MAY 15, 2009

Ginger before chemo helps prevent nausea?

Here is a really interesting article on msnbc.com about the results of a study trying to determine if taking ginger herbal supplements prior to chemo helps lessen the feelings of nausea. Apparently, it works. I know when I was so sick, the ginger helped a bit - wish I had known this, because I would have absolutely tried it. When you are that sick, you will try just about anything.

As always, make sure you check with your doctor prior to taking any meds or supplements, as they may interfere or inhibit your treatment.

Comments:

Tina said...

Interesting! I might have to try it. I know gingerale didn't seem to do a thing on my worst day, but I haven't tried it with the mild nausea I have most of the time.
Thanks for posting the article!
Tina

May 15, 2009 at 8:56 AM

 Carol Urban said...

The Arnold Palmer Cancer Center where I go has containers of peppermints, lemon drops and ginger candies on tables all around the waiting area.

I used to pick up a couple extra lemon drops and put them in my purse for later on that day, if I was getting treatment.

They really did help settle my stomach.

May 15, 2009 at 2:39 PM

Later:

Feeling better today...

I have been sick all week. Just feeling yucky, kind of like I was fighting allergies. Until Wednesday night, when I started to feel bad enough to take something more than just Advil. I felt like I had been hit by a truck! Thursday morning, I was okay, not great, but not enough to stay home from work. Until about 9am. Then, I thought I was going to be sick at my desk. I got all feverish (you know that feeling where you feel simultaneously hot and cold?), sick to my stomach, headache to beat all, etc. Then, I was hungry. Ravished, in spite of having just eaten. So, out came my chips from my lunch (yes, at 9am...). And, after those, I felt better. Hmmm....

It's been a tough week. As you saw on an earlier post, I am worried about Kim. Hoping to see her tomorrow or Sunday at the hospital, but I'm sure she will be pretty drugged up, so we'll have to see. My friend Betty is out of the hospital and into a rehab facility, so that's good news. I was so worried about them both. While Kim hasn't had great news to report (the stuff in her lungs is definitely cancer, and they start chemo on Monday), it's good to have a gameplan and know the beast we are fighting. On top of all of that, I realized that, after this week, I'll be back by myself for the next month or so. Levi, Mom and Dad will all be back in NY, and it's going to be the kids and me. I am looking forward to the time with them, but I am also worried about making sure that I have time for myself, too. I have a couple of ideas that will help ensure that I make time for myself - thinking of getting my nails put back on. It's a small girl-y thing that I can do for myself that will make me commit to taking time out of every three weeks for just me. It's a little pricey ($25 a pop), but I think my sanity is worth it. Plus, I like the way they look!

And, I think I have committed to getting my tattoo on my birthday weekend. It's something I have been thinking about A LOT lately, and while I wish Levi could be here with me to get it, I want to have it done before I go back to NY in August. So, I have a friend who has had some gorgeous art done, and she recommended a wonderful artist. She is going to go with me, and since the pricing isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be (it's going to be around $100-$200), I think I am going to take the plunge.

On a latent side effect note, I have had tinglings of the neuropathy pop back up lately, which I'm not impressed about. It's been mainly isolated to my feet, but I definitely notice it when my feet are cold. I actually had to turn up the AC in the house b/c it's been so cold (if you can call 75 cold) in the mornings when I wake up. My feet get all tingly, I start shivering.....I definitely notice that I'm much more sensitive to the cold temps now that I'm done with chemo.

I have been doing a lot of thinking over the past week, pushed by so many different things. You hear the stories about Farrah Fawcett, and while I lament her struggle and her impending death, I am so proud that she is choosing to tell her story and to bring light to this disease. While hers is anal cancer, the fact that a major broadcast company is airing information about a cancer from that part of the body is amazing. Between Farrah's story and Katie Couric's work, I think we are at the start of making cancer of the butt as popular as cancer of the boobs. :-)

Onto my volunteer/advocacy work - I haven't been super active with that over the past couple of week because of everything else going on. I am looking forward to doing more in the next month or so - we have a CCA conference call on Monday, and I know that there will be LOTS of action items from that call. Also, I have been in contact with i[2]y to talk about getting a Happy Hour set up in the Phoenix area. Anyone interested in helping me get it set up?

I think that's about it. Next week will be busy, what with Mom and Dad heading back north and with it being Julia's last week of first grade (!!!). Can you believe she's going to be a second grader? Yikes....

Of course, next week also marks my one-year cancerversary. I am kind of trying to not think about it, and what it means. I feel like it's going to be emotional (as I've said before) and I just don't know that the people around me can completely understand why I am, well, dwelling on the negative. I understand the positive, and I am so grateful for what I've had come into my life as a result of the cancer. But, there's anger there that I don't think I've given credit yet, and I'm worried that this might manifest itself this week. I'm hoping I can harness that energy into something more positive. Here's hoping.

