If I remember right, you are in Canada. I do not know the support groups there, but here in the lower states, there is a lot of support. American Cancer has help, the local Cancer Center is tremendous, just read the Minot Daily News for help. Every day there is so much information available for the people. I noticed you said she could come for a few days after her treatments? Is this after all or each one. Would she come and then refuse to go home? Are there nursing homes she could go to instead? She and even you need to sit down with the Cancer center to find out all the information you need to protect both you and your sisters. I am surprised that the Dr's are not able to help the other sister. Do you have a big hospital like the Mayo Clinic. I know we do have some Canadians come down to get treatments they cannot get there. Maybe you could at least get information from their website. Just type in Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Or John Hopkins Center etc. I wish you and your family the best.

(((Anne and Sisters)))
I wish I could do more than offer hugs and prayers.

Oh, bless her heart - I will pray really hard for her!

I'm so sorry! I'm adding my Prayers for her!!!! On her side is the fact that she knows and has had experience being a fighter!!!*S*

I'm really sorry for the bad news.

Adding my thoughts and prayers as well!

How devastating, I'm so sorry. Adding my good thoughts and prayers for a good outcome. Dottie

Oh, gosh, Cherryfizz! I'm so sorry to hear about your sister's health problems. Good thoughts heading toward both your sisters and to you.

Just said a prayer for both of your sisters.

Anne, you know that I will be praying for both of your sisters and you. I have been in the caregiver role twice, and I know the guilt you can feel. I finally had to put my Dad in a nursing home and I hated doing it, but I could no longer give him the care he needed. He has since died, but now I have my brother living with me. I know that it is easier said than done, but give yourself a break. You have to take care of you too. God Bless all of you.

Prayers and healing thoughts going out for your sisters and special thoughts for you. (((Anne)))

((((((((Anne & sisters))))))))))

Anne you probably will find that your sister needs help only for a few days. When I had my mastectomy, it really wasn't as tough as I expected it to be. After the surgery, I refused the Morphine and opted for a 292 the first night and then over the next day or two took an occasional 222. I was surprised at how little pain I actually had. I had drains in and just wore a fanny pack at the beginning to put the bulbs in so they wouldn't drag. A visiting nurse came once a day to shorten the drains and check on me for about a week. My drains and I went shopping on the third day post-op and I was absolutely fine up and about. My husband did the cooking but only because he always does the cooking. I was your age though and I can understand that it might take longer for your sister to recover. Perhaps a nursing home might be an option for a short period of time if needed.

I certainly can understand you not wanting to take on the complete caregiver role once again.

Anne, you and your sisters are in my prayers.

Sheryl

I'm so sorry Cherryfizz. Seems like your family has had more than their share of struggles. Healing thoughts going out to your sisters and special thoughts for you.

Anne, you know both of your sisters and you, also, are in my prayers.

Tami

Thank you. Marjorie called me tonight to say goodnight before going to bed and I said you were all praying for her. She said to say thank you - she needs all the prayers she can get.

I asked how she was feeling and she said that she had already resigned herself to the fact she did have cancer again after they scheduled her for the biopsy. She was kind of hoping for scar tissue but it wasn't. She said she has been through this before and she can do it again.

She knows I will be there for her when it counts. She is coming to stay here on Tuesday when she gets back into Windsor for a couple of days. She likes sleeping on my new couch!! LOL

I also called my sister Lizzie up to tell her Marjorie's news and she was surprised the cancer had come back. I asked how she was feeling and if she was eating and she said she wasn't eating much. She is working a lot of shifts - 1 day on-1 day off lately. She has constant nerve pain in her arms and hands. She can't feel anything with her fingers. She said the pain is like bolts of lightning flowing through her. She has been to see many Doctors and most said she had carpal tunnel and she said she knows what carpal tunnel feels like and kept asking them to do more tests. After a lot of testing they found something in her back that turned out to be the frayed nerve. She can't give injections anymore or put in lines or do any lifting of patients. The Doctor's told her this was a side effect of the radiation she had more than 5 years ago.

I just wish I could take away their pain.

Thanks again for the good thoughts and prayers.

