Just for fun...

[LAURIE]

I am a general manager for a nationwide (and canada) clothing retail store. I went on disability when I first started chemo in Sept. since I stand on my feet for most of my 8 hour shifts. I am anxious to get back to work soon (about 7 weeks). My husband does not work due to mental illnesss, so I need to go back to work for the health care and the money. We had been trying to have kids for years, and supplement having no kids for 2 dogs and 5 cats. I really enjoy reality programming, cards (spades, canasta, hand and foot), swimming, bicycle riding, playing Dance, Dance revolution (good exercise)and playing Wii video games. I am also a huge U2 fan!!! I am the youngest of five kids in my family. I met my husband my first semester in college (1989). He has really enjoyed having me at home since this "challenge" came our way. I have realized how lazy he is and how he is okay mentally to get a job. Ha!! He said he is sick of me nagging him all the time now. He has gone to every single appointment, etc... and he is nice to look at. I guess it's good I still think he is still a hottie. I have to go play cards with my parents, thanks for starting this link.....

[Annemarie]

I worked 10 years as a pharmaceutical sales representative. I stopped working this past September because it was difficult to keep up with my health and work full time. I am a 7 year bc survivor. I am her2 +++, er/pr+, 3X I have had single lesion brain mets.

Life has not been easy but I am married to a wonderful man. We have been married almost 12 years and have a soon to be 2 year old baby boy via gestational surrogacy. He has given our lives purpose and hope beyond what I could have ever asked for.

[LindaC]

Hi,
I work for the Railroad carcleaner and volunteer Firefighter EMT for the last seven years.Before that I worked for the school buses taking handicaped children to school and home attendant to the elderly.Boy do I miss the school busses.

[mslinda]

Boy, I don't know how I missed this for so long.

I've posted some, but mainly a lurker. This is the best group of heros that I have ever known. Thank you to each and every one for giving me courage and hope that I can be around for many more years to come.

I was 55 at diagnosis. The shock of my life. I have been NED for 2 years now. I started chemo 3/29/05. I did not have Herceptin.

I am a housewife. But not always. I worked in the financial world for 34 years, and quite my job to care for my mother who has Alzieheimers. We had to put her in a nursing home October, 2004. I was diagnosed 12/28/04.

I have learned through this journey that life is precious. I try to live the way my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, wants me to live, and to glorify him. I may not always be successful in that, but He forgives me. So I try to forgive when someone offends me. Life is way to short to carry grudges.

I am married for 34 years to the most wonderful, supportive, and understanding man. He has been with me every step of this journey. I have two sons, 32 and 29, and two grandsons 3 and 1. Life is good.

Linda
S. Mississippi

[Tricia]

What fun. I ironically work in marketing for a local Hospice Program. I have been marketing and Sales for a few years now and love it. I also worked with the senior Living Industry. My Husband works for OXY- Occidental I am sure some of you out there know what that is. I have three children Noah 9 Shore 8 and Ethan 2 and we are finished. We love watching movies, we love hanging out. My parents are my next door neighbors and that works out great.

[Marlys]

I thought it was time to bring this forward. It is one of my favorite posts.
Marlys

[Believe51]

I am a woman of many hats (of course not "hard hats"-LOL)! I am a chef by true nature and have degrees in Culinary & Pastry Arts. I did have a catering business in town for a while but I had to retire after a big car accident. For a while I was working as a Night Auditor at a large hotel in a third shift position, I have been a night owl since birth!! I have worked on an Oncology floor at a local hospital for 5 years while I was in school to get an Occupational Therapist/Massage Therapist degree, that too had to be put on hold because of the accident. Right now I am a Circulation Office Manager for our local newspaper and I love it. And for the last 6 years I have been a Certified Beauty Advisor for Avon full time, doing facials and such on the side. But my favorite job besides working in a kitchen was working with special needs children and adults, which I still can incooperate into my days as we have many special needs carriers employed with us. As a matter of fact, nothing brings more joy to me than to hear them call my name since many do not even talk during their days with the caregivers. When hubby gets back on the right track I plan on starting another business. A coffee house that we can cater out of, a good friend of mine will be my partner.

