Counteract the effects of cancer through Mind-Body-Spirit Connection

Whether you think in terms of mantra, mediation, prayer, or affirmations, setting your mind and spirit on a positive pathway will help to heal your body.  

There is a lovely Lakota prayer that I particularly like, "Whether the path is easy or difficult, I will not fear."  

That last word, "fear" is really what it is all about for me.  I need to rearrange my fears.  I need to put that energy to use to help me.  By having an affirmation (or mediation, prayer or mantra) that I can say throughout the day I fill the spaces in my mind and spirit with positive ideas.  I dwell on good things.  I start to believe that I will not fear and then little by little I don't.  My body feels better. 

Sometimes it is that simple.  Sometimes it takes a lot of concentration and effort. 

And just so I don't come across like a preachy, know-it-all -guru want-to-be, here is another thought that I hold in my spirit and mind, "A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort."

Sometimes that's enough to get me through the day.  

November is National Care Givers Month

Last month when I was volunteering in the Survivor’s Tent for the Strides for Life 5K Walk in Minneapolis, I noticed that for every survivor I greeted, there were 3-5 people accompanying them.  These people were their support team, the care givers who helped them or were currently helping them through their treatments. They were family members, friends and coworkers who drove them to their appointments, cooked them meals, called them just to check-in, sent the cards, and gave them sentimental gifts. They were the ones who kept track of the chemo schedule and made sure that a good dinner or silly movie was always available.

Chemossentials recognizes the need to say thank you to these very special people.  We also understand how difficult it might be right now to shop for thank you gifts. Chemossentials can help. Check out our “Giving Thanks” package – it provides an assortment of small gifts (including cards and packaging), that say thank you in a big way. 

CA-125--not valuable as general screening test

There is an email making the circuit right now that advises women to ask/demand that as part of their yearly examination a CA-125 blood test be done.  The email suggests that this blood test will provide an early warning of ovarian cancer.  

I wish this were true--but from the information I can gather it appears that it is not the case.  

 According to the information received from the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance the test is important if you have had cancer or if cancer is highly suspected, but it is not valuable as a general screening test nor should it be the only test used to detect ovarian cancer.   

The following link is from Johns Hopkins Pathology

Click here

The signs of ovarian cancer can be vague:

bloating

abdominal pain

frequent urination

difficulty eating

That means that you need to pay attention and be alert to changes in how you feel.  Don't hesitate to go to your doctor with these vague symptoms because early detection will keep you alive. 

Kathy Bates, the Academy Award winning actress talks about her experience with ovarian cancer--it's interesting--and informative.

Click here to listen to Kathy Bates

Talk to your doctor if you think something is wrong.  Be persistent if you have to be.  You know your body.  

Gifts--A Primer

I love to get gifts and I love to give gifts that make people happy.  Simple? It should be, but in practice, gift-giving can be quite a complicated matter. 

• Why should you give a gift?
• When should you give a gift?  
• What type of gift is appropriate and/or fun to give?  
• How should you give the gift?   

And all of these considerations are even more complicated if the person who will be receiving the gift has cancer. 

This July, my daughter Jessica and I started a small business called Chemossentials.  Our tag line is, "Gifts and specialized kits to counteract the effects of cancer treatments."

While supporting friends and family members with cancer, we saw first-hand how traumatic and devastating this battle can be. We also experienced the frustration and challenge of effectively supporting loved ones throughout this journey. From our experiences we've come up with some suggestions and ideas to help you.

Here are some things to consider:

Why should you give a gift?

• to remind someone how important they are to you
• to acknowledge the difficulty of their situation and offer your support
• to encourage them to remain hopeful and optimistic
• to empower them with gifts that will be practical and useful throughout their treatments
• to know that you're making a positive difference in someones life.
  
  

When should you give a gift? 

• Right away! Waiting risks not doing.  
• Consider this, cancer treatment is a cumulative process--the need for specific products may not be predictable, so having them readily available early on is crucial.

What type of gift is appropriate and/or fun to give? 

• Useful and practical items that make life more managable. We suggest our Favorite Things Bag
• Items that specifically target the side-effects of cancer treatments. Check out our Face-Time Add On and Kick Back Kit
• Products that are fun and provide an outlet for distraction. Take a peek at our Stress Relief Add-On and Summer Zen Package.
• Personal touches, such as favorite magazines, self-care products, books etc.

How should you give the gift?

• Don't be shy, even if it is difficult for you to express your feelings with words, your gift can say it for you, "I care. I'm here to support you. I'm thinking of you." 
• Get together with a group of friends and/or family members and have each person contribute a special item - a book, a hat, a homemade goodie, a picture, an inspiring quotation, a funny story etc - to a gift bag. Adding this personal touch to any gift shows how much you care
• For more gift-giving ideas please see our gift giving guide

Having cancer can be isolating for so many reasons.  Don't let the ones you love feel alone.  Even when you aren't physically with them, these gifts can be a constant reminder that they are in your thoughts.  

