Dis Breast Cancer Survivors Part IV - GAGWTA

[Pea-n-Me]

Today was my endo visit. She was happy with my test results. One number changed and she said if it goes up again she will increase my one med slightly. The biggest concerns were my constant shortness of breath and I think I gained another 8 to 10 lbs. in the last 6 weks. I know she is questioning if my heart is pumping right and she thinks the weight is excess fluid. She said she is going to get me an internist since my case is so complicated. Would would have thought that. She says a cardiologist is in my future. Yeah, invasive testing.

We talked about this a while back. You should have a PCP. It is also critical you watch your sodium and fluid intake, weigh yourself every morning (to make sure your fluid weight isn't creeping up, which can result in swelling, decreased appetite, shortness of breath and other symptoms) and get on a proper medication regimen to decrease the workload on your heart! One of your first tests will be an an echocardiogram, which is non-invasive.

 

[CherylDan]

LMP, glad you got good results at the endo visit, but the fluid issues do sound scary.....hopefully you will be referred to someone soon! Sounds like your vacation plans are shaping up......too bad you will be missing Raglan Road, it is one of our favorites! Fun, casual atmosphere, but it can get a little loud sometimes.

Peg, I'm exhausted just reading about everything you've been up to! I hope you are getting to relax a bit before starting on your craft room - sounds like a very fun project. Crazy what happened with that resort in the sinkhole!

Laurie, your anniversary dinner sounds wonderful. Sorry to hear about the toxic work environment.....don't sell yourself short on getting a new job!

Someone managed to get ahold of our Discover Card account number this week and apparently made a new card???? and used it at at CVS store in Conn for a $500 purchase. $500 at CVS - yeah, that doesn't stand out at all! Was happy that Discover caught it right away and cancelled the account.

Its been almost three months now, and we are still waiting to hear about our condo purchase........from what we hear Bank of America has quite the reputation for being a nightmare to deal with when it comes to short sales.

I finally got some pictures together from our San Diego trip, going to try to post them now.....

 

[CherylDan]

The Hotel del Coronado.....of course I kept calling it the GF! Fabulous beach and grounds!

DH and DD24 walking along the beach there

Coronado is such a cute town! I know I've said this before, bit in my fantasy I will live there someday!

A great little ice cream shop......soooo good!

 

[CherylDan]

Old Point Loma lighthouse, built at the top of a cliff.....turns out that wasn't such a good idea since it was often obscured by fog. It was restored beautifully, and the location was so very scenic!

The new lighthouse was built down next to the ocean, on what must be one of the nicest naval bases anywhere!

Something I'd never seen before - artichoke in bloom

 

[CherylDan]

We took a short drive up to La Jolla, and managed to find the very same bench that overlooked the ocean that I enjoyed so much the last time we were there.....that's me under the hat with DDs

What a view!

Action shot! LOL

I collected all the pictures the four of us took and made a nice photobook, these are just a few of what seemed like thousands! I'm not even sure who took what, but it was nice to have soo many.

 

[snappy]

Cheryl, those pictures are beautiful beautiful beautiful. Just what I needed on an overcast oppressive day in S. Louisiana.

Each of the ones you posted would be perfect screen savers for any device. I have my favorite beach picture from a trip to Pensacola that was taken in the afternoon when the light was just right as my iphone screen saver.

I love that I am reminded of that moment on that trip every time I wake up my phone.

The sky seems more blue near the water whether it's the Pacific or the gulf of Mexico.

Thanks for making my day.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I agree, gorgeous pictures, Cheryl. Love the one on the bench!

 

[smiley_face2]

Really beautiful Cheryl! So glad you got to share that with your girls makes me want to jump in our car & be there tomorrow night
Mortgage is all done thank goodness! We will be getting the driveway done end of next week I hope. Next will be redoing some serious insulation in the crawlspace to try and save some money on heat this coming winter. Then the laundry room. We really want to go on another roadtrip this fall, so everything else can wait
Daughter in law closed on her new house & this monday will be starting the move. Really unhappy about that we miss the grand daughters so very much and its only been 10 days since we saw them last. Dear daughters are planning something for my birthday on tuesday but not sure what

 

[snappy]

Smiley, glad your mortgage has been processed so you can do the rest of the work you need to do. Smart to do the insulation, good investment. There really should be a tax credit for doing that.

