Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA

[CherylDan]

Karen, sounds like things are moving along very quickly..... It's hard to comprehend everything when it comes at you so fast - if you have questions, or just want to vent, this thread is a great place to be. Sending lots of good vibes your way that everything goes smoothly with your port placement.

Lisa, so great to see you. I hope you continue to gain more strength each day, and that you can get the oxygen to help with that. The food issues are so hard....I pretty much lived on peach milkshakes and slushes last summer. Hopefully something will find it's way to you soon that doesn't sound repulsive.

Smiley, are you very familiar at all with Seattle? We are departing from there in June, and I've been trying to figure out what to do there - we will only have about 24 hours. How is the planning for your LasVegas trip going?

LMP and Laurie, your trips are coming up quickly too! And someone else is also going to Disney? I can't remember off hand.

I hope everyone had a nice Easter. It was a beautiful day here. We took DD and her BF out for dinner for her Bday - my "baby" is 23, not sure when that happened! lol

GAGWTA!!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Karen - I also wish you the best with the port placement today. I am so glad you have your parents to help you out. I am sure that is a blessing in itself.

Lisa - hope your oxygen testing is going well

Cheryl - ds just got back from Seattle yest. He said he went with dh to eat at the Sky Tower. Very $$ but fun. I will have to ask if they did anything else in the actual city. PatsMom is the other one with a trip in May I think that you were mentioning.

Linda - Your Red Sox are in the same boat as my Yankees these days. Bad start to the season for sure. Hope your son is getting stronger

Sha - where are you sista?

Laurie - hope the graduation planning is going smoothly

Now my eye is starting to act up. I will put off seeing the surgeon as long as possible.

Well happy to have ds fly back yest. Stilled missed dh with the Easter dinner.

Ds22 has looked at the washer and oh yeah ds24 has broke it again as I suspected. He put his comforter on normal instead of extra heavy duty and ds22 said he destroyed the inner ring. Last time he did something to the outer ring. So I will wait to dh gets back to schedule the appt. Thank God for the warranty. I think I will look into getting an extended one. This thing seems like it will be a lemon and lots of repairs etc. At least its usable at present.

Our trip is soon. Honestly I am not looking forward to it so much. When we come back we have another big meeting May 25. I am just praying it will go as well as possible. I pray alot.

GAGWTA,

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Checking in. Had a couple of bad weeks with both kids sick. Trying to catch up now with two weeks worth of work.

Sending prayers for all who need them.

 

[snappy]

Linda, sorry your children have been sick.

I hope things settle down for you soon. Having sick kids really takes it toll.

MaryAnn, I hope you are able to enjoy your trip, despite the stress of dreading the upcoming meetings. Planning and anticipating the trips, especially the meals and which park which day is a good diversion.

Let's pray the washer holds out. Appliances these days are not what they used to be, quality control wise.

Hope your DH gets back safely soon.

Karen, I hope the port placement was not too painful. Good luck tomorrow. It sounds like you have good support. That is so important.

Lisa, has the oxygen made a difference? Hoping you are able to get out and about more very soon. Have you found anything food wise that appeals to you yet?

HellO Cheryl. Your cruise sounds amazing. Just the ticket to get your mind off future testing. I love your attitude.

Smilie, your posts related to your sons and his family and your daughters and other grandchildren are both heart rending and up lifting at the same time. I am sure your posts are of comfort to many, they sure are to me.

Barbara, it is good to see you post. I think I owe you an email?

Had a nice Easter, although visits from our older kids were not in very good sync. DD21 is a little scattered looking for a job. She is giving up her restaurant job for now so she can focus better, so we will have to help her out more financially until she finds the job. DS23 is still looking for a job. He seems determined though and is focusing on NOLA for now.

We have a plan for the grad part now, and dinner reservations as well for the weekend. I need to get doggie kennel reservations today.

We were also able to secure a presidential 2 bedroom unit through the guy I have rented from a number of times at Wyndham bonnet creek. It is the first week of June so I was not sure if he would be successful. They always come through for us and gave us a good deal too. I am glad that is finalized.

