Support for our Becky (Bec_no_va) #2

whups, thanks Gita, I did mean to turn off the copyright when i posted that image -- especially since it's not mine.

trying again...

Thanks, Jill....
I cannot imagine any cats putting up with having this done to them.
Maybe they were drugged??? They DO look a bit "laid back".....

photo shop

jan

Will let you all know when I see my doctor on Monday. I cheated & got a copy of the report *& the CD from the cat scan. Would rather be prepared when I see Dr. Mike on Monday. Judy

Hey hey all - had my 3rd treatment yesterday, so I'm half way there!! Still no major side effects, just the tiredness/ache and hairloss :) We're celebrating a very, very quiet Christmas, did all of that in FL last weekend...no decorating or big dinner for us here, the flying kittens wreak havoc, so no tree :) I'll make a ham on Sunday and side dishes, so all we have to do is heat it up come Monday and Tuesday...I'll probably be sleeping most of the time anyway :) Nothing wrong with the appetite tho, I have gained 15 lbs in the last 2 months, not too concerned, I'm enjoying the food too much :) My nurse, Sarah, is in awe of how well I am doing, my blood levels yesterday were good enough to receive the entire rooms treatments, 5 800 is incredible and I'm a hematological wonder! I am being very, very careful about what I eat and do, stay away from crowds (except the FL trip), and so far have managed to avoid any colds...tons of vitamins and supplements - CT scan follow-up on January 3rd to make sure there are no major changes - still no cancer markers to be seen in my blood work. Not working much, don't want to commit to any larger jobs and then not being able to deliver, so only a few smaller jobs to bring in a little bit of income to pay for food, small expenses :) I guess I am doing everything the right way :)

Bec, that is wonderful news. And yes, you are doing it the right way! Not many actually follow the doctors directions to the "T" but sure sounds like you are.
SO happy you put a few pounds on instead of the other way...that is what makes patients get run down, that weight loss from being unable to eat.

I am happy to hear the trip to FL went well. I hope this "snow storm" avoids you!

Stay safe, say warm....and enjoy your Christmas and Holiday

Hugs,
Debbie

you're awesome Becky!

Wow! Well, it's been said before...

She is just THAT good!

Kudos to you for doing everything possible to protect your body while the chemo marches through your system. You put together a thorough plan for this battle, and you're sticking with it, not just hunkering down until it's over. Taking an active role like that in your treatment makes a huge difference, not just in prognosis but also in letting you still feel like you, still feel like you're living your life as you get through this.

You just grabbed the bull by the horns, stared it right in the eye, and said, look, Buster, we're doing this; I'm going to ride you, no question about that, and then I'm going to walk away, on my own two feet.

Becky--

I know I don't post on this Thread a lot--but I have read EVERY entry and am celebrating your "awesomeness"
with all the rest of us. You rock!!!!!!!

I KNEW you would be tough throughout all this! It seems just...natural...that you would be!
That old Nordic survival mode sure kicked in! We are all of good stock up there....

Please know that I DO think about you--and i DO wish you the best. Just that after everyone else has said the same thing
a hundred times--there is nothing i can add.

I support you, and wish the best to you a100 times---in silence--in thoughts in my head--not necessarily printed on paper.

Hugs, Gita

Yeah, I second what Gita said. < =) LOADS of prayers continue here, too! =)

Gita expressed what many of us have been doing. You are always in our prayers.

Amen, sistas!! Well said, you ROCK, Becky!!!

Such wonderful news Becky. We hear how sick some folks become with Chemo, so the fact that only a few aches and pains have happened with you is reason for celebration. Yes and ditto to what every one has said here. I too commend you on the ability to cut back and do less. Your main priority is getting healthy now. The other can all come later. Yes maam, you are truly one awesome gal.

Ruby

You go girl! Enjoy the sweets and spirit of the season. Ric

Amen for the update on your health, will continue to pray and hope to here that 2013 brings a return to good health for you.

Merry Christmas everyone, please remember to say a pray for our service members who are serving over seas.

Jan
(who has 20 days till son's tour is over and he will be home)

Dear meadowyck, I do think of and pray for our service people all the time.

So do I. Their sacrifice for us is truly immeasurable.

Bec, so glad to read u r doing so well and following dr's orders. You are in my prayers and here's wishing you & your family a happy & healthy new year. Judy, Bob & Fritzie.

thanks fokes for remember the service members.

Bec, adding more prayers to a much HEALTHIER 2013 for you!

Happy New Year all.

