Survivorship

Anonymous · October 2007

On the Health Discovery channel starting tomorrow night there will be a week of what does survivorship mean to you. It's not only about breast cancer. I do know that Lance Armstrong will be on there. There is a young woman who had been shot in the face by her bf (I believe). I've seen her on Oprah and another show.

Just thought I'd FYI.

Shirley

NoH8 · October 2007

Thanks for letting us know. I'm going to check it out.

JoanofArdmore · October 2007

Thanks, Shirley!

Not that I can watch it, having no cable.But it does sound interesting.

I'm thinking survivorship means a large pain in the a$$ to me.I'd certainly rather be a survivor, but with bc one is constanly looking over her shoulder.So I guess I rue the day I was dx.

I have recently rescued the most awesome , brilliant, and wonderful dog.He makes my life shine.(I wish I could post pix of him-he's VERY old-fashioned looking!)

But now a new worry--what will happen to him if something happens to me?The shelter I got him from insists he come back if I cant keep him for any reason.And it's a nice big house& land in the country.But...he'll miss me now.And he'll miss his things-toys, fluffy beds, high-end food.Our routine.Mostly me.It took him a LONG time to get the sad look out of his eyes.I dont ever want him to go through that again.

I'm actually now buying a tiny house, so we can live a real dogly life, not an elevator-riding, going through the lobby life.

And through it all, I'm thinking "if I need surgery, I'll only be allowed showers" (my house is real old and has a huge claw-foot tub which the past owners preserved.I love deep baths, so it's wonderful for me too.) But kill my joy! Survivorship.

And my joint pain from femara?I've already figured if I cant stand the stairs I will have a stair-glider put in for the next year and a half.(Actually I'm hoping to tough it out.My regular doctor says stairs are JUST what my increased-from-femara risen blood glucose and lipids need.)

Not even mentioning every twinge or oddity being terrifying.Not even mentioning treating myself like a sort of patient..constantly eating "the right" food, getting my exercize,taking all these antioxidents and sups.I always did this, but it wasnt my #1 priority.Now I feel compelled to do as much as I can to STAY a survivor.

I used to be a merry cricket.Now I'm...a bc survivor.

Sorry for grumpy posting on what being a survivor means to me.

j

Anonymous · October 2007

Joan, your'e not being a grumpy survivor. You're just being honest and honesty IS the best policy. Why put on a phoney-baloney face.

I am sooooo happy for your doggy that he has YOU! I understand the fear of "leaving" him behind. They grieve also. But, Joan, you are too tough and to GRUMPY to leave him. Foot in mouth Oops, didn't mean to say the word "grumpy."

You're gonna move AGAIN? Joan, I hope you have unpacked all your boxes to only pack again. My brain would definitely be hurting just thinking about moving!

You WILL eventually need a shower. Have an outside shower installed. It would be the cheapest way to go. Laughing

Okay, have you been taking your cinnamon. Here's a quote from WebMD. I know, I know there's a topic about "keep me away from WebMD." Also, this article was for men. It's about foods that are good for you. I'm going to try to eat this and see if my bloodworks glucose comes down, plus my triglycerides and bad cholesterol. I see pcp in December. My triglycerides aren't high, but getting them down more would be better. Oh, I'm on Lipitor.

5. Cinnamon

This old-world spice usually reaches most men's stomachs only when it's mixed with sugar and stuck to a roll.

Why it's healthy: Cinnamon helps control your blood sugar, which influences your risk of heart disease. In fact, USDA researchers found that people with type-2 diabetes who consumed 1 g of cinnamon a day for 6 weeks (about 1/4 teaspoon each day) significantly reduced not only their blood sugar but also their triglycerides and LDL (bad) cholesterol. Credit the spice's active ingredients, methylhydroxychalcone polymers, which increase your cells' ability to metabolize sugar by up to 20 times.

How to eat it: You don't need the fancy oils and extracts sold at vitamin stores; just sprinkle the stuff that's in your spice rack (or in the shaker at Starbucks) into your coffee or on your oatmeal.

Joan, you crack me up so PLEASE keep on posting those GRUMPY posts!

Shirley

tawyna1 · October 2007

thanks for posting shirley,

i will have to watch it.

JoanofArdmore · October 2007

Shirley! Another suppliment?I've still not got the zeaxanthine!

AND, it so happens I've been taking 2 cinnamon bark caps a day, morning and night for months now!Ever since Dr Weil said it helps with pre-diabetes/high blood glucose.

It is this damn Femara which is raising my b.glucose AND my bad cholesterol, lowering the good.(I take Red yeast Rice for that.Used to take 2 a day, but Susie said it is exactly like taking a statin.So I lowered it to 1.)

My sweet little dog had some nibbles of rare skirt steak tonight.I almost never eat red meat but of COURSE when I did I shared with him.He got a wild look on his face, rolled his eyes and started begging in earnest.(He has obviously been strongly trained not to beg, not to jump, not to lick.I've been busy breaking his training.I believe in dogs being treated more like people.)

