one of the ambassadors for this dreadful disease. I know you will find the right words and voice to tell your story. Post a copy of your speech if you don't mind. Cathy, any way of seeing your article? You could photogaph it then upload it to me in a PM. I never get shopping so would likely never come across it otherwise.

Amy, I bet your puppy is growing like a weed. How is the training going.

I met a lady with the BR Ca 1 gene(no current cancer) over the weekend. Her family history was horrrendous so she decided to be tested. When she tested positive she had bilateral mast with immediate DIEP and hyst with both ovaries removed. What a brave lady. So many issues involved with the testing and the decision making afterwards...

Graycie, I am sure your life is far from boring.

Debbie, I have had several patients get better from their Graves within18 months. So if your specialists want to try this, it may be worth trying. By the way I have just diagnosedone of my patients with that this week. Her T$ was only 26, not quite as bad as yours. Say hi to your family.

Michele, take your packing slowly, you have 7 weeks. Will you be walking on Sept 30? Hope they can take your ovaries laproscopically, have you had any prior surgery on your belly?

Thanks for the thoughts on my recon Paula. Seeing your excellent results and listening to your story helped me make my own decision. 

Hey Mary, Cindy, Brenda, and Deb...hope you are all well.

Mary-Anne -

Have fun at the "Run"!  How's your dd doing at school? Shelby will be turning 12 this year! She has promised that she will NEVER think I'm un-cool! LOL

Meeshell -

btw...I had my left Ovary removed laprascopically. The surgery was a breeze, but I had a bad bout of gas pain. They inflate your abdomen with air - so they can "see" around better. A gas pocket lodged itself under my right shoulder blade for AN ENTIRE WEEK. I was miserable...so, my dear...my advice would be to talk to your Dr. about it. Try to prevent it if possible. Perhaps by taking Gas-X or something like it the day after surgery? I'm so excited for you about your vacation! The 20th will be here b/4 you know it! You've had a stressful summer with the sale of your house...you have so earned it. 

---------

I'm getting used to this new site...I just wish they'd tweek it faster! LOL

Mary-Anne -

Have fun at the "Run"!  How's your dd doing at school? Shelby will be turning 12 this year! She has promised that she will NEVER think I'm un-cool! LOL

Meeshell -

btw...I had my left Ovary removed laprascopically. The surgery was a breeze, but I had a bad bout of gas pain. They inflate your abdomen with air - so they can "see" around better. A gas pocket lodged itself under my right shoulder blade for AN ENTIRE WEEK. I was miserable...so, my dear...my advice would be to talk to your Dr. about it. Try to prevent it if possible. Perhaps by taking Gas-X or something like it the day after surgery? I'm so excited for you and your vacation! The 20th will be here b/4 you know it! You've had a stressful summer with the sale of your house...you have so earned it. 

---------

I'm getting used to this new site...I just wish they'd tweek it faster! LOL

Hi my sweet Rocktober Sisters!!!

Cathy!!!  What a beautiful pic and article in Really Simple.  You are AWESOME!!!

Paula - I love your pics - what beach is that?  I visited Bondi and Manly (I think that was the name of it).  They were both beautiful!  I loved the Opera House too.

It has been a busy weekend for us.  Yesterday the Kiwanis had a beverage booth at the local Boys & Girls club for a Family Day event and I had a luncheon with my Survivor Tent committee for the Making Strides Walk in October.

Today we ran errands and I packed for our Canada trip - we leave next Saturday.

Fall has definitely arrived in the NW - it rained (poured) all day today. 

Well, it is my bedtime and I agree with Michelle - Monday - UGH.

love you all!

t

Now there's  a nice looking guy for me!  Send him over this way!! 

Hi, everyone:

Hope all is well for each of you today. I had a semi-good weekend, but got ill at the end with tummy trouble and a headache. I stayed at home today to get feeling better.

I wanted to answer TracyNY's question about another forum. As I recall, there was some concern a while back that Rocktober sisters did not feel comfortable opening their private experiences, feelings, and thoughts in a very public forum. BC.org is totally public. Anyone can sign up and read anything and comment and pretend to be someone you think you know. There is no way to shield your messges or direct them just to your trusted friends, other than individual private messages. Also, there was discontent for some because of the monitoring, deleting, and censorship of messages on the BC forum. If someone complains about you, your message can be deleted and you can be blocked by the moderators. I was one who found this pretty upsetting.

