Here is a link to a website that discusses that link between your body's pH and cancer. When I found out that I had cancer I worked hard at getting and maintaining a pH of 7.5 to 8.0.
http://www.cancerfightingstrategies.com/ph-and-cancer.html#sthash.ADgtVnl2.dpbs
I believe that this had a lot to do with my success in putting me into remission so fast. I also believe that I can do a better job of keeping the cancer from returning if I keep my pH in check.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Forever Changed!
Cancer and its treatment has forever changed my life. I am a month and a half out of treatment and I feel that everyone thinks I am back to my old self. I will never be back to my old self.
I am not cured...there is not a cure. I am in remission. That means that cancer cells are still present in my body. I have to remain extremely healthy, stress free and rested to have the best chance of staying in remission. It is overwhelming to think that only 18% of people with this cancer will live 5 years. After 5 years that survival rate drops drastically.
The side effects of chemo and multiple surgeries will last for years. NOW is when I try to flip my thinking and let the twinges of pain and the scars be a reminder of God's amazing grace. I do look forward to the days when I don't think about cancer, when every ache or pain does not make me think that the cancer is back. Will I ever be able to forget?
We have all received those encouraging emails that tell us not to take life for granted, to enjoy every second of everyday with the ones that we love...we never know when our last day is on this earth. So, if I tell you that I love you, I mean it. I value my life a little more than I did before. I value the people in my life a lot more than I did before.
Life on this earth is a very tiny spot on our timeline of eternal life. We are meant to make the most of this life and try to make as big of a positive impact as we are capable of making.
I am not cured...there is not a cure. I am in remission. That means that cancer cells are still present in my body. I have to remain extremely healthy, stress free and rested to have the best chance of staying in remission. It is overwhelming to think that only 18% of people with this cancer will live 5 years. After 5 years that survival rate drops drastically.
The side effects of chemo and multiple surgeries will last for years. NOW is when I try to flip my thinking and let the twinges of pain and the scars be a reminder of God's amazing grace. I do look forward to the days when I don't think about cancer, when every ache or pain does not make me think that the cancer is back. Will I ever be able to forget?
We have all received those encouraging emails that tell us not to take life for granted, to enjoy every second of everyday with the ones that we love...we never know when our last day is on this earth. So, if I tell you that I love you, I mean it. I value my life a little more than I did before. I value the people in my life a lot more than I did before.
Life on this earth is a very tiny spot on our timeline of eternal life. We are meant to make the most of this life and try to make as big of a positive impact as we are capable of making.
Monday, June 16, 2014
What I Would Do Differently!
I would:
have gone to the doctor sooner to get my hernia repaired. This is how we found the cancer. I put that small surgery off for months. I thought I would wait until the weather cooled off a bit so that I would not have to worry about mowing the yard while my stitches healed. If I had listened seriously to my body the cancer may have been found much sooner before it became stage 4.
have tried to go for more walks during the day. My job requires long days...taking a break is extremely important. Walking would have de-stressed me a bit more. Stress kills and may be the reason I have cancer to begin with. This opportunity with cancer has made me listen closer to my body and to not feel guilty when I need to say, "enough is enough".
have carried less luggage to Texas every time I went. I carry entirely too much stuff when I travel. It makes for a more difficult time traveling. My excuse is that I would never know if I needed to stay in Texas longer due to complications. When I was at my weakest, I found it tough to deal with the luggage & travel in general.
have written down every single name of the people that treated & cared for me. I did some of that, but I would like to send each one of them a thank you note. They were all so kind, respectful and professional. I know how much it means to me to get a thank you note from a student. I really does make my day and I want to bless other people in the same way.
have drawn a deeper line in the sand for the negative people in my life. For the most part I ignored them and thanked them for their opinions, but I really should have limited that instead of trying to help them see the positive side. It was simply too much work trying to keep everyone moving forward with me.
have accepted more help. I did let others mow & cook, but keeping my house clean was difficult for me. I had offers to clean my house, but I really don't like other people digging through my stuff. In the big picture what difference would it make if they saw my mess. I am not that messy or dirty...just saying...
have refused to entertain many of the visitors. I found myself entertaining them when I should have been resting. Rest is a HUGE issue when healing from surgeries & cancer treatments. I try to tough it out like I tend to do everything else, but this is not some thing that you muscle your way through.
have gone to the doctor sooner to get my hernia repaired. This is how we found the cancer. I put that small surgery off for months. I thought I would wait until the weather cooled off a bit so that I would not have to worry about mowing the yard while my stitches healed. If I had listened seriously to my body the cancer may have been found much sooner before it became stage 4.
have tried to go for more walks during the day. My job requires long days...taking a break is extremely important. Walking would have de-stressed me a bit more. Stress kills and may be the reason I have cancer to begin with. This opportunity with cancer has made me listen closer to my body and to not feel guilty when I need to say, "enough is enough".
have carried less luggage to Texas every time I went. I carry entirely too much stuff when I travel. It makes for a more difficult time traveling. My excuse is that I would never know if I needed to stay in Texas longer due to complications. When I was at my weakest, I found it tough to deal with the luggage & travel in general.
have written down every single name of the people that treated & cared for me. I did some of that, but I would like to send each one of them a thank you note. They were all so kind, respectful and professional. I know how much it means to me to get a thank you note from a student. I really does make my day and I want to bless other people in the same way.
have drawn a deeper line in the sand for the negative people in my life. For the most part I ignored them and thanked them for their opinions, but I really should have limited that instead of trying to help them see the positive side. It was simply too much work trying to keep everyone moving forward with me.
have accepted more help. I did let others mow & cook, but keeping my house clean was difficult for me. I had offers to clean my house, but I really don't like other people digging through my stuff. In the big picture what difference would it make if they saw my mess. I am not that messy or dirty...just saying...
have refused to entertain many of the visitors. I found myself entertaining them when I should have been resting. Rest is a HUGE issue when healing from surgeries & cancer treatments. I try to tough it out like I tend to do everything else, but this is not some thing that you muscle your way through.