!

Anonymous · October 2007

Well, first of all...I'm going to try regular cinnamon...no pill. It won't hurt that's for sure.

You still crack me up. So, you're UNtraining your baby. It's MUCH more fun to spoil them than to have them act like a trained dog. For Pete's sake, afterall WE don't think of them as dogs. Laughing

My daughter and her dh just adopted a dog. They had a trainer to come over to their house. They have two young children and wanted to make sure this dog was a good dog. Well, he is. But he's big and could do damage, if you know what I mean. However my dd knows not to leave a dog of anykind alone with the kids. Anyway, he started out being crated at night and when they worked. The had some storms and he was so frightened that he got out of the cage. Then, he started having blood in his stools. The vet thought it was stress related. It was. So, now he even jumps on the furniture and they pretend like they don't see him. LOL They had to board him for several days while they went to Disney. He again had the blood in his stools. I think they called it Colitis. So, this dog cannot be caged. And he even had a run. But I suspect he also missed his home. As soon as he came home he jumped in the small pink chair that belongs to granddaughter. She says to her mom, remember when Hyde (dog's name) wasn't supposed to jump on the furniture. My daughter said, yes. LOL

So, Joan, keep spoiling your baby. We need to see a picture of him.

Shirley

JoanofArdmore · October 2007

Wow, your daughter's nice!Still, dogs ARE part of the family.And I cant bear to treat them like slaves or prisoners.

Hyde is lucky to have such a caring mom.A lot of people would just put him on prednisone or valium & buy a stronger cage.

I'd love to post pix of Woody.I havent taken any just because my house is still full of (full) moving cartons.Not a very nice background...But I have a really great post which the guy who rescued him from the euthanasia list at NYC SPCA sent around to all the shelters in the tri-state area.It describes his personality PERFECTLY and has pix of him that are VERY Woody.

He's about 45 lbs, looks like a tiny little German Shepherd dog, or an Australian Heeler.He's brindle.Which makes me think he has some Pit Bull.His body is muscular, but his head isnt big like a Pit.Still-he was found wandering in Harlem.So he's real lucky someone didnt get him and use him for "training" purposes.

He does SCREAM! if I try to pick him up.Someone picked him up and did something awful to him...WHY??He is SUCH a good boy!

He's very, very adorable in a sort of old-fashioned way.Like Nipper,the RCA dog, or Tige, the Buster Brown dog.

Since I can only cut & paste the pix I have, I cant put them on a photo site, to( try & )post them here.

I'm still smiling about your daughter.

nosurrender · October 2007

Joan,

I am so happy to read you got a furperson back into your life again!!!

Enjoy him. Don't let your mind "go there"

I know mine does with "Steve" AKA Mr. Fluffy... but then I think who the hell knows what will happen to any of us and give myself a break and not worry about who will take care of him. I just try to take the best possible care of him now and not think about it.

I know how much you wanted a dog and I am so happy to read this. Laughing

Anonymous · October 2007

Joan...your very own furbaby! Oh i know he'll be so spoiled! That's really great news....ENJOY!

In another vein, whatever happened to the Suvivorship show?

~Marin

Anonymous · October 2007

Marin, the show was on last night and will be on the rest of this week.

It was about four "survivors." One in particular who did the "filming" had a rare form of liver cancer. However, the tumors were stable. She was changing her whole lifestyle. She also found love and got married. Laughing The other stories that she presented were shorter than hers. They each had different cancers.

It was hard to watch and a little humorous. Hard to watch because we with cancer know just how each of them feel.

I think the one tonight is about HIV/Aides. Not sure.

Shirley

Shirlann · October 2007

Hey our dear Joan, you enjoy this dog and let him take your heart and give you his, that is the right thing to do.

Stop worrying about the what ifs? If something happens, you can deal with it. And whatever happens, think, he has had wonderful day upon wonderful day with you, that is one lucky dog!

Animals don't worry about tomorrow, I bet he wouldn't trade one hour in your home for any other place on earth!

He is lucky.

Hugs, Shirlann

Anonymous · October 2007

Thanks, Shirley...now I get it! The one about the girl with liver cancer is 'Crazy, Sexy Cancer.' She's an actress and documentary filmaker in NYC and did this film about herself; also wrote a book by the same name. I missed tonight's, but will check out the rest of the week.

~Marin

Anonymous · October 2007

Marin, I don't think it was on last night. However, I watched Mystery Diagnoses.

I think it will be on tonight.

Shirley

Anonymous · October 2007

And, I forgot to say, you're correct about the "Crazy Sexy Cancer." Boy, was she on a journey!

Shirley

JoanofArdmore · October 2007

Shirlann, you thing of sunshine.What would we DO without you around here?

Thank you so much for the pep-talk!

Love you, Sweetie.

j

Survivorship

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