Comments:

Whidbey Woman said...

Neuropathy- This has been problematic for my husband,too. He has found little relief. At times his feet are so bad it hurts to walk. For his hands, he wears fleece gloves but sometimes that hurts his fingers. Fleece mittens would be better but hard to find this time of year. When it is really bad, he can't even bear to touch silverware. So he uses plastic ones. That helps.
Farrah- I just wrote a post yesterday. I am looking forward to her documentary tonight. You are right... there are other forms of cancers than Breast Cancer. It is indeed nice to see more coverage out there. I enjoy your blog. Hope you and your visitors will check it out http://ronsroad2recovery.blogspot.com/

May 15, 2009 at 5:28 PM

 Tina said...

Hope you are feeling better soon! Sounds like stress might be a part of it :-)
I'm glad you are going to take time for yourself--you deserve it! And relax and laugh with your children--best medicine ever!
Thinking of you!
Tina

May 16, 2009 at 7:20 PM

 Kairol Rosenthal said...

Thanks for commenting on my FB page about your blog. I'm loving reading it. Especially this last post. I'm all about the power of realistic thinking, which means that sometimes we are going to feel positive and sometimes we are going to be sideswiped by the hard crap that is cancer - like anger rearing its ugly head around a cancerversary. Makes sense to me. Ride the waves darling.

If you are interested, add my blog to your blog roll: Everything Changes http://everythingchangesbook.com/

Stay in touch,

Kairol

May 17, 2009 at 7:34 PM

MAY 12, 2009

Please pray for Kim

Some of you have seen the blogs I added to the main page. Please check out Kim's blog, and pray for her. She is battling stage four colon cancer (she's 29...), and has had a pretty bad week thus far. I spent almost two hours tonight with her, and it was wonderful. She's an amazing person, and someone that (in, really, five days of friendship) I consider a close friend. We have amazing similarities in our lives, and I am just hoping that she can kick this thing in the ass.

*sigh* This just frustrates me, and pisses me off. It makes what I am fighting for everyday that much more important, and fuels my fight. It hurts my soul, though. I have another friend, Betty, that is also in the hospital, battling her own demons related to this disease. I tried to call Betty today, got her husband, and it wasn't a good time. Things were clearly not going well when I called. I am hoping to get a hold of someone tomorrow. Betty's been in the hospital for a long while (almost a month now?), and has taken a turn for the worse. Not good news.

My spirit is pained today. I worry about them, and I think about what I have. I thank God everyday that I have been given the chance to fight my battle, win, and fight back. I need to do something more with what I have been given - with this second chance at life.

Things like this make me re-evaluate my long-term goals. They make me re-evaluate what I want to do. Makes me think. I need to do something more. I need to have more of an effect on the world. I need to do something more tangible with this.

And, in a perfect world, someone would pay me to advocate for this, and allow me to do what I truly want to do in life - make a difference.

Comments:

Amanda: said...

Hang in there, sweetie. Many prayers going up for your friend.

As for geocaching - it's like a treasure hunt for grown-ups. The website is: http://www.geocaching.com/

All you need is a GPS. People hide geocaches, list the coordinates of where they're located, you plug them into your handheld GPS and go find them :)

May 13, 2009 at 7:48 AM

 Nancy said...

okay sweetie....I am getting those prayers out and will add both of these special ladies to our church prayer list tonight....God will do what he knows is best and you keep believing that.I pray every day for your strength to continue and you follow your calling Michelle.Please keep me up with the progress of both of these ladies.Bless you sweetie...Lord watch over these special ladies and hold them close to you..wrap you loving arms around them.....all my love

May 13, 2009 at 7:56 AM

 Tina said...

I am praying for Kim...so young! TOO young! ARGH! It is frustrating.
Michelle you already are doing SOOO much! You've been such a blessing to me, Kim, and many others. I feel better knowing that you are visiting Kim, that she has you there helping her fight!
Do ever doubt the impact you have on people's lives!
God bless you!
Tina

May 13, 2009 at 12:15 PM

 Carol Urban said...

I read Kim's post yesterday and just sat there and cried. Phil was working from home and asked me what was wrong so I told him.

I feel devastated when I can't DO something to help someone. I worry so much about you girls; my other survivor buddies. I pray for each of you every day. In fact, a couple times a day.

May 13, 2009 at 12:30 PM

MAY 10, 2009

Blog Updates

I have added some blogs to the list on my top page. Please check them out. They are really very powerful, and have wonderful stories to boot. If you have a blog that needs to be added (or you want me to remove yours), shoot me a comment.

Most of these people are cancer survivors. Some are still battling their cancer - others have beaten the beast. Every single one of them deserves recognition for their accomplishment, and every single one of them are people that I consider friends, even if we've never met in person. The beauty of this blogging thing is that I have the capability of reaching SO many people without necessarily trying to.

