Ellen in PA

Hi Ginny. We recently started making runs to Total Wine too -- used to go to Canal's in NJ. So what/where is Harry's? Ellen

Like Sandra, I don't go far for a restaurant -- not more than around 20 minutes anyway. But when we first moved to Philadelphia (back in 1967), there was a radio commercial for a place in the 'burbs called the Doylestown Inn that featured a couple with strong NYC accents raving about the place and one of them said, 'Sure it's far! But for good food, we go!!!' Gerry and I roared each time we heard it at the image of New Yorkers driving 100 miles (past about 10,000 perfectly fine restaurants) for a restaurant in the Philadelphia 'burbs! Dream on, Philly... Ah, but do gluttony-driven detours count? I once spent a night in London on the way back from a conference in the north of England, just to have a great Indian meal. And some colleagues and I once spent a night in Lyons on the way home from a conference in the south of France just to have a great meal in that city... And Gerry and I did once go for the day from Madrid to Segovia just for the suckling pig... I'm getting hungry. Ellen

Hi folks. Can I ask a really stupid question? What does 'air' in this topic heading mean? I know air that we breathe and air that we sing, but what's this one? I thought I'd figure it out as time went by, but my senile brain isn't up to it, alas. Ellen

All of the above -- plus the series of some male 'enhancement' product that always ends with a man and a woman in separate bathtubs somewheres outdoors. Is this supposed to be romantic? I find it hilarious. If I may add my current *favorite* commercial, it's the one for a drug that makes you stop having to urinate frequently -- it has pastel-colored balloons as people, dancing around at their high school reunion. I love the idea, the imagery, and the music, and the reunion content is certainly targeting the right age group (for the product). Interestingly (or not), for ALL of these, I have no recollection of which product is being advertised! Ellen

How about using last year's letter? Just remember to change the date at the top. Ellen

Hi Stephanie. Eek, surgery, chemo, a zillion radiation sessions -- I don't know how you guys do it. My 14 measly radiation sessions -- and just to the spine and pelvis -- was the pits. When I wasn't sleeping, I was nauseous, in spite of taking Zofran religiously. That's been my only serious treatment and I didn't like it one bit. Yes, I can certainly believe that 20 radiation sessions, and after what you've been thru, is kicking your butt. But I love your line about having 'excellent sleep skills'! May I use it? I am the soundest sleeper I know. Hang in there. Ellen

When did you start sleeping that much? If it's in the last few weeks (i.e. since the start of radiation), then I bet that's it. I had only 14 tx and it really knocked me out. Good luck. Ellen

My usual 5 or 6 at night. I'm a night person by nature but my husband, who's in Switzerland this week, calls at 630am and the dog walker comes at 7am. But I've been taking 2-3 hour naps in the afternoon -- I suspect it's because of the Zometa. Sandra, when I was getting radiation to the spine and pelvis -- and for a week or so thereafter -- I was sleeping 14 hours/day. The radiation onc said that was to be expected. Anyway, maybe that's why you're sleeping more lately. Ellen

Barb, thanks for sharing! And that's a lovely picture. Judy, Misty is a Miniature Pinscher and they were bred centuries ago in Germany to hunt vermin in kitchens and barns. (I guess they had other breeds for living rooms and bedrooms. ) Anyway, all the poor thing can do with her genes is lunge at pigeons and squirrels in downtown Philadelphia, all the while restrained by her leash. Animal lovers should feel sorry for her. Small flightless birds are just what the doctor ordered. Muriel, maybe your retrievers can retrieve Misty if Judy gets too upset. Ellen

Ooooh, Barb, can my dog Misty 'guard' half the chicks? She's never met a bird that couldn't fly away and this will be such a 'treat' for her -- in more than one sense! Ellen

I'm so old (or senile) that I hadn't realized some of these things were no longer around... Great list! Thanks! Ellen

Hi Barbara. Amen. Ellen

Hi Barbara. Oh, if I'd been told that chemo/rad would have made me possibly eligible for a stab at a cure (aka surgery), I certainly would have opted for it, and concurrently, if I were told that would be more effective. I can't imagine you and Bill making any other choice! Ellen

