NOVEMBER 30, 2010

Two more cancer scares in the family......stupid cancer....

First, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Ours was, um, long.  And, not in a good way.

Over the weekend, we have had two major things happen.  First (and, in my opinion, the most important) is that my father is in the hospital.  He fell a couple of weeks ago, and had some back pain due to it.  We thought it was getting better, but over the weekend, the pain came back worse than ever.  He asked my mom to take him to the ER here in AZ Saturday night, and they admitted him.  They did a CT scan (assuming he was dealing with kidney stones), and found a 4-5cm *something* on his kidney.  Obviously, this was cause for concern, especially because the urologist doesn't feel that this is the cause of the pain.

They did an MRI yesterday, and found potential issues with his spine.  As a result, they also did an X-ray, and we expect the results of both today.  There has been talk of the *something* being a tumor, and obviously that's going to have to be investigated.  Right now, there are two separate issues - the back pain, and the kidney.  As I said, the doctor doesn't seem to feel that they are related issues.  It seems as if the back pain allowed them to find the kidney issue.  Thank goodness.

Right now, while we'd like to hope that this is going to be nothing more than a bruise, we are planning for the very real possibility that my father could have kidney cancer.  I have been doing some preliminary research, and it looks like (if that's the case), we caught it early.  Always a good thing.  We should have more information today, and I will let you all know.  (My dad just texted me - they moved him to a suite-like room, and he's now worried that this is to offset bad news.)

On top of this, over the weekend, I found a lump on my left breast.  *sigh*  I was able to get in to see my doctor yesterday, and he thinks it's just a cyst.  However, given the circumstances, no one wants to take any chances, so I have an appointment with a breast surgeon next week to get an ultrasound done and to determine whether I need to worry.  Until then, I'll try not to worry too much.  :)

So, if you have time, good through, good vibes, and prayers are welcome and appreciated.  I'll update on both accounts as soon as I can. 

Comments:

change-is-possible.net said...

Of course, I hope that there are no cancers and that the back pain is resolve-able.

If it is at all helpful, my brother-in-law had kidney cancer that was caught early because of some other problem. That was 10 or more years ago, and he's had no problems since then.

November 30, 2010 at 8:59 AM

 dcwriting said...

Michelle, you have one hell of a strong family. You will get through anything and you will always have someone to lean on. Hopefully this all turns out to be nothing so you won't have anything to get through though except normal day to day life (which can in and of itself be a struggle!). I send my thoughts and prayers out there to you and your father.

Danielle (Ashley's friend from the bridal party).

November 30, 2010 at 10:57 AM

Later:

Update on Dad

Quick update on my dad: MRI came back confirming that that *something* on his tumor is definitely solid, and was picking up the contrast from the MRI, which means it also has blood flow to it.  Based on this, the assumption is that the tumor is likely cancer.  Regardless of the diagnosis (which can't happen until the doctors are able to biopsy the tumor), the kidney must come out.  The tumor is 5.7 cm in width (about 2 inches); if it doesn't come out, it will cause problems in the future.

Right now, the biggest issue is getting his back healed.  The MRI and X-ray didn't show any bone or other damage, which is good news.  The pain is probably a combination of the spinal stenosis, the arthritis, and a twist in the wrong direction (as well as the fall he took).

Next step is to get Dad home.  They are running a bone scan tomorrow to get a baseline (kidney cancer will metastasize to the bones) and then he heads home.  After that, all energies need to be toward getting his back to a point where the doctor is willing and able to perform the surgery.

Mom and Dad will meet with the doctor next week to discuss the surgery further, and to discuss options.  Until then, please keep them both in your thoughts.

Comments:

Kelley said...

I love you all, and you are all in my thoughts and prayers. If there is ANYTHING that I can do, even if it's just to pray my damn heart out, let me know!

LOVE YOU!!!!

November 30, 2010 at 8:01 PM

NOVEMBER 23, 2010

I hate cancer...

This disease is awful, horrible, and all sorts of other words.

After a week of wishful thinking, a post was uploaded to a friend's blog that confirmed my worst fears.  For those of you that don't know Melissa's story, you can read through the blog.  Basically, she's a young adult (32 years old) that was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer.  She's fought it with dignity and honesty, and it looks like she's nearing the end of her battle.

*sigh*

Last week, Levi told me about someone he met whose 17 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer here in Phoenix.

Why?  There's no reason for any of this.  And yet, if I spend my time wondering why, I won't get anywhere.  So, I'll continue to fight on behalf of myself and the others who can no longer fight.

Stupid cancer.  Stupid, stupid cancer. 

NOVEMBER 11, 2010

Sensitivity to cold?

I"m almost two years out from my last chemo treatment.  I'm well past my 2-year mark on my last Oxalipalantin treatment.  And yet, I think I may still have latent issues from that drug.