Comments:

Carol Urban said...

You are very sweet and kind to list my blog. My mom wanted me to journal my experience while going through cancer treatment. I was just too exhausted to do it. Now I do the blog as a journal for me.

I forget so much of what has occurred. I don't know if this is a permanent side effect from chemo or anesthesia.

Yesterday, Mother's Day, Phil and I stopped for ice cream. It actually blistered a section of my lip. That has never happened before and I immediately thought it was still a side effect from the Oxaliplatin. How I hated those side effects!

May 11, 2009 at 7:09 PM

Later:

Happy Mother's Day!

Wow - how is it Mother's Day already? It seems like we just celebrated the New Year, and here we are already at the middle of May. Before I know it, we'll be back at Christmas. Where in the world does the time go?

It's unbelievable to me, as I get closer and closer to my cancer-versary, that it's been almost a year since that fateful day. I thank God everyday for my kids, and for the blessings of my life. I am so grateful for my mother, who dropped everything to fly out to Phoenix to be with me during what was undoubtedly the hardest thing I have ever gone through. Without her (and my Dad), we wouldn't have made it through this, and there aren't words to describe how grateful I am to have them in my life.

I got an email from a blogger friend, Dennis, who posted a comment that I made to him on his blog. Here is the link to his blog and post. I go back and read it, and it makes me grateful that I have people like Dennis to keep me grounded and remind me of WHY I have gone through this. I posted earlier about some of the blogs that I have been following, and they are all amazing people.

One of them, Kim, is someone I met at the Undy 5000 last November, and got back in touch with her recently. She's a stage 4 colon cancer survivor, and was (I think) 29 when she was diagnosed. WAY too young. She's a fighter, and has already beaten the odds she was given at the time of diagnosis. We spent several hours at dinner the other night, talking about our experiences, comparing stories, marvelling at similarities, and just making such a wonderful connection. She is an inspiration to me, and I can only pray that her surgery this week goes well, that her doctors have steady hands, and that her body recovers swiftly and completely. I can't wait to see her at events in the future, telling people her story and making a difference in the world. It's going to be a beautiful thing.

So, on this Mother's Day, circa 2009, I wish all of the mothers a happy and healthy day. Take the time to think of your kids and their father - whatever your relationship with him, you made beautiful gifts together. I know my kids are my reason for living. Without them, there wouldn't be as much fight in me. I am grateful for my own mom. I am grateful for all of the moms in my life who took such wonderous care of me from both nearby and far. There aren't many ways to repay those gestures.

Comments:

Jill said...

Happy Mother's day to you too!
I am so happy to hear that you and Kim got together. You are both very special women and I am so happy that I have had the chance to meet you both.

Have a blessed day :)

May 10, 2009 at 4:26 PM

Later:

13 days 'til it's been one year

Somehow, almost a year has passed since I was diagnosed. I am really struggling with this date, and not just because it coincides with my mom's birthday. I think it's because it's making me think about where I was a year ago. What was going on in my body that I didn't know about. Makes me ask, what's going on in my body NOW that I don't know about.

More than that, it makes me think about how I am going to handle this date. I am going to be here in AZ, my parents, brothers, and husband all in another state (country, for Jim), and I don't know how I am going to handle the emotions that will inevitably run through me on this day. I need to celebrate the anniversary - certainly, I have so much to be grateful for. The diagnosis led to my life being extended far beyond where it was headed, and words don't exist to express how that feels.

And yet, I feel like it's a sad day too. It's a day that has literally shaped my life. It's a day that has changed who I am forever. I am still the same person I was before the cancer - I just have this additional major element added to me. I suppose it's a bit like becoming a mother for the first time. You are this individual with a life, with like and dislikes and wants and needs and emotions. And, this change comes into your life (with or without forewarning) that fundamentally and dynamically alters your perspective on everything. With a kid, you life goes from being about you to revolving around diapers and bottles, spit-up and poop. With cancer, sometimes it's the same things [ :-)] but most times, your life focuses so much on you, your doctor's appointments, surgeries, chemo, medicines, prescriptions, food, sleep, etc. that you still, in the same fashion, lose track of who you were before this event.

So, while I will definitely celebrate the day (and do what I can to focus on living rather than the alternative), I know that I will be on a roller-coaster of emotions. I know that I am going to be thinking of the past 12 months, of what I have been through, and trying to imagine the next 12 months. I have a PET scan and a colonoscopy in July - how will those turn out? Is this just the first battle in a war, or have I indeed beaten the enemy?

