Celebrating without alcohol

Thanks for the suggestion! Sometimes you just miss the taste of something and this sounds like a good alternative.

Congrats on 47 yrs . We've been married 42 but now with getting recurrent hcc back only 6 mon after liver transplant we worry what are future holds . We opted for the yeast Aggressive treatment which was Excision of his gastric lymph nodes .They think a few cell could have been hidden under liver and immunos helped it grow . We just got back good news hcc was only in 1 lymph node and this is considered localized. So surgery was considered a curative treatment If it hasn't already spread . Because he already had a liver transplant and did really well .Out of the hospital in 5 days hes like a Oddity because his liver is really healthy and he was too thats why he qualified for surgery and it being localized. So there Really isn't Clinical Guidelines for this type of Patient .So Iam looking for a Group thats Called Recurrent HCC after Liver Transplant .And Especially a good Oncologist and Hospital that deals with Immunotherapy And has Alot of Clinical trials .We have a HMO so I m trying to see about 2nd opinions but it will be out of network .We have a Excellent policy and I was told it just has to be approved .If anyone has any knowledge of good Oncologist or Hmo referral to Mayo. I'd Greatly Appreciate Anything .Its soo hard to do this on my own between all the Drs apots and phone calls Thank You

@suzy212, Is this the discussion that you are looking for?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/recurrent-liver-cancer-after-liver-transplant/

If you want to contact the Mayo Clinic Liver Transplant Department (which I recommend) here is some information and the contact phone or email where you can ask your questions about referral and or oncology treatment after liver transplant for your husband.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/liver-transplant/home/orc-20211818

Where is everybody? Has anyone discovered a new 'treat' beverage, perhaps over 4th of July or Labor Day ?
My husband and I were traveling recently and had the benefit of a large porch/balcony at the Crater National Park Lodge - with rocking chairs overlooking the magnificent lake. On a particular warm afternoon, I decided to have something different than my usual water from my hiking bottle. I asked for a glass of cranberry juice with ice. I know, it was no big deal! However it must have looked good with those little stir sticks because a woman sitting near me couldn't decide on a beverage to order from the bar. She walked over to me and asked what I was drinking! I don't know what she ordered, but I felt rather proud of my choice 😎

-With Summer and outdoor events coming to an end, I am thinking about tea, cider, or "I don't know - What would be your choice of a special occasion comfort beverage?

In the summer I love ginger beer (no alcohol), cranberry, seltzer and lime juice. Fall is putting good local cider (plentiful in New England), warming it up with cinnamon sticks. And good black tea with milk and sugar.

I love that picture with your hiking boots!

Cranberry juice, or apple cranberry juice with a splash of Sprite, over ice. My fall back is crushed ice and water. For the cooler months, a cup of flavored tea that usually has cinnamon in it. The aroma is warming in itself!
Ginger

I too have found my way to ginger beer ( Fevertree my favorite brand) with unsweetened cranberry juice. Tangy and refreshing. (I also have used a lenon lime seltzer with cranberry juice too.)

For protein (and a meal) I drink a raspberry apricot smoothie - frozen fresh raspberries, a splash of unsweetened almond milk, scoop of whey protein (25 g of protein) and a larger splash of apricot nectar. You can use cranberry juice or other nectars like mango for variety as well as other berry choices. As you can tell I am not a fan of sweet and prefer flavorful and tangy. Barbara

Hi Rosemary! This drinking conversation came at a good time for me, so thank you. As you may remember, I was pre-qualified for a double lung transplant. I am still not in bad enough shape to get 'listed' yet, but, the time is drawing near. My bloodwork revealed that I was an above average drinker (heavy drinker), and this shocked me into quitting altogether. I had never considered myself to be a heavy drinker because I did not drink myself into drunkeness. I was raised in the South where we had Happy Hour every night; just one glass of wine, sometimes two, or a one high-ball. I have found that my drinking just before dinnertime had changed from a social thing to a necessary thing for me as my disease worsened. I would be so exhausted by 5 pm that I could barely get through cooking dinner. A glass of wine would help to take the exhausted feeling away long enough for me to cook and clean up. My daughter's boyfriend is a wine rep, so he brings delicious wines to our house (which doesn't help). Anyway, I have quit the alcohol altogether recently. As for a substitute 'adult beverage', I am not interested. I was more into the beverage helping me to unwind or take the edge off of exhaustion; not for the flavor. I have now resigned myself that I now have limitations and my husband and daughter now have to pick up the slack. My beverage schedule was 2 cups of coffee in the morning, water all day, a glass (or two) of wine at 5. Now, it is just the coffee and water and occasional fruit juice. Sounds boring, but, beverages never excited me; only food!

Terri, I want to commend you for acting upon the abnormal blood results.

I live in Central Kentucky surrounded by distilleries, in fact one is being developed right behind our neighborhood. The Bourbon Trail which is a big tourist draw with tours and tasting rooms goes thru town.
-Have you ever had a conversation with daughter's boyfriend about alcohol free wines? I am not suggesting for you, but as a source of education for him about the need for a population of non-drinkers like us? When I have inquired at several establishments, I feel like I am asking the impossible.

This conversation was very interesting. I am almost 2yrs LT and I always enjoyed a cocktail or sometimes over indulging on football weekends.
I have not had a drink in over 3yrs. but the mock cocktails sound delightful. TY😊