I had my mammogram last week and that was thankfully uneventful.

My friend who is throwing the grad party in her house in NOLA suggested we do a slideshow for DD21. I have sorted through all my digital pictures and have an album set up for that, but need to scan all the pictures of DD21 since 1990. DD16 is off this week and agreed to do the scanning. At least the pictures are organized by year, but I have to figure out some theme to organize the pictures. I googled music choices for slide shows and have some good music to add to the slideshow. Dd16 said she would look through her music too. Hopefully I will be able to depend on her to do at least a lot of the scanning but she does have her little job and will have finals before the big grad push.

I am glad the party will not be at my house, it was hard enough to get EAster together, when only my mom joined us. I love my NOLA friend for doing this for me.

Sorry if I forgot anyone.

GAGWTA!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Karen - thinking of you during your treatment today

Lisa - any update on the oxygen?

Laurie - wishing your dd and ds all the best with the job hunts. Its a tight economy around here and I am sure its not much better everywhere else either. Glad the mammo was uneventful.

Cheryl - have you done any Seattle research?

Has anyone heard from Sha? She hasnt posted in quite a while. Hope all is well. I could sent her a text, but dont want to bother her.

Took ds22 to the dr. yest. They said his lungs were clear and thinks it just a viral thing, so that is good. But they are going to biopsy a mole he has on his back in 2 weeks I think. He has had it for a long while, but I will be glad if they take it off etc.

Dh is home but has a dinner after work so it will be a long time seeing him and then throw in I might have to pick up ds from the train station, so dh and I are the two ships passing in the night

I need a vacation, even though I know what awaits when we get back, more things to worry about.

 

[wdw4us2]

Laurie & MaryAnn - My hubby just mailed the oxygen meter back this morning. I don't know what they will decide as I never saw the meter go below the 88% number the specialist mentioned on the phone. My heart rate did skyrocket, however, every time I was up and moving around.

As for Sha, I believe she is busy working on her cancer walk team Hakuna Ma Ta Tas. She has been posting on Facebook about it.

Labs on Friday like every week, but really looking forward to Meg coming home Thursday night. I love her stories about everything that happens at Splash Mountain lol.

 

[CherylDan]

Lisa, its great that you have a visit with Meg to look forward too! I bet the stories she tells are quite entertaining.....the public can be so crazy. Sounds like you might be feeling a bit better? I sure hope so.

Laurie...a presidential suit - SWEET!!!! Sounds wonderful! Your grad plans sound like everything is coming together very nicely. The slideshow sounds like such a fun idea.

LMP, I'm not sure what it is that has you so worried, but I hope it all works out for the best. Being so worried cant be good for you - or anybody, for that matter. I hope you can let it go a little bit and be able to start looking forward to your trip. I forgot, where did you say you were staying?

I have been keeping busy with Alaska plans, trying to learn about each port and what we should do/see. I have come to understand why people plan these trips so far in advance, instead of just a few months! We didn't even have passports, so got that taken care of....we just needed to get a passport card that is good for land travel between the US and Canada. They *should*arrive with a week or two to spare. Made hotel reservations for the night before in Seattle....so far we just have Pike Place Market and the Space Needle on our list. Very tourist-y, I know! LOL

Have a great day, everybody! GAGWTA!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Karen - how was the chemo yest? Do you go to the hosp to get your treatment? Guess that would be good if your babies are in the same hosp. you could spend a little time with them too. Wishing you all the best.

Lisa - so happy to hear Meg is coming home. I hope dh and I can see her when we are there. I have to look at my schedule. I think for sure we will be there May 22 as that is my LTT lunch day. I bet her stories are funny. So if you dont record the 88% number then they wont give you the oxygen? Who is deciding all this? I would hate my care just to be focused on a number. You are the one who really knows how you feel etc. Thanks for the Sha update. I am not on facebook. Wishing you all the best too.

