Nancia, breast cancer is horrible. I lost a cousin at 33 after she was misdiagnosed for over 2 years by 3 different doctors. By the time they decided it was cancer, all the treatment her 3 young daughters watched her go through was futile. My mom's oldest sister, who I recently found out is actually her half-sister (big family secret evidently), is on her 2nd recurrance of breast cancer. The doctor refused to do a mastectomy, and she trusted his judgement. This time he finally took them, just in time for her husband to be diagnosed with lung cancer and refuse treatment. I have 2 friends who started out with breast cancer, but now have other tumors coming up. 1 of them enrolled in college with University of Phoenix when she was diagnosed, which is where we met doing online classes together. They've told her she had 2-6 months to live since I've known her, yet in that time she's completed her associates and bachelors degrees and is now working on her masters, which she'll finish in less than a year. It's what keeps her going. When the doctors told her there was no other treatments they could do, she said "good, then I can go back to work now" and that's exactly what she's done. The other was told she's in remission, but she's had 7 tumors removed in the last 5 years in different places, and now they say she's got an inoperable but slow growing brain tumor. She's got 3 kids still at home and a 19 year old that's bipolar and in and out of the house, but she goes non-stop and does what she has to. I watch these women in awe of their courage.
I had my 40 year old mammogram done on December 9th. In 2001 I had a lump that was diagnosed as fibercystic breast disease, which I've managed pretty well. Well I got a letter before we left for Denmark that they were waiting for the films of my previous mammogram from the hospital where I used to live, and when I got back Saturday I had a letter that I need additional tests. I'm appalled at the nonchalant way that this hospital handles this though, as the letter says "we'll be calling you to schedule these tests, but if you don't hear from us in 10 days, you should call us." Why would I intentionally wait 10 days if you're possibly going to tell me I have cancer? They should have called me instead of snail mailing me a letter! If I hadn't already been diagnosed with fibercystic breast disease, I'd have been thoroughly freaked out the last 2 days.
OK, mug rugs, back on subject. Nancia, I love your comparison of them as ginormous mug rugs on steroids, lol. I was thinking, with the hotpad discussion, that I will share the photos of the Tehætte (tea pot cozy) that I made my boyfriend's mom for Christmas. She was so tickled with it. Every time she took it off or put it on the 3 days we were at her house, she made a big production of it and smiled at me. She's so funny, lol.
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