I know it has b…

I know it has been awhile since I have been here.  Please forgive me, but there has not been much to report.  I am still doing my chemotherapy treatments and they are going quite well, although my hands and feet are still very sore.  I hope to be finished on April 20, unless my Oncologist changes his mind, which he has been known to do.   

Our team is very busy right now with our fundraising for the 2012 Relay for Life.  We have a really big goal this year, so we have to work harder than ever.  We are making good progress and had a very profitable weekend.

On March 5, 2012, we had a very hard task.  We had to say good-bye to one of our teammates who lost her 2 year battle with colin cancer.  She was an inspiration to all who knew her and she put up a very brave fight.  We are going to miss her so much.

It is so hard to see friends and family losing their battle with this disease.  That is why we work so hard to raise money for the Relay for Life, because we want to feel that we are doing something too help.  If anyone would like to make a donation to myself or to our team, please leave me a message and we can make arrangements or you can go to the Greater Moncton Relay for Life at cancer.ca, go to the Breast Friends page and make a donation.  Whichever works is fine with me.  I appreciate any help we can get in meeting our goal.

I will be back on April 20, to let you know if I am really done my treatments.

Have a great day everyone and remember smiles are free, give away as many as you want.

ITS BEEN AWHILE – SORRY

Well, Christmas has come and gone and here we are in a new year, 2012. What will this year bring to all of us. It is my wish for Health, Happiness, Peace and Joy and abundance for everyone.
Things are very much the same with me. I had thought I would be finished my chemo in December, however, I guess we are going to keep at it for awhile yet. I believe April or May should see the end of it for now. I am doing ok. Still have issues with my hands and feet, but that is the worst of it. I see the doctor every three weeks, following each cycle of chemo. So far, everything seems to be going well.

We are getting very busy with our Relay for Life fundraising projects right now. Thank goodness for a great team who is willing to take over many of the things that I would normally do. Thats what it is to work as a team and we have one of the best.

Upcoming events that you might be interested in are as follows: Not all dates comfirmed as yet, I will keep you posted.

March 17 we are hosting a St. Patricks Day Dance. This should be lots of fun. Place and DJ not confirmed as yet, but will be soon, so mark your calendar for a great evening of Irish Fun.

April 14 (tentative) we will be holding our annual Bean, Ham and Scallop supper and Auction. This is always lots of fun and is the biggest event we have each year. I hope many will be able to come out and support our team at this event.

We just completed a great fundraiser. We sold tickets on what we called “Two Can Dine out Once a Month for a Year. Twelve restaurants in the Moncton area donated a meal for two, including dessert and beverage and from the ticket sales we realized a grand total of $2,185.00 for our team. Yeah!!

The Relay this year is on June 8, 2012 and I will post details of this great event as they are known. We expect some wonderful changes this year that I am sure everyone who attends will enjoy. You do not need to be a participant to come out and support the teams who have been working hard to raise money for the cause of finding a cure for this dreaded disease called Cancer.

I will be back with updates, much sooner, now that the Holidays are over and things are back to normal. God Bless you all and remember, Cancer is a word, not a Sentence and it can and will be beaten.

STILL HAVING TREATMENTS

Well it has been a little while since I have updated my blog, so here goes.

I am still having treatments; but am feeling pretty good most of the time.  My hands and feet are a little bit better.  Not sure how much longer the treatments will be.

It has been a busy time for our Relay Team since I have been here.  We have been busy selling pocket planners, pens and bookmarks.  Now we are getting ready to begin selling tickets on a Restaurant package; “Two can Dine Out Once a Month for a year”.  I think this will be a good fundraiser, as everyone likes to eat out.

Last week, I gave my testimonial at the Relay for Life Leadership Summit.  It was a great day and I believe it went quite well.  I received a lot of wonderful comments.  Then I attended the Survivor Reception, which was great, and made even better, as I was able to share it with my friend Carolyn, who is undergoing cancer treatments at the present time, as well.

This past week, Mike and I, spent at our camp and just got home today after closing it up for the winter. Sad but necessary.  It was a great week of rest and relaxation.

I will be seeing my doctor the middle of next week so I will post after that.  Until then remember,  He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Well, got the ok yesterday from my oncologist to start my treatments again. My hands and feet have recovered enough that he feels that we can restart at a decreased dosage. Hopefully my hands and feet will not react as they did before.

Last saturday I was priviledged to take part in there “World’s Largest Bra Event.” It was a fun and inspirational time all the while, raising awareness to Breast Cancer.
I believe that events such as these allow people to see the need to find a cure for all types of cancer. I think it is our obligation to do whatever we are able to do to reach this end. Cancer affects the lives of almost everyone, in some way and if we all work together, I really believe that the day is coming when cancer will only be found in history books.

