We Interrupt Your Blog Reading....

...with another link. Both the Blogstar and the blog auth0r are down with a bad cold (I swear I didn't give it to her... I didn't see her at all last week!!!!) Meanwhile here is one of my favorite sites when I need a good laugh. Passive Aggressive Notes dot com. Nothing to do with cancer. Wickedly funny and sarcastic, just like our favorite Blogstar!

More Health Humor

I haven't seen Kathy all week. It doesn't have anything to do with how she's feeling. Just that our schedules never meshed. So, can't give you an update. But I do have more funnies for your weekend. Click here to see Dan Reynold's Healthcare Cartoons. These cartoons cover all aspects of healthcare. Even pet healthcare.

Laugh More, Live Better!

Just About Now...

...I'm sure Kathy and her family could use some humor!

Here's a tip for when you are cranky, feeling like crap, bored of feeling like crap, tired, grouchy from being tired, nauseated, f-ing tired of being nauseated etc. Google! It is amazing what you can find when you put "!@#$%& cancer" into Google images! (P.S. This is for old people only. Kids should not do this. Teenagers should not do this, but probably have done it already without me telling them!)






This poster, entitled "Love Boobs, Hate Cancer," was done as a fundraiser at another blog. What do you say blog readers? Should we make one of these???? They raised over $4000. Ha ha ha!!

I am borrowing it here since their fundraiser is over. In the spirit of the poster, though...

Do you love boobs and HATE cancer? Then make a donation to the American Cancer Society or start saving for our Relay for Life fundraisers. Got pennies????

Is it the Kemo...

...or is it Us?
I got an update from Kathy just before the weekend and I thought I would share some of what was in the email.
The doctor told me yesterday that she could hardly feel the tumor, to which I replied, "So, we're done here?" To which she replied, "Uh, no!"

Thursday was my last "poison" treatment," and I'm not looking forward to the next couple of weeks of being sick, but I am encouraged by the reports of how much easier the next drug regimen is. And, I'm half-way done with my kemo!

It still seems as if I have such a long way to go, and I tried to give myself the same advice I give to students when they talk about how long it'll take to get a certificate or degree: "It's OK, you'll get there--break it into chunks (baby steps)--you'll be surprised at how quickly the time goes."

What a load of crap! Well, not really, but it's hard to take your own advice!

Anyway, thanks to everyone for helping me shrink those little !@#$%&ers with your positive thoughts and actions.

So is it the Kemo, or is it Us? I vote that we call it the combination of the treatment, Kathy's personal and family strength, and the energy we are all creating! Whatever it is, let's keep it working!!!!! When the strength of one of those things starts to flag, the others are there to take over the heavy lifting. Keep the comments coming, too. Kathy and her family really appreciate hearing from all of you out there. (255 visits to the blog as of this morning!)

TLC

Kathy has her last of the first round of nasty kemo tomorrow. Over the last three treatments the side effects have seemed to be cumulative, getting worse each time. You can imagine what that does to her state of mind. You know it's coming and you know it will probably be worse than the last time. Ugh!! The only two saving graces are 1) that this is the last one of this particular "cocktail" and 2) that if she is feeling crappy, the !@#$%& cancer cells are feeling worse. The good news is that the kemo is definitely shrinking the tumor. That makes it hard to know what to wish for her. The awful side effects seem like proof that the kemo is working, then again, none of us want her to have another week of side effects. What to do, what to do....

TLC is the answer! The kemo has to do its job, so the feeling crappy is probably a given. Doesn't that suck :-( But Kathy doesn't have to feel crappy alone! We're all here to provide some TLC. Family, friends, colleagues, anonymous blog readers, lurkers... Send some online Tender Loving Care! Let's let Kathy know that we are all out here creating positive energy to help with her fight. (Can we blow up the comments section with too many responses? We can try!) This next week will be hard, but she's tough and she has a support group behind her. This blog has had over 200 visits since I put up the counter (and that was after three weeks of blogging). That is a lot of positive energy and a lot of TLC!

Small Bites

It is important to do whatever it takes to combat nausea and get nutrition into the body during kemo. In this video Kemo shows how small bites can get one through a meal. Do take a a minute to watch ! ;-)

Be Kind to Kemo Stomach!

The kemo stomach is not a happy stomach, and although it tries to be stoic and not complain too much, it sometimes can't keep quiet.  The stomach and digestive tract "takes one for the team" during kemo.  Those chemicals that are bad for fast growing cancer cells are also bad for fast growing cells in the digestive system and stomach cells are the collateral damage in the cancer wars.  The more treatments you have, the more unhappy the stomach gets.  So here are some recipes I found that might make life a little easier for the heroic kemo stomach!

 Banana Shake--super easy, used in a hospital
 Citrus Rice Pudding from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute  Why does rice pudding seem like the ultimate comfort food?
A half dozen ginger recipes, including Carrot Ginger Soup, from the Prostate Cancer Foundation
Finally, here is the recipe I found for a Kemo Smoothie by Unknownchef86.  I could imagine adding ginger to this as well.  Maybe a 2-3 TBS of fresh or 2-3 tsp of ground ginger.  I think ginger added to this would be especially good if the fruit were berries or peaches.

• 1 (12 1/3 ounce) package tofu (I like Mori-Nu Extra-Firm Silken Tofu)
• 2-4 scoops protein powder
• unsweetened fresh fruit or unsweetened frozen fruit, to taste (bananas, berries, peaches, etc.)
• whole milk, as needed
• 1 quart yogurt, any flavor (berry flavors work well)

Run the tofu through blender til smooth, adding milk as needed to thin.
Add the protein powder and fruit to the blender, scraping down sides as needed.
Frozen fruit may be added to thicken (like ice) without substantially watering down the mixture.
Add more milk to thin, as needed.Add the yogurt into the blender and thin to taste with more milk.
Pour into individual drink containers, or leave in the blender pitcher and store in the refrigerator. 
Only make as much as you need for one or two days; make a fresh batch as needed.