Yesterday I thought my blog post was a bit cynical. Someone on Facebook said it was a bit jaded maybe but understandable.
My health keeps giving me hits - if its not one thing, its another. I spend more time rearranging my life for doctor appointments and at those appointments than anything else. By the end of this week, I will have had 18 medical appointments in the first 19 weeks of the year. I am down to an expected rate of about 50 doctor appointments for the year. This is the lowest since 2006.
My therapist (of course I need a therapist with all these medical issues) tells me I am in chronic mourning for my health because something else always seems to want to cause problems. (Yesterday my knee started popping when I walked up and down stairs but I am going to ignore that one for at least a month.)
I don't think I deserve any special treatment because of my ailments. I do struggle with writing a blog about breast cancer when its not really much about breast cancer right now. But I do have my annual mammogram along with some other 'fun' tests this week (which I am ignoring for now because that is all my inner child can handle). I'll fill you in on the details sometime in the future.
My cynicism on my health comes out as I am as healthy as a horse on the way to the glue factory. I work with a bunch of people who have no idea of any health ailments that I have had longer than the four years I have worked there. But they still think I am the least healthy employee.
I just got an email from RealAge.com telling me I should think myself young. Yeah right.
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
I do have a healthy body part
Yesterday was a relatively normal day in my life. I went to Costco, went for a walk, and then got my nails done. Aren't I exciting?
Later at the salon they had a special client appreciation event where they did hair treatments, make up, had a pop up store for consignment clothes, food, awesome fruit punch (with a bottle of Absolut on the side but I did not partake).
While I was getting my nails done, they were setting up the popup store - note to the woman in a blue dress: while your dress may be vintage and pretty, it was not appropriate for setting up racks (we did see your underwear THREE TIMES) and I believe it (the dress not the underwear) was on backwards. It was loud and ended up being fun.
Then I got my make up done. I will probably go back and buy some of it because it stayed on, was not uncomfortable, and made me look better. Or maybe I should just start wearing the make up I already own.
But then I got to the good part where they found a healthy body part. My last visit was to get a conditioning hair treatment. One woman was designated as the technician who would do the treatment but another woman figured out which level of treatment my hair needed. Both of them said 'oh her hair is wonderful, its so healthy', I was over joyed as it means I have a healthy body part. Then another woman had to feel my hair and another. They all thought I had the healthiest hair and talked about it as if I wasn't there.
The woman featuring the hair product line they were promoting, thought my hair was so wonderful as well it barely needed any treatment.
I was happy. I left with my nails done. I was wearing natural make up so I looked good. And I had the softest, healthiest hair in town. So I have a healthy body part.
Later at the salon they had a special client appreciation event where they did hair treatments, make up, had a pop up store for consignment clothes, food, awesome fruit punch (with a bottle of Absolut on the side but I did not partake).
While I was getting my nails done, they were setting up the popup store - note to the woman in a blue dress: while your dress may be vintage and pretty, it was not appropriate for setting up racks (we did see your underwear THREE TIMES) and I believe it (the dress not the underwear) was on backwards. It was loud and ended up being fun.
Then I got my make up done. I will probably go back and buy some of it because it stayed on, was not uncomfortable, and made me look better. Or maybe I should just start wearing the make up I already own.
But then I got to the good part where they found a healthy body part. My last visit was to get a conditioning hair treatment. One woman was designated as the technician who would do the treatment but another woman figured out which level of treatment my hair needed. Both of them said 'oh her hair is wonderful, its so healthy', I was over joyed as it means I have a healthy body part. Then another woman had to feel my hair and another. They all thought I had the healthiest hair and talked about it as if I wasn't there.
The woman featuring the hair product line they were promoting, thought my hair was so wonderful as well it barely needed any treatment.
I was happy. I left with my nails done. I was wearing natural make up so I looked good. And I had the softest, healthiest hair in town. So I have a healthy body part.
If you don't have your health, what have you got?
Some of us look at the rich and famous, the Hollywood stars, and others and think they have it all. Beauty, riches, and fame seem to be everything.
But they are wrong. If you don't have your health, what do you have? Sofia Vergara had thyroid cancer 12 years ago. A recent article about her provides her reactions to thyroid cancer diagnosis and treatment.
"She said that you realize that no matter how much beauty, money, and success you have, if you don't have health, you have nothing, because you can't do anything."