After the event on saturday, I attended a meeting to plan for our family reunion to take place in July of 2012. It will be a weekend long time of fun, visiting, food and getting reaquainted with family members that we have not seen for some time. I can hardly wait.

I guess that was about all I did in this last week. Tonight I will be attending my oldest granddaughters birthday party. I cannot believe that she is 9 years old already. Where has the time gone.

I will be back soon to let you all know how the treatments are going. Until then, have a great time, enjoy life and pass a smile along to someone who needs one.

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

ANOTHER WEEK WITHOUT TREATMENT

I had my doctors appointment yesterday and, as expected, he has postponed my treatment for another week, due to the condition of my hands. My feet are somewhat better, but not so, the hands. They are now at the peeling stage and quite uncomfortable. But enough of that. I had a great few days at our camp last week. We went up on Wednesday evening and came home on Monday. I got out to the woods a few times. Saw a couple of partridge, but no luck with bringing them home. Did see a cute little rabbit that I chatted with. He knew he was in no danger, so kept right on eating his apple.
The weather was great and even though I couldn`t walk very far, I still enjoyed it very much.
On Sunday our whole family was at the camp for Thanksgiving Supper. We have so much to be thankful for. Everyone pitched in and helped with the meal, cleanup etc. Then after supper, we went for a wagon ride. All 15 of us. It was just like old times. This is what we used to do when our kids were young, now we are doing it with the next generation. So much fun.

Well, I will be seeing my dr. again next week and hopefully will be able to resume my treatments. At the rate I am going, I will never be done. I will post again next week when I get the results of my dr. visit.

Thought for the day: People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.

Have a great week everyone. I intend to.

ANOTHER SURPRISE FROM THE DOCTOR

Well, here I am again.  It has been three weeks and some of the things that have happened during that time were very exciting.

Our Relay for Life Team “Breast Friends” hosted a Gospel Concert on Sept 24 and it was a great success.  Not only did we raise over $650.00 but we also gained two team members.  Two people who attended the concert expressed an interest in becoming a part of our team, and we are most pleased to have them.  That puts our number up to 14 so we only have room for one more.  We dedicated our concert to a long time friend who lost her battle with cancer on Sept 12.  I was originally diagnosed with cancer on August 15, 1991 and she was diagnosed on August 23, 1991.  She was a wonderful lady who gave her all to fighting this battle.  She will be greatly missed.  This is just one of the reasons that we Relay.  Too many people are losing their cancer battle and it is our desire to do our part in raising money to help fund a cure.

Yesterday I had my regular dr. appointment and due to the fact that my hands and feet are extremely sore (a side effect of the chemo) and the skin is falling off my feet and my hands are beginning to peel, my doctor decided to delay my next treatment for a week to see if that would help.   I will see him again next week and he will then decide if I am ready to begin treatment again.  He has also told me that he wants me to do as little as possible with my hands and feet for the next week.(That is much harder than you may think.)  It is nice to have the time off to try to recouperate a little bit, but I really would like to get these treatments over so I can return to some semblance of normal life.  When my treatments continue, it will be at a decreased dosage, so that hopefully my hands and feet will recover, somewhat.

I hope everyone is looking forward to the upcoming long weekend.  We plan to spend it at our camp, hopefully going up on wednesday evening and coming home on Monday.  We are having our entire immediate family on Sunday for Thanksgiving supper and I am so looking forward to it. They are all pitching in to help with the meal as I won’t be able to do as much as usual.  They are so great.  Mike will cook the turkey and ham and the main veggies.  I know it will be delicious.

I guess that is about all I have to say for now.  I will be back again after I see the doctor next week.

Remember, the most important thing with any illness, is to never lose hope.

Have a great week, everyone.

 

 

NOT EXACTLY THE NEWS I HOPED FOR

Here I am, back again.  It has been about three weeks, I think, since I posted.  Yesterday, I had my regularly scheduled appointment with my oncologist.  I was expecting him to tell me that my treatments were over and needless to say, I was a bit excited.  However, that is not what he told me.  Actually he told me that he was going to continue my treatments for another 12 weeks.  At first it felt like he had punched me in the stomach; however, after I had time to think about it, I realized, that he is the doctor here, not me, and he knows what is best for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not happy about it, but if it gets rid of the cancer, then it will all be worth it.  I will begin again on wednesday, with 14 days on and 7 days off and will do this for 4 more cycles.  This should get me finished (if all goes well) before Christmas.

I have had some ups and downs with this treatment, but all in all, it has not been too bad.  The thing that bothers me the most, right now, is my hands and feet.  They are quite sore and especially my hands give me quite a bit of difficulty doing normal everyday things.  However, this is a small price to pay if in 12 weeks time, my doctor tells me I am once again in remission.

