Jan 2008--Ain't it Great?

sheshe48 · May 2008

Hi Jewels,

I was just hopping in to tell everyone to be safe threw the storms, It's been storming in MI all day, not bad. I know it's been bad some some states. Take care of yourself Jewels.

Deb, I know what you are going through the taxatere bites. The bone pain I think was the worst of it. some days I could not stand to put my feet on the floor. You can do it. As they say "This too shall Pass". I hope the fog is lifting and you are feeling better. Yes, you are normal a lot of us have been thru it. Love the story about the eggs.

Kimberly I'm so glad you are feeling better, vitamen E is safe as long as you don't swollen them. I'm still deciding if I want my battle scars to remain or get rid of it with the vitamen e gel. I was even thinking about one day covering it with a tattoo, I have never had one before. I think vitamen e is a better solution.

Take care Jewels, and I'm thinking about everyone of you. And for the MIA ones take care and join in when you can.

Determined1 · May 2008

Hey Gang! I got some good news to share. When I went for my tanning session today, the techs explained to me that there were some cancellations for Saturday and if I wouldn't mind coming in at 8:30am, they would get me back on schedule. Would I mind??!! I'm so all over that! So I'm going to get my last full tanning treatment in the morning before dd's bball games, and then they moved my first boost appointment to Monday. So I'll be done in time for Mother's Day after all (provided there are no further machinery breakdowns...). Guess the baked goods I've been taking in periodically have paid off!! Hooray!!! (How sick am I that I'm excited to go in and have my boob burned?)

Sheshe-My boob is very pink and sore. In fact, it's not just my boob as my field goes up to my collarbone, under my arm and around my back over my shoulderblade. It's HUGE! And it's all pink/red. My armpit is very dark (the rubbing on my compression garment doesn't help, but I have to wear it), and I have little blisters all around my nipple (those are NOT fun). But the techs and my doc say they think my skin is holding up very well, so I'm going with the flow. As you read, my last full field zap is tomorrow morning (I'll have completed 25 of the damn things). Next week I move on to my boosts, which are concentrated zaps to my tumor beds (one on my boob and the other under my arm-oh boy). Oh, and the coffee buds will return-I suddenly can't get enough java.

SIS Kimberly-Oh man, just a few outing strung together in one day can just totally drain you. I was EXHAUSTED after one or two activities by the time I reached my last chemo. And it took a month before I felt energetic again. It'll come back. It's just hard to be patient after the last tx, isn't it? You're SO OVER the whole se thing. Try to be patient (easy for me to say, I'm past it).

Wow Therese, you must be so excited about your implant surgery. Like you said, one more hurdle. Take it in style, I know you will.

Oh Julie, what a long day for you. I hope some of it turns out better than you suspect. At least you got to lick your wounds with a surprise outing to Kohl's!

I'm just sitting here shaking my head as I read about ds' rant about your hair. I would've lost it, too (and I'm not a crier). But there's something inside of me that suspects the rant was his way of releasing some of his pent-up fear/anger/whatever at bc. It really sounded like a lashing out, but because the real focus of his rant wasn't available to him, he ranted at you. Just speculation, but I've never gotten the impression from you that he's prone to this sort of thing. I hope you can both forgive each other and move on. (Oh, and when we get our sexies back, we're all gonna look 20 years younger, so there.)

You've got a lot on your plate next week, Carol. I could barely keep up with the comings and goings as I read it. It'll be neat to reacquaint with Ginny after almost 20 years. Hope you two recognize one another!

Paula-Wendi's book arrived today, thanks. I was really touched by the card you included and have decided the pen will live by the computer (I was using one I misappropriated from a hotel, so this one is MUCH better). Thanks ever so much.

Sounds like your rad sim was uneventful. All the markings are weird, aren't they? Mine came off right away and they had to redo them the next day. When they marked me up for my boost sim, they remembered that the ink comes off me easily, so I got my boost tattoo on the same day, instead of waiting. Hopefully, that will speed things along on Monday when I start.

Deb, you make me smile at how normal you are! Hang in there.

Well, it's after 5p here, so it's cocktail hour! Woooohoooo! (Not trying to gloat here, so if you're still not able to imbibe, please don't take offense.)

Looks like a busy weekend for me. Last full tanning session in the morning and then off to watch the dd play bball. Our new upright freezer should be delivered tomorrow, too. Hopefully, that will be in the early morning so dh can take care of it and we can all go to watch the little one shoot some hoops.

I'll try to check in, but don't post TOO much-I hate that intimidated feeling when I've fallen behind a couple of pages!

D1

golfer779 · May 2008

Hi Ladies,

Deb, just heard on the radio on my way home from work of some terrible storms in Arkansas. Hoping that your doing okay, and avoided the brunt of them. Please lets us know if your able to get a quick post out.

D1, sounds like a plan to get er' done tomorrow, looks like Mother's Day will be a time of celebration. And yeah, I'm taking big offense to your cocktail hour, I'm going all out and mixing a little cranberry juice with my water tonight, so Whooo Hoooo to you too!!!!!

Glad to see Wendi's book is getting some mileage, I think you'll enjoy the read. Enjoy your busy weekend, and lets hope the boob holds up for one more week.

Sheshe, for the scars I've been using when I remember Mederma. It probably works similar to the Vit E, just don't have to fiddle with poking the pills. Its hard to really know if its working or if just with time the incision site is getting a bit thinner.

Kimberly, I too appreciate you taking on the Secret Pal gig. I'm pretty good at using my "truck" as my office, but that might have been a little trickier!!!

Lets hope that in another 24 hours and your taste buds will start to revive themselves, and speaking of food, your reference to brocollini had me at the store after work. Going with pork chops though, I'm about burn't out on chicken.

Did we get that walk in ? I ended up stopping by Les Schwab on my way home from work, my walk consisted of a jaunt up the street to the grocery store while they checked out my brakes!!!

Paula, Do you ever sleep woman? I don't know how you do it, you have had your share of se's yet you keep moving along with such energy.

We'll be looking forward to seeing if we can get a link to your article in the local paper this weekend, let us know.

What a small world to have one of your rad nurses be an old co-worker, and how nice to have ladies that will be able to really relate to what your going through.

I appreciate your take on the tat thing for my ds as well. We won't be rushing into any major decisions on that front just yet. He'll probably have to be happy with maybe say a little gas money!

I've been counting my lucky stars today, the 48 hr after infusion pit in the gut has not arrived as of yet, so off to fix some dinner, just the dh and I tonight, hoping to have some rug rats (the older version) around over the weekend.

Will be sitting with my laptop this evening, havn't spent much time lately checking out some of the other sites here at Bc.org.

A happy Friday evening to all,

Carol

KathyL · May 2008

Julie: I had my expander put in the same time as my mastectomy. I cam eout of that surgery with about 200cc in it already. A week later I started with fills. I got 5-6 total, with 30-50cc put in each time. It's a lot less than most people, but for me it worked great-slow and steady. I had virtually no pain with fills. I would take 400mg of Advil right before each fill, and then 1-2 times after that. By the next day, I felt fine. I am a C up now, so I filled somewhere in the neighborhood of 425cc total. Then once I reached "maximum capacity" I had ot wait 4 weeks for the exchange surgery. The expanders were pretty hard-like Therese said... "coconuts". I also wore the built-in bra camisoles the whole time (and sometimes even now).

D1: Yea!!! Glad you can get that "extra" rads day in and get you back on schedule. I am keeping this post short as I, too, get intimidated when I get "behind" in my reading.

So, I've read and caught up. Not shouting out to everyone as this would be sooo long then, but I am thinking of you all as always. Today was my "last" day of freedom as I start back to work Monday. The month of May is looking to be crazy busy as I glance at the calendar in front of me. So I may be AWOL a lot. Just know that I will check in and post when I can. And I will keep up on the Sunday weekly list. If you can all let me know important dates coming up (next txs, start/end of rads, surgeries, etc.) it would be appreciated.

