70,000 people ages 15-39 will be diagnosed with cancer this year. There has been little or no improvement in survival rates for young adults over the past 20 years. What the hell is that about?!! This bill would be established as a standard of care to meet the needs of this underserved population. It needs your support!
Please head on over to Seventyk.org for more info and to sign the petition. Oh yeah, don’t for get to send out an email blast to all your friends so they can do the same!
I was always a big fan of Patrick Swayze. Dirty Dancing was one of my fav movies. I even had a poster of him on the wall of my college dorm room. Can you say “crush”?! Anyway, when the news broke that he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer I was stunned as I am sure most people were. I have put off writing this post because the news hit home for me and it is something I haven’t really written much about.
Last April my dad was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Even as I write the words they still don’t seem real. This type of cancer is one of the most deadly types mostly because it is found at later stages of the disease. It is difficult to diagnose and there is really no screening test. My dad ended up going to the ER with vomiting and stomach pain. It had been difficult for him to keep any food in his stomach. Tests revealed a blockage at the place where the stomach connects to the intestines. Possibly a tumor. Further tests revealed that it was a tumor attached to his pancreas. He underwent a Whipple Procedure which surgery specific to removing tumors of the pancreas. The surgery was successful however the tumor was cancer and there is lymph node involvement.
I wondered how it could be possible that cancer was hitting my family again only 6 years after my breast cancer diagnosis. But you see cancer does not discriminate. I was only 31 when I heard the words “you have cancer” and my dad is only 59 years old. Still a youngin in my book. Pancreatic cancer affects males more often and in my dad’s age group. My father is a heavy smoker and an alcoholic. I was stunned in my frantic google search after hearing the news to find that both smoking and alcohol abuse are linked to this type of cancer. My dad amazingly hasn’t had a drink in over 20 years but still smokes like a fiend. With the amount that he drank when I was growing up it is amazing he still has a functioning liver but what kind of damage did it reek on his good ‘ol pancreas? Then again, I had breast cancer with no significant family history at a very young age. Go figure! Thats the scary thing with the big “C”…..there doesn’t seem to be a cookbook answer or rather a textbook case that everyone will fall into. I think it is the same with survival. If you have been diagnosed with cancer your first question may have been “Am I going to die?” I know mine was! And depending on the answer to that one you may wonder “When”. All questions the docs don’t really have answers to. My dad posed that question to his doc and was told he has 8-12 months to live if he didn’t do chemo which he opted not to do. Having gone through treatment myself I respect his decision to not do chemo as I know it has to be his decision and nobody else’s. But here we are coming up on the 1 year anniversary of his diagnosis and he is still kickin around! Not well, but still…
Now after struggling most of my life, oh…who am I kidding…. my whole life, in my relationship with my dad, I have a unique understanding of what he is going through more than anyone in my family. I know what it is like to be a cancer patient and I know what it feels like to be scared you will die. I can also see more clearly what he went through with me when I was sick. I don’t like being on the other side of things. But here I am. Trying to figure it all out. An impossible puzzle to solve……
Well guys and gals I have exciting news to share! I have blogged before about Kris Carr author of Crazy, Sexy Cancer Tips which is a kick ass book that came out back in the fall chock full of great info for young cancer survivors. Her documentary that started it all will be out on DVD this week! It is called Crazy, Sexy Cancer.
I frequent her blog and have met some really cool peeps and not just cancer survivors. There are great people there that want to learn how to better their lives in many ways….both spiritually and physically.
Over the weekend Kris stepped it up a notch and unveiled her new forum
My Crazy Sexy Life.com. I am already addicted! It is so great, and fun! All you have to do is hop on over and sign up, you get your own page, can upload photos, and info about yourself, begin a group, or just hang and chat it up with others. There are cancer guys and gals but also people who just want to learn how to make their life better.
So if you want to improve your mind, body and spirit take a peek and see what its all about! I can assure you, once you step into the crazy, sexy life you won’t want to leave!
Oh, and don’t forget to tell a friend!
Stop back here and be sure to tell me what you think about it!
I’ll see ya there!
My new friend Sherry over at Sage and Thyme posted a meme she was tagged for where she had to tell 6 non-important things/habits/quirks about herself. Although she didn’t technically “tag” me she did invite others to participate. So I am going to accept the informal invite! 
Now, I don’t like to admit that I may be quirky but some of these things probably fit that term! We all have weird habits though don’t we? I am secretly hoping I am not alone here!!
Here goes…..
- I won’t sit in the grass, I don’t even like it to touch my legs when I walk through it
- When I shop for groceries I won’t take the first or last item on the shelf, only from the middle
- I don’t like to drink cold water, only room temperature
- I am afraid to try new foods due to anticipated potential allergic reaction
- I get sea sick
- I have dental phobia (thats a topic for its own special blog! -yikes!)
