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MaryTD777

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Posts posted by MaryTD777

    Wednesday's Air

    in JUST FOR FUN

    Posted

    Oh Diane, please feel better soon!

    Hi all!! I am glad to see so much activity in the past several days. When I got here it was hard for me to find active threads (I also wasn't good at looking yet ~ but I found the "New Posts" link since then LOL)

    I'm not happy so many are here, but happy that those who are here are posting =D

    This grumpy wheather tore 2 pieces of siding off the house and hubby only found one :(

    Out to dinner soon with an old pal. Only my 2nd outting without that terrible neck/torso brace.

    OH! I haven't been here this week. Allowed to leave the brace off ALL the time now unless I want it on! YAY ME!!

    Have a great day/weekend!!

    xoxox

    Coping

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    I think some anger can be useful. Someone here told me that visualizing the tumor and yelling at it is a good way to cope ~ anger would help there.

    Please mention the depression to your doc. The doc WILL know about depression and how much is OK and when you might need help. Some help can come from talking to us, but some might need meds too. Always make sure that your doc knows everything you are taking, even vitamins, herbs and stuff.

    I use & used humor, but some would call me sick/warped etc, so I guess it won't work for every one :wink:

    I do hope we can help!!

    (((((HUGS))))

    Mary

    Sorry to see you here

    in INTRODUCE YOURSELF!

    Posted

    Hiya Bud,

    Thanks for the welcome and CONGRATS!!! on 5+ years :D

    Pain... oh yes, there is pain. I have to thank the pain tho, it got me dx in time. The pain that pushed me to the doc had nothing to do with the ribs tho, it was mostly shoulder blade with some radiating down the back of the arm all the way down to the outer fingers. Odd as it sounds, the radiating pain was accompanied by a kinda surface numb/tingly feeling, which, along with that pain, still plagues me.

    During surgery the T2 nerve needed to be resected and there was damage to the sympathetic chain. That left me with Horner's Syndrome. Lucky me, doc says I got one of the most extreme cases he has seen. I do not sweat at all on the right side, my right pupil is stuck at it's smallest size and the right eyelid droops a bit. BUT, on the left I do sweat. I sweat profusely for what would appear to be no reason. Eating, showering or getting very upset seem to cause it the most. Nothin like having lunch with someone and having them say: Um, Mary... not sure what's goin on, but something is dripping off your hair! NICE, not!

    I am also still having lotsa pain that is prolly associated with the vertebrae that the tumor was touching which was not done properly and had to be redone this past Aug. I am STILL in a brace from that. I will see that doc on Monday. Ugh.

    As for rib pain... I would say discomfort. If I ever get past the meaner ones, it may get more attention.

    Thanks for asking!! Sorry for the 2 page reply. I tend to ramble, which is why I am not here every day... I only come when I can devote at least an hour to read and write.

    Does scan time ever get less nerve wracking?

    in MEMBER UPDATES

    Posted

    Thanks Katie! I feel prayer was a HUGE part in me getting thru the way I did and feel I can never get too much of it!!

    Trawna/Jane Thanks so much!! The advise sounds great and I will keep it in mind next time I get "on edge". I will gladly listen to advise to ANY one who has been touched in any way. Please don't ever feel your words have any less value than someone who has this illness.

    All, GREAT RESULTS!! No growin & no glowin!!

    Basically doc said that the bits they were worried about are just under the 1 cm size needed to be seen by PET, but had it grown, it would have been big enough to "light up", so even tho they were too small for the PET to be definitive, it's due to the good news that it is too small.

    Yeah, it gets to sound like double talk, but this time I followed it perfectly. Maybe cuz I wanted to?

    Anyway, told to go live life and CT in April. MAYBE if they like that one, I can "graduate" to six months between scans. If only I could cross my fingers, I would LOL! I can do it now & then, just not this second. Sometimes it is SO silly that I let myself get PO'ed at the dumb things I lost.

    Have a GREAT weekend! I know I will!!