My dearest husband is a talent man who has a family history of art and creativity, his great/great/great grandfather made the 'Doors of Florence' or better known as the 'Gates of Paradise' according to Michaelangelo. He worked in construction, finish carpentry, and dabbled in electricity. Our hobbies included motorcycling in the past and selling the bike burned with pain since it was a physical reminder of what the cancer was stealing from us. Cancer shall steal from us no more. Ed loves cars and took great pride in his ride. We had a collectors 1998 Cadillac El Dorado ETC that he bought for me and like the 'Gift of the Magi' I gave it up to finance his treatments. His hobbies include playing the guitar which he has stopped because treatment has left his hands numb. We listen to old albums and get all sentimental. Music has always been a large part of who he is. We have two keyboards but I stink!! LOL. Cannot wait to hear noise in my house again!!

I have a son named Jason who has a 3 1/2 year old daughter, Tia. Ed has never been married before and has no children, only his step son and boy what a great father Ed has been. Seeing him with our Tia makes me smile from the inside out. He tells me all the time that he was waiting for me to come into his life and EVERY day he mentions that I have given him the best years of his life. Ditto My Love. We have been together for 15 years and married 12 years on October 21, 2007. There has never been a day during my love for him that I wished I was somewhere else, even now. Especially now, I am so honored to be the women he is sick with for I know what damage I can do. Besides Girls, God sent him to me and it was all meant to be. September 7, 2007 will be his one year cancerversary and I treasure every day of it and always have.

The best part of my life is being his wife, a mother and now a grandmother. We spend much time with family and friends, and my mom has been over every night since his dx.

Things I cannot live without, this site and the family members on it!! We love you all!! Great post!!>>Believe51

[dorinda]

I Have Been A Respiratory Therapist For 19 Years. I Still Work And Have Since I Was Dx With Bc 9 Mons. Ago.i Love What I Do And Also The Insurance Is Great There. My Co Workers Are Great To Me And Are Like A Second Family . I Am Blessed. Before That, I Was A Stay Home Mom To My Two Girls That Are 33 And 34 Years Old. When I Went Back To College To Get My Degreee .i Was The Oldest In My Class And Sure Enough I Am The One Who Gets Pregnate. Ha! So My Two Girls Were 14 1nd 15 Years Old When Their Baby Sister Was Born. She Is Now 19 Years. It Is Like Having Two Sets Of Families.the Youngest One Feels Like She Grew Up As An Only A Child. It Kept Us Young And Tired. Ha! Oh Yeah The Question I Always Get Asked When I Say There Is Long Stretch Between My Girls Birth, They Ask Same Husband? Yes Were Are Going To Be Married For 37 Years In October .what Can I Say God Does Have A Sense Of Humor. I Thought I Was Finishing Up With Raising Children And Decided To Go Back To College And Look What God Had Planned Also. So I Did Both Got My Degree And Became A Older Mom.i Was A Stay Home Mom With The First Two And A Mom That Worked Outside The Home With The Younger One.i Would Have To Say Mygreatest Accomplishment Is Geing A Mom. I Loved Being A Mom To My Girls.