Oh, the meeting at my "old" job was uneventful. I am trying to just focus on the "new" job for now. What will be, will be!

‘Night Jewels! Gonna go spend some time with my sweet dh.

tinalee123 · May 2008

TGIF, Jewels.

Well, the last fill for the expander was Wednesday, and it went well. This is the fill that allows “a little extra room to work”. By the end of the evening, I was feeling a little sore, so I took my Motrin and an Ativan later to help with the sleep.

Thursday was port removal day. The scheduler called and told me I had a choice of going with local anesthesia or having semi-sedation (which is what I had when they put it in). I chose to have the local. It was kind of weird, they had me all covered up and looking away to the right (port was on the left), poked me a few times (owie) with the anesthetic and began removal. Didn’t feel a thing by this time, except a few minutes of tugging. Then felt the obvious threading of the stitching. All in all, it took less than 30 minutes. Funny, they showed me the port with it’s tubing, asked me if I wanted to keep it…we had a laugh about that, I told them it would make an odd Christmas tree ornament. I was pretty sore last night, but stayed on top of the pain with Tylenol and Motrin. Also took another Ativan before bed, and slept quite well. The good news is the incision appears to be neater, and hopefully will heal a little better than before. Thanks, Sherry for the Vitamin E idea – my Mom used to use that years ago, forgot about it. Carol, I just saw an ad on tv about Mederma. I’ll try both! Thanks. Feeling pretty good today, no need for any pain meds.

Going to write a few things to my co-worker who was dx with bc. She had mast surgery on the 22nd. Sounded like she was doing well. Will be starting down that well-worn road of chemo on May 21st and then headed for six weeks of rads.

Will check in later, gems.

Tina

deb102307 · May 2008

Hey Jewels,

Carol- Thanks for thinking of me...It was a windy tornado day in Arkansas. Most of damage was about an hour to the west and then one fatality in the south part of my county. Was pretty dark and stormy for a while but not too close. Unfortunately though, it was in the same areas as were struck last time so is very difficult. I think there were more fatalities this time because it was early in the morning and caught people unaware.

All is well though here and no more expected for a few days. This has been an incredibly dangerous spring weather wise.

Thanks D1 for confirming my "normalness".

Goodnight Jewels, going to watch Moonlight and probably doze off on the couch til dp comes home. She is at a martial arts seminar (4th degree black belt Taekwondo). Why people pay to have people beat them up I will never know but I did learn to love watching the Mixed Martial Arts.

Night Night

Determined1 · May 2008

I'm so bummed out. Dh and my girls are headed to Rehoboth Beach (in Delaware--near KathyL--for the uninitiated) over Memorial Day weekend while I'm in Austin with my mom and sisters! Boohoo. We usually go to Rehoboth once a summer and I'm fearful that I'm missing my chance for a KathyL spotting... I think I need to get into bed and cry myself to sleep (well, that's a little dramatic as I'm not a crier, but you all get my drift...).

D1

Glad the storms didn't cause any harm or foul, Deb. The weather report had me thinking of you.

golfer779 · May 2008

Deb, thanks for letting us know that you escaped without damage. Sounds a little too close for comfort in my opinion. Lets hope things mellow out weather wise for everyone!

Tina, loved the visual of a port ornament (not!). I do appreciate the story, I'm such a wimpy patient, I freak myself out just thinking about needles. Sounds like it is very doable with a local, and maybe a good dose of anxiety meds for me!!!

Your co-worker is very lucky to have you for some additional support. Kudos for you to take the time to write her, I'm sure your kind words will be appreciated.

Kathy, hopefully you can have a little fun this weekend, and that you'll get back into a routine and not feel overwhelmed with your schedule. I give you a ton of credit gal, not too many have had to deal with the last 6 or so months while raising young children, a true SHERO in my book.

We'll be here when you feel the need to pop in, and thanks for keeping tabs on our txt schedule. The ol' list is getting smaller by the day!

Night all,

Carol

Diana63 · May 2008

I don't remember who was having feet problems with taxol but I started using chipped ice in a baggy to take the swelling down. I also wear sandals or flip flops, no closed shoes except house shoes sometimes. The ice takes the swelling down very well, I still have some soreness but it isn't as bad.

Use small pieces of ice that way, it gets in between your toes and in the small spaces.

I did my 8th taxol today, I only have 4 more left. Cool

JulieK_11_30_07 · May 2008

Happy Saturday, Jewels! I had my consult with my ps yesterday for my reconstruction -- really liked him. He's the same doc who did my sister's reconstruction after her prophylactic mast 3 years ago. There's a possibility that I might actually have my first surgery this coming Wednesday, May 7!! I will find out Monday for sure - they're waiting to hear about a possible reschedule with another patient. If I don't get the Wed slot this week, it will be next Wed, the 14th! I'm excited to get it all started, even though I know it's not going to be much "fun."

Now I'm freaking out, though, b/c I have some deadlines at school coming up -- requisitions for next year are due this week and I haven't started compiling my dept's requests yet! Just in case I do have my surgery this week, I'm now determined to get it all done by Monday so I don't have to stress about it.

Not much time for shout-outs today -- I'll keep this short. Thinking about everyone - hope the se's are light for those of you still dealing with them. I finally have my taste buds back and we're having a "celebration" dinner tonight at Red Lobster -- no more chemo for me - woooooohoooooo!!! I can't wait to dig into those king crab legs! Tongue out

Take care all!!

Julie

D1 -- yippeeee that they got you in today and you're back on schedule!!!

Deb -- glad all is well and the storms didn't get "too" close to you. Stay safe!

Tina -- YAY that your port is out!! Glad it went well.

SISKimberly · May 2008

Good Morning Jewels,
It is a spectacular Sat. morning here in Lincoln. The sun is shining, and it should get into the upper 70’s or low 80’s today. Let…the sunshine… Let…the sunshine…Let the sunshine in!!! (Remember, the 5th Demension?).

So, I went for a walk yesterday along the wetlands path near my house and was privileged to see a Canadian Geese pair with their three little yellow babies. One parent was in front, and then the three little ones, and finally the other parent followed behind them. It was sooo precious. I didn’t make a full mile, but almost. .86 miles. I’ve got a pedometer. I think I’ll be ready for May 10th’s Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure 1k walk. Don’t think I could walk 5 miles yet. My sister has a colleague at work who walks every year and has a team, so we joined her team.

Therese- OK, 9 weeks out is my birthday. That would be a welcomed gift.

Sherry- Glad the storms have not been awful in your area and will hop onto your good wishes train for all of those gals living in areas that have been or will soon be affected by this weird weather.

D1- That is fantastic news!!!! I’m so glad that you’ll be done in time for Mom’s Day. I’m sure that there is a study somewhere that will support your approach and the cause and effect relationship of letting those who take care of you know they are appreciated and having a positive effect on their attitude towards you. GOOD NEWS!!!!! Frankenboob is taking one for Mom’s Day.

Man, your tanning field is big. How long will it take for the skin to heal once you’re totally done? Gotta be in good form for the sister getaway. As far as missing the Rehoboth trip, who says you can’t take a solo trip? I’ve heard traveling solo is a great time of reflection and relaxation. Just a thought.

Enjoy watching the dd play today after your LAST tanning session.

Carol- LOL on taking offense to the cocktail hour comment by D1. Mixing a little cranberry juice into your water. Hahaha.

Yep, missing those taste buds. There will be margaritas tonight at twinsis’ house, but alas, I will not be partaking. Sigh.

Hope the pork chops and broccolini settled well on the tummy, and that the whole tummy se just bypasses you all together this time around.