We invite you to check out our website--we hope that you will find just the right gift--one that will  satisfy both sides of this equation.  

www.chemossentials.com

Thank you and to you and your loved one--we wish you well on your journey.

Maureen and Jessica

Attitude Matters

If you've never read anything written by Stephen Jay Gould you are in for a treat.  He was a brilliant thinker who wrote beautifully on an amazing array of topics.  

He was diagnosed in 1982 with peritoneal mesothelioma, a cancer affecting the abdominal lining.  People with this type of cancer are given this statistic--50% of you will die within 8 months of your diagnosis.  

Gould's article, The Median Isn't the Message, provides another way of looking at these numbers.  Statistical averages, while useful in presenting data, do not reveal the potentially large variations and wide array of possibilities among individuals.  Never underestimate the will to live.  Never deny that hope and joy can play a huge role in survival.  

Gould was an evolutionary biologist who taught at Harvard.  I tell you this because as much as I enjoy his writing, sometimes he is just too smart for me. Nonetheless the points he makes are quite clear: 

• When interpreting the data on a particular kind of cancer, keep in mind your age, your general health, stage at which the cancer was caught, family support system, general attitude about life.  
• And remember -- you are not a number!  You are far more complex - with a unique history and set of circumstances.  
• Having hope and keeping joy in your life will help.  

Click here for a more extensive summary of his article

Sadly, Stephen Jay Gould passed away in 2002 of adenocarcinoma of the lung. For Gould, his prognosis of 8 months to live became 20 years of life.

Try a Different Question

I just read an interesting booklet from the American Cancer Society called "Listen with Your Heart."  In it, the authors suggest that in addition to asking someone "How are you feeling?" you may want to ask them "What are you feeling?"

That question requires an entirely different level of commitment from both the person asking the question and the person providing the answer.  You are opening yourself up to hearing some personal, raw, emotional talk.  Be prepared--and forewarned.  This question will not elicit the polite conversation that makes up so much of our interactions.  

As the question- asker your job is to listen.  Listen to the complete answer.  Don't change the subject, try to mitigate the pain, or provide solutions.  Just take it all in.  Be supportive.  You can say something like, "Wow, you have a lot going on--is there anything that we can do together that will help?  Is there anything that I can do that would help you right now?"

If you are the one answering the question--go for it.  Sometimes just voicing your fears, complaints, disappointments or grudges can relieve some of your tension.  I'm not suggesting that you go on a rant.  But, being honest under these circumstances can certainly produce some harsh words.  This may be the time where you can finally express some of your darker thoughts and emotions.  And then, hopefully you can move on.  

Another interesting and important thing about this question is that it can help people who are dealing with a reoccurrence of cancer.  

We like to think of life events as having a beginning, a middle and an end.  For cancer it goes something like this--you receive the diagnosis, you go through the treatment, the cancer is under control and you are done.  While each stage can involve months and be overwhelming,  you are working toward the end point where the scans and blood work tell you that you are doing well.  You want to put it all behind you and be over with all things cancer.

Unfortunately that doesn't always happen.  Many types of cancer are becoming chronic or the treatment can go on for years.  That's when asking "What are you feeling?" can be most valuable.  

"Here she comes!"

Over the past few years I have lost too many loved ones; many to cancer but heart disease, stroke and aging have made their claims too.  At times it feels like I am either saying goodbye or steeling myself for the inevitable and total separation that is to surely come.  

Here is a poem that I discovered in "The Family Handbook of Hospice Care."  I read it often.  It calms me.  It contains, for me, just the right amount of sweetness and mystery.  

     THE END OF THE JOURNEY

I am standing upon the seashore.  A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze and starts for the blue ocean. 

 She is an object of beauty and strength.

I stand and watch her until at length she hangs like a speck of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.  

Then someone at my  side says: "There, she is gone!"

'Gone where?"

Gone from my sight.  That is all.

Her diminished size is in me, not in her.  And just at that moment when someone at my side says: "There she is gone!" there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voices ready to take up the glad shout: "Here she comes!"

And that is dying.

        ---Henry Van Dyke

Suicide Gene--using diphtheria toxin gene to kill pancreatic cancer

My beloved friend, Carole died this August.  She had cancer of the pancreas. 

The physician she was working with offered a combination of chemotherapy drugs that were slightly different than what was routinely being offered.  Several of her patients were still alive--living an active and good quality of life-- after 2 and for some 3 years. We were all hopeful that Carole would experience the same results.  For a time it looked like she would.  The cancer in her liver appeared to be vanquished and the tumor in her pancreas had shrunk by half.  The scans came back with wonderful news and the cancer marker tests cheered us.  

Then everything changed and she died--just that quickly. 

The following article is one that I would have shared with Carole.  We would have talked about it, looked for more info on the research team, maybe even contacted the people involved.  

"Jefferson scientists deliver toxic genes to effectively kill pancreatic cancer cells" Link  to article 

 

Making Strides

The weather cooperated, the turn out was wonderful, the band was great (think Van Morrison), the energy level was high and I got assigned to the tent that had the donuts and coffee.  