[StillHere]

Rhonda, I was always waiting until I was able to post a picture w/ my biography. So I guess it is time. We will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary in Sept 2007. We started dating when we were just 16 and I also must say- like many others on the thread, that BC has brought us even closer together. Jeff and I have 2 wonderful children (Son Randy 29, and Daughter Nicki 27). They both are still single, so hence I am craving grandchildren. I try very hard not to mention the fact too often, although I have said that if they are not married by age 30, they should just find some good genetic material and procreate so their mother can spoil some grandkids to her hearts content. Not too suttle eh? Work life - Hummm I have worked for a large healthcare organization for the past 26 years as a Medical Secretary, OB Tech, Certified Surgical Tech, OR Materials Coordinator, Regional OR Business Manager, and presently a part-time Endoscoptic Tech. I was only a manager for 1 1/2 years before my diagnosis. I found it very difficult to not speak my mind after BC. This was not compatible with keeping a position in administration. My husband urged me leave the stress and politics of management and so I took a 4 hour per day job as a tech. I love the hours in the summer, but will look into volunteering for www.compassionandchoices.org this coming fall/winter. I have been a member of this organization for the past few years. I want to become a stronger advocate for end of life choices. If anyone is in need of assistance they have a free confidential client support program you can contact at: 800-247-7421. I am glad this thread has been bumped up again. It was interesting to read some details on everyone life outside of the BC thing. Peace be with you all. Karen

[LisaElder1972]

I was a CNA for 5 years with plans to become an RN when I was diagnosed with IDC Stage 2B 2 cm ER/PR and HER2 positive in June 2006.After a bilateral,expanders and silicone implants I had 4 DD AC and 4 DD Taxotere.Had 7 months of Herceptin,forced to stop when EF dropped to 28.Am on Femara currently and struggle daily with pain issues.Was approved for Social Security Disability so I am able to stay home.I have 2 beautiful children,Macy is 16 and Brandon is 9.I have been married to my soul mate Johnny for 18 years.I was 33 when dx and will be 35 on October 2nd,thanks to the good Lord.I miss working,I miss my patients and I do get lonely sometimes when hubby's at work and kid's are at school.Healthcare really is a common occupation among us here.

Lisa

[BonnieR]

Thanks for bumping this thread. I am fascinated to read what an accomplished group we are!
I too am an RN. Have not worked in the field for many years. Was a psych nurse and had some interesting jobs during my days as a "hippie" nurse.
Now in alcoholism recovery myself for 22 years.
Married 32 yrs. No children
Have been an artist for about 15 yrs. Mostly expressionistic landscapes. Am represented in a few galleries. Very active volunteer in the art community.
My husband and I are a Therapy Dog team and visit hospitals and institutions with our dog. Well, HE does it now.....
I am a huge Clay Aiken fan. A "Claymate" at my age! lol
We recently moved back into our remodeled house. It was hard to be diagnosised when not "home" so I am happy to be getting settled again. I swear, if stress causes cancer, then ther remodel is to blame!!

[PinkGirl]

Hi All
I have had many jobs - all in the accounting/administration/clerical field.
My hubby's job has required us to move alot - he's been posted to 5 different offices, so I find some kind of job each time we move. My jobs have been part-time since 1991 when I had a 2-level spinal fusion. No kids, but lots of family around - sister, brother, sister and brother-in-law, mother-in-law, and mother all live in the same town as us, along with nieces and nephews. My mom has Alzheimer's and lives in a nursing home - I try to visit every day.

My interests are gardening, knitting, READING, word games, crossword puzzles, entering hockey pools, and I have 55 houseplants.... might need therapy for that one.

Before BC, I was very active - enjoyed walking and exercising. I like to stay home - I'm not much of a social butterfly. I like to curl up with a good book, fuss over my houseplants and drink tea with my friends. I live in a small town in the northern part of Ontario (it has already snowed here) and I have the flannel sheets on the bed ! The American tourists are all packing up and going home after their summer of fishing, and some new ones are moving in for the Fall moose hunt. I was born in this town and my dad was a railroader.
I haven't worked since my dx. and I don't plan on it. I am 53, and my husband is planning on retiring one of these years. I also love animals, especially golden retrievers.

I like to bake and I like to eat the baking - preferably something with chocolate.

I am very intrigued by the number of nurses in this group. Have there been any studies on that ??