I decided to take the boneless, skinless organic chicken thighs and stuff them with lowfat ricotta mixed with fresh basil, Italian herbs,and fresh spinach I sautéed in olive oil and garlic. I seared each side of the four chicken thighs, then placed two in a glass dish with olive oil. Then placed some of the ricotta mix on top and then put the second chicken thigh on top of that. Over the two stuffed chicken thighs, I poured two cans of organic Italian diced tomatoes and baked at 350 degrees. I made a little whole grain angel hair pasta to place the tomatoes over as a side dish. It turned out great considering I just made it up off the top of my head based on what was in the fridge.

You’re welcome for taking on the Secret Pal thing. Like we talked about yesterday, it will be one way to stay connected in a more personal way.

Kathy- Wow, and a new chapter begins on Monday. How exciting. We’ll miss hearing from you daily, but certainly do understand that life is going to be a lot busier for you. Thank you so much for being our schedule-posting agent. That has really helped a lot. I look forward to seeing DONE after everyone’s tx regime.

Tina- I’m so excited for you to be almost done!!!! Just a few weeks of ‘expansion’ time before the exchange, and you’re finito. Who did your port removal? Your plastic surgeon or your breast surgeon? LOL on the Christmas port ornament. Laughing

Give your coworker a big hey from all of us. Let her know we are sending her our very best.

Deb- So glad to hear all is well in your neck of the woods.
I love Moonlight! And, how cool that your dd is a black belt, and wanting to continue her training. I don’t think she’s got to worry about being beat upon at this stage of the game by 99% of people, and I’ll be she can hold her own with that other 1%.

Diana63- Only 4 more to go. WhooHoo. The light is at the end of your tunnel.

I have to say,thankfully, I didn’t have the severe swelling issues or soreness with the Taxotere in my cocktail that some of you have experienced with taxane (sp) based chemo. I can’t even imagine what that must be like. Hope your se’s are light after this last tx.

OK, so I’m caught up for now. Have a great Saturday ladies.

SIS Kimberly

PS-Julie, you must have been composing at the same time. Whoohoo on getting in sooner than later. Good luck getting all the requisitions done.

joteach · May 2008

Hi Jewels,

Finally feeling much better after having a nasty cough. My last chemo was 4 and 1/2 weeks ago and I feel some energy coming back. I will start my rads on Monday. I'm glad to start but am not looking forward to it. It will be such a pain going every single day but I guess I have to do it. At least I'll be done by summer.

Kimberly - your chicken recipe sounds delicious and so healthy! You are so creative in so many ways.

D1 - Good news about the tx schedule!

Bye for now!

Joan

golfer779 · May 2008

Hi Ladies,

Talk about a yucky day in the Pacific Northwest, been raining all day, glad we had no plans to golf, although I would have liked to do some yard work this afternoon. Hope its nicer come tomorrow morning for my training walk, getting up at 5:00am to catch a ferry to the Seattle side of the water, I could use a little sun on these muscles to keep them loosened up.

Took the ds to my gf's spa, I had gotten him a gift certificate for a "teen" facial. Poor guy, has the acne thing going on, figured I'd let a professional lecture "educate" him on keeping his hands away from his face. I've been very lucky that he has always been pretty cleaned up for a young guy. The appt ended up costing a bundle now that he wants to try some new "products". Oh well, I opened the can of worms on this one!!!

Julie, between you and Kimberly talking about good food, I can't decide to stay home and cook or go out to dinner tonight. I may not be celebrating the end of my chemo, but I'll celebrate that my tummy is staying in tact this go around, atleast so far. Good luck for getting the earlier appt, you sound ready to go there gal, hope your getting some time this weekend to work on your deadlines. We need no extra stress if we can help it.

Kimberly, so another great sounding meal, I needed a few new ideas for chicken, sounds d'lish. Hope you can enjoy some Mexican food tonight, I'm thinking I'd probably have to pass on the "reefer" beans right now!!! Too scary of a thought!!!

Good for you on taking a walk yesterday, and what a bonus to see the "little guys". I'm very fortunate that the naval base I work at is very "park" like. Hard to picture huh?, but we've starting to see the geese and the deer with their little ones. Toooo cute. So did we get out again today, I'm so jealous of your weather, maybe we'll be able to squeeze a trip down to Redding in the near future, I'm ready for some Vit D in a big way.

Joan, a little over 4 weeks out and getting some energy back is awesome. Lets hope that the rads don't mess that up too much. I'm going with D1's theory of trying to stay as active as possible to keep the energy level up, easy for me to say since I havn't started yet.

Just got a call from Les Schwab, my brake job is done, off to pick up my vehicle. Hope you are all enjoying your Saturday, take care my friends,

Carol

tinalee123 · May 2008

Hi Jewels,

Well, an unexpected nice day today, mid-50’s and sunny. Ran some errands, even stocked up on my herb supply and got a few early “crops” for my vegetable garden. Did a survey of perennials, and picked up a few more of those, too. The weather guessers are forecasting another pleasant spring day tomorrow, hopefully I’ll get everything planted.

Watched the most exciting two minutes in sports today, the Kentucky Derby. Very exciting, and very sad, with the second place filly having to be euthanized right on the track after breaking both of her front ankles. The winner of the derby (Big Brown) was born and raised here in MN.

Deb – Glad to hear that your area didn’t get hit with the severe weather. Boy, it sure was all around you, though. I love Moonlight, too. One of the few that dh will watch with me.

Kimberly – To have the port put in and removed, I had a doc from the heart and vascular center (same day surgery) at my hospital. The area is still a little tender to the touch, and has some of that dermabond over it. I’m hoping the scar will stay nice and thin. After the port was put in and the scar healed, it appeared to widen, no doubt due to that skin being stretch during the port fills. It’s always sumthin’! Thanks for remembering my friend/co-worker. I’ll pass along that “hey” and the good wishes.

Julie – That would be great if you could get in for your reconstruction so soon. Sounds like you’ll be one busy gal, though! Congratulations on your celebratory dinner! Oooo, dang, crab legs sound good! I, like KathyL and Therese had reconstruction done at the time of bi-lat mast surgery. I would go in for my fills (about 100cc a time) on one of my good days, between chemo. It worked really well. I had no pain at the time of the fills, but took 400mg Motrin just in case. The expanders are hard, with some bulging at the sides. I’m looking forward to the exchange. The ps said the recovery time is much shorter than the mast, and with no drains.

Carol – I was thinking about your ds and his tattoo. Both of my boys have pierced ears, no tats yet (they can’t afford ‘em). I think it’s sweet that he’d want to honor you with something like that. A good tattoo shop will listen to his reasons for wanting the tat, and, may have some creative alternatives to the pink ribbon. Thank you for your kind words related to my friend. I’m so relieved that she’s in good hands, she’s going to the same cancer center and seeing my onc.

Diana – Good news on four taxol’s left!! You’re on the downhill slide, girl!

Will check in later gems, I better go find dh…he’s been in the garage most of the day.

Tina

sheshe48 · May 2008

Hi Jewels,

I just have a few shout outs, I will catch up by tomorrow. It is getting ready to storm here. I know the storms are going around.

D1 Thanks for letting me know Frankenboob is sore. My boop is so sore and it's already pink, they said it's because i'm so fair. My right shoulder is also sore and hurts to sit at the computer and type. You have a big field, maybe my field is larger that I thought. I thought they was just getting my right boob and under the arm. I did not know if this was normal, they did not tell me it would be sore and I don't have the burns bad yet. I'm glad you are almost done and will be able to keep your plans with your mom and sister. Sorry you will miss maybe a sighting of KathyL. I hope you have a nice weekend.

Julie Thanks for the heating blanket tip. I don't have one, but i got thru it. My chills are going away. You and KathyL and Tina will be so busy with your fill ins and reconstruction surgerys, I will be thinking good thoughts for you. My Tiger baseball game is on, I need to veg out and watch it. Have a good weekend

Kimberly I can't wait to try your chicken recipe. It sounds yummy. I think that's great you also signed up for the Komen race, good luck I'll be thinking about you and your team. No way can I do the 60 mi. I do want to do the one day walk in Oct. Train hard SIS.

