When my husband died i had a veritable pharmacy or meds I couldn't use which I knew had been expensive and I wondered if there were someone who had no insurance who could use them...of course no pharmacy can reuse meds once they were dispensed, but I asked the pharmacist what to do. This wasn Rite Aid or Walgreens or Walmart...but just my neighborhood pharmacy. He explained that all pharmacies have drugs that for one reason or another they can't use and have to dispose of them properly. When I had to give myself a daily shot during the Chemo, I had a sharps container that I was supposed to return to the hospital when I no longer needed it. Linda c

I'm not nuts about the oncologist we saw; so I've been busy trying to figure out if we are staying there or not. They gave us the clinical trial info, so I've been trying to look more into those to see who else is doing what. He's not sure he wants to do one. We saw the radiation oncologist yesterday and liked that team very much. They answered the questions the oncologist didn't. Some of the test results weren't back when we saw oncology; so yesterday's appointment was very helpful. Hubby found a family Dr, she's younger then us and very nice. She has no problem prescribing in an emergency and also gave him something to sleep which didn't work last night. She's hoping that taking the sleeping pill for a week will reset his sleep patterns. The radiation team wanted him to see his dentist to make sure his teeth are in good shape. My daughter had an appointment for the dentist today, so I switched it, gave that one to my hubby and rescheduled hers. They did a mold of his teeth for a fluoride tray and will have it back in a week. He's going to do 5 days a week of radiation for 6 to 7 weeks. They are doing both sides of the neck. It will start the last Monday of the month. The radiation Dr said that his chances are good. They can only give a 3 year survival; he said 80-85%. He wondered why our original appointment wasn't until 2 weeks later. I explained how it was set up after my hubby's PET scan and before we had the surgery date, he was glad I called to reschedule it sooner. We will go back to Philly next week, he will get fitted for a radiation mask; meet with oncology & clinical trial and let us know exactly what the plan is. There was a chance his chemo drug would change. Chalk his cancer up to HPV, the test was positive, which was in his favor; surprising enough.

Thanks, Susan! My drop-off site is 12 miles from here. I was asking about this a few months ago, but all I have to turn in are a couple of old, old meds from my pets, so I may hold on to them for another year. I drove 50 miles last night and have to do the same tomorrow. I was glad not to have to get in the car today, so if I do make it to the drop-off site it'll be because I gave myself a strong push. Maybe I'll call the site and ask if they'll be doing it again in summer. That would be a good time, as the county fills up with summer people and vacationers then.

Seniors/nursing homes are always grateful for used items such as wheelchairs, toilet aids for getting up and the like. The ones that are funding by the government especially appreciate these items as the individuals often could benefit. My great aunt passed away, we donated her very expensive wheel chair - it had a special gel cushion and other perks to it. Her clothing that was new we donated and the winter coat/boots (new and not worn) are another item greatly appreciated. So if you have medical equipment that you can clean/sanitize don't be shy to call a few care facilities. I shop at Value Village - now we are being advised to be careful of bedbugs when purchasing. The charity shops and newspapers have been listing information on keeping purchased items in bags until you can wash them properly or freeze some items. (I would not stick such items in my freezer....eeewwwwwwwwhhhhh.) One of these stores actually had old 18 wheeler trailer cabs full of stuff parked in their lots, sorted - furniture, clothing. Yes some stuff should be chucked completely. They are good at dating their items and moving them out of the store. Some charities donate items to other charities that recycle the materials into usable products. I dunno. I watched the movie "Wall-e" again. Really disgusts me too the amount of waste. So I do my best for my footprint.