[Hazel Joyce]

Another RN to add to the mix! I've been a nurse for 30 years. Most of my career was spent working 11pm to 7am. 14 years working at a hospital, then 10 years working in a nursing home. I went back to hospital nursing 3 months before I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I took an LOA during A/C, went back after 3 doses of Taxol/H, then threw in the towel several weeks later. I haven't worked since June 2007.
I have been married for 11 years. We were married on the 10th anniversary of the day we met. He is my soul-mate and best friend. We have a blended family of 4 kids, ages 28-35. We have 4 grandkids who live nearby. The only "child" we have together is our boy Emerson, a 5 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He and I hike in the woods and walk on the beach. He is the cutest little thing!
I have a collection of dolls and spend a lot of time on doll message boards and ebay. I really enjoy the internet.
Right now I'm busy with Herceptin, doctors' appointments, scans, etc. Sudoko and light reading fit well into my hectic schedule. I just started taking a fitness class at the cancer center. I have really gotten out of shape since all this commotion started!

Nice to have met all of you!

[Sandy in Silicon Valley]

Hi,

Figured that, given what's been posted in this round of jumping this thread up, I might as well copy & paste parts of my home-made obituary - since I think it gives the relevant info (and then some, but I've made cuts in the interests of brevity):

<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title>Obituary</title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 2.2 (Linux)"><meta name="AUTHOR" content="Sandy"><meta name="CREATED" content="20060823;6570000"><meta name="CHANGEDBY" content="Sandy"><meta name="CHANGED" content="20060825;8280000">" <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --></style>Sandy Greenberg, a social worker, child advocate, former early childhood educator, avid motorcyclist and traveler, died _________ of metastasized breast cancer, at age _________.

Sandy grew up in Brooklyn and Queens, NY, lived in Columbus, Ohio from 1968-1979, had permanent residence in Schenectady, NY from 1979-2001 during which she lived in Haifa and Jerusalem, Israel in 1987-88 and 1991-93 respectively.


A staunch Zionist and grassroots political activist, Sandy volunteered in numerous capacities, as a Hadassah outreach driver, a League of Women Voters family court monitor, a Russian immigrant settlement facilitator, a tutor at a homeless shelter, and a Child Advocate for Santa Clara County foster children.


Love of dancing, especially to live music, was a key to full enjoyment of life for Sandy. She and her husband Bruce served as volunteer publicity coordinators on the board of Dance Flurry, an annual gathering of dance and dance music enthusiasts held in Saratoga Springs, NY. Sandy volunteered as an aerobic dance instructor at Plaza del Rey in Sunnyvale, from 2001-2005; after craniotomies for brain metastases, she took belly dance classes at Sunnyvale Community Center, and she and Bruce enjoyed swing and country-western dancing at various venues in Silicon Valley.


As a survivor of an abusive upbringing, Sandy had a special place in her heart for abused and neglected children. Early in her career, she worked as a library aide, distributing children’s paperback picture books, recruiting parents and children to join reading programs, and reading aloud, often using puppets to engage the children. After graduating from Queens College, City University of NY, in 1969, with a major in Comparative Literature, Sandy taught preschool, kindergarten, and parent-child classes for parents of toddlers and preschoolers.


In 1988, at age 40, Sandy returned to school to earn her graduate degree in Social Welfare. Upon graduation, she directed a program for Parenting Teenagers at the local YWCA. In Israel, she assisted Rami Benbenishti, a professor at Hebrew University, helping in his research, editing articles for publication, and developing software applications for child welfare settings. Upon her return to the U.S. in 1993, Sandy entered the SUNY-Albany School of Social Welfare PhD program, but dropped out after her second semester of studies.



Sandy married her live-in soulmate, Bruce, and moved from Schenectady NY to Sunnyvale, CA in 2001 with Bruce’s daughter, Shiri. Initially, Sandy worked as Senior Grants Coordinator for Emergency Housing Consortium, then as Parent Resources Facilitator for San Jose State University Associated Student’s Child Development Center, and finally as Adoption Social Worker for FamiliesFirst, a non-profit foster family agency.