Jan

Dear Meadow Jan - How wonderful that you will soon have your son home with you. I have service men in my family and I know even though it has been many years, the stress associated with having a loved one away from us for long times and often in very dangerous areas of the earth. What a day of celebration it will be. I wish you, he and all of yours the very best during 2013.

Bec, hope that you too are finding reasons for celebration. Sometimes we have to look for them, but they are there. Wishing you and all those reading a great new year ahead. May it be one of the very best ever.

Ruby

Hello Bec & all the rest of the DG-ers following this thread. Hoping u are ok & feeling better. I'm on pred for a year (6 months to go) & I could eat the globe! Starting to gain a little of that weight I lost from bring on tramadol for arthritis and I am now off of it for good. My Dr diagnosed me with Polymialgia rhumatica or Lumbago, hence the pred. I still have my hair but I now have the characteristic "Moon face" and buffalo hump on my back. Yeeee-uck but the Dr I saw in rhumatology today said that should hopefully go back to a semblence of normal as I gradually wean myself off the pred. I am praying for you and I do believe your beautiful Thor was missing Sammie so much, he joined him on Rainbow Bridge. I have a friend retired like me who has TWO Norwegian Forest Cats. Wow! Almost lost my Dear Fritzie twice this year. He gobbled up 1/2 of one of my pills for A-fib, had to spend a couple days in the vet clinic to have his stomached pumped & on IV's. That was early spring. Then last week, he gobbled down one of my BP Water pills. Got him to throw up but he is getting over it. We now have a child proof gate to keep him out of the kitchen when we are refilling our pills. I swear he is trying to commit canine Hari Kari. We are both fine now and I am going back to Curves soon. Can you wear earrings? You ought to wear lovely gold hoops. That would complete your very exotic look. Here's hoping we get to see you at the seed swap in February at Chef Lin's (AND I CAN DEVOUR THE ENTIRE BUFFET WITH ONE BITE. HAHAHAHAHAHAH) Hugs, Judy, Bob & Fritzie.

This message was edited Jan 7, 2013 8:22 PM

This is the only current picture I have, me hiding behind my two staples, LOL

This message was edited Jan 7, 2013 8:25 PM

Evening all & Happy New Year! I've decided 2013 WILL be better than the last one :-) laying here watching TV & trying to get tired - had a CT apt today, but woke up feeling I'd been beaten (Fibro) & not capable of driving - sooo, that being said - now they are scrambling to get me a new apt before next treatment, IF there are no changes to be seen, they will be reevaluating my future (if any) treatments! The Platypus has been such an enigma from the start & my pathology still shows nothing, only good things. Last round my blood levels were awesome...they might stop chemo if they can't find anything!

waytago Bec, except for the feeling beaten part, but yeah hope this is all she wrote and you can wave bye bye and just leave a fascinating puzzling case for somebody to think on.

Good reports Becky and Judy. Praying all of us will be up and running by Spring, if not before! Looks like the Seed Swap will be hugs all around!

Bec -- all the reports are just SO encouraging. I'm sorry about the fibro, though; what a pain to have to fight that in the middle of the chemo.

Very encouraging news in spite of the fibro!!!!! Maybe they could let 'House' and his crew try to figure it out. Heehee.

Well, dammit - I thought I'd get so lucky and hoping for no more chemo, however, no matter what is there or not, I still have to get all 6 cycles - feeling somewhat better today, not so achy and did actually get some sleep - until some knucklehead in Europe decided to call me at 6:30 AM to see if I could do a job...needless to say I bit his head off and told him to learn about timezones and hung up! Also been battling another project manager, she has called me no less than 8 times to see if the project was ready for delivery - after the 8th call I politely told her to stop calling, I'd get it done faster if she's leave me alone.

Hi Bec & all, oh one more thing: I had a cat scan at Hershey & it showed several granulomas in the region of my stomach plus a little tumor on top of my adrenal gland so I am back to Hershey for an MRI. I looked up granulomas and nobody seemed too concerned so I figured they were not something to worry about but the adrenal gland must be important if the Dr is sending me for an MRI. Argh, from the frying pan into the fire. Still praying for you Bec. Oh, Becky , how do you germinate Dorstenia barnimiana? I just won 5 seeds on fleabay. Thanks, Judy

keeping you in my thoughts as you go through the MRI!!! Granulomas can be anything from what I understand, don't worry until you get the answers :) Tumor on adrenal gland I'd be more worried about - but, then again, I have 4 tumors in my liver, all benign!
Check this forum out - http://www.bcss.org.uk/foruma/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=139199&start=0

Thanks Becky for the link & I registered. When I am approved, I can contact them about Dorstenia. BTW, when you gave me all those caudexed plants some years ago, Dorstenia was one of them. It, along with most of them, have survived and is thriving. Do you want one of the caudexed plants back for old time's sake? Lmk & thanks. Hugs, Judy.