Personally I think I am as healthy as a horse on the way to the glue factory.
It only took Sofia 12 years from her cancer diagnosis to be able to sum this up in one sentence and she may have gotten there sooner. I am a little slow. It probably took me a long longer to be able to react to a cancer diagnosis in the same way.
But if you think about it, one of our fundamental reactions to a cancer diagnosis, I think, is that we have lost our health because we are now told we have a potentially terminal ailment. So what else do we have? That is where we need to figure out so we can adapt and get back to living.
But they are wrong. If you don't have your health, what do you have? Sofia Vergara had thyroid cancer 12 years ago. A recent article about her provides her reactions to thyroid cancer diagnosis and treatment.
"She said that you realize that no matter how much beauty, money, and success you have, if you don't have health, you have nothing, because you can't do anything."
Personally I think I am as healthy as a horse on the way to the glue factory.
It only took Sofia 12 years from her cancer diagnosis to be able to sum this up in one sentence and she may have gotten there sooner. I am a little slow. It probably took me a long longer to be able to react to a cancer diagnosis in the same way.
But if you think about it, one of our fundamental reactions to a cancer diagnosis, I think, is that we have lost our health because we are now told we have a potentially terminal ailment. So what else do we have? That is where we need to figure out so we can adapt and get back to living.
We need to make a switch
I think we, as in my husband and I, should officially switch to the Mediterranean diet. There is more research (because the researchers need to keep busy) showing the benefits of it.
Good things in the Mediterranean diet are olive oil, tree nuts and peanuts, fresh fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and seafood, legumes, white meat, and wine with meals. This to avoid are soda, commercial bakery goods, sweets and pastries, spread fats, and red and processed meats.
Therein lies the problem. My husband is Mr. Steak and Potatoes.He would happily eat beef every night. I will have to work on this. And the other problem is I'm supposed to avoid alcohol due to my medications. So I wonder does it work if you don't drink?
Anyway, we should be healthier. I hope. And deflabbed. (That's my word for it.) Well its better than the grapefruit diet.
Good things in the Mediterranean diet are olive oil, tree nuts and peanuts, fresh fruits, vegetables, fatty fish and seafood, legumes, white meat, and wine with meals. This to avoid are soda, commercial bakery goods, sweets and pastries, spread fats, and red and processed meats.
Therein lies the problem. My husband is Mr. Steak and Potatoes.He would happily eat beef every night. I will have to work on this. And the other problem is I'm supposed to avoid alcohol due to my medications. So I wonder does it work if you don't drink?
Anyway, we should be healthier. I hope. And deflabbed. (That's my word for it.) Well its better than the grapefruit diet.
I am being daring
Today I will be daring. On several fronts.
Back when I was in chemo a friend of mine told me to stop whining and get a hobby. I took up crocheting and then knitting. Well back when I was in 4H and girl scouts I learned to crochet, knit, embroider, needlepoint and a few more girly-suitable-to-the-1960's (am I really that old?) skills. I hadn't thought of them in decades. When my sister in law was pregnant with my first nephew, I got inspired to crochet a baby blanket and took a stab at crocheting with her help and bought yarn and materials. Suffice to say he is 14 and the baby blanket now resides in a closet somewhere about 2" wide.
During chemo, I thought it might be time to finish the damn baby blanket. At that point my nephew was 9 and I knew he would no longer appreciate a baby blanket but he did have younger siblings. I promptly gave up on that blanket and started crocheting like mad. I started making scarves for family members. My addiction grew to encompass knitting - it was creative and non-fattening. The following year all my friends got scarves as well.
Since then, I have been making a stock pick to end all stock piles. I have a yarn stash that puts me clearly in as a member of SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) even without cancer twice life expectancy. I have developed an addiction to yarn. I have a giant bag of yarn - you know those giant bags for storing comforters... Its almost full.
Now I have to go on the offense and get rid of my scarves so I can buy more yarn to fuel my addiction. I contemplated selling them in a local store on consignment but that didn't work out. I also thought about selling online at Etsy and that would have been a lot of work. Those would have been the easy way out. I wouldn't need to face down customers critiquing my products. I mean what if they don't like them? And say it to my face? "Gee her work is really not very good". Could I handle that? I'm not sure. I could also play the cancer card - I took up knitting and crocheting during chemo after my second cancer diagnosis so don't buy them for the quality but buy them out of pity.
