All posts tagged: postaday

Cancer Club Thought of the Day: The Doctor Appointment

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All of us who have a serious disease that may be chronic or may be life threatening are a little nervous when we go for a doctor’s appointment.  We may get more bad news.  We may have to make another decision.  We may have an issue that requires us to be assertive, like questions about what is going on. And here we are:   in  The Doctor’s Office.  I do mean the place they park you after they get your weight.  It’s like being in a foreign land. I was thinking bus station, but maybe not.  There is the familiar computer. The chair for the Doc. The chair for you.  There is the exam table.  The sharps container is on the wall. There is the awful gown you are expected to put on. First tip The nursing  assistant takes your temp, BP and and asks all the standard questions.  Have you fallen in the last 30 days?  Do you feel safe in your home?  I do wish they would check the notes from the last visit.  …

Cancer Club Thought of the day: how about no choice in the matter

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Cathy, my very dear sister-in-law, and I were having one of our long conversations.  She is in New York.  I am here.  If we were in the same place, we would spend a lot of time together.  She was saying we have no choice but to carry on.  We were discussing difficult times and when someone says, “How’s it going?”,  she says what choice do we have but to say fine because we have to carry on. Her husband, my brother, died of metastatic colon(appendix) cancer about two and a half years ago.  She’s had a hard time.  They were married over 40 years. They were a good fit.  Being alone has been hard for her. I am always missing my brother so it has been hard for me too. I have two cancers.  I had to be tested, to have surgery, to have radiation treatments, to have new pills and then more doctors’ visits.  New news is shocking, life changing.  There is the adjustment period. Then  adaptation and just keep going.  With the nature …

Cancer Club thoughts-zoo music

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Shaggy bleached blond at 9 years old.  He was on the heavy side but solidly built.  Beat up old sports shirt. He stood solid in his shoes. He knew who he was and where he stood in the world and was fine with it.  He had a sureness about him many adults wished they possessed. He followed the rules. He did ask his mom if it would be okay if he walked around. Off he went with his cousin, a boy who also had a devilish glint. We are at zoo music. Paula Cole is the entertainment. Lounging in lawn chairs after a picnic of summer delights. Feeling good. Under the trees. On the grass. Surrounded by an amazing supply of people just right for people watching. Good to be with friends. I just finished my 6th week of Cancer Rehab at the Healthplex. I am stronger. I have better balance. The program is doing what I had hoped. I am rebuilding. I will be healthier or I will have more stamina for the next …

Cancer Club thoughts-helping

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Cancer victims have concrete problems.  Cancer makes a person face his mortality.  Suddenly life is no longer taken for granted.  Survival becomes an issue.  Add to that the  scary thought of the big C spreading throughout the body.  There is a feeling of loss of control. Unnerving!  Life becomes uncertain forever. Still, many cancer worries are  about everyday issues. Am I going to be able to function independently during treatment?  Where do I turn for help? How do I get to the pharmacy for prescriptions?  How to I make meals when I feel so sick?  What if I become very sick during the night, will I die alone?  How will I pay for my treatment?  Are my friends avoiding me because I have cancer? Cancer can be fatal. Some cancers can be cured. Cancer can also be a chronic condition. There are many cancers that cannot be cured but can be managed. These cancers require careful monitoring and intermittent treatment.  Cancer can recur. It can recur any time after treatment. It can recur after years of …

Little Indulgences

Little Pick Me Ups-Flowers

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A $3.99 weekly bouquet from Trader Joe is one of my little pleasures. I love strong vibrant color, textures, fragrances. My bouquet shares its beauty from a unique table in front of my morning journaling chair. Being strongly visual I easily take pleasure in my bouquet as I sip my morning coffee. I started to go to Trader Joe on a regular basis when I was having daily radiation treatments. I continued my new stop after attending a support group nearby. Although my last radiation treatment was in March, I am still reeling from the whirlwind surgeries, radiation and medications. I don’t have the energy I would like to have. Progress is slow. However, little things in life are great pick me ups. What are yours?

