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Posts with tag challenges
Posted Aug 9th 2007 7:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Pink products, Cancer Survivors
I like to find meaning in ordinary life events. Like my dreams, for example. The other day, I had a dream about a friend from high school. In my dream, this friend was a doctor at my local hospital, where all my cancer poking and prodding takes place. It makes sense this guy was a doctor -- last I heard from him, he was in medical school. Where he practices medicine, I had no idea. But maybe my dream was a clue. Maybe it was sign this old pal is right here in Gainesville, Florida.
Nope. I did a Google search and he's in Ohio -- right where we graduated from high school and he attended medical school. Not so much meaning in that dream. That's OK. I'm on to my next life interpretation now.
Ever since I was diagnosed with breast cancer my brother-in-law has been wearing a pink bracelet -- the one that says:
Share Beauty. Spread Hope. For almost three whole years, the same rubbery band has been hanging from his wrist. Everyone in my family started out with one of these trinkets of support. And every one of us has since abandoned our pink fashion statement -- everyone except for Jack. He has stood firm in his support. I'm not sure he ever took that thing off. What a guy.
Continue reading On broken cancer bracelets
Posted Jan 3rd 2007 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Books, Cancer Survivors
Puja Thomson, counselor, healing facilitator, educator, and minister, has a newly-released book --
After Shock: From Cancer Diagnosis to Healing: A step-by-step guide to help you navigate your way -- that is just perfect for just about anyone dealing with cancer.
Thomson, surviving her own bout with cancer, offers practical suggestions to help others clarify their cancer journeys in this book that features topics such as reaching out for help, designing your own personal wellness program, crafting challenges into hopeful perspectives, and organizing financial records and medical paperwork in simple ways.
Thomson shares her own firsthand stories and borrows reflections from other fellow cancer travelers. She offers a well-balanced sampling of ideas from which readers can pick and choose as they create their navigation plans. She does it all because she knows cancer can come as a shock. She also knows life goes on after the shock.
Posted Dec 14th 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Cancer Survivors
It's hard to see the light while stuck in the middle of the tunnel. It's difficult to imagine tough times getting better. It's frustrating to manage obstacle after obstacle. It's almost impossible to consider that challenges can actually transform into victories.
Yet somehow, in some way, in good time, most of us do arrive at the end of the tunnel -- where life is not so dark, where we can make sense of all that has come before our glorious exits into the light of the world.
A friend of mine is stuck in the tunnel of breast cancer. I know this because she sent me an e-mail today that struck a chord and took me back to a time when I was stuck -- and was quite certain life would not get better.
My life did get better -- after I survived the cancer treatment that sent me spiraling through my own tunnel -- and I know my friend will soon encounter better times. She may not be able to predict it at this very moment, but one day she will emerge into the brightness. One day, she will see the light. One day, she will be promising someone else that times do get better. One day, she will be amazed that she even wrote these words.
Well, chemo #2 kicked my butt! I was bed-ridden or in front of the toilet since Friday afternoon! It was awful. Stayed home from work today cause still feel a bit queasy. The doctor cut my steroids in the drip cause of the rash/break-out I had the first time, she thought it might have been an allergic reaction. Well, next time, I will take the break-out over this. And to this I say -- let there be light.
Posted Oct 23rd 2006 6:18PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Leukemia, Drug, Prevention, Blogs, Books, Magazines, Cancer Survivors
Glamour editor and leukemia cancer survivor Erin Zammett Ruddy blogs
Life with Cancer and is the author of
My (So-Called) Normal Life. Five years ago, at the age of 23, Erin was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Immediately after her cancer diagnosis, Erin began chronicling her life with cancer in a monthly Life with Cancer
column for Glamour magazine. Recently, she has launched a blog after the same name as her column.
"I am excited to be starting my blog for Glamour. I am going to be talking about whatever it is I am feeling about that particular day.
I hope to hear from readers that instead of being a patient or a victim -- it's something like I have this disease, what can I do with it -- how can I help other people.
Do I wish I didn't have cancer? Yes, but I wouldn't trade my life right now for anything and that life includes cancer."