Sorry about how much you are missing your granddaughters. I don't have grandkids yet since we started our family so late in life. But I know how much I miss DD23. We do a lot of texting, but it is still hard and she is so busy with work.

My brother who lives in NYC is coming in this weekend for a few days, staying with my mom. We plan on spending a lot of time together. Hoping the storm that looks like it wants to come into the gulf changes its mind. I am not ready for hurricane season and this is the peak of it. Time to get supplies.

GAGWTA!

 

[Feralpeg]

Cheryl, beautiful pictures!

Great news! I saw the oncologist today. My PET scan was clear! He said everything looks great. I had discussed with him at an earlier appointment about the idea of having my remaining breast removed as a precautionary measure. He said that he thinks it is a good idea and that now is the time. If I wait to have the surgery after radiation, I will have to wait six months. If I have it now, I just have to wait three weeks after surgery to start radiation. So, I have an appointment with the surgeon to discuss my options next Tuesday.

Well, she may have moved to her own place, but the issues mom has to deal with never end. Yesterday, she got a bill from the electric company. It said that she owed $62.25 plus $113.00 past due. She's only been in her apartment 11 days. I called the electric company. After being on hold for 45 minutes, I finally got to speak to a customer service rep. It turned out that they set her service up to start on the day we put through the request to establish her account even though we filled out the affective date as 8/6. They started service on 7/5. He admitted it was their mistake, but said we should have caught it based on a confirmation email they sent to Kendall. The email was not clear. It sounded like they had established her account on 7/5. We assumed (always a bad idea) that the service would start on the date we requested. As if that wasn't bad enough, they had entered her phone number and social security number incorrectly. I have an email generated by their online system from when we entered the info. We entered it correctly. They messed it up when they put it in their system.

I argued with the guy for 30 minutes to no avail. He kept asking me if I understood the term "effective". I asked him why their was a past due on the account since this was the first bill she'd received. He said that another bill had been generated in July. Of course, I explained to him that she did not live there in July. In fact, another person lived there and was picking up the mail. He agreed to remove a $3 late fee. Big deal!

By the time I got off the phone, I was so angry. He told me that he was sorry they made a mistake, but they are really busy and only human. So I guess it's okay for them to make mistakes, but we have to find their mistakes or pay the consequences. In the end, I paid the amount owed so they would not turn off Kendall's power. Last night, I wrote a scathing letter to their customer service admin department. So infuriating. The drama never ends!

Carry on my friends!

 

[snappy]

Ooh Peg, what good news about your scan! Hooray!

Sounds like the order of prophalactic surgery before radiation is a good idea. Glad you brought up now, so you don't have to wait six months.

Sounds the power company people are truly incompetent. How frustrating! I am pretty sure they have the ability to make a bigger adjustment than the late fee. Maybe you got a bull headed rep. Thought about calling back and pursuing it, although it sounds like you were pretty clear that the error was theirs. The power companies have us at a disadvantage since they basically have monopolies in the area in most cases.

And a 45 minutes wait to talk to a "person" is ridiculous.

I made a real basic gumbo with my overflow okra this morning, with just a lot of garlic, onions, and shrimp. It was great when I got back from doing errands.

I am a happy camper right now.

 

[Feralpeg]

I made a real basic gumbo with my overflow okra this morning, with just a lot of garlic, onions, and shrimp. It was great when I got back from doing errands.

I am a happy camper right now.

Oh! That sounds good!

 

[Dancind]

Mmm, okra. I made one like that the other night too: onions, garlic, okra, tomatoes. So good. We had gluten free chicken fried steak for dinner, and it went well.

