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Storytime BearsI just got off the phone with my sister in law and she is having Chemo, she shaved off all her hair and was so sad, they are really being aggressive with the chemo because they are worried about this because 4 1/2 years ago she had ovarian cancer. She is 51 and one of the nicest people I know and my heart breaks for her.
I just lost my best friend a year ago to breast cancer, she was only 35 and had two boys 10 and 15. This is such a horrendous illness, I know almost everyone has been touched by someone who has had breast cancer and I am sure I am covering a topic that has been posted here, but I am just reminding everyone, please go and get your mammogram , don't put it off, if you are due for one, call Monday to set up a time to get yours, encourage a loved one to do the same.
Hugs
Jodi
Bears by JodiJodi , you are correct , EVERY ONE JUST GOOOOOOO !!!! My best friend is going through breast cancer now. Found out before Christmas in 2006. Just finished radiation but chose not to do Chemo because she is so sick all the time any way and she didn't think she could handle it. I help her when ever I can, and I am very worried for her, but she let things go , so don't put it off, really. Thanks Jodi for bringing this up !! Have you gone Jodi ? Lately ?
Teddies to TreasureI will add my 2 cents worth her as well.Interesting that I saw this today as it is my 7th anniversary today as a survivor.My very small tumor was detected because of a regular mammogram.The tumor was underneath the breastbone and probably wouldn't have been detected any other way until it had grown and perhaps spread.So I feel that the mammogram saved my life.Even small tumors can be aggressive as was mine.I had 2 surgeries but no lymph node involvement.I had 6 months of chemo anyway as the survival rate increased dramatically over radiation alone.Keeping in mind too that chemo does not have to be as aggressive when given without lymph nodes involved-so another reason to get your mammogram for early detection! Please don't ignore this girls and prayers to all here whose lives have been touched by this insidious disease.Take care of yourselves all! Sincerely Jane D.
Chaska, MinnesotaI too am a breast cancer survivior. I was 35 years old and had a routine mamogram done as a baseline. My doctor only wanted one so he had it to compare it to when he started doing them at age 40. Imagin the surprise of everybody that it was seen on a mamogram. Biopsy came back with two kinds of cancers. I had no choice, I had to have a mastectomy. All four opnions agreed this had to happen...Well, what I am trying to say, if you are young, middle age or old, you need to get them. It saved my life. I have survivied this for eleven years now....Please don't be afraid to get one.....
Bear Hugs to all of you who have survived breast cancer and to thoese you know somebody surviving it....
Storytime BearsJodi I am going to call and set up one on Monday, It's funny when I was talking to her she said losing her breats were devasting but when she had her head shaved it was something that seemed worse, because she said, you cover your chest with clothes, but your head is there for all the world to see, she has a wig but HATES it, they live down south and she says when she wears it it's hot and itchy.
I am at a loss as what I should say to her or do for her, if you have gone through this disease, or known someone who has and you know of any suggestions please post them here, even the things, what not do do, my friend that died from this told me before she paased that she wished I would not treat her like glass, that being so careful with her, it made her sad and that she missed my friendship the way it was before cancer. That was hard to do and I am not sure I was ever completely able to do it.
Again any suggestions I am sure will not only help me but so many others that is dealing with this is some way.
Hugs
Jodi
Dolls N DreamsYes glad you posted this!! EVERYONE must go! My mother in law is a survivior. And it reminds me every year
to go get one!
HUGGZZZZZZZ to all.
Storytime BearsI have talked to other artists about this, but has there ever been an artist involved charity event to make bears, auction them and then donate all money made to breast cancer research, I would love to organize something like that, I feel so helpless to do any thing and feel this might be a way I could help. I would be willing to make a bear and donate all monies to help find a cure.
To those of you who have gone thru this :hug: I hope you know you are in all our prayers.
Big Hugs
Jodi
Chaska, MinnesotaJodi wrote:Nope I am going to call and set up one on Monday, It's funny when I was talking to her she said losing her breats were devasting but when she had her head shaved it was something that seemed worse, because she said, you cover your chest with clothes, but your head is there for all the world to see
Dear Jodi: I have a lot to say about this....Your friend who is worried about losing her hair needs to understand that hair grows back. Lose your hair? Have her focus on thanking God she has her life!! Remind her of that. People who love her won't care if she has no hair...poor thing...hair is the least of her worries....