So I was brave and daring on two counts and signed up for a local craft fair at a nearby school. My two counts of daring are: can I face my customers - I mean they could tell me my stuff sucks or is overpriced and not buy it. Ever. And can my body withstand a five hour craft fair? I will be manning a booth by myself for the duration. I am equipped with a chair, a water bottle, a little bag of oranges (after a good healthy breakfast), some pain pills, and my cell phone to call my husband if I need to be bailed out.
I prefer to keep to the background but this will certainly put me out in public. So I will suck it up, put on my big girl panties, and face the music.
PS Please come to the Peirce School today by 2pm....
Back when I was in chemo a friend of mine told me to stop whining and get a hobby. I took up crocheting and then knitting. Well back when I was in 4H and girl scouts I learned to crochet, knit, embroider, needlepoint and a few more girly-suitable-to-the-1960's (am I really that old?) skills. I hadn't thought of them in decades. When my sister in law was pregnant with my first nephew, I got inspired to crochet a baby blanket and took a stab at crocheting with her help and bought yarn and materials. Suffice to say he is 14 and the baby blanket now resides in a closet somewhere about 2" wide.
During chemo, I thought it might be time to finish the damn baby blanket. At that point my nephew was 9 and I knew he would no longer appreciate a baby blanket but he did have younger siblings. I promptly gave up on that blanket and started crocheting like mad. I started making scarves for family members. My addiction grew to encompass knitting - it was creative and non-fattening. The following year all my friends got scarves as well.
Since then, I have been making a stock pick to end all stock piles. I have a yarn stash that puts me clearly in as a member of SABLE (Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy) even without cancer twice life expectancy. I have developed an addiction to yarn. I have a giant bag of yarn - you know those giant bags for storing comforters... Its almost full.
Now I have to go on the offense and get rid of my scarves so I can buy more yarn to fuel my addiction. I contemplated selling them in a local store on consignment but that didn't work out. I also thought about selling online at Etsy and that would have been a lot of work. Those would have been the easy way out. I wouldn't need to face down customers critiquing my products. I mean what if they don't like them? And say it to my face? "Gee her work is really not very good". Could I handle that? I'm not sure. I could also play the cancer card - I took up knitting and crocheting during chemo after my second cancer diagnosis so don't buy them for the quality but buy them out of pity.
So I was brave and daring on two counts and signed up for a local craft fair at a nearby school. My two counts of daring are: can I face my customers - I mean they could tell me my stuff sucks or is overpriced and not buy it. Ever. And can my body withstand a five hour craft fair? I will be manning a booth by myself for the duration. I am equipped with a chair, a water bottle, a little bag of oranges (after a good healthy breakfast), some pain pills, and my cell phone to call my husband if I need to be bailed out.
I prefer to keep to the background but this will certainly put me out in public. So I will suck it up, put on my big girl panties, and face the music.
PS Please come to the Peirce School today by 2pm....
Taking charge of my health
I have fallen into a rut of bad behaviors:
With my medical history, I have to be more proactive than the average person. I have to increase my fruit and veggie intake. I got my flu shot. I do get exercise. I need to be in charge of my health again. I have been lazy.
- I am eating too much leftover Halloween candy. This is a new 'bad' thing. We never have candy in our house so we are taking advantage of it. We did not get the trick or treaters we thought we would and have had candy in the house. I think I need to hide it from us until my brother comes to visit with his wife and four children over Thanksgiving. I can safely say there will not be any candy left by the time they leave.
- We need to eat more fruit and vegetables. This is not to say we do not eat fruit and vegetables. We both have a piece of fruit with breakfast and another as a snack during the day. We also have a vegetable with dinner every night. But some how we have gotten out of the habit of eating a salad as a first course every night. I have to fix that.
- I need to lose 20 lb. - see the two items above. Decrease candy + increase salad = weight loss.
- New ailments and on going old ailments make me feel crappy and in pain more and more. I need a lot less of that.
With my medical history, I have to be more proactive than the average person. I have to increase my fruit and veggie intake. I got my flu shot. I do get exercise. I need to be in charge of my health again. I have been lazy.
Is it time to rename my blog?
