Muriel

EEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Judy, you forgot to cut just below our necks! Thanks. M

I used to be 5'2" and I, too, have lost 1/2 inch. I'd like to be tall enough to reach things on the top shelves of cupboards. Muriel

That's great news, Bruce. Enjoy the holidays. Muriel

When I filled out my absentee ballot at the end of October - this Oct. Muriel

Welcome to our group Gail. I'm glad you found us and hope that we can provide some support to you. I'm amazed at how well the tarceva is working for you. Your results are really great. Muriel

No, but friends did for us. We've been married 47 years. Muriel

HOW OLD ARE YOU? HOW OLD ARE YOU? HOW OLD ARE YOU? HOW OLD ARE YOU? (If there are other words to that, I don't know what they are. Oh well, these will do.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATTI! Muriel

Thanks, Denise. I'll bring some of the goodies along for the Mississippi River trip. Muriel

I never miss a trip, so I'll be there. I hope Randy joins us, as he is the one who knows what everyone likes to drink and how to mix some of their strange choices. I'll bring beer - Beck's and nachos. How long is this trip? How much beer should I bring? I'm second in line to spend time with Officer Andy. We may have one problem. When Patti B goes on these trips she always wants to drive. Gotta steer her away from piloting the yacht. Muriel I'll bring the spinach dip from the web site Denise told us about.

I agree with Katie, it comes with the territory. And laws to prevent it would be a violation of the First Amendment. Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Maybe if fewer people were interested in the activities of the rich and famous, there would be less work for the paparazzi. Muriel

Hi Diane. Welcome to our group. I think we can provide lots of support to you. I'm sorry the cancer has returned - not something you'd expect after 10 years. Is it possible that this is a new primary cancer? It sounds as though your environment isn't the best for healthy lungs (or in your case, lung). I had a recurrence after 18 months and it was devastating, although I knew it could happen - even though I had chemo after my surgery for a stage Ib tumor. BTW, back in 1998, I don't think anyone was suggesting surgery in a situation like yours. Please keep posting about how you're doing. Muriel

I love it! Muriel

That's wonderful news! Muriel

Gorgeous. Thank you. Muriel

Yes, and I loved every second of it. I stayed up until 1:30 am (eastern). At that time, I felt everyone had said everything that could be said and it would be ok to go to bed. Hubby turned in as soon as MSNBC called it. I stopped in to see what people in the chat room were talking about, but only stayed about 10 minutes. Muriel

I've pretty much stopped "collecting." In the past, I've collected coffee cups from places we have lived or visited, refrigerator magnets, key chains, . . . and have run out of spaces for these once wonderful items. When we downsized and moved to FL, I decided the "collecting" had to stop. Muriel

Living in FL, you can't help but wonder what's going to go wrong this time. We decided to vote by absentee ballot. These, apparently, are counted first. Short of losing ballots that are mailed, I don't think there is much that can be done to mess things up. We didn't know about "early voting" at the time we requested our absentee ballots. I'm glad we did it that way, because the lines are really long in FL. Not enough polling places for the number of people who want to vote early. I don't want to tell you who I voted for, but his running mate can't see Russa from his home. Muriel Oops, I said her home, first and just noticed that now. Meant his home.

Don, I am so sorry about this. Sending prayers, good vibes, etc. Muriel

(((((Patti))))) I agree with Kasey, whine away! That's what we're here for. You have to talk to someone and we're here ready to listen. I'm so sorry about this whole mess. You could be a couple weeks into the radiation if you're doctor had been paying attention to you. At least something is being done about it now. I hope radiation helps it really fast. Sending good vibes and all that stuff. Muriel

(((Ry, Tyler, Caitlin, and Jillian - but not Michelle))) Muriel

Congratulations to both of you. Muriel

How did you know? My mother had 2 sisters and my dad had one. Thus, the name Muriel (my mother's younger sister) Loretta (my dad's only sister). Ruth, my mom's other sister was my godmother.

I'm afraid that I agree with Dr. G. By the way, Dr. G. is our "local" medical examiner, with an office quite close to MDAnderson on the campus of Orlando Regional Hospital. Not all cancer is "caused" by smoking. I think we'd all agree to that. Some cancer is related to a long history of smoking. But, smoking is also related to a lot of other bad health problems - emphysema (which people can die from), a variety of heart problems, stroke. So, all in all, if you add those other diseases to the lung cancer deaths related to smoking, it's probaby the number one cause of death. It's still important to make the point that not all lung cancer is smoking related, tho. I'm guessing that doctors who treat forever or long-term non-smokers don't think first of lung cancer when respiratory problems are present. If they did, they'd catch more cancers in earlier stages. It will be interesting to see how many people I've offended. Hope not too many, as that wasn't the intent of this post. Muriel

Hi Susan. I understand your concern about your mother's memory. Chemo brain is quite common, scary at first, and annoying. It does, more or less, go away in time. But then, we get older "in time" also. My response to chemo brain was, "As if cancer wasn't enough, now I'm losing my mind, too." The first time I had it was in 2003 and then again 18 mo. later. I think if it came on shortly after chemo started and your mother wasn't having these problems before, it's probably chemo brain. But then, I don't have a degree in anything remotely related to medicine. Let us know how things go. Muriel

(((((Sandra))))) Muriel