I hope everyone's se's are mild and everyone is coming out of the fog.

Lots of Hugs, Sherry

RN2teach · May 2008

Hello JJs,

I'm already vegged out on the sofa in my pjs. The last couple of times that I've posted here I've been so darn sleepy that I could barely finish my post before nodding off. Thought I'd pop in a bit earlier this evening! Feeling pretty good. Some lingering bone pain and neuropathy, a little bit of swelling, but all minor... Some of my Jewel sisters have it so bad on the side effects-I wish I could take some of your burden and even things out a bit.

Baseball season is winding down. Sectional games are this week. Dunno whether ds and his team will advance beyond this level... they have a lot of talent but they're not playing well this year (record 6-10). My boy was in a slump all week... struck out twice, missed a couple of key catches in the outfield.

Did the Komen 5K walk this morning with my mom, dd and her boyfriend, several of my friends, and 5 of my students. It was a chilly morning so I had a long-sleeved tee under my pink survivor t-shirt. Wore a doorag and my Boobie cap. It warmed up enough that I shed my cap and eventually my doorag. One nice thing about being bald-it sure helps you cool off quickly! I had lots of inquiries about my cap and only positive reactions when I eventually went bald at the end of the walk. Didn't see any other bald walkers, though, so I was a little conspicuous.

I encouraged ds to sleep in this morning and skip the walk. He's not a morning person-he's definitely a night owl like his mama! His prom is this evening and I wanted him to be well-rested since he'll be out late and driving his date home afterward. He looked so handsome in his tux and his date was a knock-out in a red dress. Their prom is at the Marriott in Charleston. I remember our prom was at our high school... that seems to be the exception these days. It is much more commercialized now with girls spending fortunes on their dresses, hair, nails, shoes, tanning, etc. Thankfully, boys are easier on the wallet-just rent the tux, buy the flowers, and take your date out to dinner.

I hope everyone is doing okay. I need to catch up on the posts and then I'll be back to send some shout-outs. God knows I won't be sleeping much tonight until ds gets home safely, so I might be back on for a late-night post!

Hope you all are having a good weekend.

Paula

golfer779 · May 2008

Paula, I'm assuming your probably still up waiting for your ds to get home from prom night, sharing any pics??? I hear you in regards to what ever happened to having a dance at the school? The cost has gotten outrageous, you'd think it was a wedding day or something!!!

Would love to google the Charleston paper if you get a website!!!

Leave it to you to have participated in the 5K today, sounds like you had a good day for it, and how cool to have your mom and co. walking with you. Tomorrow I'll be meeting Ginny for a training walk, believe it or not we have not seen each other since 1989, I'm really looking forward to thanking her in person for her unbelievable support over the past months. I'm snuggled in the quilt she made me as I type. We'll both be sporting a boobie hats as well!!!!

Okay this morning I had a doozy of a brain fart moment or what we all call chemo brain, went to write a check for property taxes (which we are 4 days late on, that was a first) but worse yet, my brain literally could not figure out how to write out the amount. I'd say the amount out loud and then try to figure out how to write it, my dh thought I was losing it ... come to think of it I thought I had completely lost it!

Gearing up for a early weekend wakeup, catching a 6:30 ferry in the morning, happy Sunday to all ...

Carol

Cathy-CA · May 2008

I feel like I've been MIA forever, but I have tried sporadically to keep up with all the posts. I'm not going to try any shoutouts, but want to congratulate everyone who is done with chemo and D1 who is finishing rads. My last chemo is Tuesday and, in retrospect, it has really gone fast.

Quick explanation on my MIA. My father had a heart attack two weeks ago followed by by-pass surgery. I didn't want to post during the time because things were not good the first few days, but he's doing great now. I was at the hospital with my mother for the surgery during my nadir, so was disinfecting like crazy. When the surgeon talked to us before the surgery, he started to shake my hand and "I told him I don't touch people because I'm having chemo." He looked at me kind of funny and then said "that's probably a good idea."

Two days after the by-pass surgery and with much indecision, dh and I left for our planned vacation to the South. The first day Dad was still not doing well, so I thought we might turn around and fly back, but then he started improving and we were able to enjoy our vacation. Dh had never been to the South except to change planes in Atlanta, so we went to Georgia, NC, SC and a little bit of Tennessee. Enjoyed hiking in Great Smoky Mountains National Park and touring Civil Wars sites, Charleston, Savannah, Georgia Aquarium, etc.

Loyal Springsteen fan that I am, I had timed this trip to coincide with when his tour was hitting the South, so we caught three shows. I always do General Admission, which means you stand on the floor for the whole show. The do a lottery earlier in the day to determine who gets to go in first with the first 300-500 (depending on the size of the venue) in a barricaded "pit" in front of the stage. We made the pit all three times and were in the very front for the Greensboro show. Carol pointed out to me that I've never posted a picture, see the concert one below. Dh is the tall guy with the beard in the rust shirt and I'm in a blue scarf to his left.

The band is all too familiar with cancer and Springsteen is very active with fundraising for Sloan-Kettering. I suspect that's why at the end of the show, the drummer came down and gave me autographed drum sticks. But, maybe he just liked my smiling face Smile

RN2teach · May 2008

Good morning all,

CathyCA- welcome back! I'm sorry to hear about your dad's heart attack and so thankful that he is doing well. Glad that you were able to enjoy a much-deserved vacation. What a wonderful picture!

Deb- hope you're feeling better. I'm cheering for you (and praying) as you approach the finish line and your last chemo. LOVED the egg story. Laughing

Kimberly- thanks for the kind words. As I said in my last post, I've been blessed with milder se's than most. YOU, on the other hand, maintain such a positive attitude and high energy in spite of getting the "QB sack" over and over again. WTG, SIS Kimberly!

As for the six marked areas, some of them are just to get me lined up for the rads beams. I have one on each side of my ribcage, one on the left boob, one mid-sternum, two on the right boob--one on the nipple, and one on my right axilla for the lymph nodes.

Can't wait to get my secret pal. Thanks for coordinating that for us.

D1- hope the tanning session went well yesterday. I'm so happy that they got you back on track to finish rads this week!

KathyL- thanks for keeping up with our schedules. I'm praying that you'll have a smooth transition as your return to work.

Tina- glad the port removal went well. I have that to look forward to. LOL at the Christmas ornament image Tongue out

Julie- Good luck this week. Hope you've finished everything so that you can relax and prepare for your surgery.

Joan- thinking of you as you start rads tomorrow.

Carol- LOL, I was online reading last night and waiting for ds. He got home safely and had a good time.

I haven't found a link to the article. It was nicely done--picture isn't bad either! I'll check the website later.

I did find a link to the Komen race that was on last night's news. My mom and I were both interviewed. I'm the first one who speaks (can't miss me in my black doorag and Boobie hat). My mom is the redhead with the pink lei who talks about walking for her daughter and her mother. Hope this link works!

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/18550364.html

I'm off to church and then have to return ds' tux... Have a great Sunday all!

Paula

tinalee123 · May 2008

Good Sunday morning, Jewels.

Thought I would drop a few quick notes, and head out to plant some of my new purchases from yesty. Maybe even have a motorcycle ride later this afternoon. I did find dh, he was in the garage working on the bikes. He’s in the process of “blinging” (adding chrome) mine out. He finally came in just before 8 p.m., needless to say it was Chinese food out of the box for dinner.

Sherry – I like baseball, too. I’m a Twins fan, of course. But, I really love the Rockies and the Mariners (hey Carol!). I’m a fan of outdoor baseball – the way it was meant to be (IMO). MN is building a new Twins stadium that will be open air. As a kid, I went to the Twins games at the old Met stadium, had a pop, ate a hotdog and watched good, old fashioned baseball.

