Until I Drop
Every day that I go out the door (which is not everyday), I go until I drop or that is what it feels like.Yesterday is an example: three doctor appointments at two different places 45 minutes apart, two stops at stores, one stop at my parents for 15 minutes, and then home. I was so tired by the time I got home, I was barely standing. I took the easy way out and got in bed for the next two hours.At my last stop, at the podiatrist that I have been going to since last summer, I ran into a friend who worked there. I knew she worked in a medical office but I didn ' t know she worked in that one. She only works two days a week w...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 9, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: fatigue fibromyalgia naps rheumatoid arthritis tired Source Type: blogs
Back On The Fitness Bandwagon
Finally, I am back on the fitness bandwagon. This week is my first full week of three days at the gym. Finally. I am excited, but exhausted.According to my card at the gym, I had an extended absence from October 4 to December 20. I was so excited to go back. But have forced myself to take it easy. With the help of the physical therapist at the gym, I cut back my exercise plan significantly. I cut down on the weight I use, the time I do cardio, and added a number of specific ' knee strengthening ' exercises. I also have spent three weeks only going twice a week.Its killing me.Every time I leave the gym, I am exhausted. and ...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 8, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being active exhaustion fitness gym Source Type: blogs
Cancer Cure?
No there is not a cancer cure. We need to keep remembering that. We are told by our doctors that there is no evidence of disease or some thing along those lines - which just boils down to " we are not capable of finding it yet " . If your doctor tells you that you are cured, please find a new one asap.In this day and ageshould there be a new definition of cured of cancer? I ' m not sure. I have friends who tell me they are cured. I try to figure out what they are talking about. Seriously, where did this cured business come from? I want to question their position on this but in some ways do not want to know." Upon completio...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 7, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient cancer bonds cancer cure cancer treatment lies Source Type: blogs
More Bacon Bad News
I learned back in 2016 that bacon is not good for fibromyalgia. That was very sad. Now I have learned that bacon, or other processed meats like sausage,can increase your risk of getting breast cancer significantly." From an analysis of more than 260,000 women, researchers found that the risk of breast cancer increased by more than a fifth for those who consumed more than 9 grams of processed meats per day, which is the equivalent of around two sausages per week.However, the team found no link between red meat intake and the risk of breast cancer. "Well that ' s good news about red meat. But I would rather have bacon t...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 6, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient being healthy cancer risk food pouting Source Type: blogs
Another Potential Cure And A Stressor
I do not know if I should be elated or frustrated or what. Here is another potential miracle 'cure' for cancer. No, I am not reading the back pages of some magazine but from a very reputable source. I realize these ' breakthroughs ' happen all the time but they do cause stress to us cancer people.I am not sure how much other people realize the amount of stress the constant barrage of potential news telling us about potential cures - with the supposition that it should be positive and provide hope for us. However, there are two problems with this.The first one is that not all potential ' cures ' ever pan out into something ...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 5, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: being a patient cancer research frustration medical tests stress Source Type: blogs
Life Inside the Bomb Cyclone
All of a sudden the meteorologists are giving us their fancy vocabulary instead of allowing the media to create terms like ' snowmageddon ' . So instead of living inside a blizzard (or a snow globe), we are inside the bomb cyclone.What is it like? Today when I woke up it was not snowing. By 8am it was snowing. The black cat (Evil Kitty) came in with snowflakes on him. I am also watching the barometer (because we have one finally). It was at 29.8 last night, 29.4 this morning, and is already down to 29.3. I am being such a geek.I did some planning yesterday afternoon. We have been home for days on end. We went out to dinner...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 4, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: planning snow storm Source Type: blogs
Hibernation
I think today and tomorrow I will hibernate. Today is supposed to hit 28 degrees, the first time over 20 degrees in over a week so I might go out for a bit. Overdue library books might motivate me. The cats are going out for a bit. Tomorrow we are due to get a foot of snow. We will both be hibernating with the cats. Friday I will go to the gym and have a friend over for tea.Hibernating is good and bad. The good thing is I don ' t go out and slip on the ice and snow and I won ' t get frostbite. On the down side, it does not help my stress levels. Hibernation can mean isolation. Today I am home alone. Tomorrow, I assume with...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 3, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: coping depression isolation winter Source Type: blogs
Blogging In The New Year
I have many plans for 2018.For my health, I hope to have a healthier 2018 than 2017 was. Honestly I do not think I can deal with any more ailments. I hope I can be healthier.For my blog, I hope to go back to blogging regularly. I started blogging about breast cancer and have continued to blog through the roller coaster of the rest of my health. This all started in 2007, more than ten years ago. While I have been blogging almost every day, in the last few years I might have slowed down a little and skipped a day here and there.Then last summer, I made the decision, due to travel and other plans, to take my blog off line for...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - January 2, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: ailments blogging coping stress Source Type: blogs
Cancer again....