What I Would Do the Same!
I would:
keep my struggle very public. I need the support of UNF, other friends and family. I am not sure how people go through something so severe and not need other people. Because everyone knew what I was dealing with they knew how to pray for me, they knew when I needed help, they were able to excuse my confusion from chemo brain...
still get the second opinion. I feel like I got the best care possible by forgoing Mayo Clinic and by choosing to go to MD Anderson. Red flags went up when the doctor at Mayo told me that I was stage 3C and he did not need to look into my chest, because he is "just that good". Just because they are doctors does not mean that they know everything. If you have questions or concerns then do something about it. If the doctor gets mad about your questions, then they are NOT the doctor for you. The most deadly sin in the bible is PRIDE. That ego could have killed me.
continue to not cover my head. I have opportunities to witness to people that approach me. I get to tell them about God's grace in my life.
keep this positive attitude. Some thought I was ignoring or not properly accepting what I was dealing with. Oh! I promise that when you hear the word cancer, you know exactly what you are dealing with. I have always heard that a positive attitude heals. So I decided that I am strong enough to put "mind over matter" and I did it. I was not going to let any of this ruffle me. I admit I was scared of chemo...for good reason, but I made it.
still continue to work. I needed to get up and go to work instead of lying around the house. I was productive and still very helpful to my students. It kept me from thinking about myself. Sure, there were days that I did not feel well, but it was worth it. As a leader I try to set a good example. Many think that staying home to rest is what I needed to do, but I disagree in my case. I love my job and sitting at a computer and on the phone did not hurt me one bit. I did slow down and delegate a lot of work. I quit doing any public speaking, because it does tire me out.
still show my daughter how to stay calm, but still fight and remain strong in the face of a challenge. Although I want everyone to learn from me...it is my daughter that I most want to impact.
keep my struggle very public. I need the support of UNF, other friends and family. I am not sure how people go through something so severe and not need other people. Because everyone knew what I was dealing with they knew how to pray for me, they knew when I needed help, they were able to excuse my confusion from chemo brain...
still get the second opinion. I feel like I got the best care possible by forgoing Mayo Clinic and by choosing to go to MD Anderson. Red flags went up when the doctor at Mayo told me that I was stage 3C and he did not need to look into my chest, because he is "just that good". Just because they are doctors does not mean that they know everything. If you have questions or concerns then do something about it. If the doctor gets mad about your questions, then they are NOT the doctor for you. The most deadly sin in the bible is PRIDE. That ego could have killed me.
continue to not cover my head. I have opportunities to witness to people that approach me. I get to tell them about God's grace in my life.
keep this positive attitude. Some thought I was ignoring or not properly accepting what I was dealing with. Oh! I promise that when you hear the word cancer, you know exactly what you are dealing with. I have always heard that a positive attitude heals. So I decided that I am strong enough to put "mind over matter" and I did it. I was not going to let any of this ruffle me. I admit I was scared of chemo...for good reason, but I made it.
still continue to work. I needed to get up and go to work instead of lying around the house. I was productive and still very helpful to my students. It kept me from thinking about myself. Sure, there were days that I did not feel well, but it was worth it. As a leader I try to set a good example. Many think that staying home to rest is what I needed to do, but I disagree in my case. I love my job and sitting at a computer and on the phone did not hurt me one bit. I did slow down and delegate a lot of work. I quit doing any public speaking, because it does tire me out.
still show my daughter how to stay calm, but still fight and remain strong in the face of a challenge. Although I want everyone to learn from me...it is my daughter that I most want to impact.
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Progress!
I am making progress with my healing. I am still a little tired with some joint pain. But I am getting back into the swing of life and enjoying the little bit of new energy that I gain everyday.
My hair has not started growing back, yet. A little girl in the airport screamed when she saw me. This was just two days ago. The poor thing must have thought I was a monster. It does not hurt my feelings. In general some people really do not know how to deal with anyone that has a type of handicap. I am not saying that a bald head is a handicap, but it is an obvious health issue that people are not used to seeing on a woman.
I can tell you that I am blessed everyday because of this bald head. People that have dealt with cancer in some way will recognize that chemo noggin. So they rush up to me to give me a hug of encouragement or to talk about their experience. You have no idea how wonderful that is. It also give me the opportunity to talk about God's miracle in my life.
My hair has not started growing back, yet. A little girl in the airport screamed when she saw me. This was just two days ago. The poor thing must have thought I was a monster. It does not hurt my feelings. In general some people really do not know how to deal with anyone that has a type of handicap. I am not saying that a bald head is a handicap, but it is an obvious health issue that people are not used to seeing on a woman.
I can tell you that I am blessed everyday because of this bald head. People that have dealt with cancer in some way will recognize that chemo noggin. So they rush up to me to give me a hug of encouragement or to talk about their experience. You have no idea how wonderful that is. It also give me the opportunity to talk about God's miracle in my life.
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