Cheryl - Dh and I will be at the Beach Club. I just love Storm Along Bay. Its deep and not like the GF or Poly pool. And I love they do wristbands.

Linda - How are your kids?

Laurie - I love the Boardwalk location too. Hope you get your favorite view.

Well my eye is crusty but I think that is o.k. She said if it gets pus coming out of it then I should worry alot and get in asap. I am thinking Sept. surgery. Dh would have to drive ds to college then for about a week etc.

Getting our taxes done tonight. Oh joy.

GAGWTA

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

GAGWTA, Ladies!

Thinking of all of you and sending many good thoughts and well wishes!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Elizabeth - nice to see you. How is your cousin doing? Hope she is comfortable as possible. How is the tutoring going?

Karen - how are you feeling today?

Lisa - have a great time with Meg! Hope the labs are good

Cheryl - yes dh and ds went to the space needle too. Very touristy I guess. They got a last minute dinng reservation for like 8 ish when they were there.Neat to eat on top of the needle and see the city.

Linda - opening day here for the Yankees and I think now ds24 has joined a fun league for after work. He says he stinks but managed to get on base 3 times even though they lost like 17 to 7. Hope your ds is well enough to play too.

Laurie - does your dd have any set area she wants to look for a job in? I guess when they are young they will go and do just about anything.

Well when we got our taxes done yest. The girl came over.I thought she looked skinny. She is a little older than me. She later told dh and I that she had lung cancer. I was shocked. She said, I know now what you have been going through. etc. She said her lst chemo was bad. She turned purple and woke up with 5 drs. around her. I know where she goes. I guess its ok but I think she should go where I go, much better care etc. She said, I never smoked a day in my life, just had a cough etc. Hmm, I think they at first missed her diagnosis too. That is why I so dont like the drs. around here. They are very nice but such bad diagnosticians. I just head to the univ.hosp. mostly now for anything.

Got a letter from the oncologist reminding me of my appt. next month. Amazing how dh wanted it right before lunch. Guess I know he will be heading to the cafeteria

GAGWTA. Have a great week end everyone

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

Karen, sending you lots of good thoughts for the days ahead!

Maryann, I hope you can get settled with a new Dr. soon!

I have had some respiratory stupidness for the past 12 days. I started a Z-pack on Tuesday so it is marginally better. I am just tired. DS is about to put me over the edge with his grades. The tutor is working well for Chemistry, but now he is struggling in other subjects. I hope the next 48 days fly by, even if it means we come home from WDW to summer school.

My mom called the other day to tell me they did another marker test on my cousin. She has been on the tamoxifen for about a month. Sadly, her numbers are even higher. They are switching her to Arimidex (which is what Mom takes) and some sort of injection. I don't know how she is feeling - hopefully not too bad. My other cousin said they were putting together a palliative care team to help my aunt and I am pretty sure there are pain management directives involved.

DS has a friend staying with us this weekend. His grandfather has terminal cancer, so his mom went to visit for what may be the last time. Unfortunately now DS is coming down with the respiratory thing. I hope his friend doesn't catch it. We may try to get DS in to see the Dr. in the morning. They see patients on Saturday but ONLY for sick visits and ONLY if you call Saturday morning. I suppose I will get up early and try my luck at getting him in. He can't afford to miss any school.

 

[snappy]

Hope you are able to kick the upper respiratory deal, Elizabeth. Is your son any better?

I am sorry to hear your son is still struggling in school. Does the tutor have any ideas?

48 days left-that seems like a lot, but I guess you are counting weekends.

MaryAnn, My DD is pretty flexible with location. She may take something in New Orleans for the time being. But she is willing to go up north for the right job. She may be waiting until she see what her boyfriend does as well. He is going to take the Mcat again in July, then may work/do research/volunteer for a year.

I am trying to not ask too many questions.

Cheryl, the Alaska trip sounds so wonderful. I think it will be a picture taking bonanza! Enjoy the planning!

Lisa, I hope you enjoyed Meg's visit, and are feeling stronger.