Did you know that if you have cancer once you have a 3.5-36.9% chance of getting an unrelated second cancer (been there, done that). And that 70% of cancer people have a comorbid condition which requires better medical care for the rest of their life. So maybe you smoked and got one cancer, 15 years later you find you have lung cancer, eve though you quit smoking at your first diagnosis.No I don ' t make this stuff up. Someone finally did a study on people who have cancer once and rates of developing a new cancer. They found out lots of interesting things:Many people who have cancer once do not take steps to redu...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 28, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer awareness cancer detection cancer risk Source Type: blogs
Favorites During Chemo
When you are starting chemo, you are warned not to eat your favorite foods during chemo because if chemo makes them taste bad you will never be able to enjoy them again. It ' s also true of activities that you are able to enjoy doing during chemo.When I was in chemo, I spent a lot of quality time watching bad tv with the cat sitting next to me. The cat would sit next to me all the time. Watching tv was okay because I could barely focus and could watch the same movies over and over again. They were peripherals.I still have not gotten one shrimp or scallions. If I smelled scallions during chemo I would have to leave the room...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 25, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer bonds cancer treatment hobbies Source Type: blogs
Recommendations vs. Medical Standards vs Patient Preferences
How often do you get your teeth cleaned? Every six months, just like the ADA reccomends of course. Unless you have bad teeth like me and go every three months (and I hate having my teeth cleaned). There are guidelines that tell us all sorts of things - get the oil changed on your car, get a flu shot, get a colonoscopy, and get a mammogram.We usually follow these guidelines because they give us structure and a sense of how often we need to do these things. We listen to them because they are all in the ' preventive ' category - they help make us more likely to live longer and healthier. We may not understand all the reasons ...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 24, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer screening changes education Source Type: blogs
The Young Adult Ignored Cancer Patients
This is one of my pet peeves. Children with cancer have their mature, sane parents advocating for them. Adults with cancer can advocate for themselves.The young adults - 15 to 30s - often don ' t find the same support or resources. First they are still trying to figure out who they are and what they will do with their life. Second, they are learning to be independent and should be focusing on their education and careers, not going to chemotherapy. There is hope now that online resources can help fill the gaps for the patients and maybe for the doctors as well." In addition, they will probably go on to live long lives and t...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 22, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: cancer bonds cancer treatment side effects young cancer patients Source Type: blogs
San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
I have found there are two key conferences to follow to keep up with the latest cancer news annually. First of all, each June there is the annualASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncologists) conference held around the country. As oncologists come together and the outcome produces a slew of new research news for all types of cancer translated into normal English.Second, is the annualSan Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium held in early/mid-December each year in San Antonio TX. That was just held and so much news was just released. There was so much new news that you should go read it all yourself if you want to stay up on the...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 21, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer cancer research cancer treatment learning medical research Source Type: blogs
Screening Recommendations Based on Doctor Personal Experiences
Recently in JAMA," ...a research letter... explores howsocial interactions with friends, family and colleagues who have been diagnosed with breast cancer may affect a physician ’s recommendations to patients. "What it found was that a doctor ' s personal experiences impact what they recommend for their patients. They did not necessarily follow the current guidelines. " Physicians familiar with someone with a poor prognosis who was not diagnosed via screening were much more likely to recommend routine checks for women between 40 and 44 years old and those over 75. "“Describing a woman whose breast cancer was not di...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 19, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: arthritis treatment cancer history cancer screening medical history Source Type: blogs
Aggressive Breast Cancer In Younger Women
Younger women with breast cancer always seem to (my tiny non-medical mind) be either very late stage and/or aggressive and require more aggressive treatment. And somenew research may explain why." Researchers at the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom found that women aged 15 –39 who had early-onset breast cancer possessed specific gene variations that were associated with increased disease progression.Lead study author Dr. William Tapper — from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton — and team say that their results not only shed light on why younger women with breast cancer have l...
Source: Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog - December 18, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: breast cancer cancer research genes Source Type: blogs