As to what to say to her. Let her know you are sorry she is going through this and you are there for her. I would offer to go to the doctors office with her and take notes for her. She is scared and is numb about all of this. It is hard to think about what is happening. The doctor will talk away and she will miss some things. Ask her to write down all her questions on paper before she goes for a visit. While in the office you can write down the answers the doctor is giving. Later she can review the notes you took for her in the comfort of her home. She also had you in there for a second pair of ears and can clarify what the doctor said if she does not understand your notes.
I also recommend a book by Dr. Susan Love called "The Breast Book". He helped me understand in laymans terms what is happening to me. Please, if she does not have it, buy it for her.
Third: and this is a pet peeve of mine, some women feel if they lose their breast, it is the worst thing in the world. Often times it is due to not being attractive to their husbands or boyfriends. Often they opt to not go with their doctors advise and have a lumpectomy instead so they can save their breast!! Imagin that? To save their breast... How about saving your life? There was a famous celeberty (I won't name names) on Larry King Live. She went on and on about using herbs and natural treatments with a lumpectomy and declined chemotherapy. She said something along the lines of her breast being her identity and she wanted to keep them. She said this was the right couse of treatment for her....I almost became unglued that this person (who many feels she is an icon) is saying this and for those vulnerable out there to listen to this celeberty could lose their lives because of her. They too may want to "save their breat" and do what she is doing...I wish this womem celeberty would SHUT UP! My advise is to listen to your doctors. Get second opnions and follow their advise. Your breast is NOT your identity.
Lastly: When I have a bad day Jodi, I thank God I am alive to have a bad day....
If you have any questions Jodi, you can PM me and I will be a happy to give you more information.
AlmostBearsjodi if you organize anything...you can count me in . i dont know anyone affected by breast cancer but one day....the life you save and all that
Storytime BearsMichell, your advice is wonderful, my problem is, she is in Tenn. and I am in Indiana, which makes it sooo hard, I think I am going to get her a tape recorder to have her take with her and I will also get a copy of that book to include, thanks for the great idea.
I agree about the issue of breasts, I think the younger a woman is, the more important they are, as I have gotten older I have to say, they really are not that important, they only start sagging and looking really kind of sad .
When I had an ovarian tumor, I worried but the doctor said we caught it at a good stage, but when I found out I had skin cancer 8 years later , I had horrible panick attacks, to the point I would have a hard time breathing, my youngest just turned 2 and I would bawl thinking I would die and he would not remember me, but one day I woke up with this thought: That during the night god came to me and told me that today I was scheduled to die in a car wreck, but as a gift he was giving me a new day, so every day I get up now, I look at that day as gods gift, and try to live it as such.
I am going to start another thread to get names of those willing to do a breast cancer awareness fundraiser, if you are interested in helping please add your name on that thread, you are so sweet Natasha if you would like to help go to that thread and add your name.
Bear Hugs
Jodi
Dear Michelle..
more power to you in your thoughts on this and also in your outlook on life in general. Way to go!
hmmmm.... I'll say.... just imagine.... women stupid or ignorant enough to think their breasts are their identity... breasts are fat pads for heaven's sake. If we have little or no body fat...we have no breasts either. Check out an athlete. This sad way of thinking falls into the same category as those who think their professions or jobs "define" them as a person........whatever the heck that means. I, for one don't care to have the same identity as a sack of fat thank you very much. What are they saying about themselves...... they sure don't give themselves any credit as a thinking, intelligent human being, do they? Plain ol' stupidity.
Posts: 1,836April 2007 was declared Cancer Control Month by the President.
I've not been directly affected by breast cancer. I did recently have a mammogram after feeling something "different". I wasn't going to let it go or wait to see, just had the test done. Now, in my case the insurance issue was terrible, the cost for the test unreal...maybe because I'm under the typical age for having...maybe because my husband's insurance changed and they're hitting us for everything now......but I could see the cost deterring someone from having and that's a crime on insurance's part in my opinion. In the end I'm fine, it wasn't anything abnormal. Unfortunately I think if men had babies and boobs (pardon my bluntness) things would be different insurance wise, but that's another topic. The Pill would be in 5 cent candy dispensers at target and walmart. Mammogram machines would be at every sports bar next to the pro golfing video games. 
