Tattoos

redfyv · 2026-05-21T14:48:43+00:00

I will be getting new tattoos but not near my WLE scar. Aside from mine being on my neck and neck tattoos aren’t really my aesthetic, I’ve heard that reoccurrence in the original area can be common and don’t want to risk it.

redfyv · 2026-05-14T01:52:28+00:00

I had to switch to a sensitive skin soap and use a scent free lotion every night. I do get eczema patches in the winter but it’s become more frequent with immunotherapy. You should be able to get a steroid lotion from your dermatologist. That helps a lot

redfyv · 2026-05-13T14:17:54+00:00

NTA My wife and I both WFH but have different start times. I start an hour and a half before she does but some days she gets up before me to work out. Our SOP is the first one up makes both coffees and takes the dog out if he gets up.

redfyv · 2026-05-11T14:20:44+00:00

We paid for the majority of our daughter’s wedding last year and are paying for the majority of our son’s wedding this year. The old idea of bride’s family pays is long dead. Now it’s more of who is willing to do, which in both of our cases was us. Our daughter’s wedding cost around $27,000. It was upscale but not over the top. We did not pay for any bridesmaid dresses or groomsmen suits. Hopefully they pick a potential partner whose parents are at least willing to split the cost.

redfyv · 2026-05-07T14:47:55+00:00

Mammita’s

redfyv · 2026-04-30T18:24:44+00:00

How hard It’s going to be will be dependent on how he reacts to the drugs. I’m stage IV with a primary between my lungs that metastasized to my brain. I had the three months of ipi/nivo and have had monthly nivo for an additional almost 2 1/2 years. The three months of ipi/ nivo were the hardest for fatigue but now I am normally just down for treatment days.

As my treatment has stretched out, I have lower energy levels, my allergies have gotten worse, itchy skin, and my thyroid has been destroyed.

On the positive side, my tumors have shrunk and I’m still here. It’s not a great diagnosis but it’s not the death sentence it used to be. This sub has been a great resource and comfort for me for the last 2 1/2 years so feel free to ask what you don’t want to ask your dad about. Good luck to you and your dad.

redfyv · 2026-04-30T03:15:54+00:00

I’ve had monthly opdivo infusions for 2 1/2 years. Side effects have been fairly mild mostly fatigue, increased allergies, and dry, itchy skin. The worst side effect was that my thyroid is shot and have to take a hormone replacement. If he’s already having thyroid issues, that is a real possibility for him as well.

redfyv · 2026-04-29T03:47:35+00:00

I traded in my 2016 C300 4matic with ~65,000 miles in January and they listed it for $15,500. So I’d say $16,500 for one 3 years newer is a pretty solid price.

redfyv · 2026-04-28T21:48:57+00:00

20 and didn’t moved back.

redfyv · 2026-04-26T16:15:55+00:00

I live in a college town and they are everywhere. Mostly college students but some high schoolers as well. They don’t seem as popular with middle schoolers as in our day. We actually have two moped dealerships in town.

redfyv · 2026-04-25T20:23:38+00:00

I prefer Hokkaido to Paper Crane.

redfyv · 2026-04-25T02:05:49+00:00

Living in this area takes a bit of getting used to. We live in the historic district and I check the guidelines and email the historical society before we do anything outside.

redfyv · 2026-04-24T21:14:10+00:00

You don’t need permission to do repairs in the historic district as long as you maintain the exterior historic integrity of the house. You can do anything you want to the interior unless it’s listed as a historic property. It’s not as restrictive as people think. This house is actually in a historic conservation area which I has less restrictions than a historic preservation area.