    My birthday "portrait" LOL

    in SHARE YOUR LUNG CANCER STORY

    Posted

    Thank you all! I have always been silly and a purple lover. I also always kinda liked hats, but the collection of loud ones, big ones, bright ones and anything attention getting got a bit out of hand with treatment. What can I say other than ~ Don't wanna cry, so gotta laugh! Hehehee

    Katie, what's your Jacks name?

    Jack is our baby @ 4 years in April. We sort of adopted him from a pal who owned one of the parents. She wanted to keep him but hubby said no. Then our re-rescue, Tramp, is 6 next month. He is a Springer Spaniel lookin mutt. The first family that rescued him decided they had to return him, but no one from the shelter could go get him, so we did and kept him even tho he was a challenge. Our oldest is, Lady Godiva, named by hubs for "Lady" in Lady & the Tramp (Hence Tramp's name) and Godiva for her chocolate color. We bought her at 6 month old from a puppy store that said she was getting to old to sell and guilted us into it. She is a full bred Cocker but due to bits of white in her coat she wouldn't be a good show dog or breeder so not many wanted her. She is the Alpha puppy even as I am the Alpha B*tch. Hehehee.

    We also acquired a 6 year old, 140 pound St Bernard on Monday who we are fostering. His mommy has her grand baby in the house and the grand baby was bitten by her mommies dog. That dog was put down and a new puppy in the house was given away. Winston is huge, sweet and cute, but not a puppy so he was harder to find a place for, esp since his mommy wants him back. Right now the judge in family court said the lil girl could not go home if ANY dog is there. Hope is the baby and her parents will soon have a home of there own so Winston can go back home.

    WOW! I do babble, don't I? Eh, if you read this far, thanks. If not, oh well. LOL

    My birthday "portrait" LOL

    in SHARE YOUR LUNG CANCER STORY

    Posted

    Me and my smallest pup, Jack. He is half Jack Russel and half Shih Tzu, so we named him Jack Sh*t :lol:

    The hats are 2 of my birthday presents. Yes, hats plural. The lil clip above my ear is holding a lil purple hat with black lace veil and purple feathers. Told ya I was a purple-aholic Hehehee.

    I chose this pic even tho it's not the best one, because you can just barely see one the left side of the pic, how LONG my hair is now! My avatar is from 5/12, almost a year after the middle of chemo, which ended 6/12. Here it is Jan 13 and it's almost down to my armpits!!

    post-55589-141270980054_thumb.jpg

    Does scan time ever get less nerve wracking?

    in MEMBER UPDATES

    Posted

    Thanks Randy. I like the mantra idea. It prolly sounds crazy, but I don't pray for myself often, tho I have spoken to God at times. I just feel like prayers count more when they are for others. I readily ask for prayers, and say them for others. Kinda like references... you will give more weight to someone else telling you I am good at work than me tooting my own horn. Told ya it sounds crazy.

    Diane, thank you. I agree that it might be easier if hubs could accept my being on edge instead of telling me to hush, relax, lean on him or any other sweet, but almost hurtful comments. I am not allowed to drive yet, so I can't even drive in either alone or at least driving so I have traffic on my mind instead of the potential for bad news. I do have a few sleeping pills left from the days before my first surgery... I think I will dig them out and have one Weds night. Thanks for the birthday wishes too. stepping into my 50th year on this orb... I never would have thought it :shock:

    Cindy, thank you also for advise & birthday wishes. Sadly, I am still not allowed to do much more than walk since my screwy screws & rods surgery, and that just doesn't cut it right now. The best reason for me to walk would be a nice long one with about 25 lbs of cameras and binoculars spotting birds, but that's too much weight :( Hoping by next time.

    Thanks all! I really am glad I found this place.

    yearly scans for smokers and former smokers???

    in LUNG CANCER IN THE NEWS

    Posted

    Thanks for posting. I think there are finally enough people who are making noise about lung cancer even if it is uncomfy at first because of smoking stigma. I know I am a blabber mouth about it and even tho I was a heavy smoker, I make sure people hear me loud & clear that I don't deserve to die of lc any more than someone who eats sweets should die of diabetes.