March was Colon Cancer Awareness Month. This hits home for me as my mom had it and I'll be screened very early on for it. It's the easiest to detect and take care of if caught early on. Yes, the test has an "icky factor" when some think about it, but it's SO much better than full exploratory surgery and colon removal. If you have a family history get tested at least 10 years prior to that diagnosis. If you don't have a history follow the age guides for screening and have the test. (My mom's great now! She was very very lucky)
I've always supported Susan G Komen Foundation. http://www.komen.org/index.htm
http://ww2.komen.org/mothersday/
:hug: :hug:
~Chrissi
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsJodi, I had read and responded to your thread about the charity earlier this week, but I had not read this one before (i'm missing a lot because of school I guess) I'm sorry about your sister in law and I hope she recovers. Just two days after I responded to that other post, I got some terrible news, and I can really relate to how you are feeling. One of my best friends had battled breast cancer 4 years ago and it has returned. It has metasticised (sp?) and she is terminal. It has spread everywhere including her brain. I have been in shock about it, and she is out of town and I don't know what I can do. I want to be there for her but I can't. And I don't know what to say... I'm kind of rambling I guess...
Storytime BearsTami,
My heart breaks for you, it is so hard to face such a thing , sometimes you think you won't get thru it, my prayers and tears are with you tonight and those horrendous days ahead. When I met Jill it was at my son’s school, her son and mine had become best friends and she was this cheery woman that put me at ease the very moment I saw her, she had just finished her Chemo and she had no hair. She explained right away what was going on with her and explained that I could ask her anything. Which I did and the bravery that I saw in her was amazing.
Over the years we grew very close she was so kind hearted she loved everyone and everything, she loved pets, all of her pets were pets that had something wrong with them and nobody wanted, her cat had one leg missing she adopted it after she had her breasts removed, she said she felt they needed each other, her bird had feet problems so it couldn't sit on a perch and her dog was half blind. Our sons school was wonderful, they always kept our two kids in the same class, A couple years ago she called and asked if Hunter could spend the night, which he did all the time, but I could tell in her voice something was wrong, she then explained that the cancer had come back and it had spread, she wanted to tell her husband first and said she wanted to give Hunter just one more night of "normal", I think it was that moment that she knew her life on this earth would be short. It broke my heart to see Hunter and my son laughing and playing and knowing that tomorrow would be such a terrible day for this wonderful little boy.
Over the next year I spent many hours sharing with Jill about what we wanted for our kids and I think she was interviewing me in a way, to see if I would be a good mother figure for her son, one day I walked into her house and she was there with a friend from her work and she introduced me as Hunters other mother, I knew I had gotten the job and I was so honored.
During her chemo, which was so often, I don't know how her tiny body took it, she had hunter stay with us weeks on end, because she wanted Hunter to enjoy being a kid and not be worried about her all the time. And she really just didn't have the strength to deal with the day to day stuff, I would take Hunter over when she would call and say she felt pretty good.
I talked to her about the fear of Hunter not remembering her, her other son was 14 and she knew he would remember her, but Hunter was so young and that really bothered her. So I told her to gather all her favorite pictures and I would put together a DVD of her and the boys, I set it to music, Carol Kings "Child of Mine", I made one for each of the boys and I did a scrapbook with the pictures with little things she wrote about how she felt about the boys. I put the DVD and scrapbooks in really pretty boxes. She gave them to the boys when she knew she didn't have much time left.. She wanted me to make a DVD that would be played at her funeral, it was one of the hardest things to do, but I got it finished and I played it for her and we cried and she hugged me and said it was perfect and that she was so thankful I got it done. Again I think she knew life would not be too much longer.
Jill went into the hospital and was doing a little better, Hunter was planning on going on spring break with us to Memphis, we talked to the doctor and they said that should be fine, that if it made Jill happy, that would be good for her, well we were set to leave on Saturday, I went to visit her Friday and I just got a bad feeling, so I talked to her husband and said I thought Hunter should stay with her, which he did. We went on to Memphis and that night at 3 am we got the call, Jill had passed away in her sleep, she was surrounded with those that loved her, we came home the next day. Jill was the kindest most caring person I have ever met and I was lucky to be a part of her life.
Now my sister in law is going thru this and it makes me so sad, and then I just get mad, why haven’t they figured out a cure yet, each year we lose so many women to this horrible disease, I pray that in my children’s lifetime they will see a cure.
I know this is a very long post and I am sorry. I guess sometimes I miss Jill so much, talking about her makes it feel like a part of her, is still here.