Last night, my trainer and I worked out outdoors.  She's been waiting for this time, and now that I'm not actively training for the 5k, she's able to work hard-core on my legs (oh goody).  Lots of squats, lots of leg presses, etc.  Some of these are difficult at best to do while we are in a fairly crowded gym.  Trying to do lunges and squats while watching to make sure I don't get run over or run into a piece of equipment is difficult.  So, outside we went.

The past couple of workouts have been harder, and I think it's in part due to the fact that she's working legs - larger muscle group = higher level of difficulty.  Great - I need all the help I can get.  I haven't been eating as well as I should (quite honestly, I'm struggling with this because I just don't have the information I need, but that's another posting...), and we both agree that this isn't helping the fact that I get 10 minutes into a workout and start to flounder.  My body needs the fuel to do the hard work I'm asking of it, and (like a car) if there's no fuel, there's no go.

Yesterday, I ate lunch around 11:30, then had a snack (apple and cheese stick) around 1:30, then a protein shake around 3:30.  That should have been sufficient (I think) to fuel my body for yesterday's workout.  Nope - 10 minutes into this outdoors workout, I was struggling SO MUCH.  I had trouble breathing, was light-headed, and could barely make it through.  My trainer thought it was due to not eating.

I have another theory.  (Please don't laugh.)  I think that my body was reacting to the cool (cold to me) air I was breathing in.  Arizona has had a cold spell come through.  Remember that less than a week ago, we were dealing with record heat - 90s and above.  This week, we are topping out at 70 or 72, and that's with peak sunlight.  By the time we worked out last night, the air was probably 60 or 65.  While I understand that this might not be extreme for other folks, my lungs were in full revolt.  I think it was a combination of the hard workout (which really wasn't all that hard, in retrospect) and the cold air in my lungs.

Thoughts?

Part of this was confirmed for me this morning when I left the house with the kids.  I walked outdoors and took a breath, my lungs seized up and caught me off guard.  I felt like my chest constricted and it took a minute to get back to normal.  If a single breath can have that effect, what will a good workout do to me, when it's outdoors?

Am I making up excuses?  I hope not.  I really do think that the chemo I was on had a profound effect on my body's ability to handle cold.  Combine that with the fact that my blood has thinned out as a result of living in the desert, and I think those were a potent combination last night.  My entire body gets chilled very quickly now.  I mean, it's 70 degrees outside, and I'm in a tee shirt, sweatshirt, jeans, socks, shoes, and have the heat on.  This wasn't the case prior to chemo - remember, I lived most of my life in upstate NY, where we take pride in being able to weather the winter cold in February without a jacket.  We also lived in MN for four years, where I'm pretty sure icicles have to go inside to warm up in the winter.  I shouldn't be this sensitive to the cold weather.  And yet, I find myself counting the days until I know the heat comes back.

I'll be interested to see if any other survivors have had similar issues.  This is something that I'm very interested in - the Oxy drug is still fairly new, and while the doctors tend to blow off my suppositions about the side effects (especially this late in the game), I tend to think that maybe, I'm experiencing those small side effects that fall under "others as noted." 

Comments:

change-is-possible.net said...

Depending on what you had for lunch (and breakfast), it sounds like you probably ate enough before you trained. But if you had no breakfast and a super-light lunch, then you likely didn't eat enough.

You'll also lose a lot of training power if you're dehydrated. Even very slight dehydration causes pretty significant loss in performance.

Also, for me and exercise: if I am going to work out hard, I need a fairly significant warm-up. If I don't foam roll, active stretch, warm up for 10-15 minutes, I'm wiped pretty quickly. Also, for me, unless there's a really gradual build-up, I'm quick out of the gate, then I'm exhausted in 10 minutes and want to quit, then in another 5-10 minutes, I find my groove.

As far as the cold ... I am frozen at anything below 80 ;) which has nothing to do with chemo. I've always been on the cold side, and since I moved here, it's gotten worse because I've completely adapted to hot. So it might be chemo-related for you, but it might just be that you've adapted to the desert summer.

Hopefully there's something useful for you in there somewhere...

November 11, 2010 at 10:57 AM

 Whidbey Woman said...

No doubt, weather changes affect our health. It turned cold here at the beginning of the week and my asthma/allergies flared up.
From what I heard, 'fuel' for athletes is quite a science. Can't help you, there but I'm sure others will chime in.

November 12, 2010 at 10:09 PM

 Heather Paulson, ND, FABNO said...

Hey Michelle,

If you ever want to talk about specific nutrients for addressing the long term side effects of Oxaliplatin let me know. I would love to help get your body back on track...no charge of course!

December 20, 2010 at 11:13 AM

NOVEMBER 5, 2010

Two unrelated, important things....

