Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part II -GAGWTA!

[DeeCeeSW]

She is taking my daughter and I to the Wilderness Lodge for a long weekend! I am so happy because I was dying for a disney fix but did not want to go with the entire family as I knew it would be too exhausting.

I am soooo jealous. Have a wonderful time at WL! We are going in mid-December. I hope to be done with everything by then. I hope I am being realistic about that!

So is it standard to need expanders when having implants put in? Are there exceptions? Is it always a saline to silicone exchange? I am telling you, each time I think I know what I'm talking about, I don't, LOL. I would like to know for sure.....

TIA!
Dawn

 

[lookingforward]

I am soooo jealous. Have a wonderful time at WL! We are going in mid-December. I hope to be done with everything by then. I hope I am being realistic about that!

So is it standard to need expanders when having implants put in? Are there exceptions? Is it always a saline to silicone exchange? I am telling you, each time I think I know what I'm talking about, I don't, LOL. I would like to know for sure.....

TIA!
Dawn

My expander is expanded by saline. However, I can choose between saline and silicone implants. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. I am oging with silicone because they feel much better to me and I am going to be MRI'd for future breast check ups so I don't have to worry about them breaking during mamograms, etc. But you can research and decide.

I am going to the wilderness lodge with a bald head, expander, etc. I'll look a mess but I dont' care!

You should be done by December! What a celebration!!!!

I decided we are going to take a cruise in December as 12/5 will be my one year anniversary of my surgery.

 

[laurabelle]

~~~***GAGWTA sistas***~~~

Maureen & Dawn- My PS does SGap too, where instead of taking tissue from the bottom of your bum, it's tissue from the top. I did what Maureen is doing, swapped saline expanders for cohesive silicone gel. Much softer and more natural looking.

Congrats on the trip Maureen! Sounds awesome!!!

The girls and I are going to have our nails done after school. 24hrs from now I'll be on the plane... Flight leaves at 6:05 a.m.! I love taking the first flight out though, usually no delays and more time at Disney! I'm trying to narrow down my organization, cleaning, ect. Looks like it may rain tomorrow, but who cares! Lovely weather overall!

I'll have you all in my pocket! Happy Easter!

 

[MerryPoppins]

Have a great Easter trip! I'm jealous.

 

[lookingforward]

I hope you have a WONDERFUL trip for Easter. The weather has been hot lately in Florida so it should be great swimming weather.

Hope everyone is having a good day!

 

[annrae]

~~~***GAGWTA sistas***~~~

Maureen & Dawn- My PS does SGap too, where instead of taking tissue from the bottom of your bum, it's tissue from the top. I did what Maureen is doing, swapped saline expanders for cohesive silicone gel. Much softer and more natural looking.

Congrats on the trip Maureen! Sounds awesome!!!

The girls and I are going to have our nails done after school. 24hrs from now I'll be on the plane... Flight leaves at 6:05 a.m.! I love taking the first flight out though, usually no delays and more time at Disney! I'm trying to narrow down my organization, cleaning, ect. Looks like it may rain tomorrow, but who cares! Lovely weather overall!

I'll have you all in my pocket! Happy Easter!

Have a wonderful trip with your girls Laura - wish we were also going so we could meet again! Happy Easter! Hugs Barbara

 

[snappy]

Happy Easter to Laura (who is probably in WDW by now) and all of you!

GAGWTA!!!

 

[snappy]

All quiet on the GAGWTA front?

How is everyone?

Wakeup ladies!

Question: what are you cooking or where are you going to eat for Easter?

I am making a batch of my crawfish ettouffe, with a side of barbecue chicken for my DS19 who is allergic to shellfish. The crawfish dish is like a stew made with a roux smothered down with lots of celery, green onions, fresh parsley, garlic, bell pepper and onions. It is spicy, and I like it served with brown rice.

For dessert: Louisiana strawberries. They seem to be peaking right now.

And then bring on the chocolate.

What is on your menu?

You can't go anywhere without running into the smells of a crawfish boil. The main aisle in Walmart is . . . not Easter goodies but crawfish seasoning and the stuff you throw into the boil. . onions, lemons, potatoes and corn. We are going to one this weekend held by our homeowner's association. You cook them outside in a huge crawfish pot on a LP gas burner and just eat off of newspaper (best method. . . easiest cleanup). Our neighbors were having one last night, when we walked out side the aroma of the seasonings about knocked us over. Those must have been some hot mudbugs.

You have not lived until you eat the tails and suck the heads. Gotta get there on time though, people make pigs out of themselves.

 

[lookingforward]

All quiet on the GAGWTA front?

How is everyone?

Wakeup ladies!

Question: what are you cooking or where are you going to eat for Easter?