Paula – YAY! on the walk! Good for you! Sounds like you were surrounded by a great bunch. Prom certainly has changed, hasn’t it? My ds #2 and his gf aren’t going this year (seniors), they just don’t have the money, and, they went last year. It’s just such a huge production, setting a kid (boy) back several hundred dollars. Ds #2 bought himself new tires and rims for his car, so he’s broke!

Carol – Hope your training goes well this morning. How cool to be seeing Ginny, after all those years. Have a great day!

Cathy-CA – So glad to hear from you. Wow! Sorry to hear about df, but, really relieved that this story has a happy ending. I hope he continues to improve. Your trip and concerts sound awesome! What a great picture. Getting drumsticks is very cool! Dh and I follow a band, like you with Springsteen, we’re Big Head Todd & the Monsters fans. We try to see them in all sorts of different venues. Guess the favorite one has to be Red Rocks in Denver (their hometown). Seeing anyone there is incredible. We also follow Lowen & Navarro, but have only seen them here in MN. They don’t tour quite as much as Eric Lowen suffers from Lou Gehrig’s disease and is progressively getting worse. So sad to see such a talented person robbed of their ability to do what they do best.

Heading out to get the day going here, gems. Wishing you all a restful and happy Sunday!

Hugs to all,
Tina

KathyL · May 2008

Hi Jewels! Can't stay away for long. I will find a way to keep up on posts in my new routine. Had a great weekend. Went to ballet with dd on Saturday. I am so proud of her-for 5 years old, she is just amazing. Knows all her steps and looks so graceful (obviously, not a trait from her mom). Went to the mall in the afternoon with dd and did some girl shopping. I found 4 outfits for her, and 3 for me. Have to go back another day for shoes I was checking out but ran out of time to buy. Went to dinner last night with some friends again and then watched a movie (Pirates of the Carribean 2; I know, we're so far behind on "flix"). But it was a nice night and I had fun. Kimberly-tried another white wine-Evolution. Loved this one! Today ds had a trip to his doc's-strep! Glad dh took him as I didn't have the tools here to run a strep test on my own. He had a fever on Friday and a rash that I suspected was strep, but you can't tell for sure without the test. Hope the little guy starts perking up soon. And thank God I'm already on abx for my ear (still can't hear BTW), so I don't have to worry about sharing the germs. Today it's been catch up on posts, and get ready for my big day tomorrow. Dh is out buying stuff to redo our front beds with mulch, etc. So shout outs...

Tina: Thanks for the details about the port coming out. I have to wait until January when my herceptin's done, but it's nice to know it's simple. My ps said she will do it with some sedation. I am done with surgeries otherwise. You will be soooo glad to have your exchange done now that fills are finished for you. How long does your ps make you wait?

And I think DE is cursed in the Kentucky Derby! Last year we had Barbaro and his sad accident, this year it was the filly Eight Belles. It is just heart wrenching. I can't stand to hear about them putting a horse down on the track even though I know it takes their misery away.

Deb102307: Glad you escaped the tornadoes. What is it with all this nasty spring weather???

D1: So bummed you won't be in Rehoboth with your family! It's literally less than an hour drive for me. We'll have to plan it for another time this summer. I'll be outlet shopping again in August for school clothes for the kids, but I can jet down there anytime really (well, if I have off of work!).

Julie: Yea on the upcoming surgery (it really is a good thing to be moving forward!). Are you having expanders/implants?

SIS Kimberly: Yum on the food you were talking about! Sounds delish!

Paula: Congrats on your Komen walk. Must've been very emotional to do it. I plan on wearing my boobie hat, too, at my Relay for Life in June. And I'll bet ds looked dapper for his prom! It's that time of year... dd has her preschool graduation ceremony coming up at the end of the month...

Just watched the Charleston link... brought tears to my eyes. You go girl! BTW, you look fabo!!

Cathy-CA: So sorry to hear about your dad and I hope he's doing better. My dad had a heart attack in Nov. in the midst of my "mess" with BC dx and surgeries. His bypass was the week before I started chemo in January. He's past his 100 day mark now and doing awesome. Hope your dad does well, too. Your trip sounds like so much fun, and way cool you got autographed drumsticks. Rock on, SIS!

January Jewels Schedule for May 5-9

Monday: Happy Cinco de Mayo! No txs scheduled. Let's all celebrate with tacos and Coronas or margaritas!

Tuesday: Last round for Cathy-CA (Yippee!); continues herceptin for a year.

Kris 60 #3 of 12 for weekly T

Wednesday: Wing (Wendy) #6 of 12 for weekly T

Golfer779 (Carol) round #10 IV

Last round for CHJ127 (Woohoo!)

Thursday: Last round for LJ13 (Yahoo!); continues herceptin for a year.

Friday: WVGirl AC#3 (round #7 of 8)

Last round for Peg1212 (Yay!)

SISKimberly · May 2008

Happy Sunny Sunday Morning,

For those not experiencing a sunny Sunday, I’m just appalled at Ms. Nature’s favoring certain parts of the country over other parts. Do you suppose she’s in menopause? You think it might be like experiencing hot flashes on the west coast and trying to cool herself off in the Northeast? Showing her moody side with heavy rain and high winds elsewhere?

So, I’ve been thinking about how I might describe how I’ve been feeling this past couple of days. You know that feeling of anticipation you had when you woke up too early on Christmas morning and had to fight the urge to get out of bed knowing your parents had expressly forbidden you to rise before the sun? You know how you eventually lost the battle with that urge and snuck quiet as a mouse down the hallway holding your breath as if your parents might hear your breathing as plain as if you were in the same room as they were? You know how you prayed the dog wouldn’t wake and give you away, or that your siblings might, so they could join you and split the trouble you just might be in if you got caught? That is how I feel. Full of anticipation and a little dread, but not full on fear-like dread, because I know that like my parents, who would not have really punished me for getting up to early, only quietly shushed me as I tore into my Christmas stocking and played with my Santa present, my nagging feeling doesn’t have much bite. It’s just a little thought in the back of mind reminding me that I’ve got to create a whole new normal, and not knowing what that new normal really is, yet. I know it will take time to fully develop, but in the mean time, it nags at me to get a move on. Thankfully, the anticipation of my ever growing energy keeps me focused as I creep down the hall, holding my breath, looking towards what might be in my Christmas stocking and to what Santa has left me under the tree. Can anyone else relate?

Twinsis’ Cinco Di Mayo (sp?) party was a success. I was soooo bummed I could not taste anything except the corn tortilla chips. Flavor just isn’t on my tongue's radar these days. Texture is either pleasing or it isn’t, but flavor is either not there or horrible. Oh well, it was so good to see her closest coworkers gathered together to wish an old friend and his wife bon voyage as they start a-new in Florida.

Joan- I am soooo glad you are finally feeling better after your nasty cough. 4 ½ weeks out, congrats. Good luck on Monday with your first tanning session. Just think. You’ll be done by summer and already tan. HeeHee.

Carol- I’ve never heard of a teen facial. That’s awesome, and I hope your ds uses his expensive new products as instructed and sees wonderful results. I know acne can be difficult for teens.

Rain? Bummer. Hopefully, you’re out right now walking and having a great time with Ginny and the gang in warmer weather.

WhooHoo on a cooperative tummy! No walk today, just chores around the house and grocery shopping.

LOL on the brain fart. I can relate. As I typed this, I could not recall what to call corn tortilla chips. Had to ask the dh, “What are those things called that you dip into salsa?” Crazy.

Tina- Wasn’t that just the saddest thing? I hate that these horses are raced at such young ages before their bones have really had a chance to mature. I felt so badly for her and her jockey.