Ms. Greenberg chose “early retirement” on disability after undergoing a craniotomy for a metastatic breast cancer tumor in her cerebellum in early 2005. She was able to continue her volunteer activities after healing from a second craniotomy later that year, and enjoyed traveling to Cancun, Kauai, Dublin and County Wexford, Ireland, SE Australia and across the U.S.


In 2006, unable any longer to ride her motorcycle for long distances, due to occasional imbalance and fatigue from residual cancer and treatment symptoms, Sandy undertook a solo road trip by car, up the Northwest coast, to Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada, visiting with friends along the route.


Sandy's favorite hobbies (play therapy) involve handcrafts such as making beaded jewelry, creating bowls and baskets from coiled fabric scraps, crocheting caps and scarves for newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, embroidering and sewing.



Sandy is survived by her husband, parents, sister, three daughters and one granddaughter."

[PinkGirl]

Thought I would bump this up in case any of the
new members would like to add their bio's.

[juanita]

Bumping this back up for any new memebers who might want to add theirs to this. I can't believe how long it got, and it was fun rereading this.

[Carol Carlson]

Guess I missed this one so here goes.......
I am also a R.N. seems to be several of us here.
I've worked in various settings including hospitals, director of nursing at a nursing home, taught a nursing assistant program for the Red Cross, worked in psych and most recently worked for a large health care corp. and did nursing assessments for elderly patients in the hospitals for nursing home placement, and marketing for the same corp. My last postion before retiring 2 years ago was Marketing Director for an Assited Living facility.
I've been married to a chemist for 47 years... WOW... he worked in R&D
We have 3 children 45,43,38 and 3 grandchildren 23, 7, and 5.
I keep busy with the grandchildren and playing bridge. My passionate hobby is photography, esp. nature and the grandchildren who are such beautiful subjects !!!!
We've lived in the same house for almost 40 years and seen our town grow too fast. We live in a lovely rural community between Boston and Worcester, Mass.
Our oldest child is in a graduate program at the University of Tenn. and in Dec. will be a Nurse Practitioner in family Mental Health.
Our next child is a senior underwriter for a large insurance co. in Mass. They live about 30 minutes away... thank God, so I can see my "little ones" often.
Our youngest works for a social service agency in Worcester and lives about 30 minutes away also.
Our daughter in Tenn. comes "home " to Mass. on a regular basis and readily admits she misses " crazy" Mass. and is anxious to come back after she finishs school, though she loves going to the Smokies.
By the way,
1 daughter, 2 sons
grandchildren.. 2 grandsons, 1 granddaughter
Thanks for the opportunity to expand on my personal life.
Carol

[kcherub]

Wow, this is really intriguing! Okay, here we go, and I am working backwards:

Owner of a children's boutique (furniture, linens, clothing, gifts) since 2002...

SAHM from 1999-2002

Culinary student 1997-1999

Starbucks supervisor 1996-1999
Wedding consultant 1996-1999

Office manager for 2 attorneys 1993-1996
College student (Political Science) 1990-1994

Other than that, I have worked in a dental office, sno-cone stand, video store, Kirkland's (over Christmas), and Arby's (at 15, for two days until they made me clean the toilets after a particularly nasty day--LOL. I was only 15!!!)

That's it. My work life in a nutshell.

Take care,

[fauxgypsy]

Thought I would update this. I now teach various biology courses at community college about 45 minutes from my home. Throughout grad school I did everything I could to get out of teaching. Most of the time I had a research assistantship. Because of lymphedema I could no longer do the faux finishes and found myself applying for a teaching position. Because of my diagnosis I was considered to be disabled but I did not have the quarters I needed. I had pretty much plowed all my money back into my business. I have never felt disabled except short term when I was on chemo and recovering from surgery. Within a short time I found the position I have now. I was scared to death. My throat tightened, my palms sweated, for weeks. Then it got better. I really enjoy teaching and just finished my second year. I was excited this spring when I was voted one of the favorite teachers. The students tell me and each other that I'm harder but that thery learn more. Makes me proud. There are so many things that I want to do that I don't know how long I will teach but I'm very happy with it now. I also still paint, though not as much and will be in a show in August.

