Archive for the ‘ Living with Cancer ’ Category

Is a Busy Life Really a Happy Life?

Once again I have been remiss in posting here on my personal blog. They say a busy life is a happy life, and as I  like to say, “I must be ecstatic!”. Or maybe it is the old “No news is good news”? Nah, I always have news….or at least a really good story ;)

Back in October I flew to Austin, TX to spend ten days with my best friend and business With my "BFF" and biz partner Deb   partner Deb Lane. During those ten days, we traveled       down to San Antonio to attend the first ever GVO Seminar. GVO, or Global Virtual Opportunities) is one of our main online businesses. For those who have never met any online friends in person, it is an amazing experience! This happened last March when we met in Las Vegas to attend the Marshall Sylver Turning Point Seminar. This time we saw many of the people we had also met in Vegas, but many, many new faces were there. People recognized us from our weekly webinars as GVO Academy instructors. We felt like Rock Stars as folks rushed up to us, most of them dispensing huge, warm hugs! As always, what we came away from the Seminar with was priceless. We learned so much, we are completely re-vamping our websites and online business. Naturally, the time we got to spend together was way too short. We did manage to take some pictures together and even shoot a little welcome video for our main website, Marketer’s Edge (You should see the outtakes!).

On the personal front, my granddaughter Josephine turned three on November 21. It is these events that make you realize just how fast time passes, especially as you get older. I continue to be amazed at how smart she is. Really. Not just because she is mine. I thought my daughter was smart, but with the computer age these babies are gaining knowledge at an exceptionally rapid rate.

Ric had a second surgery, this time on his right shoulder, on December 9. The doctor found a large amount of scar tissue had built up and was the primary cause of his pain. Ric says it’s like a miracle! He still has pain and tingling in his left shoulder, but the doctors say that is most likely due to his inactivity over the last year while dealing with the other issues.

My oncologist is absolutely amazed every time I go for chemotherapy. My bloodwork is good. I tell her things I do, like shoveling snow last week, and she can’t believe it! I am sure the chemo has a bit to do with it, but I still give credit to the Immunocal, which I never miss a day of taking. I even took it to Texas with me.

Now you see what I meant by the “busy life” comment. I have chemo every Thursday for 3 weeks, then I skip one. Ric has Physical Therapy every weekday. Three nights a week he has counseling from 6 – 9 PM. We babysit Jo four days a week. I do all of the grocery shopping and most of the cooking. I help run an online business. Cancer? I have no time for the usual side effects of cancer. I am now two years into a disease which has a usual prognosis of 5 – 10 months.

My grandpa turned 85 on December 22. He’s definitely slowing down, but still doing great “for his age”. We treated him to Applebee’s (he likes it), then cruised around town looking at Christmas lights. This has become one of our yearly traditions. Gramps fell asleep in the car. :)

We have certainly had our challenges over the last few months, but we always find a way to deal with them. At the end of the day, we are family, through thick and thin. I think “they” are right – a busy life IS a happy life!

Stephanie

The Effects of NOT taking Your Medicine

I have been remiss in posting to my personal blog. For
that I must apologize. Much has happened in the last two months.

On August 16, my DH Ric finally got the surgery done
on his neck to fuse the discs. They actually inserted a
titanium disc in his vertebrae which will fuse with the
others. Wow, the wonders of modern medicine. This
was done on an “outpatient” basis, he came home the same afternoon!

One morning in September I woke up with terrible pain
in my right side. I called my Oncologist who sent me
to the hospital for a chest x-ray. Fluid in my right lung,
great. I had to go see a Pulmonary Specialist. Funny
how the Circle of Life works – I had an appointment
with a Dr. Colangelo. Hmmmm the name sounds
familiar. This is the same  doctor who drained the fluid
from my mom’s lungs several times before she passed
away. Now I am about to undergo the same procedure.

100 cc’s of fluid came out of my right lung. Dr.
Colangelo is a little  perplexed at the fact that there is
less fluid now that there was on the chest x-ray 2
weeks before. Only I know why…I had stopped taking
the Immunocal two months prior. I went back on it as soon as I found out about the fluid. ;)

My good friend (and work from home “Boss”) Joel
Therien had called me to tell me about a different
product which cost much less and did not have an
Income Opportunity attached to it. I tried it, but got
very sick due to not following the proper protocol.