I have DH helping me scan in pictures now as well. I think we are more than half through with that phase of the slide show. We are only scanning in selected pictures, the better one, the ones DD21 are in. I will have to go back later and scan the rest in. I may take a while off as the scanning is very tedious, and I have so many albums. It did help that the pictures were in albums in chronological order, which was not the case with my mom's pictures- she had more than 80 years worth of pictures, just stored randomly in boxes.

I am scratching my head trying to figure out how my sister did the slideshow for my mom. I have far more non-digital pictures, but at least they are organized.

I will take some work figuring out how to organize. I don't think I have enough time now to do anything but chronological order. I think DD16 will help me with adding the music, etc.

I googled songs for DVD's had have ideas. I need to buy them from itunes after I figure out how long it will be and how many songs i need.


This is an interesting project that I would never have tackled before getting this new computer.

Anybody else here every try to digitalize their pictures themselves?

GAGWTA everyone!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Elizabeth - hope they are able to make your cousin as comfortable and pain free as possible. Hope the tutoring is going well. I know its such a struggle for some kids with certain subjects. I hope you and your ds are feeling better from the respiratory thing

Laurie - I am sure your dd will appreciate all the effort and work you are putting in for the slide show. It sounds wonderful. I would be clueless as far as all of the technology stuff is concerned

Lisa - hope you enjoyed your time with Meg


Well I am now sick with the respiratory thing too. Also seems like I start spiking a slight fever at night too. I am miserable. Coughing and having a neck dissection is so not fun for sure.

Ds24 wants to apply for a new job. I dont think its a good idea and neither does dh. He is fine where he is. Also the job he is applying for I saw advertised like 2 years ago so obviously they fired that person or they quit etc.

Ds20 is having so much on his plate right now. My head spins for him. He found out he will find out about his lst choice nursing school within the next 2 weeks. They had 300 qualified applicants for 60 spaces. In the meantime he is doing paperwork for his 2nd choice school etc

GAGWTA. Hope everyone enjoys the day (83 here)

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

GAGWTA, Ladies!

I am feeling better - just some residual stuffy nose/cough. I took DS to the Dr. on Saturday morning. She charged me $95 and told me to buy him some OTC cold medicine. He does seem to feel a bit better.

The tutor seems to have helped him pull a passing grade this time. Grades are due to the district today or tomorrow so I have been watching the online grade site like a madwoman. It gets old.

Laurie, good luck with your photo projects! DS's printer can scan pics and save them to a computer but I have never tried to do that.

Cheryl, YAY for Alaska! I think you will really enjoy it. We have never been, but everyone says it is lovely.

Maryann, I hope you feel better soon!

Lisa, hope you are feeling better, too!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Good afternoon sistas

Lisa - how are you feeling?

Linda - loved seeing the 100 yr old fan throw out the lst pitch for the Sox

Elizabeth - glad your ds passed. Hope the rest of the grades are good enough to avoid summer school.

I am miserable. I am so sick of coughing and so tired from not being able to sleep. I took some OTC cough med but dont know if that is a good idea with my bp meds but I am miserable. Its so not fun coughing with half your neck cut out. I wish I could fall asleep in the recliner here.

Ds20 is anxiously awaiting to hear from the nursing program of his number 1 choice. Should be this week or next. He only has a 20 % chance of getting in there.

Our tenant has not paid the rent as usual. I hate being a landlord. This guy is driving us nuts. I am sorry that his work hours got cut, but we need his rent money to pay the taxes etc. He hasnt paid on time since Nov.

GAGWTA. Blessings to everyone

 

[snappy]

Elizabeth, good to hear your son has brought up his grades. I think the tutor was a very good plan.

MaryAnn, I very sorry you feel so bad. Is it a cold or allergies? OTC meds with decongestants are bad, but I think straight up cough medicine is ok. I take the regular strength but not extra strength and I take the Mucinex without the "d".

Hoping your DS20 gets the good news of acceptance very soon.

I was fitted for a compression sleeve last week, and received it today. it is not as tight as I was afraid of, but I can see that it will be uncomfortable to wear when it is hot. I am just taking for a test drive tonight.