Anne

I am so sorry to hear this. Saying many prayers for your sister.

Prayers and healing thoughts going out for your sisters and special thoughts for you. (((((Anne))))))

Linda

They have my prayers and good thoughts too Anne. And so do you. My sister just finished radiation treatments for her 2nd round of breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy on both of them. Followed by chemo on the first one, (16 yrs ago). The 2nd one was caught very early, and is called breast calcification. It's like little flecks/freckles of it in an area. They did the lumpectomy on it, but the Dr. didn't get the clear margins he wanted, so she had to go back right after Christmas and have more taken out until he was satisfied with the margins.
Be sure you get your mammograms Anne. I certainly do. I'm having mine on the 30th of this month.
Leslie

Prayers for healing going to your sister, Anne, and comforting thoughts to you.

Phyllis

Sending healing thoughts to your sisters.

Anne, I'll be keeping both you and your sister in my prayers. ((Anne & Marjorie)

I am sorry to hear of your sisters' problems, Anne.

I hope that the newer medical knowledge will be able to deal with the issues effectively and enable each of them to be healed and able to manage their lives easily and without ongoing problems or pain.

Sending good thoughts and hopes that things will go well for them and for your peace of mind though it, as well.
I'm offering some prayers on their behalf - and that you will not be too upset over their troubles.

St. Louis is not too many hundreds of miles the other side of Peoria and I have a friend going back over 50 years in Peoria that I might be able to manufacture an excuse to go visit if you'd like to visit your sister.

If it might be before early July, I'd be able to ride on the med insurance that I bought for a year (for less than the price of two trips) ... so I got the one to Phoenix in Jan. as a bonus ... and I wouldn't mind a second bonus. Next time ... the price will be higher, due to another milestone along the road of advancing age.

Good wishes for the coming days, Anne.

ole joyful

Saying prayers for both of you!

I'll be keeping both of your sisters in my thoughts, Anne.

Keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers, Anne.

That would have been nice Ed but my sister does live in Windsor. She is in St. Louis dog sitting for my cousin and his wife while they are away.

Thank you all for the prayers and good thoughts. I know Marjorie thanks you.

Anne

Sending positive thoughts for you and your dear sisters, Anne. I'm sorry the news isn't better. :(

Anne, late getting here, but your sisters are in my prayers, and you also as you wait and watch with them.

Take care of yourself; you will be needed.

Sue

Oh Anne, I am sorry I am so late in posting. This really does Suck! I will be thinking healing thoughts for your sister. I totally understand your decision about caregiving. You and your sisters are in my thoughts. Take care!

You are absolutely right Anne. After 20yrs too. That's a remarkable run of such an aggressive cancer but still.... it does suck!

As Heather says, she recovered quickly although I think it was day 2 post op that she went shopping! Marjorie sounds equally stoic and probably should be Heather's twin instead of me. I'm just not built with the same stuff as she is. I'd be the one asking for the morphine. I saw Heather go through chemo, surgery and then radiation virtually without complaint. She set the bar very high should I follow in her footsteps.

I went with Heather for her pre-op anaesthetic visit. The anaethetist said "Don't worry - it's simple surgery! I wanted to scream at him - Simple..... for who! Compared to what your sister has gone through it may well be but when I worked with oncology children, it was often the simple stuff that seemed to them to be the last straw! They'd tolerate bone marrows/spinal taps but lose it when having blood drawn.

If you don't have one - a fanny pack will make it a lot easier to have to hold the JP drains. Much easier than coiling the tubing and pinning it to your clothes.

I will be thinking of your sister in the coming days. I totally understand your need not to be an active caregiver without a break. Please don't feel selfish. A worn-out caregiver whether it be physically or emotionally is just not an effective one. You are very wise to realize that ahead of time.

((((Anne)))) you and your ((((Sister)))) are in my prayers.

I'm really sorry, will keep your sister in my prayers.

Anne, very sorry to hear the news about your family. I will put you all on my prayer list. Be sure to take care of yourself too!
Dee

(((((Anne & both your sisters))))) I'm so sorry to hear this, hugs and prayers sent to all of you.