No drains? My ps told me I’d have drains, just not for the same length of time as after the mast. Hmmmm.

Good luck with all the planting. I’m not much of a gardener. I like to see it when it’s all done and harvest the gifts, but planting and caring for a garden is my dh’s dept.

Just read your post. Yeah on a sunny Sunday in your neck of the woods. Your plantings should be happy to be placed in the ground.

Gotta love a dh who will spend time blinging his love’s bike.

Sherry- I’m not doing the 3 Day 60 mile one, I’m doing the 1 mile one. This is the one day event where you can do 5 miles or 1 mile. No way I could do 60 miles right now, either.

Take care of that ppb(poor pink boob).

Paula- WhooHoo, on completing the 5k walk and doing it topless. That’s my plan,too. I’m with you on being bald cooling you off quickly. I had to take my cap off last night before Kath’s guests arrived as I was getting too warm. No one seemed to mind my baldness at all.

Oh, the prom!!!! I, too, recall it being held in the gym until about 1978, and then our highschool in Truckee started renting out large event spaces at local resorts.

Our middle school dealt with that commercial hype at the Valentines Day dance. Kids acted like it was a prom of sorts, and it was just ridiculous. We decided to do away with that behavior. We also now do a promotion ceremony during the day with a BBQ for our 8th graders, instead of a full blown graduation, after several years of evening graduations just getting out of control. Kids wearing inappropriate clothing, and parents totally inconsiderate of others with whooping and hollering after being instructed to hold all applause until the whole row had been given their diploma so as to make sure all of our kids felt special (some didn’t have much family to make noise for them). They brought noise makers and silly string even though the letter that went home stated clearly not to bring those items. They ignored signs and roped off areas, and some displayed tempers when told they couldn’t be in certain areas taking pics. No wonder some of our kids behave as they do, the apple apparently doesn’t fall far from the tree. We know that sadly, some of it was probably the only graduation some of these kids would have, but it was becoming a safety concern. We thought, what will these kids have to look forward to if they’ve already done the big ‘prom’ like dance and the big ‘graduation’ ceremony? It has worked out great the past two years without these two events done as they once were, and no one seems to miss them.

Glad you finished your day early and hope you slept well last night.

Looking forward to the link to your interview.

Oh, just read your Sunday post. Glad you slept well and thanks for the link to your 5k. You looked great, and your mom looks so young.

Your rads field covers both sides of the chest, eh? So, you’ll be our ppbs (poor pink boobs gal).

CathyCA- Welcome home, and yeah that Dad is doing so well.
What a scary time for you and your family.

Your vacation sounds like just what you and the dh needed, and WOW on the autographed drum-sticks at the Springsteen concert!!!!! Love that pic, and what a handsome dh you’ve got to with your hot in your blue scarf self, Cathy.

So, Tuesday is your last chemotini, eh? Congrats!!!! What’s next for you? Will you do rads?

Have a wonderful Sunday, all. I have a concert tonight, Michael Buble. That should be fun.

SIS Kimberly

To those who haven't posted in awhile, we're thinking about ya.

Kathy- You must have posted when I did. You sound like you had a great Saturday with the dd. Glad you're feeling good, except for the one bum ear, and am wishing you the very best on your first day back to work tomorrow.

PALady- You snuck up on me, too. Yeah for being done Wed. and for no appts. for a few weeks.

I like your insight for Julie about the ds's comments on the hair. Being a tween is tough enough without having to deal with your mom 'standing out in a crowd'. Hopefully, having gone through this with you moms, the kids will eventually see the lessons they were offered along the way and appreciate them more than they can articulate at this moment.

PAlady · May 2008

Hi Ladies,

Sheshe - hope your skin is holding up with the rads.

Paula - What an honor to be chosen for outstanding nurse. You are really a special person! I hope we get to see a copy of it.

D1 - If anyone hasn't taken your Dana Farve book, I‘d be interested - just let me know. What a crappy day at the clinic for you. And I know you have to be bumming about falling behind on treatments. Even one day can seem to be a huge difference. What a good mom you are to go to the concert with dd. I love going to concerts, but I can't stand rap music so I don't think I would have enjoyed it! I had to do 25 rounds - no boosts I am assuming because I had clear nodes, small tumor, and clear margins. I suppose I should ask, but I may be opening a can of worms. I have been extra itchy today and yesty.

Julie - I like your idea about pics of everyone's hair coming in. Friday was 8 weeks out for me and I feel like my hair is filling in more than growing out. I have a 12 yo son, too and he has said some hurtful things to. I really think it is their age and kind of their way of letting out their anger. Ironically, of my three boys he is the one who has dealt with it the best I think. He is not at all afraid to ask me questions about any of the things I had to go through. I think sometimes they forget we have feeling, too. All three of mine have eased up a bit on the embarrassment factor as we have gone along this journey. Add to the fact that their moms look different, I think at their ages part of the embarrassment was that it was "breast" cancer.

Carol - LOVE the picture of Steph and the olives in his cocktail!! That is too funny. Love the pic of you and Steph too. I echo everyone else's words - you are such a great ambassador for so many people - I wish you lived in my town! You had me laughing out loud with your comment about lollygagging around waiting for treatment. So nice that ds went with you to a treatment. Love his hat. I like reading about how others sons do with this. I have a 17 year old an almost 15 year old and a 12 year old - all boys. Sweet that he would want a ribbon tattoo, but I would say it definitely would have to be after 18 and would suggest not putting it where it could be seen. I don't anticipate any of mine ever wanting one simply because it involves a needle! Reading on I see you have gotten all kinds of wise opinions.

Kimberly - As far as dr appts, I am done with my rads on Wednesday and I don't go back to see the onc until the 28^th. I am so going to love NOT having a dr appointment or going to the cancer center for a few weeks.

Tina - congrats on moving forward and moving away from all of this crap. It's scary isn't it?

Kathy - My hair is like yours, all different lengths, mostly dark with a lot of light, white or gray ones. But it is hair and there is no way I am going to cut it whether it is even or not! I wanted to tell you I went to Target the other day and found a maybelline eyebrow powder. It works so much better than the pencils. If your brows are anything like mine, I have some very blonde ones that you can't see and I brushed some of the powder over them, it makes them visible! It makes more of a shadow for your eyebrows, but boy do they look better.

Therese - good luck with your surgery. Do you have to stay in the hospital for that?

Well I am up to the top of the last page. Hopefully I can catch up later today - but I gotta get off my butt and do something today!

Determined1 · May 2008

So it's Sunday. Hope you guys all have the same great weather we have here (what am I doing inside????).

Weekend was good. Dd played well again this weekend. They have AAU National qualifiers starting next weekend, so the coach was having her work on her 3 pt. shot. I'm sure it was pissing off the other players (and their parents) to watch my kid jack it up all the time, but I'll admit that I'm happy that it's finally her turn. She used to hit about 35% of her 3's, but with the confidence beating she took during this past varsity season, her shooting isn't as accurate (there was one point a couple of years ago she was shooting 80% from the floor and she finally got a coach that said that wasn't acceptable. If she was hitting that many shots, that meant she wasn't shooting enough. Glad she got over that and starting shooting more!). She scores about half the points for this particular AAU team every game, so the coach will need her to really be on her offense next weekend. This is great for her. I just hope that when she goes back to varsity next year the coach gives her a fair chance to prove herself.

Frankenboob is just miserable. Since about Thursday, I really haven't wanted to wear anything but a soft t-shirt. And sleeping last night was fitful as every position seemed to aggravate the burn. But I'm trying to wear my compression garment as much as I can (oohhh, on that blistery nipple, its NOOOOOO fun). I keep telling myself if I can make it to 5p I can take off the garment and have a cocktail. So far, it's working for me. I'm hopeful that since I only have boosts left, my boobie will start to heal and things will be better.