DD21 called me today. She had an interview for an intern type position and has another interview on Monday. She is busy but quitting the restaurant was a wise move as she is not as stressed.

We are making jazz fest plans for later this month. DD16 wants to bring two friends and we are staying over night with my friend Cindy.

If it rains we will try the second weekend.

I have to get back to scanning. It was nice to take last night off. I walked the dogs between rain storms. Having dogs is messy but satisfying.

We finally got DD21's federal return filed last night. Why oh why did i give them my cell number to text me when the IRS accepted the return??? I got the wonderful news that her return was accepted at 4 am.

I think the iRS was more into it than I was. . .

Off to the scanner. . .

 

[Dancind]

Hello, brave and wonderful ladies. My name is Diana, and I'm sorry to say that I am joining your club. I just got diagnosed with Invasive ductal carcinoma grade 2, and am in the process of finding out what happens next.

First appointment with the surgeon today. I think I fell into a good place, it is where I got my mammos every year. The surgeon is a specialist, and was very patient with us. The "breast care navigator" told us that the doctor is excellent, and a lot of physicians send their wives to him. An oncologist I was recommended is there too, and they work with the local University cancer center for trials etc.

Good thing DH went. I heard the doctor say my tumor is about 2.2mm and I said " oh that's not too bad". He probably thought I was dumb because Dh heard 2.2 CM and he was right.

Still waiting for the rest of the results from the biopsy, have an MRi on Monday, and appointments with three different doctors in the next week.

I have decided to enjoy this weekend. And we are keeping our reservations for a week in Napa Valley in October, even though I may not be drinking much wine. We also have an Alaska cruise booked for our 25th next May.

I'll check in here often, hope that's ok.

Snappy, did you say you have a Mac? And One on One? They can certainly help you with the slide show. My DD 21 works at the Apple Store and does some One on Ones.

 

[snappy]

Hi Diana

Sorry you have to join our "club."

It really is not surprising about hearing the wrong size on the tumor. I agree that it is good that your DH was with you. I think it is good to have someone with you for all tests, and visits at least in these early days. My experience was that I felt like I was in a fog during some of the visits.

I was very focused on writing down questions in advance, but when the answers were given I was either too nervous or just scared to really "hear" the answer.

I kept a file and asked for copies of biopsy and other diagnostic reports to help me keep up with all the info.

Please do check in often here. There are some great researchers here on board, and many with experiences with different treatments. Each woman and her particular case is unique; however, there is a lot of benefit in support from others and hearing others' experiences.

It does sound like you have found good caregivers, but if there are any doubts at any stage of this, don't discount a second opinion. I found that I received good referrals from other people in the medical field, doctors and nurses.

So your 25th anniversary is in 2013? Sounds like a great way to celebrate! Cheryl and her DH are doing an Alaskan cruise in a month or two.

As far as the mac and the one-to-one sessions, after using pc's since 1985, we bought our first mac last October (if you don't count the mac book we bought DD21 four years ago, and I don't since I have never used it). My husband are both CPA's and accounting systems are pc based, so we never really thought about a mac before. When we figured out our pc was dead last October, DH got a wild hair and decided to throw caution to the wind and we bought a mac. I got my first iphone about a year and a half ago and I like having things synced up fairly easy with pictures and photostream, itunes and the cloud. I am sure you could do the same with a pc but it seems easy with the new apple software, easy enough for me to set up even.

We are having can you say growing pains acclimating to the mac after using pc's for so long. Luckily, my sister and her DH and my brother have been Apple fans for many years. My sister heard about the one-to-one program from her sister-in-law whose grandson attended lots of one-to-one sessions last summer or so. It was very helpful, especially since he was out of school for the summer, although I bet they burned a lot of gas driving from their little community into either Baton Rouge or New Orleans.