So, a couple of us began to explore ways to communicate as Rocktober sisters more privately. That is the purpose of the Yahoo October Women group. Only Rocktober sisters can join, read messages, and post messages. When you are looking at messages you can have them grouped by topics so if you want to participate in a conversation about a particular topic, you can follow that one. Or, like I do, you can read everything and respond where you wish. You can choose to receive an e-mail of every message, or a daily digest of the messages for the day, or receiving no e-mails and just go to the group site to read what's being said whenever you want.

We had difficulty at the beginning, primarily because I leaped before I looked, and failed to read the instructions before starting off. So, for a few days, every message that was posted had to be approved by me (only because I started the group). So, when I did "read the instructions" I fixed the problem (a simple click of the keys) and now messages can be posted at will. NO moderating, monitoring, censoring, deleting or blocking of a Rocktober sister.

I'm terribly concerned that the existence of another place to communicate will split the group in some way. That is a great fear I have. Many of us seem ready to move beyond BC talk as the basis of our friendship. To me, this is not a rejection of anyone or especially, anyone still dealing with the aftermath. But I see, as many do, that we spend less time talking about BC and more about our day-to-day lives. I suppose we could agree to use the October Women group as our "private spot" while continuing activity here at BC.org. However, for myself, I have trouble enough participating in one location. I would ultimately, I think, carry on in one place or the other.

Originally, I proposed that we try Yahoo for a couple of weeks and then assess how we feel. However, Rosemarie's comment, "I don't know where to post" brings up an important point. If we don't use the October Women group, how can we know if we like it or not?

As we have become better friends I find great pleasure in your company, limited as it is by distance. I would not mind the group e-mails that flourished just before we went to Chicago. But, they fill up an in-box very quickly. And you have to deal with everyone, one way or another by reading, saving to a file, or deleting. Also, there are some of us who prefer to keep their e-mail private and participate through a site, such as BC.org or October Women.

Let us continue talking about what works, what we want, and how we can best continue this precious network of friendship that we have built.

Love to you all~

Mary, I think things will work out as each Rocktober sister chooses what works best for her. I plan to check in with both the Yahoo group and BC.org. TracyNY may want to stick to group emails. If only one or two of us do group emails, maybe it won't overload the inboxes so much. This is certainly a transition time, as so many of us are frustrated with BC.org's new format. (Grrrr!)

--Silly Cindy

Hello Everyone,

I have just picked up my T-Shirt and bag from the Post Office. I am so chuffed with them . I do not know who organised these but THANK YOU for thinking of me.

I am not sure how the forums are doing but think that I will perhaps post the same message on the Yahoo board - if I can work out how to join it.

Hope you are all doing fine

Jill 

hey everybody!

I'm back in Israel...without my luggage! I thought it went on the next flight out from JFK but they are still tracing it. It should have arrived in Tel Aviv by now. HUMPH!

It's weird to be back.

And I hate these new boards.

I don't have time now to read all the things everybody wrote but I did read that Paula wasn't feeling well so, Paula..feel better. Those zinc things are great.

Debbie..I hope the chemical way will work for you.

Mary...I'm with you. Also..I love your new avatar because that is what you look like and now I can even hear your voice in your written words and see your face the way I know you!

Our meeting that weekend was certainly the highlight of my trip abroad. I only wish all the women had been there. Next time...

I'm zonked and am off to bed. Tomorrow I'll clean the house. It's unorganized and there's nothing to eat here!

Send some good luck that my luggage will arrive safely tomorrow!

Be well!

Cindy..hope you are doing okay.

I am happy to use whatever format everyone agrees one...

i am biased towards gmail though, thanks Ravdeb for supporting me there!  It has a fantastic layout for following a conversation.

I am not too keen on Yahoo groups... dont like the way it looks.

and i guess we should give bc.org another chance... i know mods are working on it with very limited resources. But i was wondering if our thread should be moved to 'Moving Beyond' or 'Growing our frienships' or something like that.

Tracy, the pic is from the walk that goes between Bondi and Coogee beaches. There are a few smaller beaches along the way, and they are all equally beautiful! The walk is quite a few kilometers, but is absolutely gorgeous on sunny days.