When I first started my blog it was called 'Caroline's Cancer Blog' for a very brief period. Then I settled down with 'Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog' because it was about coping with breast cancer. Now more than five years later, my breast cancer seems to be cooperating and not stressing me out (as much) as it did before.
But now I have all sorts of other medical stressors:
But now I have all sorts of other medical stressors:
- Thyroid cancer mysteries. What the hell is going on in my neck? We keep repeating ultrasounds and get conflicting reports - bigger, smaller, same size.
- Back pain. Degenerating disks to start with and living on pain meds.
- Fibromyalgia. This isn't fun. I need to go back to my back pain doctor.
- The spell check on my computer includes oncologist, endocrinologist, rheumatologist, and multiple medications.
- I have a special directory on my cell phone of all my doctor's contact information and have their secretaries' names memorized.
- I see my oncologists less than I see some of my other doctors.
- I feel like I know the pharmacists at the local Walgreen's.
- The nurses in the interventional pain center where they do injections recognize me.
- I can't fit all my prescriptions on my bedside table and keep them on the shelf in my closet.
- My primary care doctor is happy when she doesn't see me more than every few months.
Aging
I often look around and see people my age and think 'they look old'. I mean if I run into someone I went to high school with and they have gray hair and wrinkles, I think they look old. I hope I don't look that old, ever.
Yesterday at work, they had a monthly sales meeting where they get a birthday cake to acknowledge the birthdays of all employees that month. It is actually a good system. My birthday and one other person's were celebrated. Then people started asking me how old I was. Most of them are all older than me and I have worked with them for a few years now so I don't really have a problem with this. But apparently they have a problem, because I am between 5 and 10 years older than they thought. So then I looked at my Real Age test results which says I am 3.7 years younger than my actual age. I combined the two and now I am 37 if you need to know. Next year I will be 37 again.
I am 37 with the medical records of an octogenarian.
Yesterday at work, they had a monthly sales meeting where they get a birthday cake to acknowledge the birthdays of all employees that month. It is actually a good system. My birthday and one other person's were celebrated. Then people started asking me how old I was. Most of them are all older than me and I have worked with them for a few years now so I don't really have a problem with this. But apparently they have a problem, because I am between 5 and 10 years older than they thought. So then I looked at my Real Age test results which says I am 3.7 years younger than my actual age. I combined the two and now I am 37 if you need to know. Next year I will be 37 again.
I am 37 with the medical records of an octogenarian.
But I don't look sick
When people see me who don't know my health disasters, they probably don't think I have anything wrong with me. Well that just goes back to the fact that appearances can be deceiving. Have you ever hunted through a parking lot for a single space and then seen a seemingly healthy person park in a handicapped spot in the front row and stroll into the store while you drive in circles? They may have a respiratory problem which prevents them from walking long distances or some other ailment that does not have visual symptoms.
Us cancer people may be harboring some nasty things inside but usually don't look too bad - unless we are sporting our chemo 'hair cut' and pallor. At our first diagnosis, while we are waiting for surgery, treatment, and full staging, we may look as healthy as can be even if we contain multiple tumors.
Now I go to a gym where its full of healthy looking, dilapidated people. I was speaking with one of the owners recently and he said everyone there has significant health problems. But most of them, unless they are on oxygen, a walker, wheelchair, missing a limb, or other obvious ailment, look pretty darn healthy because they work out. Recently I went hiking and was pleasantly surprised at how well I did on a very hot day. It shows my regular work outs are helping me significantly.
But if I compare myself to most of my friends and colleagues, I have more health issues alone than they all do combined. But at least I don't look sick.
Us cancer people may be harboring some nasty things inside but usually don't look too bad - unless we are sporting our chemo 'hair cut' and pallor. At our first diagnosis, while we are waiting for surgery, treatment, and full staging, we may look as healthy as can be even if we contain multiple tumors.
Now I go to a gym where its full of healthy looking, dilapidated people. I was speaking with one of the owners recently and he said everyone there has significant health problems. But most of them, unless they are on oxygen, a walker, wheelchair, missing a limb, or other obvious ailment, look pretty darn healthy because they work out. Recently I went hiking and was pleasantly surprised at how well I did on a very hot day. It shows my regular work outs are helping me significantly.
But if I compare myself to most of my friends and colleagues, I have more health issues alone than they all do combined. But at least I don't look sick.
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