DD has put in for a transfer to Sacramento CA. Don't know how likely it is she will get it, but she has good evaluations at work so maybe. She is determined to do all this on her own. When did she get so darn independent? A 22 yo girl that is an only child should want more help from Mom & Dad! Problem is, if she had a glitch like that with the power company, she would probably just ignore it.

Love the San Diego pictures! We will be there soon, hope the weather is nice in early October. It always is, isn't it?

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Cheryl - your pictures are just breath taking. So beautiful! Now I know why dh and the ds love Calif. so much! Hope the condo stuff straightens out.

smiley - Hope you have a wonderful birthday.
Hope the driveway and insulation go well. It would be great to skype with your gdd if you can. My one friend does facetime with her dgd who is in Japan right now.

Diana - sounds like your dd is very independent! I wish my oldest ds would be like that. He is in some ways, in other ways not at all

Laurie - how did the visit with your brother go? Hope you all had a great time visiting.

Well I finally booked the trip today. Of course the airfare was ridiculous for the ds, but what can you do. At least the hotels are free using dh ff miles. So we are staying at the Swan Sept. 27-29. The ds are flying home late sun night and then the 30-3 dh and I are staying at the Beach Club for free.

Now I have to try to coordinate seeing my cousin. If it works out, fine, if not, its ok. I havent seen him in years so its not bad if I dont see him. We e mail so that is oik. I will take what I can get. His whole family will only be there friday, he will be there sat. so we shall see.

I think dh and I will just snack around the world for the food and wine and then eat a sit down dinner somewhere each night. We arent into all the food demonstrations or wine stuff etc. Just good to get away.

Oh and the worst part of the trip, we are flying back early on the 3rd because that night dh has to go to calif. again so we have to unpack and repack for him, sigh.

And tomm. dh is off to calif. again. Hmm, he is still waiting on a trip to mich. and back to russia but his visa is having problems. Should I say I am happy about that. I am getting sick and tired of him traveling. It gets weary after a while, for him for sure and me too.

Saw they are going to rehab the bc and yacht club. Hmm, may have to pick a different resort next year. Probably either swan or boardwalk?

And I reminded dh that he said we were suppose to do the roof and driveway this summer but nothing got done. It was not a financial issue, just him never doing anything about it, sigh. Hurricane season is coming. Hope it is ok.

Oh, had ds pick up our dental records. Now its back to the dental drawing board for us. A lady at church went to him too. I told her, lets look around church and see who has the best teeth and ask them where they go! She laughed!

PatsMom - missing you posting. Hope all is well.

GAGWTA. Thinking of you all.

 

[Feralpeg]

luvmarypoppins, September will be a great time for a visit. The weather guy on the local news said that this is the peak for the heat and that we should start dropping off over the next couple of weeks. Of course, that will mean 80s instead of 90s, but I'll take 80s any day over mid-90s!

I saw the surgeon yesterday. The surgery is scheduled for September 10. It will be an outpatient procedure. He said it would only take about thirty minutes for the actual surgery.

Unfortunately, Kendall and I have tickets for MNSSHP on September 13. Looks like that is out for me. Kendall will be taking a friend instead. Oh well. I'm looking forward to having everything over and done before Thanksgiving!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Peg - Glad you got a surgery date. Wow, you sure are going through a lot. I know you will be glad when you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Time to celebrate then for sure!

Have you ever gone to the MNSSHP before? I asked the ds if they wanted to go and they didnt seem too thrilled with the idea. We could get an ap discount but I am hesitant to lay out even more money etc. Seems a little expensive? Is it worth the price?

Also for anyone who has done Food and Wine. What is your eating strategy so to speak? Should we even do a regular sit down meal? Is their enough food at the food and wine to make both a lunch and dinner out of etc? Could we cover it all in 3 days of lunch etc? I think dh would prefer to have a table service meal for some meals instead of strolling around etc.

 

[Feralpeg]

Have you ever gone to the MNSSHP before? I asked the ds if they wanted to go and they didnt seem too thrilled with the idea. We could get an ap discount but I am hesitant to lay out even more money etc. Seems a little expensive? Is it worth the price?