Previously:
Thanks to everyone for keeping this going. I missed it as well. It is good for all of us to be reminded that we are not our diagnosis.
I was Navy brat. I can't remember all the schools I went to. I quit school in the early seventies in the midst of bomb threats and dissension during integration in the heart of Mississippi. I started college when I was in my thirties and went on to a M.S. degree in biology. I helped start a short lived literary effort called "Surfacing" and thoroughly enjoyed my University years. As my career was ramping up and I was going on for a Ph.D. in forensic science I had a reaction to a medication for my stomach and ended up clinically depressed, almost suicidal. I left school and ended up in the hospital for depression. The week after I got out, my mother died. It took months to recover. At that point I believed that I had burned my bridges and decided to follow another interest. I had taken a class in faux finishes and turned that into a fairly profitable business for many years. I also painted murals. Even after I started chemo I continued it but my mastectomy has pretty much limited what I can do physically. For some time I have been interested in getting back into science and I applied just last week to for a research position in of all things, cancer research. I am in the process of setting up a web page with my fine art, as well. In the process of writing my CV, which is scientist's version of a resume, I was reminded of all I had accomplished. It is good feeling. I am more than a cancer patient. When I was first diagnosed they told me I was stage IV, then they thought they had made a mistake. At this point I have no idea what stage I was or am but I have been NED since May of last year and I am just beginning to accept that I may have years to go.
I was married for 27 years to someone I should never have married but I have a beautiful daughter from that marriage and another wonderful daughter from before that. And five wonderful grandchilden. When Heart Sutra was writing about her relationship I thought of my husband. I was at his last wedding as the matron of honor and through all those years we stayed friends. Then one night I looked up at him and my whole world changed. I could not have gotten through this without him. My daughter told me a few months back that she thought that if I had been still married to her father when I was diagnosed that I would be dead now. I think that it is not what we do that defines us so much as who loves us and who we love. Dale has been a part of my life, on and off, for over twenty five years now and I am so glad that I have him.
We both love making things and gardening, we have many interests in common. This week we started our summer garden and planted close to 150 tomato plants. I guess you could say we like pushing our limits. His health is not good but he loves to stay busy and it is very hard to slow him down.

Leslie

[Joanne S]

I was born and raised in a wonderful Detroit neighborhood. I am 100% Greek and the first in my family to marry a non-Greek. I have a wonderful husband--been married 23 years and I have two lovely daughters. My eldest is 22, she attends Wayne State University in Detroit; and my youngest is 17,a senior in High School.

The city gradually changed for the worse much through my adult years so when my husband retired from the Detroit Police Department in 1994, we moved from Detroit to a Detroit suburb I have worked for the same health insurance company in Downtown Detroit for 32 years. I had many different jobs through the years; most recently I worked as a mainframe programmer for hospital claims systems. Only a couple weeks before my breast cancer diagnosis, I was promoted to a systems analyst. Sadly, I started sick leave the same day I was to start my new job. I started chemo immediately after my BC dx 09/2006; unfortunately I've not worked, but been a total couch potato ever since then.

I'm currently in physical therapy because I've been inactive for so long (chemo, radiation, 3 surgeries and complications) so now I'm severly deconditioned. I am now finally working towards gaining back my strength and endurance and losing weight in hopes of getting back to where I was before cancer.

Hobbies before BC: I loved gardening, shopping, home decorating and creative crafts; such as, porcelain doll-making, wreath making, decorating/painting sweatshirts, making beaded fruit plates/arrangements, silk flower arrangements, and lastly making jewelry using sterling silver, Swarovski crystals, stones/beads.