Tami just tell your friend you love her and you are there for her anytime day or night if she ever wants to talk, that will be enough, being far away does make it hard , but being a phone call away does help. Take care and PM me if you ever need to talk.
Hugs
Jodi
Bears by JodiJodi , my best friend Sue has breats cancer, and it went to her lymph nodes... not a good seign. She just finished radiation but some how she slipped through the cracks on the Kemo. They waited to long for it to help her so she decided not to go through it. She is on a medication that is susposed to fight it but has gotten really sick lately, she says she feels like she is dieing,(just in the last couple days) she has never said this before!! She ALWAYS says GOD is going to heal her and the cancer is gone , but my eyes and heart see different. She has been a friend now over 30 years, we were neighbors about 18 ( our kids grew up together) and I don't live far from her now. She is closer than a sister and much closer than a husband, but she can drive me crazy, she has a very strong and fast personality and some times we are like oil and watter but I love her and I know she is the first person on this earth that would come to my aid . We talk about 10 times a day when we don't have time to get together. Please lift her in prayer who ever reads this, I fear my friend is slipping away. If she goes there is no one on this planet to really love me like family except my 2 boys , and you know they get busy with their lives and for get about mom. She had to go off the medication yesterday to see if that is what is making her sick ....but if that is it , there is nothing else she can take.She is in constant severe pain ( even though she is on the strongest pain meds. you can take) all the time now, and has very few good moments. Some days when I help her get to the doctors when I come to pick her up she is still rapped in a towel and laying on the bed because she feels so bad. I help her blow dry her hair on those days and help her get going. We go out to eat allot because she will eat at least a little when she is with me.I am trying to stay strong for her but I fear a melt down . So lift us both up please for a special prayer.
Storytime BearsJodi, I know what you are saying, losing the person you love is so hard and to have to watch them suffer is torture, you feel completely helpless. Your friend is very lucky to have you in her life. Like I said before, losing someone you love is so hard, in the last 18 months I lost my Grandmother, Jill and My Mom. My grandma was very old and I was prepared somewhat for her death, my Mom was very ill for such a long time, her death was not unexpected, but Jill was so young and she was full of life, spirit and love, I still don't think I have accepted it completely. Please know Jodi, I will say a prayer for your friend, as I am sure many will do, but I think God has answered part of her prayer already, by bringing you into her life. I agree with you completely
Breast Cancer must be stopped!!!!!!!!
Ruby Mountain BearsJust this past March I had the most terrifying experience of my life. I chose not to share it here because I just didn't feel I could.
Last November I noticed something different about my right breast and nipple. It was changing just a little. I got a referral for a Mammogram, but I put off going. It was the holidays, first Thanksgiving, then Christmas. Really I just didn't want to go. I had already been thru this three times in the past, mammograms that showed something unusual and then have to have the ultrasound and it always turned out to be nothing.
I waited til February to go get the mammogram. It showed a small tumor just behind and below my right nipple. Suddenly I could not breathe.
The only reason I finally went to have my mammogram was my mother called to tell me that her sister was dying. She had gotten ill and been hospitalized. At first they thought she had pneumonia, then TB, turned out she had lung cancer that had metastisized from her breast. She was dead in just three weeks. A regular mammogram would have saved her life.
Both my Grandmothers have had radical mastectomies. One lived the other died.
So I was really overwhelmed with anxiety and fear. I went for a biopsy and the tumor turned out to be benign. I was so relieved. I had waited five months for the mammogram, I wasn't afraid of losing a breast as I was afraid of having cancer.
Not only did I have first had experience with my Grandmothers both having cancer, by best friend Mary Miles died from it. Mary was just two years from diagnosis to death. She had Chemo twice and Radiation. She had depended on one Doctors opinion, had a lumpectomy. She had the most agressive type of breast cancer and by the time she changed Drs. it was just too late.
Everyone should go and be checked. The risk of ignoring or putting it off is really life threating.
Please I encourage everyone to go get checked.
Storytime BearsKathy, stories like yours and those of others, have probably saved lives by posting on here, what you say is so important, you have gone thru this, you have said things people can relate to, about "putting it off " and "being scared", I am sure all of us have thought this, but the fact you were brave enough to get the mammogram, will help others be encouraged to do the same. I am so thankful you are well and everything was OK.
Big Hugs
Jodi