What these numbers also say: On the average, concurrent chemo/radiation patients lived 27 days longer (9/10 of a month) than those with sequential therapies. If we assume that the original 237 subjects were divided into 3 groups equally, that makes approximately 80 subjects per group, so... ...after 5 years, 15 of the 80 patients receiving concurrent therapies were still alive; after 5 years, 10 of the 80 receiving sequential therapies were still alive. I'm NOT putting down the study -- just giving people a different way of looking at the numbers to help them decide their own course of action. Barbara, thanks for posting, as always! Ellen

Nope. But I won't be eating matzah either, even tho I'm Jewish. I'm an equal opportunity non-observer. Ellen

We don't usually walk out -- but I have been known to go out for a l-o-n-g cigarette break during some duds. Then there was Star Wars... I fell fast asleep. When I woke up, I thought my husband had passed out because he was slumped over the arm of his seat, his head down in the aisle. Turned out he was trying to read the newspaper by the light of the little bulb near the floor lighting the aisle. He didn't want to wake me but couldn't wait to leave, which we promptly did. Ellen

I agree with Kasey -- it's GOOD to have a doctor who actually studies the scans and thinks about them. My only question for him would be why he didn't order a CT-scan in the first place, given that they give a much clearer picture of things than x-rays -- but maybe he was constrained by your insurance policy to start with an x-ray. Try to relax -- easier to say, of course. Good luck. Ellen

Hi Snowflake. This will be my first keg bus trip (if I'm allowed on, that is)! Could you please swing by here (downtown Philly) when you pick up Kasey and Ginny? I'd like to bring my dog Misty -- true, she's got 4 legs and a bunch of teeth but she's small, smaller even than little Jayla. And also very sweet. And she also sings. Looking forward to this! Ellen

Hahahahahaha!!! Excellent! Thanks! Ellen

Definitely Spaghetti Carbonara. Which I can't get in Philadelphia -- they think it's spaghetti in cream sauce but it's really spaghetti mixed with butter, grated parmesan or romano, bits of ham, and ... a raw egg. I love it. Ellen

Thank you, thank you. Ellen the Indolent

Aw, shucks, thanks everyone! It's been great getting to know yiz* as well! *'Yiz' is Philadelphia-ese for "y'all". Kasey, if you must know, I'm now 16 1/4. Aka 65, gag barf. (But better than the alternative, as they say.) No cake (I'm still following Atkins, except at Kildare's) but we went to a big-splurge steak restaurant that we'd never gone to before. Mmmm. Ned, yup, indolent is just fine! I've been lazy all my life so it figures. One funny thing -- at my last onc visit, the resident saw me first, as usual. He was a new one and read my file and said three or four times, with increasing disgust/annoyance, 'Boy, you have a WEIRD cancer! Boy, this is WEIRD!' Of course, I couldn't resist and finally said, 'Gee, I'm sorry. Bad for business, huh?' Thanks again, everyone. Here's to us ALL celebrating when I'm 16 1/2 next year! Ellen

Lily, that was absolutely beautiful! Thank you for posting it. Ellen

Hi folks. Today is 15 months since I was diagnosed with Stage 4 adenocarcinoma. Still feel fine, still very happy that I refused chemo and chest radiation. Please, no need to congratulate me -- all I did was not die. I just wanted to let people know that refusing chemo/rad is not an immediate death sentence. Ellen

Given how long I've lived, there are MANY dumb purchases competing for this honor. But the dumbest has to be my first car. It was a 1963 Rambler American convertible, which I bought in 1965 for $600. Why it was dumb: (1)There are about 3 days/year when you want to drive with the top down in NYC, where I was living. (2)It took about 45 minutes to get the top down or up. (3)It ate more carburetors than gas. (4)Every time you took your foot off the accelerator, it would stall (See 3.) (5)Left turns were a special thrill. (See 4.) (6)The first time I got gas, the attendant (yeah, there were attendants in those days) 'cleaned' the rear so-called window with a stiff paper towel, thereby scratching the plastic completely and making it thenceforth opaque. Oh well. The scrap metal dealer gave me $50 for it when he towed it away in 1968. Since then, I've followed Consumer Reports and have owned a '68 Plymouth Valiant (for 11 years), a '79 Toyota Corona (for 6 years), an '85 Toyota Camry (for 11 years), and a '96 Toyota RAV4 (13 years and still going). I learned my lesson -- Consumer Reports is to be read and believed. And don't buy a car because it's 'cute'. More than you ever wanted to know... Ellen