Resurrection Sunday

A beautiful day today ~It started with an endearing church service.  The children are so darling and they are always a part of the service.  Today was even more special than normal.Then, we spent time at my sister's house with the family.  Not all of our loved ones were there, as our youngsters have moved to other states.  Thank goodness for video chat and cell phones!God is our refuge and strength, a ever-present help in trouble.Psalm 46:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.Psalm 42:5Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world...

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In Sickness and In Health

This afternoon Richard gave me a shot in my stomach.  Neither of us wanted to pass out so we sat down across from each other. I know he was worried about hurting me but it was quick and practically painless. This is the first of 10 daily shots of Lovenox, a blood thinner for a blood clot in my arm. My 7th chemo was Thursday, March 21st. By Saturday morning I started getting the bladder infection again and called the answering service to get meds started. That afternoon the pain returned to my bones so I returned to the drugs. Carol...

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Peach Fuzz

Guess what? I will be finished with my chemo treatments in 3 weeks! Number 7 tomorrow and number 8 on April 11th! Guess what else? I have peach fuzz on my head! Lots of tiny blond (grey?) hairs all over my head. I am looking forward to getting my hair back and won't miss these scarves. Sometimes I wish I would have opted for the wig in the beginning. A couple weeks ago an unfamiliar student said, "I like your scarf. Hey, are you sick?" Well, I felt great at the moment but realized the scarf symbolized something was seriously wrong....

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CureSearch Children's Cancer

Researcher Looks for Link Between Protein and Hodgkin lymphomaMaxwell Krem, MD, PhD, from The University of Washington strives to treat his patients as he would want to be treated, delivering state-of-the-art medical therapy. He hopes that his research will lead to targeted therapies. Read more Little Girl's Memory Lives on Through Family's DeterminationSheridan Bautista was diagnosed with osteosarcoma at the age of seven. Doctors found a tumor located above her left knee that encompassed 75% of her femur. She immediately started chemotherapy....

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What's On Your Mind?

I'm doing much better this week and think the exhaustion is from the time change. Monday was my first class on Mindfulness at the Cancer center and I am excited to be in the program. Mindfulness is the act of paying attention to what you are doing, being deliberate in thought, being present in the moment. It's the direct opposite of taking life for granted. (Kabat-Zinn 1994) A few years ago I bought The Mindful Woman by Sue Patton Thoele and developed several classroom activities based on the theory. But the habits of where...

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Strokes and Chemo

The past week has been very busy ... starting with last Friday.  On my way home from work, I received a message from my sister that mom called and wanted to go to ER.  She was having trouble with her vision.  Since I was right down the street and sis just got home from chemo treatment, I headed over to take care of the situation.  Got mom to the ER and she was taken back pretty quickly.  She described her symptoms to different nurses who asked her the same questions.  Then a doctor came in for some eye hand motor tests.  Doc ordered an EKG, a chest x-ray and a cat scan.  About 4-1/2...

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Early Detection for Pancreatic Cancer

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bruceupbin/2012/06/18/wait-did-this-15-year-old-from-maryland-just-change-cancer-treatment/A friend of mine sent this article to me.  I sure do hope this gives a big jump to early detection for pancreatic cancer.  The comments from readers are always interesting....

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Do You Read Me?

As a blogger and cancer patient, it really boosts my spirits when people take time from their busy lives to read my new posts. Thanks to so many of my friends and family for signing up to get emails when I post a new article. Here are 6 easy steps if you would like to follow my journey. This should take less than 3 minutes to complete. 1. Email Subscription is in the right sidebar. 2. Type your email address in this space. Click "Submit" 3. Type the scrambled word into the space at bottom. Click "complete subscription...

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Under the Influence

Image from www.bonepains.org/ I shouldn't be operating machinery while under the influence so forgive me for all that will be wrong with this attempt at writing a post. As promised, the pain finally came on Sunday. I felt like I was getting the flu; achy, then warm. My temperature inched up as the day turned to night and as the story goes, we called the doctor when it reached 101.1. I was having the same abdominal cramps as last chemo and figured the bladder infection was back. The doc-on-call told Richard that...

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Taxol

Yesterday was chemo #6. This was a little different because it was my first time with Taxol. The day started at 9:00 am for lab work. By 9:30 I was in my lounge chair. I had an EKG which is protocol  for Taxol. Then I had a pre-medication cocktail of Benedryl, steroids, and Pepcid. By 11:30 we started the Taxol for a 3 hour infusion  I was so groggy and not very talkative. With my hands on ice, I fell asleep while listening to my meditation tapes. Richard's job was to hold my chin up if I started...

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