Yesterday, Saturday, October 11, hundreds of Breast Cancer Survivors and the people who support them, walked in the "Making Strides Against Breast Calander--Twin Cities" event.  

This event is hosted by the American Cancer Society with the proceeds funding research and supporting patients and their families in a variety of ways.  

I helped out in the Survivor's Tent.  Breast Cancer Survivors were encourage to come to the tent and enjoy coffee, donuts, music and massage.  They were also encouraged to 

sign up for a drawing of great gifts donated by local businesses and generous individuals.  In addition to that, there were several delightful and useful free gifts available. 

 It's always fun to be the one who gets to give out freebees.  And it is fun to meet and greet all the wonderful people who participated it the walk.

The overwhelming feeling in the tent was one of gratitude.  Survivors were grateful to be alive.   

Family and friends were grateful to be sharing this day with them.

 Women who had 10 or more years of survivorship to celebrate, reflected on how the diagnosis and prognosis of breast cancer has changed.  They talked about how much more open society is to hearing about breast cancer and offering ways to help.  They marveled at how far science has come.  And every one of them said they couldn't have done it--the surgery, the chemo, the radiation, the reconstruction, the day-to-day struggles without the love and support of their family and friends.  

Here are some pictures of some of the people who enjoyed the day and helped to make it so special.  I hope that I have the names right.  And thank you for letting me use your pictures!

Volunteers Penny and Megan

Emma with her Mom, Dad and Blake (her dog). They covered a lot of ground as they cheered on walkers!

The Finish Line

Dancing to the wonderful music and celebrating a terrific day!

Linda and Amanda working in the Survivors' Tent

What's So Funny About Cancer?

Really there is nothing funny about cancer.

Having cancer is a daily challenge--but that's why people are able to find the humor in some of the situations and events that intrude upon their lives. Humor can be a defense mechanism and it can also be a power grab.  If you can laugh at it, you control at least a small part of it.  And that helps.

For example, I just saw the most amazing T-shirt--it stopped me in my tracks.  It said,

           "Sure they're fake.  But my real ones tried to kill me!"

I couldn't help but gasp and then burst out laughing.  What unexpected, gallows- humor.  And perhaps a release for the marvelous woman wearing the T-shirt.  She certainly didn't seem like a "victim" to me.

Miriam Engelberg's wonderfully and sometimes, darkly funny book, "Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person:  A Memoir in Comics" presents a side of living with cancer that most books gloss over.  

Here a two examples of topics covered in an autobiographical, comic book style format.  In talking about how personal it is to tell people that she had breast cancer she related through cartoons and words that people stared at her chest trying to figure out which breast was  causing the problems.  She thought about marketing shirts with an arrow pointing at the guilty breast saying, "Cancer Inside."

My favorite vignette involves someone trying to be philosophical about cancer, life and death by telling her that we are all going to die.   After all , any of us could get hit by a bus. Engelberg wonders why it is always a bus? Is there some mad rouge bus out there waiting for all of us?  Ironically 15 years before her diagnosis, she really was hit by a bus and lived to tell about it.  Her cancer was another story.  Given the choice she would rather get hit by a bus again.

As cancer becomes more of a chronic condition it is appropriate that more outlets for expressing humor are developed.  

If any of you know of unique, classy and/or humorous ways this topic is explored please let me know.

Breast Cancer Awareness--Vaccines in the Future

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month--make it a point to attend and support the upcoming events and fundraisers.  Last week I attended the Denim and Diamonds Gala for the Hope Chest.  This weekend I will be working at the Strides for Life event put on by ACS. The most inspiring and hopeful part of each event is meeting and talking to the people who have experienced breast cancer and are doing well today.  

The progress made in early detection and in treatment of breast cancer have been remarkable but there is still much to do in order to find the necessary cures.  

October is a good time to think about how far we have come in treating breast cancer and where we are going next.  One of the most exciting places that we might be going next is the development of vaccine.  

Here are two articles that may provide you with some information on where research is headed--or should be headed. 

www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/oct/06/health.cancer/print

Valerie Beral of Oxford University, the epidemiologist leading this study suggests that 

"Genes played a part in only a very small number of cancers.  The processes of giving birth and breastfeeding protected a woman from breast cancer more than anything else."  

Dr. Beral believes that the hormone prolactin should be studied.  "The one hormone that has to do with breast changes doesn't appear until late pregnancy.  It produces the changes in the breast that make for lactation."  

The second article is about a new form of immunotherapy.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/13/AR2008041301616.html

The vaccine under development and investigation in this study is aimed at reducing the risk of recurrence for "patients who have a high expression of the protein HER2-neu."

"This type of breast cancer, representing about one-quarter of all cases, tends to be deadlier than other forms of the disease.  In this group, the vaccine reduced mortality by 50 percent."

The idea of a vaccine that can help prevent breast cancer is exciting and to my mind, absolutely the right way to go.  Prevention is the key.