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Hema is very beautiful.....

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Thanks Harrie

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I just saw this! I like the idea of getting to know some non-cancer facts about our friends and fellow fighters. I am currently retired after 28 years of working as a public sector lawyer doing civil rights work (primarily employment discrimination, and housing discrimination and accessibility issues). I went to law school because I saw the law as a means to effect positive change, particularly for those who have no voice -- and I have been blessed that in most of my jobs I have been able to do just that. I also taught law school for 7 years while my daughter, my rock, now 26, was young. I have an BA in music, which was my first love, and am now happily singing to two choirs, including a semi-professional choir - www.heritagesignaturechorale.org -- and composing sacred choral music. I am also catching up on a lot of travel that I postponed throughout the years.

And most importantly, I thank God every morning for new mercies.

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Just saw this post would like to chime in.

I am a Physical Therapist Assistant for the last 15 year. Working mainly in inpatient rehab settings. Love to work with stroke, and head injury patients. I currently have switched venues and am the clinical coordinator for a PTA program, I still see home health patients on the side. I have enjoyed switching to the teaching side as it has forced me to relearn a lot of things we forget over the years. My husband and I also enjoy racing mountain bikes. We are not pros or anything but enjoy it and it gives us something to do together. I have two girls ages 11 and 8. I coach my 11 year olds basketball team, and my husband coaches my 8 yo soccer team. So we stay very active, which has helped me keep motiviated on recovery and getting thru tx.

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Hello all my BEAUTIFUL ladies!!!! It's been almost 6 years since my dx and while I don't post much, I do check up on you all. It looks like this hasn't been around for a while, so please feel free to add to it. Take care and love ya.

Your Breast Friend,

Rhonda

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I worked as a sub-secretary for district and voluntered for Saint Vincent d' Paul Society. 10 years and for The last 6 I was President our Parish. Until my dx. Now I watch a new born twice a week and I am having so much fun!

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I can't remember whether I have posted here or not. I am an artist and I am an instructor at a community college where I teach Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition and other Biology courses. For many years I had a company and did faux finishes and murals. After my mastectomy, I couldn't do the large faux finish jobs without having flareups of lymphedema.

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Leslie, I'm sorry part of your passion had to come to an end. Gods blessings to you!

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I just saw this thread! What fun! I have been married for 11 years and have a 5-1/2-year-old son, Jake, and a daughter, Ellee, who will turn 3 at the beginning of March. Before my stage IV diagnosis when my doc suggested I "spend as much time with family" as I could, I was an account supervisor for an ad agency in Louisville, KY. I handled a large portion of our GE Appliances account developing marketing and training materials and an internal sales training website for them. I loved it, but it was extremely stressful, and i worked a ton of hours. I believe some blessings have come from this last year's journey in that I've been able to spend so much time with my family, especially my kiddos. I've been on LTD and social security disability. The agency I worked for, however, is fabulous. They have stocked our pantry with carloads of food, diapers, toilet paper, paper towels, etc., several times over the last year, raised funds to help with medical costs several times, and they run a care calendar where someone brings my family dinner every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (primarily coworkers who participate), and they've kept this up for over a year! They are amazing people, and I can't help but feel thanks fo how blessed I am by coworkers, friends, and family.

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Hi All!
What a great idea! I'm so glad this got bumped back up! I've often wondered what some of my HER2 friends do when they're not fighting the cancer beasties.

I am married to my high school sweetheart and very best friend. We've been a couple for 31 years...married for nearly 24 years. We have two wonderful sons, Jack 14, and Ben 13.

I have been a teacher for 26 years, and have taught every grade from preschool to 8th grade, except for 1st grade. The responsibility of teaching children the basics of reading...easily the most important thing they'll learn in school...has struck fear in my heart, and caused me never to venture into a first grade classroom. I was teaching 4th grade when I was diagnosed.

It's been exactly one year today since I left my classroom to go to the surgeon's office and get my pathology results. At first, I was anxious to get back to school. Then, I was too sick to consider going back. Now, I'm trying not to go back until the fall. I miss the kids, and I miss teaching. I miss my fellow teachers and staff members. I don't miss the paperwork....the testing...or my miserable principal. (I've been "sick" for an entire year now, and I'm still waiting for my first get well wish from her!) There are 5 other schools in the district...and I'm hoping that when I go back, I'll be assigned to one of them!

Anyway...my husband is an architect. He plays the trumpet, as does our son Jack. Ben, the younger boy, plays violin and French Horn. All three play in the wind ensemble at our church. (I would love to say that I play the piano...but alas...I do not.)

Our favorite thing to do together is laugh. We do an awful lot of it. We tend toward sarcasm, but not at the expense of anyone's feelings. For me, laughter really is the best medicine, and it's been a blessing to me during this whole BC ordeal.