    Does scan time ever get less nerve wracking?

    in MEMBER UPDATES

    Posted

    After surgery, or maybe even right before it, a plan ~ schedule of follow-up visits with scans was laid out. Every three months for the first year or so, then every six month and down to annual.

    I was floating when at my first post op visit I was told that everything was so sunny and rosy that I wouldn't need to come for a scan for six months! I was sure that was the absolute best possible news available. When that scan was done, the next one was set for three months, and while it was a little disappointing that I was no longer feeling sunny & rosy, I was at least average and on track.

    Then... then they saw a little node that came out of nowhere that needed to be watched, so next time was two months, and it doubled in size, two more months, no real change but let's stick with two months, but a PET scan this time. This time will be Thursday 1/24.

    I actually catch myself just bursting into tears at the mention of it even tho I know tears are a waste of time & energy and won't change the results. The prior scans got me a lil edgy, but not crying. I have always tried to be suzy sunshine.

    So, who has some miracle advise to get me thru the next few days without dehydrating via tears? Especially with my birthday being tomorrow (Sunday) I know I will be talking to and/or seeing lots of people and I want happy hugs, not mushy weepy ones.

    Thanks & Happy Saturday!

    Mary

    Sorry to see you here

    in INTRODUCE YOURSELF!

    Posted

    Thanks Janet,

    5 years!! Congrats!

    It really does help a lot to see how well some people do. I also find it amazing that there are so many people here but when I tried to find support here there was nothing local. I wonder if it is about not wanting to talk or just being so far apart...

    I think I will be comfy here, and hope to help others be comfy too.

    Sorry to see you here

    in INTRODUCE YOURSELF!

    Posted

    Thank you ALL for your posts. I did poke around a little before I joined and only joined because it looked like a good place to not feel so alone.

    Alan, sorry yours was inoperable. I think I just made it by millimeters or something. It was down to the surgery being moved 2 weeks in order to get the neurosurgeon they wanted who was able to take nearly half of one vertebrae and facet joints off the ones above & below... frankly the pre-op discussion/description was a bit much and by the time it got to post-op talking the only thing I nagged him about was the margins! It has also left behind many extra problems, but at least he got it. Congrats on 3 years :)

    Thanks for the hugs and welcomes! I need to update my signature more and stuff, but I really wanted to jump in before I chickened out. Also, I have an odd sense of humor, which has come in VERY handy for much of this, but also may turn people off. I know this can be more of a problem online, cuz you can't see my tongue in cheek or the twinkle in my eye. Because of that, you may see too many smiley faces & LOLs, sorry.

    Be well & ((hugs))

    My first post- My dad's story

    in SHARE YOUR LUNG CANCER STORY

    Posted

    Hi Erika, I am new here too. I am the one with lc tho, and my kidlet ~ I mean Daughter, is 22.

    My few words on the doc saying anything about how much time... In my many years of having friends and family having children, I can not BEGIN to count how many were told the wrong gender of the babies that were due. Think about it, the tests are much simpler AND there is only a fifty/fifty chance and they were STILL completely opposite about 25% of the time!!!

    I hope that gave you a giggle along with the truth that sometimes, a guess is just a guess.

    BTW, I think it's super sweet of you to be taking such an active role in helping you & your family find some support and info. I will keep y'all in my thoughts & prayers.

    Sorry to see you here

    in INTRODUCE YOURSELF!

    Posted

    Hi there, sorry to meet you. You know I only mean because of the common bond we share against our will.

    If I did things right when I found this site yesterday, you should see a chunk of my info in my signature. My lc info anyway.

    On a happier topic, I am a 48 (for another 8 days anyway LOL) y/o happily married empty nester. Our kids range in age from my youngest at 22 and his oldest at 33.

    Since I tried a reply yesterday and it didn't work, I am not going to put much effort into this intro. Have a great weekend! :D

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