I had an emotional experience at my tanning session yesty. While I was waiting my turn a husband and wife came in. The wife was in a wheelchair and looked really drawn and tired. I started chatting with them and learned that the wife has colon cancer and so far she's had a surgery and 2 weeks of rads. She was really sad and was feeling sorry for herself. She was also very scared because she was going to stop rads and start chemo on Monday. (Sounded like a strange tx to me, but what do I know?) Anyway, I started to share some coping strategies with her and then it was my turn. So I went in, got my zap, fist pounded my techs, gave them donuts, and went out. The lady was in the hallway as she was going in next. When I got back to the waiting area, I sat with her husband. He started telling me that they were crying all the time because it just wasn't fair that she had cancer. Oh man, I got on our soapbox. I started coaching him on ways to be supportive. I told him how important attitude was. Yada, yada, yada. When the wife came back, he asked me to share with her, too. So I did. Plus I gave her ideas on how to combat different se's. I managed to get a couple of laughs out of them. Finally, off they went and I repaired to the changing room to put my clothes on. I could hear that they were talking to one of the techs on their way out and couldn't tell what they were saying, but I heard the tech reply, "Yeah, isn't she amazing? She has the best attitude of all of our patients!" Let me tell you, my day was TOTALLY made!

Okay, enough about me (it's like watching my kid jack 3's up, isn't it?), let's get to the rest of my wonderful friends here.

Sheshe, I completely forgot about Mederma for scar reduction (good call, Carol). I've heard about it, too. I'm too lazy to check, but if you Google it, I think you can get a coupon for it online.

Good luck at work tomorrow, KathyL. I hope you're not too tired to let us know how it went.

Tinalee, you be studly in my book, going for the local during port removal. I have to be knocked out for them to do ANYTHING to me! I hope your weather cooperated today and you were able to get some planting done. I haven't even started thinking about mine.

Hey Diana, long time no post!!! Good to hear from you. (And with good advice, no less.) Glad you're cranking through the Taxols (and soon you'll be able to wear flip flops outside, too!).

WOW, Julie, you could start recon this week??!! That would be awesome. I know you'll have all of your requests done in plenty of time (you always seem so organized), so try not to stress. You'll have to let us know if the schedule works out for you for this week.

Loved the 5^th Dimension, SIS Kimberly. What a different time that was! I'm so impressed with your chicken dinner. I've never been able to make stuff up in the kitchen. I don't have the confidence, I guess.

Sounds like you're past that cough, eh Joan? Good timing. Please be sure you get some exercise (even a walk) regularly throughout rads. I'm really convinced it's helping with my energy level (which is much lower than when I started, but I'm still getting stuff done). And continue to hydrate-it should help your skin.

I was smiling at your can of worms at the spa, Carol. My girls will try anything to keep acne under control (and they're under the care of a dermatologist!). Luckily, college girl seems to be past the worst of it, but my younger one has the most unfortunate "back-ne". Most of the time, it's unnoticeable, but when she has her bball uniform on, you can see it all over her shoulders. Poor baby.

Also glad that your tummy is holding up this time. Whatever you're doing-stick with it.

Can totally relate to the chemo-induced brain fart. I frustrate my family with them all the time! Hope you got some help and sent your tax check in before they come and cart you away.

Shoot Paula, you deserve to be tired-you did the Komen walk! I tried to access the link for the video, but I can't get it to work, poopy. I hope your ds had a great time at the prom. Its so much fun to see them all dressed up, isn't it? I got tears in my eyes when college girl went last year (for a non-crier, I'm a huge sap).

What a great day you had with your dd, KathyL. I just love days like that. I hope we get to Rehoboth again, too. I'd LOVE to meet you in person.

CathyCA!! So glad to hear from you! And even happier that your dad is doing well. I hope he continues to recover. Your trip sounds great and what a thrill to get autographed drumsticks! So cool!!! Good luck on Tuesday-FUBC!!!

SIS Kimberly-I can sure understand your excitement/dread feelings. I started to get them around the edges before I locked my rads schedule down, then once I had my next plan in place, the feelings went away. Guess they'll return next Saturday morning...

PALady-I'm happy to send Deanna's book along to you. Please pm me with your mailing address. No, I wouldn't ask about the number of zaps, either. I had node involvement, so that's probably why I got a few more. But I only have 5 left, so I'm going to be positive. Keep putting the goop on your boob so it heals up quickly.

Well, huge sigh. I'm getting mentally prepared to tackle my last 5 days of rads this week. After that, I'll have no tx plans in place (I see my onc on May 21, so I'm sure we'll be changing that). Time for those anticipation/dread feelings Kimberly described. We shall see.

Dh has made reservations on Friday night for us to celebrate my achievement, as well as college girl finishing her Freshman year (she comes home for the summer on Thursday), and dd making it through AP testing. We're headed to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I'm not much of one for red meat (except hamburger, which shouldn't count), but I'm looking forward to a well-prepared steak. I'm sure it will take me a week to digest it!

Onward through the fog!!! (Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't use that expression anymore-fog has such negative connotations, now.)

D1

golfer779 · May 2008

Holy smokes, go for a little walk this morning and the post has been on fire!!!

Just a "quickie" for now ... Paula, I was able to see your video, must say I watched it 4 times (love your accent!!!). Your looking mighty fine there gal, and your mom looks like she could be your sis. That means she looks really young!!

I'm going to hold off on my shout outs, the weather here is finally good, high 60's!!! Thats a heat wave for us lately. I stopped at the nursery on my way home from my walk with Ginny this morning, so just got home and I think I'll take advantage of some Vit D and get outdoors and plant some pots ... it better not freeze tonight.

Hope your all enjoying your Sunday, it will be me and the wieners tonight, the dh will be out of town for a couple of days, so I'm sure I'll be hunkered in with the laptop night ...

Carol

JulieK_11_30_07 · May 2008

Happy Sunday, Jewels! It's a beautiful day here in Illinois - hope the rest of you are having some nice weather as well. I sat outside for a while and read a book - very relaxing! We had a wonderful celebration dinner at Red Lobster last night - those king crab legs were scrumptious!! I ended the night, though, with a horrendous migraine and was up most of the night. It finally went away about 11:00 this morning, so now I'm just tired from being up all night.

Joan - so glad your cough is finally gone!! Good luck with rads this week.

Carol - hope your weather improved and you had a nice training walk this morning with Ginny!

Thanks for the reconstruction input, Kathy, Tina, and Therese! I appreciate hearing about your experiences. I find out tomorrow if my expander surgery will be the 7^th or the 14^th. Yes - I'm having expanders, then will do my exchange with implants most likely in July. The ps said it will take about 4 weeks to get my expanders filled, then we have to wait about 6 weeks before the exchange surgery. He did say I'd have drains both times, but the second surgery is much less difficult to recover from.

Tina - hope you got all your plants in. That's one thing I'm going to miss this year!!! With being on "unpaid" leave, we have to make some cuts and my yearly flowers are one of them. And some of our yearly beds ended up freezing over the winter and only one of them survived it - that made me very sad! I was hoping I'd at least have those to look forward to.

SheShe - hope you made it through the storms without any damage. Hope you're feeling better by now.

Paula - LOVED the video clip!! You're a doll and your mom looks sooo young!! My school is hosting a Relay in June and the organizers have invited me to participate in the "survivors" dinner the night before and the survivors lap to kick it off. I'm hoping I'll be feeling okay by then to be able to participate. Kudos to you for doing the 5K - you continue to amaze me!! Glad ds had fun at the prom. And, yes, things have gotten so crazy and out of hand with how much money kids spend on prom these days!! Mine was held in our high school gym years ago --- now our kids actually drive over to a hotel in downtown St. Louis and pay $40 for tickets, plus the hundreds of dollars for the dresses!! Not to mention the manicures, hairdo's, etc...... it's crazy!!