We have a Norwegian Elkhound, Molly, whom we refer to as being pampered. (as opposed to being spoiled)

My hobbies are reading, crocheting, and chocolate. Not necessarily in that order. To say I love to exercise would be a lie...and my mother told me not to lie...but I can say that I love the idea of exercise. I often comtemplate it quite seriously. I've even had dreams about it...but so far...my motivation to do it while I'm awake is spotty at best.

Well...now you know a little about me...
If you're reading this and you haven't posted your "non-BC self" yet...

What are ya waitin' for!? We're dying to get to know you better too!

Denise

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Well, my name is Jody, and I live in a small town in Kansas. I spent 15 years being a medical transcriptionist, specializing ironically in oncology and hematology. About 1-1/2 years ago I decided to take a part time job outside of the house. I had spent those 15 years working at home and raising my kids, which was such a wonderful blessing for all of us really, but felt it was time to get out and do a little now that my kids were about grown. That grew pretty quickly into me getting promoted and becoming a full time assistant manager in a restaurant/dairy store a block from my home. I love the people I work with, but the job is major stressful and pretty physical as well. I'm 43 now, and my youngest son and daughter still live at home, so I spend a lot of time with them. Right now I am in a holding pattern until I get this first set of therapies out of the way, but being diagnosed has really changed the way I feel about things. Im moving back to where I came from in a couple months, and kind of starting over the way again the way I wanted to do things in the first place. I probably wouldn't have had the motivation to do it before, but it comes easily now. Im pretty excited about what the future holds a few months down the road after the move, and spending time with family and friends that I have not been able to for years now.

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Jody,
Your move sounds exciting! I hope all your "starting over" dreams come true!
Denise

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I just looked at my post on this that was over 6 years ago. So much has changed! I did move and I am still in my "new" house - now here 6 years.

My daughter Robin is now 25. She ended up getting a BA from Rutgers in English and then went to Le Cordon Bleu and got a culinary degree. She is currently a sous chef in Manhattan and is getting married on May 26, 2012 (so we are very busy). Leigh (23) also finished college and has a degree in Baking and Pastry arts from Johnson & Wales University. She's worked in kitchens but recently saw an ad for a nanny who cooks. Her employers are a Princeton professor and a Gastro Surgeon. So she cares for their babies (2yrs and newborn) and prepares dinner as well as department events for their work and dinner parties (she adores this job). My youngest, Cara (20) goes to community college and works full time for the ARC (she is a care giver in a home for mentally disabled women. The home is a house just like any of ours). There are 6 women in the house. It is a hard job but she loves it. I am hoping it encourages her to get a nursing degree.

My husband now works for Rolls Royce (the turbine division not the cars). I am still at BASF but I DID get a sales job. I am in the Distribution group and I sell 6 (out of 13) divisions products only to BASF distributors. It is hundreds of products and veried. It is fast paced - sometimes almost crazy but it is what I wanted and it was weird to read my post on this thread from 6 years ago and wha la - I am actually doing what I said I wanted to do (even though I would still like to get into a business group and just do one line of products). However, life is a million baby steps. We still have our dog Chloe and our cat, Oil. We do not breed horses anymore but still have one at our home and one sport horse that is boarded (Cara is an avid equestrian and rides and shows).

I thought it would be good to update myself so I did.

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My gosh, Becky, you must be so proud of your children! I totally want to be at your home for the holidays..so many wonderful cooks!

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Hey!
Anyone else want to share?

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I noticed that Paula mentioned that she was a R.N. and decided it was time to bring this thread forward so we could get to know more about each other besides our boobies. Paula, there are a number of us who are nurses. Almost makes you wonder if breast cancer is like MRSA!
Love & hugs,
Marlys

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Where do I start, I am originally from Scotland. Met my husband there when he was in the Navy. Been married for 50 years, oh my how the time flies. We have six children, 16 Grands and 8 great grands. Love them all to death. I was fortunate to be able to stay at home with my children, had to sleep sometime, so having a job was out of the question until all the children were in school. Worked at a Fiber Optic company for 14 years , then moved to Nebraska. never get fed up of traveling.We now live in Florida, winters were too harsh for my husband.
We love to cruise, and are going again in November.
Jeanette

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Forward again. Just saw the new thread and thought you might like to hear about some of us old "timers". (Ain't it great that we have Old Timers?)
Love & Hugs
Marlys

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It's been 7 years since my diagnosis November 1, 2005. I am still a fundraiser/grant proposal writer for an organization that assists Latino immigrants and neighborhood children in my small city of Wilmington, DE. I am not married. (Maybe I should put marriage on my bucket list). I don't have children or pets.

I'm trying weight watchers for the umpteenth time and have started line dancing as exercise (3 activity points for 60 minutes). My brain gets jammed and my feet lock up on the more complicated steps. I blame it on chemo, not clumsiness LOL.

Cancer still dances around the edge of my life. My good friend at work is fighting pancreatic cancer. I'm going to a benefit this weekend for the owner of a bar where my brother plays music. The owner is fighting lung cancer. But new treatments are working. I'm hopeful we'll see a cure in our lifetimes.

Happy Holidays to all....