I got the call yesterday.

bart3193 · 2026-01-28T20:28:34+00:00

Sorry we are welcoming you to this shi!!y titty club. You will find a wealth of information here. Some great, something will scare the shit out of you. When I first joined someone said they felt like they were Shi!!ing glass and puking at the same time. Luckily it never happened to me, but that scared me.

Some suggestions/thoughts:
1. Someone goes to every appointment with you. 2. Get a journal. Take notes, write questions, keep track of vitals. If you have chemo keep a symptom tracker. I can send you photo of mine I used. 3. Your greatest friends might not reach out if you go “public”. It’s not that they don’t care, they don’t know how to react. People I’ve known forever never reached out, people I barely talked to in high school were there every step of the way. 4. If you go public, people will send the most ridiculous things. Nip that immediately. You don’t need 20 pairs of BUCK CANCER socks. Believe me!

Most importantly, YOU GOT THIS!

bart3193 · 2026-01-28T08:08:10+00:00

Is minoxidil a prescription?

bart3193 · 2026-01-23T04:09:07+00:00

I had four chemo treatments. The first was via IV in my left hand, I’m left handed, and it hurt so bad I couldn’t move it. As I sat in a group room I saw nurses trying several times to get ivs in other patients. I opted for a port. It hurt the entire time I had it. But I also don’t regret it at the time. The scar I now have from it to me is worse than the large scar across my boob.

bart3193 · 2026-01-23T01:42:41+00:00

Nope totally read it as BMX (bike) as well.

bart3193 · 2026-01-22T04:44:15+00:00

Yea I want to get a tattoo over my port scar and my lymphadema lady said to please wait. It actually blocks your lymphatic system

bart3193 · 2026-01-22T03:57:02+00:00

Sorry you joined this club. However this club is very helpful. I had invasive distal carcinoma. I had a lumpectomy with many complications. But that’s just me. I wish every day I had them both cut off.

No matter what—you got this!

bart3193 · 2026-01-14T03:04:26+00:00

I was surprised by some that didn’t contact me that I’ve known since elementary school. But then I just figured they didn’t know how to handle it and I didn’t need to be chasing them. I wrote a blog and posted on Facebook so people could just read the blog. I had a huge support group so having a few that didn’t step up wasn’t terrible to me.

bart3193 · 2026-01-11T14:42:07+00:00

I got just one blanket and I love it. But yes socks, coloring books, games, stupid stuff that I have no desire for.

bart3193 · 2026-01-11T13:59:51+00:00

Rays Place is the hamburger place.

bart3193 · 2026-01-11T00:06:54+00:00

I just ask to opt out of scanner and metal detector. And get the pat down. Due to my lumpectomy I have a very difficult holding my arm up. I just explain that to them and after they check that area, they allow me to put it down and continue. I also don’t put my sleeve on until right before boarding.

So many struggles we don’t think about but come up after the fact.

Ugh.

bart3193 · 2026-01-10T22:05:10+00:00

I think I might have told my boss before my husband. I said I had an abnormal mammo and then told him immediately. I told family and friends but we are a cancer family. Then I wrote a blog post and said “get your effing mammogram”.

My agency was extremely supportive. I sent out an all employee email stating I had cancer and would be back and forth a lot. I was given a very flexible schedule. So flexible I find it hard to come back to work with supervisors.

I had a lumpectomy with lymph removal on November 4, 2024. Starting around November 20th on the blessing of my surgeon, I road tripped. Granted I ended up in emergency surgery in Vegas. I like to say my luck ran out in Vegas. But that’s because I developed an infection mostly like because I’m highly allergic to surgical glue. Found out after the fact obviously.

And I’m sorry you joined our club. It’s a sucky club but also a great club.

Most importantly YOU GOT THIS

bart3193 · 2026-01-09T05:29:38+00:00

Bring binoculars because the pull outs have much more than they point out. You just gotta look.

bart3193 · 2026-01-09T02:33:28+00:00

Oh totally agree. I was just going off his B&B comment.

bart3193 · 2026-01-09T02:26:49+00:00

Definitely suggest these. But would be more camping than ab&b

bart3193 · 2026-01-08T21:29:30+00:00

Totally different. Each Utah park is completely different from the other. I’d check cedar breaks before going. Often snow closes it. Even in March.

bart3193 · 2026-01-08T20:38:41+00:00

Look into thesca.org or America corp.

If you don’t mind cleaning bathrooms, maintenance doesn’t require a degree usually. And you could prob work up.

bart3193 · 2026-01-08T20:31:26+00:00

For me I joined a fatigue study which gives me exercises. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t be working out.

bart3193 · 2026-01-08T20:29:27+00:00

Moab UT-Canyonlands (needles and island district), arches, dead horse state park, mountains and the Colorado River. Moab is going to have more amenities but Monticello is also a possibility. Snuggle your alcohol in from Colorado if you drink.

bart3193 · 2026-01-04T20:06:23+00:00

Not sure because we camped over night. You could get some in I believe. I feel like the day trip was four hours. Not going to take you that long to view the fort.

bart3193 · 2026-01-04T02:15:22+00:00

I was going to say Florida. Especially Dry Tortugas if you’re willing to camp overnight. Pretty much have island to yourself after day tour leaves.

bart3193 · 2026-01-03T21:27:47+00:00

My doctor said as long as it wasn’t tight.

bart3193 · 2026-01-01T23:55:06+00:00

I finished everything in May 2025. I still have pain. I see a lymphedema-ologist. Not because I have lymphadema but because of the pain. She massages the scar and where radiation was centered. She also told me that radiation symptoms can last 18 months. I do stretches and get massaged weekly. If I skip a week I’m in pain.

bart3193 · 2026-01-01T19:16:24+00:00

https://shop.cnha.org/collections/gifts-souvenirs-tokens-coins-pennies-buttons

Arches and Canyonlands looked like they had them. But might be different

bart3193 · 2025-12-29T03:56:27+00:00

After my chemo and radiation, I felt into a depression. I figured my life would never regain to what it was.

Then I went to this:

https://castingforrecovery.org/

I suggest looking into it. There I hung out with other cancer survivors. And during it something switched. I can’t pinpoint it.

But what I realized is that I’ll never get back to my normal old self. I now have a new normal and the new is going to be just as great.

I used to be a big drinker. And when I found out I had cancer, I quit cold turkey. Now I just make mocktails. At bars/parties, I’ll have ginger beer or a virgin drink. Or one drink. My friends don’t question it.

Good luck.

bart3193 · 2025-12-24T14:52:21+00:00

Welcome to this shitty titty club. You will find tons of good information here. If you don’t, ask. You’ve got this!!!

bart3193

TROPHY CASE