I am making a batch of my crawfish ettouffe, with a side of barbecue chicken for my DS19 who is allergic to shellfish. The crawfish dish is like a stew made with a roux smothered down with lots of celery, green onions, fresh parsley, garlic, bell pepper and onions. It is spicy, and I like it served with brown rice.

For dessert: Louisiana strawberries. They seem to be peaking right now.

And then bring on the chocolate.

What is on your menu?

You can't go anywhere without running into the smells of a crawfish boil. The main aisle in Walmart is . . . not Easter goodies but crawfish seasoning and the stuff you throw into the boil. . onions, lemons, potatoes and corn. We are going to one this weekend held by our homeowner's association. You cook them outside in a huge crawfish pot on a LP gas burner and just eat off of newspaper (best method. . . easiest cleanup). Our neighbors were having one last night, when we walked out side the aroma of the seasonings about knocked us over. Those must have been some hot mudbugs.

You have not lived until you eat the tails and suck the heads. Gotta get there on time though, people make pigs out of themselves.

YUM! Your menu sounds delicious!

HAPPY EASTER! My chemo taste buds were screaming for Italian food. I hate lamb and ham....so...I am making Italian things, chicken parmigan, fettuccini, eggplant, meatballs, and sausage and peppers. Sounds funky, but it'll be great. My family is indulging me and my desires!


I edited my signature with Breast Cancer Survivor. I'm not sure if I am technically a survivor yet....but I sure do feel like one! 27 more days till my LAST CHEMO!

 

[snappy]

Um, yes you are a survivor. We consider you a cardcarrying survivor the day you are diagnosed. I am sure you have heard the comment that if you survive being told you have cancer, you are considered a survivor.

Maybe there should be a whole new class of survivors. . chemo survivors.

Being a descendent of Sicilians, I love the sound of your menu. Are you doing all the cooking yourself, or are you getting help?

I told DD17 she is elected to help with the washing and chopping of the seasonings. That part takes the longest, even using my little Oscar chopper.

How do you cook your eggplant?

I think your spread sounds heavenly.

Even with my allergy flareup, I still have an appetite (hard to taste anything though). I have a feeling my etouffee is going to be some spicy!

 

[MerryPoppins]

We're having my famous honey-baked ham (a friend gave me the recipe and it's fabulous), rolls, roasted potatoes, fresh asparagus, fruit salad, deviled eggs and pineapple cake. I'll fix part of it tonight and bake the ham while we sleep.

This is the last weekend of spring break and I finally have the whole family home. We might go to the zoo to see the new baby lions. I've seen pictures and they are adorable.

 

[snappy]

Aww. . . new baby lions.

We don't have to go to the zoo, we HAVE a zoo with this new puppy.

She is yet to be tamed, matter of fact I would call her wild. Snappy seems to be coping better though, thank goodness. The puppy experience is aging both Snappy and me.

The secret seems to be lots of walks and lots of sitting down with her and just petting her to calm her. Either she is wild or her teething is making her wild.

I took her in for boosters this week, Thursday, and she got a clean bill of health. Maybe I have already posted this but she does not have her 4 month teeth in yet. Vet did confirm the chow blood, he doubted any pom though, due to size.

She is already 17 pounds. She was also a total sweetie, charmed the nurses out of their socks. She waited until we got home to show her true colors.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Wishing you all a beautiful Easter. We were away for a few days with friends, just got home. I'm exhausted. No cooking for me, just bringing a fruit platter and "looking pretty" as my DH would say. I will have to try this Crawfish Etoufee someday, snappy. It sounds really good. I'm sure Laura's having a great time in WDW. Merry, if you ever want to share that Honey Ham recipe, I would love it.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Almost forgot, had good results on my MRI. Thank you all.

 

[snappy]

Almost forgot, had good results on my MRI. Thank you all.

Excellent news, Linda!!!

If we all ever are able to get together during spring one year at WDW or elsewhere, I'll make and freeze some etouffee so I can import it.

Just back from the store to pick up more tails. My mom and sister and brother in law are coming over and I want to have plenty.

 

[lookingforward]

Um, yes you are a survivor. We consider you a cardcarrying survivor the day you are diagnosed. I am sure you have heard the comment that if you survive being told you have cancer, you are considered a survivor.

Maybe there should be a whole new class of survivors. . chemo survivors.

Being a descendent of Sicilians, I love the sound of your menu. Are you doing all the cooking yourself, or are you getting help?

I told DD17 she is elected to help with the washing and chopping of the seasonings. That part takes the longest, even using my little Oscar chopper.

How do you cook your eggplant?

I think your spread sounds heavenly.

Even with my allergy flareup, I still have an appetite (hard to taste anything though). I have a feeling my etouffee is going to be some spicy!