Now they test the fluid to see if it is cancer or just
infection. It’s cancer. Damn. Dr Paula (my Oncologist)
informs Ric and I that I have Stage 4 cancer, and that
we knew that from the beginning. Ummmm, no….
no one ever said those words. Anger. Rage. Tears.
For a year and a half I have been undergoing
chemotherapy treatments thinking I would eventually
go into remission. Well, I won’t. Not with traditional
medicine, anyway. Dr. Paula says we are “buying time”
and trying to give me the best possible quality of life,
however much I have left. Sorry, those who know me
well know I ain’t buying it. I have already beat the
odds as far as time for Stage 4 cancer, and I intend to beat it even longer!

We’re going to change my chemo again. Back to 3
weeks on, one week off. I have had two sessions so
far, with less side effects than with the old chemo
drugs. No major “crashing”, just a bit of fatigue. I actually feel pretty good.

Needless to say I will NOT stop taking Immunocal -
EVER. I feel so strongly about the boost it is giving to
my immune system that I have decided to become a
distributor, not just a customer so I can try to help
others who may need it. I already make money
working from home, I may as well make a difference in another life at the same time.

As always – One Day at a Time,
Steph

Happy Birthday to Me!

So today is my birthday! I turn 48 today, hard to believe. For the past 15 years or so, I have not really considered my birthday to be special. Yes, my family has always made a big deal out of birthdays, celebrating with gifts and a cake. I just pretty much considered it another day.

This year is different. To a cancer Survivor every day is a gift, but especially a milestone like a birthday. Once you receive that terrible diagnosis, you really don’t know how many more birthdays you will be around to celebrate. So in honor of ME, I have been up since 6:45 to make this day last as long as possible. I have my hair done and my makeup on. I will be wearing the dress my daughter Mikie bought me last year that I have never worn.

I received an early birthday present earlier this week. A lady I know through business who is my Facebook friend told me I have inspired her. What greater gift is there than to be told you have impacted someone’s life?

I will be surrounded by those who love me today, feasting on my favorite food, Lobster! We will celebrate our gifts of life and love, not only today, but every day.

Stephanie

Yes, Chemotherapy is Evil ;)

Every three weeks I hope my chemotherapy session does not land me in bed. Every three weeks it does. I call it my “Crash” time. I don’t feel so bad that I can’t have my laptop and type, though. I still ran some ads for my business, still got my granddaughter out of bed and spent an hour with her. I forced myself to get up and drink my coffee on the back porch amidst the flowers until it got too hot. I had to take a nap afterward.

I may look like hell, but I’m still smiling. It’s not that I think I am exceptional, it’s just that I refuse to let it win. Besides, one can only watch so many Lifetime movies, or do so much to keep up with the Kardashians ;) I don’t even like television, really – there are too many other things to do in life.

It’s funny too, I go read all the Facebook updates from my friends since I have been away. The whiners are still whining. “It’s so hot out”, “I don’t feel good” they say. Are you kidding me? I’m not being mean, just real. I wish I could spread a little zest around, help them see how fortunate they are to have the (“crappy”) health they have. Come lie with me for three days honey, I’ll make you laugh :) The thing that bothers me most is these comments are usually from my daughter’s friends – my “adoptive kids”. They’re 20-something and feel bad. One in particular is pregnant. STOP THE PRESSES! She and a million other 20-somethings! Suck it up, baby. Wait til that child gets here! LOL

I think most folks just don’t understand chemo – I mean, it is pretty frightening! They think you get these intravenous drugs for a while, your hair falls out then grows back, then you either go into remission or die. Welcome to Limbo! Sometimes you are lucky and just have chemo for years, like me.

But alas, tomorrow is always another day! I sure wouldn’t want the alternative…… So I’ll continue to lie here every three weeks, reading how crappy others feel, smiling and hoping. Hoping the next time is only as bad as this time.

Stephanie :)

Day 8 on Immunocal

The pain in my back and legs is definitely subsiding after eight days of taking Immunocal. Whew! Hopefully I was right and the product just takes time. I felt fine all day, with plenty of energy and mental clarity. I was taking about 800 mg a day of Ibuprofen to supplement the prescribed pain medication I am on (Percocet 10/325), but yesterday I only took 400 mg at bedtime. I have not taken any so far today :)

Thursday June 10 is Chemo day. I may or may not feel like being online in the day that follow, but will continue to drink my Apple juice Immunocal cocktails. I will keep you posted on my progress.

Steph