:-) thank you, but then I'd be tempted to start buying them again - I have primarily sansevierias & African violets & some generic house plants :-)

Bec one of your caudie babies was great for me a couple years. THen CHantell' s nephew came to swap and I figured he'd love the unusual character so now he has it.
; ^)

I too am new owner of some of the Caudies. Most are in dormant stage at the moment, though one is hanging in and has green leaves on it currently.

Buttoneer, you are such a hoot. Love you lady. What stories you have to tell. Good grief on Fritzie and the pills!!! I know about inducing vomiting in a dog....not a pretty picture. I too am currently on the Prednisone gang list. This is the third time this year I have had to take short courses of it. I took it daily for seven years some twenty years ago and it is not something I want to return to. Yep, tep to the eating and not being able to stuff my face quickly enough. Food tastes so good when on that medication. I am actually waking up some days feeling full which hasn't happened for years and years. Not a good sign. I am down to only taking about 5 mg. for the next ten days or so and hopefully by then the symptoms that caused me to need to use it will be cleared and only history. I have had a few new things to me this year. Used to be I could pretty much tell what was going on body wise, but I have been diagnosed with several new things year which I am not sure is good or bad. Anyway....it is, what it is.

Becky, you and I must be made from the same mold. If there is a medical enigma, tis me. I guess that the chemo treatments at least haven't been as tough on you as they are for some and that is something to be grateful for. I too will join the celebration when this is all over and behind you. Thank you for allowing us to go along on this journey with you. It has been quite an interesting ride. Continued success to you.

Ruby

Thanks all - just came back from Reed, had my pre-chemo, lets-see-how-much-weight-I-have-managed-to-gain-since-last-time check-up and all is beyond well, my blood levels are perfect, no markers to be found (so they are stopping looking for them). I actually did NOT gain weight this time, not for a lack of trying either, I have decided chocolate IS a major foodgroup and am currently trying to eat my way through several pounds of Norwegian chocolate ^_^ Haven't even made a dent!
So minus the aches and pains (side effect from one of the chemos is myalgia, so it 'enhances' the fibro I already have) and chicken fuzz for hair, I am doing really well - it's kinda funny, most of the side effects I already have some form of, like the myalgia and the neuropathy (pinched nerve in shoulder) - so, I never really know what is what, chemo or 'normal' - the biggie for me is no nausea, which I am eternally grateful for - CT has been rescheduled for the 16th, will see if there are changes, if any - who knows, the cancer might have decided to stop playing hide and seek and show itself.

Bec, I borrowed this off my facebook. It is sweet & I hope you like it. Not mean't to upset you.

Hide & seek? No way! Any remaining cancer cells are fleeing the field of battle, never to be seen again.

Bald princesses... priceless. Somebody mentioned to me the other day that there's a bald Barbie. "Cancer Barbie??" LOL, there's definitely a Barbie doll for everything.

Is your hair at that fun "teddy bear fur" stage yet? I kept petting my head when it was long enough to be fuzzy but short enough to stick straight up. I loved the curls I had for a while when it first grew back in... and I've been thinking I might let the new color grow out for a while, mostly because I think Joyanna would love it if my hair was the same color as hers, and I think it's pretty close! 2 trips to the salon, and I'm already losing patience with the whole bleaching & toning process to get back to blond. Maybe I'll take my cue from Bitbit and try blue (or purple) next.

The cells probably ran screaming from all the chocolate I've been stuffing my face with!!! ^_^

YES, I AM a bald princess! And I wear it well, both the princess and the bald part :) It's too little to be anything, kinda patchy chicken fuzz, blond!! I haven't been blond since the last bottle of coloring I used, which was years ago ^_^ It's growing on top and in the back, just not on the sides...so if I let it grow I'll look like I have a chicken mohawk!! My clinical nurse keeps telling me it'll grow, fall out and grow more...who knows - I might just shave it completely and buff it for a high shine ^_^ Thursday is round 4, then only 2 more to go!!

I'll help make those cells flee, by stuffing my face with chocolate, too. Okay? Anything to help. Heehee

So very thankful you haven't been nauseous!!! Yayayayayaya!!!!!

I'm thankful that the chocolate taste good! :-} Ric