Winter is long this year

Armywife

Hi ladies,

My laptop gave out, and it was so hard reading this site from my phone that I drifted away for a while.  But I have a rare night to myself, and I've been thinking of you all so often.  I noticed that this place is pretty quiet lately, and I just wanted to come in and turn the porchlight on and dust everything off and maybe put out a plate of cookies - because I miss the fellowship here.  I think all of us have felt the long game effects of losing Cheese and Bobbi and Pinky and knowing that we may be losing DonnaFaye...there are so many more over the more than three years I've been here - and there are others like Abbycat that we haven't heard from in quite a while and I worry about how they are. I'm so sad about it. Texas is in crisis and people I love there were really cold and thirsty this past week, and there was nothing anyone could do. I feel exhausted by the loss of some friends to Covid, and the frustration of being trapped in the house to avoid Covid and wondering if by the time it's over, I won't be NED anymore and will have missed the chance to travel and live.

And then I have to think that our head cheerleader Donna Faye would be telling us to laugh and love and support each other, that we've gotten through nightmares before and we will again.  I need encouragement myself, but even more, I want to tell y'all how proud I am of those of you who are so brave to fight your recurrences and still come in here smiling; and those of you who have remained NED and still come in here to let us know there's hope; and those of you who are in treatment the first time and you're learning and sharing. 

It's been a long, hard season, hasn't it?  Thanks for being here, and for letting me share. I'm so thankful for this place.

NoTimeForCancer

Hey Armywife, thanks for the

Hey Armywife, thanks for the post.  We haven't had a winter like this for awhile and suspect most of us are hybernating and keeping an eye out when someone needs a life line.

Thanks for the cookies!

Quilter_1

Hello, I'm here for the

Hello, I'm here for the cookies.  But seriously I read the new posts every few days and we have been quiet lately.  I'm so happy to be retired and have a houseful of food so I don't have to get out in our cold temperatures and snow.  Hubby and I got our first covid vaccine, Pfizer, on February 9 and are waiting for our second dose in a couple of weeks.  I am ready to go out and live life.  The feeling I have had during this lockdown is what if this is my last good year?  Nothing is going on to indicate that, it's just that having had cancer made me realize how little time is left, I definitely have more birthdays behind me than ahead of me.  Let's get the world vaccinated and get on with things.  

Tamlen

Did someone say cookies?

Hi, girls! I'm glad to see you here. I definitely have been feeling the effect of losing some of our dear ones in recent months, yet posts like this remind me how much wonder and joy there is still to be had.

It's almost a year to the day now that I went into self-isolation due to the pandemic, then my husband, too. But today we had our second covid vaccinations, and my husband and I were almost giddy on the drive home. We have no plans to go to movies or dine out yet until we're more convinced the vax will protect us well from variants, but at least we can run into the bagel store without fear. It feels like so much more freedom! I continue to hike every day with my dog, even through the cold, snow, and ice we have, and she's such a loon running around that it makes me laugh. Getting out in nature and moving physically definitely keeps my spirits up. We have cooked up a storm over this year, testing new recipes weekly. The news was good in my last scan, no evidence of anything. At Stage IVB, I'll take it. So, on we go. Not the year any of us wanted, with our time perhaps more limited than most other people's, but we have made do and stayed deliberately hopeful and upbeat.

I'm so grateful for you all -- your wisdom and support, your ideas and camaraderie. Thanks for being there.

Dak82

I marvel at your resilience

As a newcomer to cancer and this forum I marvel at the resilience of the women who have come and gone. I took some time to read many of the backgrounds and you are all amazing! I have never been a poster on social media but I come here nearly every day to see if something new is posted. I have discovered tons of information on how to counter side effects of treatment. Luckily I've not had to be in "question everything" mode as the staff at Huntsman has been open and helpful. The on-line "My Chart" that Univ of Utah Medical and the Huntsman Center use allows me to access every every test, pathology report and notes from office visits. This allows me to do my own research and track my blood counts and ask the medically inclined in my family what they mean. My sister is a patent lawyer and spent years working with Roche Diagnostics on the tumor marker tests, CA-125 and CEA. She has access to medical publications and shares those with me and explains what they mean. It has been reassuring to have that outlet.

I am also longing for the days to socialize with close friends and family. Out of respect for my husband's fears I haven't left the house since mid Nov except for appointments and walks. I tend to be a loner but miss group bike rides and weekends with friends.

Thank you to everyone on this platform--women and men. Whenever I feel a bit down I come here and see encouragement to women from women they have never met except on this platform. The love and caring is a god send. Thanks to you all,

Deb

cmb

So glad to read that some are

So glad to read that some are getting the Covid vaccination. I haven't gotten the word from my health provider yet, so I've been checking the Walgreens site daily. I THINK I've narrowed down the brief time frame when it may be possible to make an appointment each day. If I'm successful, I'll check back in and let others know.

Tamlen – great news about your recent scan!