I have had some nice times over the last couple of weeks.  We attended a 60th anniversary party for my aunt and uncle, a 50th anniversary party for my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, and a nice family get together as well.  One of my favorite things is getting together with family and friends.  Last evening I went to a movie with my sister-in-law and tonight we are going to a hockey game in which our great nephew is playing.  On saturday, we will be spending the day at the Albert County Fair, as our daughter and granddaughter will be taking part.  On September 24, our Relay for Life team will be hosting a Gospel Concert as a fundraiser, our first one for the 2012 Relay.  So, as you can see, I am trying to keep my life as normal as possible, even throughout these treatments.  The support and encouragement of my family and friends is the real reason, I think, that this is possible; that, and the fact that everytime I go in to the oncology  center, I always see people who are having it much more difficult than me.

I am going to go now and will probably not update again for about three weeks, unless of course, something really important happens. 

Some days there won’t be a song in your heart.  Sing anyway.  ~Emory
Austin

 

BREAST FRIENDS UPCOMING FUNDRAISER

Breast Friends is having their first fundraiser for the 2012 Relay for Life.  It is a Gospel Concert, which will be held at the Lower Coverdale Baptist Church on September 24 ,2011 at 7:00 p.m.  A freewill offering will be taken and refreshments will be served.  The performers are FOR THE CROSS, DAYBREAK AND HEATHER ALLISON.  I hope that many people will be able to come out and enjoy a great evening of music all the while supporting a great cause.

A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

Today I had my scheduled appointment with Dr. Rubin, however, he was not there today as he is having some health issues of his own.  I saw his nurse, who in turn, called him at home and he prescribed another 2 weeks of my oral chemo meds.  That, of course, was not my wonderful experience.    I also had my port flushed; but that is not it either.  l0l

As I was sitting in the waiting room, a man wheeled a lady up in a wheelchair.  I assumed the lady was his wife and that the young woman with them was their daughter.  The lady in the wheelchair looked about as forlorn as anyone I had ever seen.  They were there the entire time I was in the waiting room, the treatment room having my port flushed and my chat with the nurse.  As most of us know, the waiting is the worst.

As I was leaving, the gentleman stopped me and asked if I was having treatments.  I told him I was and he said his wife had been diagnosed and was there for her first appointment with the oncologist to find out about her treatments, etc.  He said she was scared to death, which was obvious, by her demeanor.  Then, his next statement almost blew me away.  He said, “we saw you sitting in the waiting room and we knew right away you were someone special.”  He said he told his wife that they needed to talk to me.  I felt so humbled by their words, but told them how pleased I was that they stopped me.  I talked to her and tried to encourage her, as best I could, and I could see a visible improvement in how she looked.  When I left, as she got her call to go in to see the doctor, she hugged me and thanked me and her husband told me I should be a counsellor.  Once again, I felt very humble.  I left there, with the biggest smile on my face and people probably thought I had got some really good news.  That wasn’t it though, I was smiling because I felt that I had made someone’s day just a little better.

If each one of us could do something every day to make someones day a little better; what a wonderful world it would be.

I am going to sign off now, but I will be back soon.  Remember, if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.

God Bless you all, I feel that He blessed me, today.

THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

Well, we are home from vacation and even though the weather was not great, it was very nice to get away.  The new oral meds seem to be much easier to tolerate than the last two types of chemo that I was on.  I am still not feeling 100% by a long shot, but I sure do feel better than I did. This morning I took the last of my two weeks of pills and now I get a week off.  Next week I will see my doctor and will find out if I am going to continue on these or if I am done my treatments.  Had I been on the original Abraxane from the beginning, I would have been finished this week.  However, as I missed two treatments, I am not sure what his plan will be.

On Monday, of this week, I celebrated my 20 year anniversary.  It was 20 years since I got my first cancer diagnosis.  And, yes, I did celebrate.  I know for a lot of people it probably does not seem like cause for celebration, but to anyone who has battled cancer, they know exactly what I mean.  When I think of all the things that I got to enjoy and be part of over the last 20 years, that I may have missed had I not been diagnosed at an early stage, and went through all the necessary treatments,  I felt that a celebration was in order.  The words of encouragement alone, that I received this week, were worth it all.  What a wonderful group of family and friends I have.  I am so blessed.  If I have to spend the next 20 years fighting this disease, in order to continue to enjoy my life with this great group of people, then I am up for it, even though it is no walk in the park.

Have a great week everyone and I will be back again after I see my doctor next week to let you know what the next step in this journey will be and remember Laughter is a Tranquilizer, with no side effects.