I get reprieve from weekly chemo two weeks infusion 2 weeks pills. During the non hospital weeks I plan to be away for two weeks at a time checking in only on Monday’s for mail and administration. I just found a great list from landsend advertizements on packing for camp.
Yep, met the new aupair. Wonderful Midwestern drawl with a head on her shoulders. Let’s see how she will do this weekend with just Jane and I. I think will hit the zoo if the weather is good. Artis in Amsterdam is a old fashion zoo with plenty of animals, and not many habitats.
I’m confident this young women can do the job of aupair for the summer without threatening my other nanny. In fact the other nanny pushed a few hours on her so that the nanny could study for her final exam next Monday. Brilliant! Everyone is getting their 30 hours a week, and I am finally getting full coverage on the weekends instead of being exhausted trying to hold my own.
The decision to go to Zwolle and take summer aupair with us has some challenges. We will need to open up the house and set those two in motion at the park near by and I will get to cracking on how to pack up a house so that it can be sold. First personal things need to be removed, pictures, paintings, and lifelong momentos of an 83 year old woman.
Other news is that we have a 10 percent chance of moving ourselves. We will know in November if we need to move by next spring. So no wonder I can’t sleep. We might as well combine the two homes together and look for something with a first floor living arrangement, or a lift. This might be needed later as my body gives out on me. The house we have now has sentimental value but is not practical if I can’t get up and down the steps. Therefore I am actually looking forward to a move. I welcome packing up once and not unpacking until everything is settled. That is the tricky part.
I had chemo last Wednesday and now on Monday again. Why? Doc switched me because of schedule conflicts. I said okay before realizing that my recovery time is only 5 days instead of the usual 7. I’m a bit nervous that I am taxing my body too much, but I honestly feel pretty good and after all the wedding grind I feel I can accept more challenges now. I feel good, even if my Doc says my blood is still “out of order”.
I am so grateful for friends that are helping me out this week. Because of the new time schedule on Monday I can’t be two places at one time. I Don’t Dare travel alone tomorrow as originally planned. I have a hero of a friend who is going to wait an afternoon in my beach house and wait for a delivery. I am truly a blessed human being. This positive news makes it that much easier to face chemotherapy today.
The joy of my brother’s wedding lingers on…
That was the comment I got from my limo driver in America. Everyone asks me about my neck brace hoping to hear a happy ending. I said I have got cancer and it is inoperable in my neck bones therefore I wear a exoskeleton brace. He jumps right in and says he was a chain smoker who quit and 2 year later they found Cancer in his voice box and has been a survivor for 5 years.
I wonder if I am jealous. Not only of him but of others who have beat this dreaded disease. Am I so self centered that I wish for it to just go away some days? Or have the glory to say, yes I beat it!
Instead I get to watch every 3 months on a scan that cancer is slowly but surely eating away at me. One nibble at a time. I am grateful that the cancer is progressing slowly and I have much capability considering I have stage 4 cancer and there is no stage 5, unless you call death stage 5.
Or am I jealous because I would love to be the person that goes on those survivor walks, and raise money for the cause and to think about it as a bad dream in the distant past and to help others to get through this breast cancer. I want to say I am free of it! My reality slaps me in the face and i say that day will never come. “Don’t look back you can never look back” Don Henley- summer of 69
Cancer is like that petal that is about to drop. You have to live in these moments, because they are gone in an instant. I just changed the header to reflect the love of my brother’s wedding. It might not stay on the site long, but it is constant reminder to me to live in the instance. Live for the single moment that does not cost money or produce a result. It just is a moment in time that needs to be cherished like music and laughter.
Mommy do you have physio today? as she wakes from her groggy sleep. I say yes I do. We get into our normal Monday routine of getting new clothes on and discussing what we will have for breakfast bread or cereal. She sighs and says pasta. Pasta? okay. What is the difference it is biological 4 grain pasta and has just as much nutrients as bread or cereal right? Daddy comes out of the shower to see his girls cooking, and having a bit of a chat in the kitchen. He just shakes his head and moves on to get dressed, because he knows that the day is getting away on him and he has already missed probably an important phone call on his cell phone.
The problem with having a routine and chemo is sometimes you get chemo brain and forget to make the physical therapy appointment on the day you always have it and you have made a switch last week. But on chemo you don’t remember and you are often more forgetful. This was the case today. I went for the first time in months by bike to physical therapy, and quite proud of the achievement when I finally sat down in a nice leather chair in the waiting area. Only to find out the my appointment is for Thursday not the longstanding Monday. What a blunder! I tell her no biggie and return to my bike sheepishly. I guess that I should have looked at the calendar when my baby asked do you have physio. I must assume nothing and check everything while chemo brain is in full force.
My lunch date with a parlimentarian’s wife is going to be late. She is “between meetings” at her consultant group. All power to her, I say.
My help is notoriously late and today is no exception. My daughter needs to be picked up at play school. I will wait to get a phone call before I get myself over to the playground. As a cancer patient you have to avoid children and crowds to prevent colds flu and infection. I am not saying live your life in a bubble, but make sure you take active steps to preventive steps to avoidable situations.
I have a scratch on my hand around my knuckle that I could have avoided had I just warn gloves. Gloves, hats scarves, baseball caps, all theses things are a part of a chemo patients every day apparel. I don’t go out with out a hat on my head, gloves on and sunglasses permanently in my jacket pocket.
A mushroom widely used in oriental medicine may help fight breast cancer by slowing the growth of tumors and starving them of blood, a study has shown.
Extracts of the fungus, Phellinus linteus, have been used for centuries by Eastern healers, who believe it has the power to rejuvenate and extend life.
Recent research has indicated the mushroom can hold back the growth of skin, lung and prostate cancer cells.
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It is also believed to increase the number of prostate cancer cells killed by the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin.
Working with breast cancer cells, scientists at Indianapolis’ Methodist Research Institute found evidence that the mushroom blocks the activity of an enzyme called AKT.
The enzyme, a biological catalyst, is known to control signals that lead to cell growth and the development of new blood vessels feeding tumors.
Cancers need a good blood supply to survive, and send out chemical messages which promote the construction of new blood vessels; scientists are actively looking at ways to block this process.
We saw a number of positive results from our investigation on aggressive human breast cancer cells,” said Dr. Daniel Sliva, who led the research.
“Those included a lower rate of uncontrolled growth of new cancer cells, suppression of their aggressive behavior and the formation of fewer blood vessels that feed cancer cells essential nutrients.
“We’re not yet able to apply this knowledge to modern medicine, but we’re excited that we can begin to explain how this ancient medicine works by acting on specific molecules.
“We hope our study will encourage more researchers to explore the use of medicinal mushrooms for the treatment of cancer.”
However, Dr. Lesley Walker of Cancer Research in the United Kingdom gave a note of caution.
“Although natural products have been used to develop many important drugs, there is no guarantee that they are all safe or will be effective in the clinic,” she said.
“The results from this study are interesting, but it’s certainly too early to advise people to stock up on mushrooms. Further research will be needed before we will know if mushroom extracts can be used to treat cancer patients.”
I saw this artist Nikki perform for a bunch of kids in a studio on Dutch television and thought it was a catchy tune. Now I start this blog with an intro from wordpress which everyone gets, but this time it has much more meaning because hello world use to be a programmers first worlds to a program. Now it is a new blog similar in nature to the program, I have fallen down and just like the lyrics to Nikki , I get back up and keep on trying.
cancervisa