I continue with Herceptin as my final step of breast cancer treatment. My appointment was early in the morning, so I had my choice of seating. I took the brown leather chair and popped up the foot rest. I was seated next to the window where I could watch a robin feeding its newborn babes. I relaxed and enjoyed the view. Cancer has slowed me down and I am feeling peace within.
Patients slowly filtered into the room as I was receiving my infusion. I spoke with a woman who has Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. This means cancer has spread to the liver, lungs or adjacent organs. She was very calm as she talked about her illness. The oncologist nurse treated her with Gemeitabine IV drip and genuine love. I was in awe that she was doing so well.
Pancreatic cancer is more common with smokers and people that are obese. Education is so important. We can control to some degree what illnesses we may later face. If you smoke, give it up. Change is not easily. It hardly ever is, but smoking does too much damage to the body to out weigh its enjoyment.
Secondly, work towards a better and healthier you. Make the right choices of food. I admit sometimes this has been tough for me. Eating in the car, while on the telephone or watching TV are easy targets for stress eating.
Please join me and let's be in the present. Today is a new day and change can reap a healthier happier you.
Today we declare our independence. Independence can mean something different to each one of us. We first think of our country's freedom. We salute our troops and send them our prayers. For cancer survivors, it has its own special meaning; freedom from disease.
If you have cancer or are a survivor, please share your story. There are so many people struggling and looking for answers. You may have experienced what they are now living. I sought comfort with Lois, my navigator. She had just completed the journey I was about to under take. I took solace in knowing there would be someone to answer and comfort me.
Information abounds throughout the internet and through books and pamphlets. However, to hone in on what you need can be overwhelming. I attended a cancer survivor outing. There were tables set up with free information. It is here that I met Jan, a patient services manager. She gave me a card for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Their mission is to cure blood diseases included myeloma and Hodgkin's.
The website is www.lis.org . For those who qualify, the Michigan Chapter will send an application to receive $150.00 to offset your medical expenses. You would need to check your state's chapter to see if this applies.
I encourage all of you to share your stories and your information. My wish is to make the going a little less tough. Let's declare our independence and pay it forward.
If you have ever vacationed in South Dakota, you maybe familiar with the Black Hills. Mount Rushmore is striking from a distance away. To learn about its history please go to the website: www.destinationandtravel.com
Carved in the mountainside are the heads of four American presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Each president is represented for his contribution to America.
I have seen Mount Rushmore. It is awe inspiring and has left a life time impression on me. Read the website and then you may find yourself driving to South Dakota to see the sculpture yourself.
I grew up in the era of the Marlboro man. Billboards boasted the rugged cowboy mounted on his steed smoking a cigarette. It was an era that accepted smoking and depicted it as a sign of sophistication. Who wouldn't want to smoke? Work places had ash trays next to the worker's desk. Smoke billowed throughout the room. Watch any black and white TV show and the actors will have a cigarette in their hand.
Parents smoked in front of their kids never thinking about the second hand smoke. No one thought about its effect. It was socially accepted. The tobacco companies recruited doctors to promote their product. They claimed Lucky Strikes were less irritating. People believed it was o.k. if doctors smoked.
Today we have learned the consequences of smoking. The Marlboro man died of lung cancer in 1992 just before his 52nd birthday. Great strides have been made to caution teens and adults of the danger of cigarettes. And yet, people continue to smoke. Some signs of lung cancer are coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and blood streaked sputum.
During my chemo, I sat next to a man suffering with lung cancer. He had smoked three packs of cigarettes a day. He would be in treatment for many months with the hope of being cured.
Now is the time to educate our children. Times and society have changed and we know the health toll it can take on our lives. Take charge of what you can. Live long and live healthy.