While Erin is new to blogging, she is not new to writing, and she is an excellent writer. Frank, serious, open, vulnerable, and bouyant with a delightful sense of humor, her writing makes for a blog that is difficult to leave until you have read every post. Erin takes Gleevac, and in order to have a baby she will need to stop taking the drug that keeps her in cancer remission. She is very honest in sharing the anxiety and anticipation of making this choice.
From the blog, you can access the monthly column Erin writes for Glamour magazine. One of the most recent features an interview with MTV's Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat
Diem Brown, a 25-year-old woman currently battling ovarian cancer. After hearing about Diem, and watching her on the reality show, Erin was intrigued to meet her. As a result of the time the two spent together, and sharing stories with Diem, Erin was inspired to stay positive in the midst of uncertainty.
Erin Zammett Ruddy is a phenomenal woman with a terrific attitude, and a
blog we are glad she keeps.
Posted Oct 21st 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Ovarian Cancer, Chemotherapy, Television, Cancer Survivors
I've written twice before about a young woman named Diem Brown. I
first wrote in August about her appearance as a contestant on MTV's
Real World/Road Rules Challenge reality show. I wrote about how despite a recent diagnosis of ovarian cancer, she took herself to Australia to compete in physical and mental challenges with other spunky 20-something competitors. Brown, 25, fought for a cash prize of $250,000 -- while fighting cancer at the same time.
Brown did not win the grand prize, but she did win the admiration and respect of her castmates who on an MTV reunion show applauded her tireless and heroic efforts. In my
second post, in September, I wrote about Brown's presence on the reunion show, about her strength, about the great mindset she acquired prior to returning home from Australia for treatment. I wrote about her foundation --
Live for the Challenge -- a wedding-type registry that allows patients to register for prescriptions, wigs, anything that helps them manage their illnesses. I did not write about the wig Brown wore on the show -- but it was apparent she had lost her long, blond hair and was masking the most visible side effect of chemotherapy.
Brown reluctantly yet powerfully unveiled her head on national television just a few nights ago during the beginning of another MTV
Real World/Road Rules Challenge. During this installment --
The Duel -- Brown competes again, this time with the shortest of brown hair covering her scalp and with a fierceness that rivals anything she's offered on past shows.
Brown is back. She's in Brazil. And she is beating cancer.
Posted Sep 5th 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Drug, All Cancers, Research, Daily news
At this time, there are 200 companies engaged in 600 clinical trials that involve 340 immunotherapy drugs -- all under study in an attempt to assist in the treatment of 40 different cancers. The top five targeted cancers are melanoma, breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal.
While antibody studies are the top headline-makers right now, cancer vaccines are following behind. With the recent approval of Gardasil -- the cervical cancer vaccine -- the push for more vaccine options will become strong. Future industry challenges also include discovering strong antigens, effective immunomodulators, and suitable delivery technologies.
Powerful drugs like Avastin, Erbitux, and Rituxan are just the precursors to what might lie ahead for cancer patients as a result of this widespread effort to knock cancer out of the ballpark.
Posted Aug 26th 2006 2:00PM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Books
I like to read. I just don't find much time to do it -- with two kids, two jobs, an unpredictable exercise schedule, endless medical appointments, and all the other craziness that accompanies life. I would like to find more time for books -- books a bit more complex than the one I found time to read at bedtime tonight about a frog and a toad who spend their days flying kites and enjoying picnics together. I would like to read books that capture relationships and life experiences and a bit of mystery too.
The last book I read --
The Shop on Blossom Street -- is the kind of book I like. It is easy to read and captivating and inspiring and comforting. It is the kind of book I want to keep reading -- long after I have to put it down to tend to distractions. Perhaps it's the thread of cancer woven into the storyline of this book that kept me wanting more.
The Shop on Blossom Street -- by Debbie Macomber -- follows four women who are all seeking change in their lives. The lead character opens a yarn shop, years after a cancer diagnosis and with the intention of moving forward despite an uncertain future. She hosts knitting classes and forms relationships with three other women in search of brighter days.
