Posts by Maria Collins33

Waking up before the sun is even up
An empty Nutella jar
Left my Nespresso pods behind
Trying to hit an ATM without my debit card

Alright, it's gonna be a long one.

urbanmoose84 said:just leave everything you can possibly do for tomorrow🙄

Maybe just move to a forum. No income, no expenses. Total CyberHibernation.

Sss... what a morning. Got bogged down with all those mindless errands and ended up missing that movie I actually wanted to see.
Lunch was kind of a letdown too, mostly because I totally blanked on picking up two ingredients at the grocery store.
As for my to-do list? Yeah, I haven't even hit 5% of what I planned to get done.
Oh well, it’s still early. The day is long, so there's still plenty of time to turn things around.

So, is Pernar going to join the ranks of those digital political nomads next?

Susan Sanders59 said:We’re just hoping for the best, honestly—we’re definitely the optimistic types when it comes to stuff like this...

From what I can tell, the medical side of things seems to be right on track. 👍 I was reading the other day how much of a difference a Mediterranean diet makes for cancer prevention—you know, focusing on olive oil, fish, and cutting back on red meat and all that.

Susan Sanders59 said:The laparoscopic surgery is set for Tuesday. Once they get the biopsy results back from the part they're removing, we'll know if any light chemotherapy is necessary. For now, the medical board isn't recommending it.

@Susan Sanders59/">@@Susan Sanders59, how are things looking? I'm really hoping for some good news here. Based on what you've said, it sounds like it might be a milder case. It's probably a good idea to start rethinking those old habits ASAP and maybe grab some advice from a nutritionist.

To kick off Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that family doctors will be rolling out a new early detection initiative in their offices.

Basically, if you’re under 50 but in a high-risk group, or if you're between 50 and 74 and haven't responded to the National Program calls, your doctor is stepping in. They'll be using a priority list to schedule and refer high-risk patients directly for a colonoscopy at a hospital facility.

Susan Sanders59 said:The CT scans look great—no signs of metastasis so far.

He’s scheduled for laparoscopic surgery this Tuesday. Once they get the biopsy results back from the section they're removing, they'll decide if any light chemotherapy is needed. For now, the medical board isn't recommending it.

Everything is steady for the moment. He's feeling good and staying really positive... Let's just hope it stays that way.

The big thing is there are no metastases.👍 I’d guess they won't know the exact stage until those samples come back. It feels a bit early to call it. Oncologists usually determine whether to go straight to surgery or try something else first based on the specific data. It all depends on the situation.

Feel free to ask the medical board or the oncologist to clarify things in plain English—just two or three simple sentences—either while the patient is there or just with a close family member. Most of the time, they’re pretty helpful. If they aren't, just calmly say, "I'm not quite following, could you explain that again?" No need to raise your voice or take up too much of their time; you aren't trying to do their job, just understand it.

Usually, once news drops, people immediately start asking how many days are left or spiraling into worst-case scenarios. That often leads to frantic supplement shopping or endless Googling.
Hope doesn't actually cure the illness; it helps the mental state. Support from loved ones, boosting the immune system, eating right, changing habits, and actually following the doctor's orders—that's what matters. It’s also not a bad idea to chat with other patients to see what worked for them and what didn't.

Susan Sanders59 said:Does anyone know what an elevated NSE might mean? Could it point toward cancer?

A CT scan should give you a much clearer picture regarding whether anything is actually there, plus where it is and how big it is.

High creatinine isn't usually a huge deal. As for the NSE, it's explained, but honestly, most lab results can drift a little—like, say, by about 10%—and still be considered within the realm of normal.
Cancer is such a complicated beast; don't get too bogged down in the raw data. That’s what oncologists are trained for. It's never as simple as just one number. For now, just take a deep breath. Focus on reading legitimate medical papers or articles (skip the alternative stuff) about nutrition, lifestyle changes, and how to help someone stay mentally strong. Even the stage isn't everything; you see people beat Stage 3, and you see others struggle even at Stage 1. Ideally, you always want it to be Stage 1, but life isn't always predictable.

Whenever you feed some animal, you get hit with a tidal wave of unsolicited advice from people who drop their opinions and then vanish seconds later. It’s always the same stuff—why I didn't adopt it, why I haven't taken it to the vet, or how much water it needs. Honestly, I can handle all of that on my own without the lecture.🙂

Joshua Myers432 said:Food production has actually ramped up significantly since 2014. They’ll need to scale things up even more now, but smuggling will definitely play a role. It isn't easy to isolate a country that massive; it’s not North Korea.

It isn't just about how much they can grow, though—it’s about what they can actually buy. Since products from the USA and the European Union are blacklisted, payments are slow and they have to find workarounds. They can pull stuff from China; there’s definitely some trade happening under the radar. Up until 2022, everything was basically one click away and totally seamless. It was a simple exchange: we give them energy and certain other goods, they give us cash. We give them cash, they give us products—everyone wins. It would be a different story if they were being attacked, which might spark local motivation, but right now, they’re just doing whatever they can to get by.

Yeah, it's not North Korea, but even there, things aren't exactly perfect. People still struggle. The people in Russia will definitely feel the squeeze, just maybe not as hard as people in Korea. China is a heavy hitter, maybe even more dangerous than Russia. They have the money, the resources, and they're very self-contained. They tend to copy what they don't know how to do yet, though they're getting better at it. They can pretty much manufacture almost anything on their own now.

Nathan Evans78 said:They’re working, sure, but in a very limited capacity. I don't think the people who drafted these sanctions ever imagined this whole situation would drag on for this long.
And while we're talking about "proof," let's look at the reality on the ground: they can still pull off enough low-tech production to keep their war machine chugging along. I remember just six months ago, everyone was predicting their factories would be sitting empty because they couldn't produce even a simple shell without Western inputs. Yet, here we are, watching them launch over a hundred high-tech missiles every few weeks—missiles that cost millions of dollars apiece.

Sanctions hit Mexico, but it didn't stop the war. It was the regular citizens who ended up paying the price. The goal is really just to slow things down and make life as difficult as possible—maybe hoping they'll pull back or scale down the fighting in the end. I doubt the Russians expected this level of blockade during their preparations, though they did move their gold out a long time ago, just like Mexico did.

Those 100+ high-tech missiles? In the beginning, they were leaning heavily on Kalibr and Iskander, but now they're using "low-cost" drones much more often by comparison. My take is that the big missiles are expensive and a pain to manufacture, so they probably save those for special occasions or specific defensive and counter-offensive moves.

When budget revenues drop, you try to fix it with a rebalance. Everyone has to tighten their belts; everyone feels the squeeze. The upper classes feel it the least, of course. Over time, the debt starts piling up. These numbers look pretty grim for the long haul. The real trouble starts when the "milking the cow" cycle breaks and the cow starts pushing back.