I am not going to tag anyone mostly because I don’t know many bloggers! But I will invite you guys to participate if the mood strikes you.
Here are the rules:
link to the person who tagged you
share 6 non-important/habits/quirky things about yourself
tag 6 random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs
let each person know you tagged them by leaving a comment on their blog
Check out this great video starring my new friend and founder of The I’m Too Young For This Cancer Foundation For Young Adults (i2Y), Matthew Zachary. The Understanding Cancer Network profiled i2y in a recent segment posted on their website.
i[2]y continues to spread its wings and is getting the well deserved recognition for all the wonderful things they are doing to provide support for young adults with stupid cancer! It is an organization that I am very passionate about and wish was around when I was diagnosed with cancer at 31.
Be sure to check them out! And if you already know about this cool resource for young adults with cancer then stop by and let me know what your experience has been!
Recently I had the opportunity to lecture at Gilda’s Club to other young survivors. The topic I discussed was body image and cancer. I now want to share some of it with all of you and hopefully get your input on it as well!
For most of us body image issues began way before our cancer diagnosis. I know mine sure did! I never thought my boobs were big enough, my stomach was too fat, and I never seemed to be happy with my hair. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer as a young woman my body image issues increased with intensity to say the very least.
At the top of my list of concerns then was hair loss. Yes, I put that before boob loss. My boob I could hide away under my clothes but the hair…..that was going to be dam tough to hide. I had new scars to deal with when my boob was gone, I enjoyed chemo induced menopause (full on with hot flashes, and I dried up like an old prune at 31), fatigue that felt as if my body was beat until bloody, my skin color began to look a greyish green (oh so lovely) and I was beginning to no longer recognize the girl staring back at me in the mirror.
How did I deal with all that? As a young single woman clinging to the hope she wouldn’t die, how did I try to feel better about myself, about my body, my disappearing self? Well, it wasn’t easy and somedays even now it still seems like a struggle. Here are some tips I want to share to help pick yourself up during cancer treatment and beyond to try and do just that….
- Loose the scale! When I focused on my weight I only felt worse.
- Refocus your energy on healing the inside.
- Wear lipstick everyday……if no other makeup.
- Get a mani/pedicure….I had a standing weekly manicure appointment. It may have been a small thing but it really made me feel better about myself.
- The hair thing…..experiment with wigs and try to have fun. I had more than one wig just to change it up a bit. Or if you are one of those girls that rocks the bald head….you go girl!! You should feel good about yourself no matter what!
- Start to look at your new scars in a different way……my scars are now a daily reminder that I am a survivor!
Most important to remember is that at the end of the day we are all just girls with the same worries we had about our bodies before cancer smacked us in the face. Focus on what makes you who you are on the inside. Change your focus and get rid of fear. Think about what makes you feel creative and what you are passionate about. For me it was writing, photography or just taking a long walk. It was a way for me to empower myself. Fear can steal away our power. Don’t let it!
It is important to realize that you don’t have to keep up appearances. Just be yourself. Turn focus to the positives. Reach out to other cancer survivors who will know what you are going through. Who know what it is like knee deep in the sh**!
What was it that helped you feel better about you? How did you deal with your own body image crapness??
As I hung up the phone last nite I felt drained. Like the life was literally sucked right out of me. I felt angry, sad, and guilty all at the same time. Is that possible? To have so many feelings all at once. Is it possible to be so mad at yourself for not speaking up and just taking sh** that you could scream?
My whole life I have struggled in our relationship, I have struggled with my feelings for you. Love and hate intertwined together with me unable to untie the knot. When I was a little girl all I longed to do was make you happy, make you proud of me. I tried and tried. Tried to be good, and polite, and always do what I was told. I feared you. The alcohol always won. I could never beat it. It had taken over you, taken over our lives.
It has taken me many years to forgive. And now that you have cancer, now that you are dying, the little girl inside is trying to figure out how to save you. She is trying to figure out how to make you happy if even for a minute. But again you are lost. Lost in your own hell. The hell you have created for yourself. I have realized that this is your path, your journey, one that I cannot lay out for you nor can I get in the way.
I called you last nite to talk for a while but as usual I barely did any talking. I listened to your complaints feeling guilty because of the cancer. Maybe that is why I listened for so long. For 2 hours. Maybe that is why I felt selfish. Selfish for wanting you to ask me how I was doing. Instead I became your bitching board again.
Just because you have cancer doesn’t mean that I will put myself out in the line of fire. It is called self preservation and it is what I have to do for me.
I am not strong enough….the board is beginning to break……
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