Character Lydia Hoffman -- the cancer survivor -- overcomes obstacles and challenges and even another cancer scare. She finds friendship and love and all sorts of unexpected discoveries. She even graces the pages of a second book --
A Good Yarn -- that follows her continued life journeys.
I have the book
A Good Yarn. It's on my bookshelf. And I can't wait to read it. I just can't find the time.
Posted Aug 16th 2006 1:30PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: All Cancers, Opinion, Cancer Survivors
Battling cancer reframes life, written by Susan T. Lindau, speaks to my personal experience of cancer diagnosis and treatment. It may speak to your cancer experience as well. Although Lindau was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and I diagnosed with breast cancer, there are similarities that transcend the particulars of what cancer has been diagnosed.
Such as learning to wait. In an old diary entry I wrote during the time I was undergoing treatment, "if I am always on time for my appointments, why is the doctor never on time to see me." This came out of the regularity of sitting for at least two hours --
no I do not exaggerate the length of time -- beyond the time I was scheduled to see the doctor before I ever saw the doctor.
I, too, had an excellent team of physicians and nurses. I attribute their care with making it to cancer survivorship -- but there is at least one physician or nurse you are likely to meet along the way, who, in lacking good bedside manners or intelligent wisdom, really should be in a different profession. Physicians and nurses are human, and cancer scares a good many human beings. But if you are in the medical profession, allowing cancer to intimidate you is not good for the patient. As a cancer patient, you learn to reject such negativity in all its subtle forms. You learn to be an outspoken advocate for your cancer care.
Your medical team needs to believe in your cancer survivorship.
Lindau talks about learning new social skills that were not really a result of any intention to good manners as they were an inner drive of anger and resolve to fight cancer -- and to do whatever needed to be done to make it through to the other side.
Battling cancer reframes life is very well-written and could only have been written by someone who has experienced a cancer diagnosis and gone through treatment.
Posted Aug 16th 2006 10:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: Ovarian Cancer, Chemotherapy, Television
MTV is currently airing another installment of the
Real World/Road Rules Challenge reality show. This season -- called
Fresh Meat -- pairs former show contestants with individuals who have never before appeared on any MTV reality show. These new contestants -- the fresh meat -- compete with the veterans in tense and strenuous physical and mental challenges for an array of prizes and for a grand award of $250,000. Winning the money could be life-changing for any one of these participants. But for one woman, it could also be life-saving.
Diem Brown, 25, was cast on the MTV challenge show before hearing her diagnosis of ovarian cancer. She didn't want to regret passing on the opportunity so with two chemotherapy treatments completed and armed with medication to manage nausea and other side effects, she packed her bags and headed for Australia where her days consisted of challenging stunts and tough competition. She survived it all -- although fatigue and pain sometimes slowed her down -- and she is busy surviving ovarian cancer too.
Brown has started a foundation called
Live for the Challenge -- kind of like a
Make-A-Wish Foundation for patients who are stuggling with medical difficulties. And her own personal wish is that ovarian cancer -- "the disease that whispers" -- would get a megaphone to attract more attention and more research. Because one in 50 women will get ovarian cancer and with no accurate screening for this disease, it leads to tragic outcomes for many women.
It is clear that Brown is one tough contender -- both on TV and in her everyday life. And that makes her a winner no matter what.
Posted Jul 19th 2006 8:00AM by Jacki Donaldson
Filed under: All Cancers, Services
I remember reading that Barbara Delinsky, novelist and breast cancer survivor, never shared her diagnosis of cancer until well after her fight was over. She feared the news would somehow halt her career in the publishing world. She wanted to remain untainted by disease in the eyes of her readers and bosses so she saved her secret. The secret is out now -- and is also part of a book she wrote called
Uplift: Secrets from the Sisterhood of Breast Cancer Survivorship. She is in the clear now -- but she once feared the consequences of managing both cancer and her career.