I am doing all the cooking, but by choice. Its only five days to my fifth chemo and I am feeling really good this week. I want to be immersed in cooking tomorrow so that my daughter (especially) and my older boys can see me doing more than just laying around. I feel like I am sick most of the time so when I feel "normal" I want to make sure they see the "light at the end of the tunnel". 27 more days......then radiation...then hopefully some peace and good health.

I make killer eggplant. Its delicious but the reason I say "killer" is that its fattening! I slice it lengthwise and then dip it in egg/milk and italian bread crumbs. THEN I fry it and layer the pieces in sauce and cheese. Its absolutely delicious but I would not want to know the nutritional information. Some things are better left out. I tried "baking" the slices but it just did not make my over six foot teenage boys happy.

 

[MerryPoppins]

Here's the ham recipe.

brown sugar
approximately 1/2 qt. honey
uncooked shank or butt ham w/ bone
BBQ sauce optional

Put ham in large roaster with lid. Pour some honey over the ham and then apply a liberal coat of brown sugar. Then add more honey on top of that. You can add a squirt of water in the bottom of the pan if you're worried that it'll be dry...but I never do. It'll make plenty of it's own juice as it cooks. Cover and put in 225 oven for 14 hours. (Don't peek!) You can get it out, drain some of the juice and add BBQ sauce in the last hour if desired. (I've never done this. If we want BBQ we add it at the table, but the friend who gave the recipe to me adds sauce. I like to have ham that can be used several ways if I have leftovers, if you know what I mean.)

This is NOT the ham for you if you want a beautiful sliced ham. It'll fall apart on you. Don't try to lift it out of the pan in one piece. It's just too fragile and messy. This is an ugly ham, but it is so tender and juicy and delicious. DS won't eat ham, but he eats this. Oh, and it freezes well. This is a good meal if you need to feed a crowd. People always ask for my recipe.

Be sure you buy an uncooked ham. My mom tried doing this with an already cooked spiral ham and it was a disaster. Not sure why it's supposed to be bone-in, but I always take a little of the meat and the bone and make beans the week after. Yum. Also makes great sandwiches, so get the biggest ham you can fit in your roaster. You'll love the leftovers.

Happy Easter everybody. GAGWTA!

 

[snappy]

Lookingforward, I don't think those over 6 foot boys need to worry about whether the dish is fattening. If they are like my 19 YO son, I cannot fill him up. Sent him off to college again. Man it is still hard. I like having him at home. I hope he applies himself for the next 6 weeks.

The puppy got her own Easter basket from my sister, complete with a Disney dog toy and a cute pink Eastery duck dog toy. She really like them.

Nice day, everyone is gone now, Dd17 out with her BF, DS19 as I said back to New Orleans. Snappy had her walk, now it is Naj's turn. Too beautiful a day to stay inside.

Thanks for the recipe, Merry. I am definitely trying it. Sounds good for DD17's graduation party.

 

[NHAnn]

Eatser Blessings to you all!!

 

[ScarletFire]

Any ladies on the board with hysterectomy experiences. My BC is estrogen positive. I'm pre-menopausal and took tamoxifen for two years. The tamoxifen was becoming unagreeable. And, my oncologist was hoping for menopause while I was taking the tamoxifen. Menopause didn't happen so I tried a zolodex injection. The injection was effective but expensive. It's not completely covered by insurance. In accordance with my oncolgist's advice, I'm having a hysterectomy next week. The surgery is laproscopic. (I'm sure I've misspelled something, but you know what I mean. ) I'll be recieving no hormone treatments after the surgery. What's gonna happen to me!?!

 

[NHAnn]

ScarletFire, I had a total hyst in 2001 at age 44, almost 4 years before my breast cancer diagnosis. I had been having very bad bleeding/clotting issues for several years and then they found dermoid cycts on my ovaries so a total hyst was pretty much a no-brainer. Interestingly enough, I was put on a low dose of estradiol (an estrogen replacement) to prevent hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, and then ended up with estrogen positive DCIS...(so now I'm on an "anti-estrogen"!)

Are you having just the ovaries removed? For estrogen positive cancers that reduces the amount of estrogen in your body that could potentially "feed" a cancer. It also makes you "eligible" for some of the other hormonal treatments like aromatase inhibitors for post-menopausal women.

The surgery is "instant menopause"...and as such women experience a variety of symptoms to varying degrees... like hot flashes, sleep disruption, dryness in certain,..uummm.. tissues, possible bone loss, etc. There are lots of non-hormonal strategies/treatments for dealing with some of these symptoms.

I thnk we've had posters here who have had their ovaries removed as a treatment for estrogen+ breast cancer, I hope they will chime in!

GAGWTA!