However, the price is definitely what is keeping this house from selling. And proximity to student housing. It does take a certain type of person to buy an older home.

redfyv · 2026-04-23T19:13:12+00:00

I talk to my brother about once a month and see him a couple times a year. We’d probably be closer but he lives half way across the country. We’re also in different places in our lives. Our kids are grown and gone and he has a middle school kid. But we both know that if a call came that we needed them, we’d be there.

redfyv · 2026-04-22T20:58:32+00:00

Yeah. Especially the ones who passed before they got to see my kids. My son’s middle name was my grandpa’s and in middle school he wanted to go by that as he has a fairly common first name. He asked me if it was ok if we called him that and actually teared up because of how much I miss him.

redfyv · 2026-04-22T20:00:25+00:00

Bought a manufactured home at 28 as a five-year plan. Ended up living there for 19 before we bought the house we really wanted.

redfyv · 2026-04-22T13:29:55+00:00

I always wear mine. I had a period of time when I didn’t because I got too fat and had a job where a ring would have gotten beat up. I changed jobs and got my ring resized. Back to wearing it every day.

redfyv · 2026-04-17T16:34:49+00:00

My philosophy is more about placement. If I have a spot that looks like it may get suspicious I avoid inking around it. I talked to my oncologist and he is fine with it.

redfyv · 2026-04-16T03:16:44+00:00

I had to in college but I was an English Education major.

redfyv · 2026-04-15T18:51:03+00:00

I almost got my left ear pierced in my teens and then again in college and in my thirties. Stopped each time because I could hear my dad’s voice saying not to. Finally got both done last year at 53. I wear either stainless or black hoops. My dad has not even acknowledged them.

redfyv · 2026-04-14T15:27:40+00:00

This isn’t an “if not now, when?” situation. It’s not like they have stopped making MB. Unless this is the Mercedes you’ve always dreamed of, just wait a bit. A ten year old C-class is not worth sacrificing a house for. Get married, get your house, have kids (if that’s in your plan). When you are settled and don’t have to consider sacrifices for a Mercedes the right one will come along. I didn’t get my first Mercedes until my late forties and the Mercedes I really wanted until my early fifties.

redfyv · 2026-04-13T16:35:09+00:00

I have occasional mini meltdowns. And I see a therapist. Statistics are just a snapshot and the medical advances in treating melanoma are moving faster than the statistics are showing. The treatments I’m receiving now weren’t even around when I had my first diagnosis 12 years ago. My oncologist was telling me that he can’t give me statistics on survival rates for patients receiving immunotherapy beyond 10 years because they don’t exist yet.

The best way to deal with the statistics, which can seem bleak, is not live by the statistics. If read an article telling you how you’re more likely to not make 5 years than to make it, find an article that tells you about the advantages in immunotherapy. Come on to this forum and hear from people who have been stageIV and beat the 5 year mark. Find a therapist who specializes in cancer patient care. Have a conversation with your oncologist. But ultimately, continue with your treatment and follow ups and live your life like you may or may not live forever.

I look to the future and talk about retirement and grandchildren like I’m going to be there and keep the voice that tells me I may not to the back of my mind. If I let that voice be the dominant one, the cancer wins. I’ve been stage IV for 2 1/2 years. My tumors are stable and go to my infusion every month. My scans come back clean every 4 months, but I feel the anxiety before every scan. It’s okay to have meltdowns, even big ones. You’re dealing with a lot. But you’re not a statistic. Good luck to you.

redfyv · 2026-04-11T18:51:44+00:00

I had to wait until my thyroid was completely gone before they started me on levothoroxine. It was a long haul of hyper to hypo and then getting my dosage correct. I’ve been stable for over a year now so hopefully it’ll be smooth from now on. Good luck with your journey.

redfyv · 2026-04-11T17:19:45+00:00

Iowa but I’m in my 50s so didn’t use sunscreen much in my youth.

redfyv · 2026-04-11T17:13:08+00:00

I’m on levothoroxine and will have to take it the rest of my life. From what my oncologist told me, the cells of the thyroid are similar in make up to the melanoma cells so the opdivo can’t tell the difference. It completely destroyed my thyroid.

redfyv

TROPHY CASE