CathyCA - Welcome back!!! Sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Sorry to hear about your dad, but glad he's improving! I'll keep him in my thoughts. Loved the pic of Springsteen - too cool that you got drumsticks!!!

Kathy - good luck this week going back to work!! I'm sure it will be good to get back to a routine. Can't wait to hear all about the new job! Sounds like you and dd had a great shopping day - I so remember those days with my mom and sister. Sorry the ds has strep - man, you've had your share of sickness this year!! How's your ear doing?? Hoping you can hear by now!

Kimberly - love the description and comparison to Christmas morn. You are so talented in expressing how we're all feeling. Bummer you couldn't taste anything at your sis's party - tortilla chips are always good. J I think your school has the right idea with graduation and fancy dances - they don't need all that in middle school. 8^th grade graduations are a HUGE deal around here and I just think it's ridiculous!!

PALady - I think you're right on about my ds. He's made a few comments here and there, but these just really hit me hard. He's been a lot better since the track meet incident and has really been watching his words carefully. Thanks for the eyebrow powder tip - I'll be looking for some. My "half-brow" on the left really annoys me - maybe the powder would help!

D1 - so glad dd got some serious playing time and got to practice her 3-pt shot! Sorry you're in so much pain - those blisters on the nip have to be miserable! Hang in there, dearie, almost there!!! That was so nice of you to stop and talk to the couple at rads - sounds like you really made a difference in their way of thinking. Your attitude certainly amazes me - I'm sure it continues to do so to those around you.

Well, so much for being able to get all of my requests done by Monday! I started working on them yesterday and two of my three divisions didn't include all of the information I need from them!! I was NOT happy! They got some "not so nice" emails from me requesting the additional information which I'm just hoping I can get from them by tomorrow. It really frustrates me b/c I specifically outlined in an email to all of them how important it was to include ALL necessary information (i.e. shipping, unit costs, etc....). Not to mention they were all over a week past my deadline for submitting them! UUuuugghhh! I'm a tad frustrated with them all right now --- sorry to vent, but it's frustrating b/c I'm not able to be there to deal with it all directly, yet I still have to meet the deadlines set by the admin. Oh well, I'm going to TRY not to stress over it all! Yell

Hope everyone has a FABULOUS Sunday!! Take care, Jewels!

{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}} to all!

Julie

KathyL · May 2008

SIS Kimberly: I didn't have drains after my exchange surgery either. It was a very easy surgery and I had very little pain. I took Percocet for one dose, then Advil.

Paula: Thanks for the tip on eyebrow powder. I'll add that to my shopping list. I so need help!

D1: Way to go at the rads appt. Seems some of us Jewels are quite the cheerleaders. So glad to hear you made someone else's day brighter. Kudos to dd on her stellar performance on the court, too. For the sore Frankenboob: I used these soft gels pads when I got ripped up during nursing. They are called Soothies. You can wear them 24/7 if you want, and they can be cooled/chilled even (in the fridge). They felt awesome when nursing, so I wonder if they'd give you some relief? They do not stick to your skin, just sit inside your bra (or camisole if you can wear one). I got them at Babies R Us.

Carol: Reading your post reminded me... I liked Paula's accent, too!

Gotta run girls, time to out the wee ones to bed.

RN2teach · May 2008

LOL Glad you liked the accent. I've only lost my southern accent once in my life (no one could understand Southern American English when I was in Finland)... I used to be terribly ashamed of it as a teenager, now it is just part of who I am.

I searched for some type of link to the nurse article. Couldn't find one--it was published in a supplement for nurses week. I scanned the article to send to my sisters in NC. If any of you would like to see it, PM me with your email address and I'll send it out to you.

Gotta go watch The Tudors.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Paula

golfer779 · May 2008

Evening Gems,

If I don't sleep through the night sweats tonight I'll be surprised, I have been going strong today, starting at my 4:30 wakeup. I was pretty hyped about reacquainting with Ginny this morning, it was as eventful as I had hoped. Talk about a true SHERO of a lady, I'm still in awe at how kindhearted she is.

We went on a 6.5 mile walk, mostly on roads/sidewalks and then the last 1.5 miles on a trail. I couldn't believe how fast the time flew by as we we're chatting throughout the whole walk. The whole team is quite large I think about 80 members, todays walk was relatively small with a group of 12 walking. I sure wish that they lived closer to my home, although I do anticipate venturing back over for quite a few more training walks over the next few months.

Ginny and I stopped for brunch before she took me back down to the ferry boat for my ride to the Peninsula. I'm still hyped about this morning ... I've gotten too familiar with photobucket so here goes another pic ... Ginny was happy to see that my legs were not too much longer than hers, I stand at 5'4" so you can see that her legs don't have the largest stride. All I know is that we will be finishing the 60 miles in stride together.

Julie, king crab, my fav!!! Glad you we're able to enjoy your celebratory dinner, what a b*tch on the migrane, would your stress from your deadline lead to an on-set of a migrane? Happy to hear that it has subsided for you today and you got a little Vit D on your body.

D1, nice to hear that even with Frankenboob in pain you we're able to take the time and effort to help the couple at your rad appt. I'm a firm believer in what goes around/comes around. Your very due for a "come around"!!!

I thought that dd #2 was a senior this year, god I hope that her school coach gets a clue next year. Sounds like her AAU ball is just what she needed to regain the confidence that was beaten down.

As far as the "products" go for the ds, I need to get some small container so he can split up the contents so he has some at my house as well as his Dads. One of the drawbacks of living in two homes!!

PALady, so read your post and no mention of any ugly se's other than an itch from your rads, hoping that it wasn't an oversight and that you've done really well. How's the fatigue factor?

Kimberly, Not even guac with those, yeah, we call them "chips"??

So does your mind go 100mph 24/7? Your thoughts once again allow my pea brain to stop and think myself. I'll be more than ready to sneak out of my room in quite a few more months ... heck it will be close to Christmas by the time I'm done dealing with this little adventure.

Oh, btw, bought your ingredients for your chicken dish ... will probably make it on Weds when the dh is back home.

Kathy, thanks again for our roll-call. Hope somebody tips back a cold one on my behalf tomorrow, I'll be sticking to those "chip" things! (Sorry Kimberly, trying to get some mileage on your chemo brain moment).

Glad to hear you had a good weekend, some special time with your dd, and hope your little guy is feeling better real soon. I'll be thinking of you tomorrow as you head back to work, hope your day goes well for you.

Tina, our Mariners are already starting to disappoint us this season, we tend to watch alot of ball on the boob tube, hoping that we'll still want to be watching this summer!

Thought of you as I was playing in the dirt as well today, I was in heaven and had forgotten how much I love to spend time "puttering" in the yard. It took me forever to get my plantings done as I was working in the front yard (street side), and 3 sets of neighbors stop to bs, which was great! I got to thinking that other than mowing the grass I really havn't spent much time at all in the yard over the last 6 months, which in the past, even throughout the winter months I'd still be doing something outdoors. I'd really like to play hooky from work tomorrow and "putter" some more, its amazing what a little sunshine will do for the energy level.

Cathy, our traveling Gem!!! Great news on your dad, and glad that you had such a great time with your dh and you we're able to enjoy seeing the south together. Sounds like you got a bit of walking in, I'll be looking forward to sharing our 3-Day adventure stories.

Too cool on the drumstick, and thanks for sharing the pic!

Vettegal, I feel a very strong positive vibe being sent to you and your family as Vettesis has her surgery tomorrow. All of our best to you all, be strong my friend!

To our Jewels that may be sneaking a peak, your as always in our thoughts.

Carol

golfer779 · May 2008

Paula, just read your article, what can I say, but there is a definite SHERO among us, I feel very fortunate to have you as a "cyber-space" friend.

Hope you don't mind if I forward it on as well, Carol

Jan 2008--Ain't it Great?

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