Also for anyone who has done Food and Wine. What is your eating strategy so to speak? Should we even do a regular sit down meal? Is their enough food at the food and wine to make both a lunch and dinner out of etc? Could we cover it all in 3 days of lunch etc? I think dh would prefer to have a table service meal for some meals instead of strolling around etc.

Kendall and I have gone every year since they began the parties except last year when she was in England. We love the Halloween party! Of course, we aren't like a lot of people. When we get there, we grab something to eat and then stake out a spot on Main Street. We sit there and watch everyone entering the park. We love seeing all the costumes, which is funny because we never dress up! lol! Then, we watch the parade. The parade is wonderful! It is the best of all the Disney parades, IMHO. I love the dancers from the Haunted Mansion!

After the parade, we stroll around the park. We usually ride a couple of the easier rides and then, we go back to Main Street to watch Hallowishes. Again, I think it is the best of any of the other firework displays and I've seen them all. I just love Halloween and this event is just a special time for Kendall and I.

As for Food and Wine, we always go, but rarely eat much from the booths. The lines are just too long. You get a tiny portion for a lot of money. We like a couple of things they feature each year. Normally, we get those two things and then find someplace else to eat. Last year, I went with my sister. We walked completely around World Showcase and ended up eating at Electric Umbrella. It just wasn't worth fighting the crowds. I also hate it that you have to stand to eat when you get something from a booth. There are never any benches available. I enjoy walking around, but I'm not a drinker and just not willing to mess with the lines at the booths.

Of course, living here and having an AP makes a difference as to what I'm willing to do since I can go anytime I want. I didn't get much use out of my AP this past year, but I intend to use it a great deal this next year!

 

[robinb]

Lovemarypoppins, have you stayed at the Swan before? I really like it and getting it free is even better! We were there 2 years ago for Christmas on points. We had a nice view of the pool area. I know how you feel about your DH traveling. Mine is gone 5 days a week for most weeks. He does wrack up airline and hotel miles though! We would not be able to travel like we do if he didn't travel for work.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We love MNSSHP and have been a couple of times. We make it our MK day and get to the park for a 4pm dinner reservation. When we're done we have the rest of the night. We love the colors of fall, and there are plenty of them there then. The park is decorated so nicely, and there are special colors for the castle and fireworks that you don't normally see, as well as unique songs and characters in the parade. (Was just listening to the Boo To You song recently, DS has it on his playlist. He is playing it now for me, too, lol.) Oh and we can't forget the Headless Horseman! (A challenge for photo buffs to capture.) They give out candy at certain locations, with a candy bag at entry, of course, and characters and CMs are in the Halloween spirit everywhere. We've dressed up when we've gone. Some people's costumes are a riot!

We also love F&W. We've never done it just as adults, we've always had the kids with us, but it was still fun. Today they're more adventurous eaters and more grown up, so I imagine they'd be open to trying more. We like to spend a long time leisurely looking around, talking to people, and sampling from each country. We study menus ahead of time so we have a good idea of what we want. I also love getting something from each country - it might be a glass of champagne in France, an Espresso in Italy, a piece of chocolate in Germany, etc. We would not have room to eat a big meal after that, we just enjoy a little here and there (tho DS really loves chicken tacos in Mexico so I imagine he might get some of those. And DD has to have a Kaki Gori in Japan, thanks to Laurabelle).

Aww, now I want to go!!

 

[Feralpeg]

I saw the radiologist today. She surprised me a bit. I was told by my oncologist that I would need to wait three weeks after my surgery before starting radiation. The radiologist said it wasn't necessary. Since she won't be radiating the area where I will have surgery, she said she could start right away. In the end, we agreed that I would start one week after my surgery. She was pretty aggressive.

I asked her what affect the radiation would have on my heart. There is very little tissue left on that side. For the most part, it is just skin over ribs. She said there was no way to prevent radiation from reaching my heart, but she would try to limit the exposure. That sort of freaks me out. It would be really irritating to make it through all this and end up with heart issues.

Anyway, the fun continues!

Hope you are all doing well!