I don't know how I am really going to deal with everything over the next two weeks. I think it's going to be up and down. I think I am going to have days where it's all good, and I can see the light ahead, see the reason for my disease, and honor the journey I have taken. However, I know there are going to be the times when I mourn what I lost, when I question my body's strength, when I ask myself WHY.

I.......

Comments:

Nancy said...

You have shown so much strength for one person to have...I truly believe you will handle anything and that all your test will show how God has given you the new life you now have and will continue to have.I do wish I were closer so I could be there for you more.Michelle,you have soooo much courage and love and push that you will get through anything.I have had the honor to watch you grow through this and watch others that wasn't able to make it...God will guide you always.I love you sweetie

May 11, 2009 at 5:34 AM

 Carol Urban said...

I can't remember feeling anything but thankfulness for still being alive on the 1st anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. My next PET scan is July 13 followed by a visit to the surgical oncologist on July 22 (day after my 47th birthday, woo hoo!). September 5 will mark the 2nd anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. I am grateful to God for allowing me to continue living. I am grateful that he allowed me to find you. HUGS!! You are an inspiration to me.

May 11, 2009 at 7:05 PM

MAY 6, 2009

Cancer Myths

This is a request for both my cancer and non-cancer blog readers. What are the myths that you have/had about cancer? I am going to be taking part in an educational seminar at The Wellness Community about how faith-based communities can assist cancer patients and their caregivers through the cancer journey, and the organizer is starting the seminar out by showing how myths about cancer aren't always true. I started thinking about this, and wondered - what are some of the myths that you have heard about cancer.

Of course, one of my biggies is that cancer doesn't happen to young adults. (Sigh - of course, it does.) Some others:

• Cancer is a death sentence.
• Cancer patients all look sickly - bald, grey, ghastly, like death-warmed-over.
• Chemo means you will go bald.
• You can't have a normal life while/after your cancer treatment.

Are there others that you have dealt with? Please let me know. I would love to send this off to Jamie, to give him some real-people insight into what myths we can bust at this event.

Comments:

Carol Urban said...

This didn't happen to me but my SIL is a 17 year colon cancer survivor and she said people she knew/friends stopped calling after she was diagnosed. They must have thought cancer was contagious!

May 6, 2009 at 3:33 PM

 Nancy said...

I was always in the idea that if my family member was to have cancer than it was most likely that other family members were to have it also.

May 8, 2009 at 3:21 PM

MAY 1, 2009

Tastes

I noticed recently that my tastes have changed. When I was in the chemo teach, they told me not to eat my favorite foods during chemo because they wouldn't taste the same during or after chemo. Well, I am here to tell you that this happened to me. Will it happen to you? Who knows. However, I can tell you that the things I used to crave the most (like Chipotle chicken fajita bowl - anyone who knew me while I was pregnant with my son knows I used to eat these 2-3 times a week) don't taste as good as they once did. While I would say this isn't a bad thing, the frustrating thing that I am finding is that I am a pretty "inside the box" kind of person when it comes to food - I know what I like, and I order it all the time because I don't have to worry about whether I will care for it. And, this system used to work.

Not so much any longer. Now - well, let's just say that I can anticipate something because I THINK it's going to taste delicious - get it to my mouth, and my taste buds are like, what the hell is this?!?! Kind of a letdown, to be honest.

So, on top of trying to re-learn how to live, I now have to re-learn what I like to eat. And, for someone who doesn't like to venture far from the set menu, this isn't an easy thing.

Any suggestions?

Comments:

Tina said...

I've had people tell me the same thing about not eating favorite foods now, and I really wondered if it was true. I figured it would all come back after awhile. Now I know its true--it might not come back! *sigh*
Well, tonight I'm going to get a hot fudge sundae-and it better taste good! :-)

May 1, 2009 at 4:44 PM

 Kim Miller said...

Lol...I can't help but laugh right now. My dear friend told me that same thing about my favorite food. I used to LOVE McDonals. It was my comfort food. I ate it almost every time after chemo. There was a McDonalds on our way home from Mayo. I can not even go thru the drive thru anymore. The thought makes me sick. I was told it would happen and although it was my comfort food, it's not a bad food to give up. lol I wasn't able to handle Mexican food while on chemo cause it had spices. Now, just like before, I love Mexican food.
On a more serious note....I would love to meet up with you before my surgery. I'm a bit nervous. I don't have anyone around that has gone through this surgery and is still here with me. I need some words of encouragement, what to pack for my week stay at the hospital, etc. Can you help me? My home email is kmiller59@cox.net I get it to my blackberry so I always get my emails. Thanks for the comments on my blog.

Your survivor friend,

Kim

May 3, 2009 at 12:03 PM

 Carol Urban said...

Kim, are you a colon cancer survivor?

My sister in law (17 years of survivorship) says you start counting as soon as you're diagnosed. That will make this coming September 2009 two years for me.

May 4, 2009 at 9:41 AM