Non-Cancer Related:
This blog posting has gone viral, and I can see why.  If you haven't seen it (and don't want to click on the link), it's a mom telling how her 5 year-old son dressed up like Daphne from Scooby-Doo for Halloween, and the reactions from some of the parents (not the kids, mind you - the PARENTS) at his preschool.  I love how this mom stands up for her child, and allows him to be himself, regardless of what others might think.  I love that she's taken the stand on this with other parents who want to judge a 5 year-old child based on his Halloween costume, and think that this is a Christian way of doing things (no offense meant to anyone).  While I can't claim to be religious, and won't ever claim to be knowledgeable in anything related to any holy book, I do know that religions preach acceptance and love and peace.  Hmmmm....seems like these moms (A, B, and C in the posting) forgot about that.

I have learned in the course of the past several years (well, probably the past couple of years, if I'm honest with myself) that judging people based on looks, presumptions, and preconceived notions don't make you a good, worthy, or decent person.  It makes you worse than the people you feel righteous enough to judge.  Example: When I was starting chemo, the doctors gave me an RX for a mouthwash that helped with the horrible mouth sores that tend to accompany chemo.  The only place locally that made this stuff is in a section of town that literally has rules on the age you must be to live in these retirement neighborhoods (you can't be under 55 to live here - and, no, I'm not kidding).  When I went to pick up the meds, I was exhausted, still recovering from my colon resection, port implant, and my first round of chemo.  Yes, I parked in the handicapped spot, with my blue tag hung in the right place.  And, boy - did I get an earful from several of the folks at the medical facility.  "Why did YOU park there?"  "You don't look like you need that space..."  And, "I should call the cops on you - you're using a stolen sticker."  Um, go ahead - here's my story.  (Insert angry rant here....) What's yours?!?!?  I didn't rant - I was too tired.  But, upon digesting this experience, I realized that I had been no different before this experience, prejudging others based only on what I could see.  It made the impact of my judgements really hit home, and I now strive to make sure that I don't judge folks using limited information.  I admit, this isn't as easy as I thought it would be, but I consider it a work in progress, and a lesson that I continue to hammer home with my children.

Cancer Related Article:

This article from MSNBC tells about a potential new test that could detect a large percentage of colon cancers (Stages I, II, and III as well as large pre-cancerous tumors/polyps) without use of a colonoscopy.  Imagine the potential lives that can be saved!  Unfortunately, in spite of the overal decrease in the number of colon cancer diagnoses in the past several years, there are still a large number of people dying from this disease, including younger folks who can't/won't get tested via colonoscopy due to stigma, insurance issues, etc.  Think of how much good this test could do if we were able to use a less invasive test to detect potential cancer or pre-cancer.  One of the many complaints I hear from minorities that I speak with about prevention is that, due to cultural reasons, they won't get their colonoscopies and won't talk about issues with their doctors, often until it's too late.  Could this change that mindset?  I might be overly optimistic, but I'm hopeful.

I'm so glad to see colon and rectal cancer getting so much press lately.  Perhaps this is the start of a movement to get the public to see colon cancer as a socially acceptable disease to talk about - so often, people back off when you refer to colon cancer.  I've seen a shift in the past couple of years - I'm hopeful that this will continue.  There is so much good coming down the line that I can't wait to share with you once I have official information - you are all going to be SO EXCITED about what's coming in the next 12 months.  There are amazing partnerships and the like on the way that can and will have a MAJOR impact on how colon cancer is viewed and treated.  I am prouder than proud to be involved with the folks at the forefront of these movements, and am so glad to be able to give what I can to help out.  It's not much, but if we can help a few people, then it makes it all worth it.

And, with that, I'm off.  Have a wonderful Friday, all!

NOVEMBER 2, 2010

Better than I thought....by 12 seconds....

MICHELLE HASTINGS #710

Age: 34 Gender: F

Distance	5K
Clock Time	42:08
Chip Time	41:25
Overall Place	16 / 45
Gender Place	203 / 31
Pace	13:20

POSTED BY MICHELLE AT 6:36 AM 

Comments:

Whidbey Woman said...

Way to go! I admire you for setting goals for yourself, training hard, and then surpassing them :)

November 3, 2010 at 7:57 PM

NOVEMBER 1, 2010

Stories like this are what keep me going....

If you know anyone who's under the age of 50, please read this article. This is downright TERRIFYING, and the fact that no one can pinpoint the reasoning behind it is even scarier.

This is why I continue to do what I do, and why I'll continue to fight.  This is me.  They are talking about me, Kim, Susan, and the MILLIONS of people like me that shouldn't have to fight this disease.  Age isn't as much of a factor as it used to be for colon and rectal cancer.  Getting the medical community to realize this is extremely important.  Getting the folks coming down with this to realize it is ESSENTIAL!

Articles like this make me so sad, and yet, so grateful for what I'm able to do.