Cancer Club Thoughts for the day: MOJO

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I am working a plan to get my mojo back. Still recovering from two radiation treatments with more treatments on the horizon, I’m still a woman of little energy. The Health Plex associated with Presbyterian Hospital Systems here in ABQ offers a 10 week cancer rehabilitation program called Thrive. I decided that it was just what I needed. On my last visit to my endocrinologist, I did persuade her to sign off on the program. I paid my $90 and submitted my paperwork. Fairly quickly I had an appointment with an exercise specialist for an evaluation.  Vitals, O2 sat, balance, body fat, weight(ugh!) and all those important numbers to see where my fitness level stood. The next day I was started on a plan with several exercise machines. The routine is to check in and have my blood pressure, O2 sat and well being checked. On Tuesday and Thursday I work the machines supervised. Pulse rate is checked between machines. BP and sat are checked  when I am done. Monday I go to a special …

Cancer Club thoughts for the day

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It’s your fault that you have cancer. Wow! I started listening to a meditation tape on cancer given by a dear friend. The first thing this woman says on tape is it that it’s your fault you have cancer. I was shocked. Fortunately, I don’t believe it. It was still unnerving. Cancer starts with the change of one single cell in your body. If you caused cancer by being stressed, by being too fat, by not eating the right things, by not exercising enough, we would all have cancer, most of us anyway. It makes the assumption that we have more control than we do. Some people we encounter would love to think we did something wrong to get cancer. Then, the theory goes,  if they avoid that something, they will not get cancer. The randomness of cancer is all too scary. Cancer happens. The question is not what we did wrong. The question is how do we deal with it.  

Spring 2014 Family Cancer Retreat

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Cancer Services of New Mexico’s Spring 2014 Family Cancer Retreat  starts tomorrow May 2,  2014.  It is a weekend all expense paid retreat at the Pyramid, a popular hotel in Albuquerque. It is for cancer survivors, their caregivers, i.e. family. There are presentations on every aspect of cancer, for example:  Patient and Family Communications in Serious Illness, New Developments in Cancer Treatment,  Talking with Kids about Cancer.  There is a creative expressions workshop, Yoga for Happiness and Healing. A wide range of activity.  One on one counseling sessions. Too late to sign up for this one. There will be another in the Fall. You will need to send in an application. Your oncologist (or your doc managing your care) will need to send in a form. Cancer Services of New Mexico                                                                                                                   P O Box 51735, Albuquerque NM 87181-1735                                                                                        Phone:   505-259-9583                Email:    info@cancerservicesNM.org                                  Website:   http://www.cancerservicesNM.org The New Mexico Department of Health  and United Way of Central New Mexico are also sponsors.

Cancer support now

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Cancer Support Now Inc.                                                                                                                              “We are a community of survivors reaching out, supporting, informing and advocating for survivors, their loved ones and caregivers.” One resource for addressing life after cancer in a community of people who have been there. PO Box 37338   Albuquerque, NM 87176 http://www.cancersupportnow.org info@cancersupportnow.org Helpline:   505-255-0405    855-955-3500  Offers immediate support Matches you with one on one trained volunteers Refers you to support groups  A few support groups The Women’s North Valley Cancer Support Now Group. This support group has been active for years. Meets every other Thursday night 6:30 to 8:30pm in the North Valley for caregivers and those with a diagnosis of cancer. Call Cancer Support Now, Inc for location 255-0405 Survivors Writing Together Writing support group every Monday 3 to 4:30pm at UNM Cancer Center. Call 255-0405 Fourth Saturday Cancer Support Now Survivors Group For those with a diagnosis of cancer, men and women, meets the 4th Saturday of each month from 10:30 to noon. At Adelante on  Osuna west of Jefferson. Young breast cancer survivor facilitator available to …

thyroid cancer doctor visit April

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Nice having many of my doctors in one place: endocrinologist, rheumatologist, medical oncologist. It is chronic disease alley.  The pain clinic is also there. Haven’t been to that  one yet. Lucky for us, the nurses and assistants are very helpful people. The place is always decorated for the current season or holiday. Coffee and tea are served as well as juices and graham crackers. There is never more than a few minutes wait. It is a welcoming, reassuring place. We even have our own lab. Never more than one person ahead of you. Other areas of the hospital should follow their example. I don’t dread my appointments. Dr L is an expert in her field. She is conservative, thoughtful and considerate. Her visits are never rushed. I am 100% confident in her choices for me. I had not seen her(had talked to her on the phone) since my RAI (Radioactive iodine) treatment. The pill that had been presented to me in its 20# lead container was impressive and got my son’s attention that day. Being …