The experts who offer a website resource at
cancerandcareers.org believe that it is possible to combine cancer and career without fear or worry or secrecy. The advice provided on this site offers wisdom for working women and for employers and for co-workers. There is also a forum for shared stories -- where all of these individuals weigh in on their experiences. There are reading recommendations and a listing of available programs and services and a complete story about how this all came about.
Five years ago, the Board of Directors at Cosmetic Executive Women -- the preeminent nonprofit organization representing women in the U.S. and European beauty industries -- realized that five out of their 40 members had been diagnosed with cancer. Some told their colleagues at work and some did not. But all continued to work and experienced similar challenges. The fact is that work does not stop for all women who have been diagnosed with cancer. So the mission of this group is to help women, their employers, coworkers, and caregivers deal with this problem in the same way that they have learned to deal with problems at work -- strategically, knowledgeably, and effectively. With the right tools, stress and difficulty can be minimized. And this site is one great tool.
Posted Jul 9th 2006 1:33PM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: Breast Cancer, Prevention, Celebrity cancer diagnosis, Diets, Stress Reduction, Nutrition, Cancer prevention foods, Television, Celebrity news
In the second part of the two-part exclusive interview with ABC's Good Morning America Diane Sawyer, Sheryl Crow shares she is cancer-free and feeling great as a breast cancer survivor. The diagnosis of breast cancer came as a surprise as she is not a smoker and has no family history of the disease. She received enormous support from her family and friends during treatment, whom she refers to as "this incredible tribe of women." Before Dana Reeve died of lung cancer, she gave Crow advice on dealing with the emotional aspects of being a newly-diagnosed cancer patient and dealing with the recent separation from Lance Armstrong by telling her that the only way to go through grief was to grieve.
Crow talked about meditating and changing her diet. "I kind of went into a full-on Eskimo diet, where I ate a lot of salmon. In fact, I'm salmoned out of my brains ... and really green vegetables, just eating really clean, organic food. Listen, I haven't had a doughnut in I can't remember when."
Breast cancer forced Crow into an introspective place of self-realization in facing and overcoming fears -- and the wisdom that comes with that when she said she tried to at least address her fears and not be overcome by them. "The fear of things not always working out. You come to a point in your life where you realize it's not my job to prove to my parents or to my record label or to the world or to my lover that I matter.
The fact is that you matter."
"It's not a good place to be concerned with always being right with everybody, always pleasing people, because ultimately you wind up betraying yourself a lot."
Crow shared that she sees her breast cancer diagnosis and being a cancer survivor as part of life's deepening experiences where obstacles are removed and opportunities come in.
Last Friday night, Crow joined the Dave Matthews Band in a concert at Fenway Park. But before she went onstage -- in part of giving back as a cancer survivor -- she made an unannounced surprise visit to Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to visit children with cancer at the
Jimmy Fund Clinic.
Posted May 30th 2006 4:00PM by Vicki Blankenship
Filed under: Alternative Therapies, All Cancers, Opinion, Books
Hearing the words "You have cancer" is a traumatic experience for most adults. Having to tell your loved ones and friends that you have cancer is just as hard. Being a parent and having to tell your young child that you have cancer is one of the toughest conversations many adults face. The American Cancer Society reports that one in seven women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer during their lifetime, and roughly a quarter of them will do so while they still have children living at home. That is just one statistic of one form of cancer and there are more to consider.
So what do you tell your young child and how much detail should you get into? Most children have seen commercials, heard conversations, experienced some form of educational material on the subject already. Should you tell the truth, hide some facts, or try to avoid letting them know all together?
Wendy Schlessel Harpham, MD wrote a book called When a Parent Has Cancer: A Guide to Caring for Your Children. In this book she states that one of the biggest mistake parents make is trying to hide the truth from their children. "Even small children will figure out that something is wrong, even if you don't tell them," she says. "Kids are observant and smart, and if you give them too little information they will try to figure it out on their own. If you don't tell them, you lose control and you are less able to guide the child through the changes in their world in healthy and hopeful ways."
Telling the truth, giving them understanding and the support they need, and educating them about your cancer may be the toughest conversations you will ever have in your life, but it will help you and your child in gaining the confidence to cope with the challenges that you both will face.
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