My sister also advised me that you had to plunk down the $99 to get the one-to-one membership the same day you buy your mac. It was a good thing she did that too since I don't think the sales girl was going to mention it. We did not use one-to-one much at first except to help get the backed up files from the old computer loaded on. I finally started making reservations for sessions early this year I think and it is so much better than talking to Apple people over the phone when I was trying to figure some issue out.

We have even loaded the mac up (always crucial to keep the box and the packing) and brought the mac in even though it is the large deskstop model. I can't carry it, but DH can, and when I am going alone, one of the Apple employees will carry it or bring it on a dolly in the box in the store. We are lucky to have a store here in town, easy to get to and you can park in close proximity.

I also figured out about scheduling sessions for early in the day before the store opens as it is so quiet it is almost surreal.

I have learned a good bit but how much I don't know about my computer is scary.

That is cool that your daughter is doing the one-to-ones. They currently only have male staff as trainers in my store here. They are mostly twenty somethings, although I had a wonderful guy last week who has been out for an extended period due to being in a terrible car accident late last year. He is older than the rest of them but still younger than me.

He gave me some good tips about the slide show, how to approach it and we played with an example with several albums of the actual pictures I plan to include in the slideshow. It was great to walk through it on a computer with my actual pictures. And he let me "drive", he just explained it but I actually did stuff. The scanning of the non-digital pictures is the labor intensive part of this. My scanner brings the images right into iphoto where I can edit them. My DD16 is supposed to help me do the embellishments, although I could probably do it, I like that she is interested in getting involved with it. She is a creative sort, especially where pictures are concerned and has taken two one-semester courses in high school on multi media.

She is not afraid to experiment and is so much "faster" than I am.

Are you an Apple fan too?

Wow this is long. Hope to hear from you soon.

GAGWTA!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

GAGWTA, Ladies!

Diana, I am sorry for your situation, but glad you found your way here. These ladies are a tremendous source of knowledge and comfort.

My cousin just phoned to talk with me about her sister. As I said before, the tumor marker is up over 180, and the tumor measures about 7x10 cm. The oncologist says she has about 6 months left, unless they see solid results from switching to the Arimidex. My aunt said if the Arimidex is not successful she wants to allow my cousin to choose whether or not they try chemo. My cousin has the mental capacity of an 8 year old. She is not able to weigh risk vs. benefit on chemo! And truly, I think this is coming only from my aunt, NOT the oncologist. I don't think her overall health is strong enough to be a candidate for chemo. Apparently she is in significant pain but my aunt is in denial about it and insists that it can be treated with ibuprofen. If she became a raging morphine addict at this point what difference would it really make? I am sad and frustrated by the whole situation. I guess I need to send my mom over to tell my aunt that chemo is not a walk in the park.

 

[Sha]

HI ladies... sorry I have been MIA for awhile. Work has been crazy and I am running away! Literally.

I am sitting in MCO right now waiting for my flight. I missed the first one by 2 minutes as security was BAD busy and they didnt open up additional likes for the scanners. I also decided after seeing I had boarding position B48 that I was upgrading for $16. I can use the complementary glass of wine LOL

I have a kindle that I will be reading from shortly. I see I have a LOT to catch up on. I just heard overhead that Dick Clark passed away this morning.

Laurie.... I do not know what our plans are. I may not get a chance to see you unless I do something on Friday like I did before, but I just think I want to relax.

I have been updating different things on the my Team Hakuna Ma TaTas page.

Diane sorry you have to join the club here. I'm a daughter of a survivor and you will have some wonderful ladies here for support. I think someone else is new.. welcome also. (think it's Karen?)

JSK yay about the grades... sorry to hear about your cousin and your aunt. She sounds like she really needs more pain meds. Denial is hard though. Hope your mom can help you aunt.

Laurie, is the Presidential at the same place I saw your room at? if so that is nice! What are the dates for the Jazz fest?? This is the one you and R. were talking about? Too bad I am ahead of it, but I just needed to get away and be in his arms for awhile.

Lisa how are you feeling??

Im sorry this isnt hitting all the news from you all. My head is hurting a little and I want to nip that in the bed now with some excedrine migraine and water.