Support for LateToSchool

[epistrophy]

<p>and another</p>

<p>

Gayle Bowman of Orlando smoked for two decades. Almost 17 years after quitting, she was diagnosed with lung cancer.</p>

<p>Bowman said too many people are quick to blame the victim. Many engage in unhealthy habits – be it overeating, lack of exercise or tanning, another activity clearly linked to cancer. Yet lung cancer patients can be viewed unsympathetically.</p>

<p>“In a lot of ways, society puts a stigma on lung cancer,” said Bowman, 51, who has been fighting the condition since 2002. “There’s this feeling that, ‘Well, you smoked, you deserve it.’ But how can you convict someone to death for a wrong decision they made when they were young?”

</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/consumer/orl-lung0108apr01,0,1919114.story[/url]”>http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/consumer/orl-lung0108apr01,0,1919114.story&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[mythmom]

<p>latetoschool: I am not a doctor, so of course, take my words with a huge teaspoon of salt.</p>

<p>I am going to weigh in on the presentation decision.</p>

<p>I really think you should consider going. This is an important professional engagement that you have been working for and that you will experience tremendous satisfaction from, and you’ll be passing on some of your amazing knowledge to others.</p>

<p>I don’t think your reputation would take such a big hit if anything happened. If you were unwell there are very tactful and graceful ways of withdrawing on the spot. (I know. I speak at many conferences and have always done so in many capacities.)</p>

<p>However, since you have never experienced any incapacity, I really don’t think you will now, either.</p>

<p>Since your doctor has okayed it, I think you will be upset with yourself at a later date if you don’t go.</p>

<p>I hope I have not overstepped by expressing this opinion. Of course, as with everything else, the decision is yours, and we here support what you do without question. But you know that.</p>

<p>Great to know the doctor has such a sense of humor, admiration for the right people, and common concerns with you. I sure he respects you enormously.</p>

[Delicate_Arch]

<p>Also, not to be rude to the average person, but some people, even at 50% of their max are still performing better than the average person. LTS, you’re probably like that. You know you can bow out on the spot if you begin feeling unwell. If you think you can travel safely, and if you have someone who can assist you if you start feeling unwell, then, for what it’s worth, I say go for it.</p>

<p>Besides, if you look at the size of your fan base, I bet no matter where your conference is you will be within 100 mile of one of us. Just say the word and you could have instant support.</p>

[4Giggles]

<p>LTS- This thread is yours to take where ever you want and more importantly, where ever you need. Don’t worry we will all follow:D</p>

[mythmom]

<p>latetoschool: Just reread my post. Didn’t mean to imply that you won’t have many many opportunities to pass along this knowledge. This is just one of them.</p>

<p>As an educator, I know that each opportunity is precious. </p>

<p>However, you are precious, too, so you must choose.</p>

[latetoschool]

<p>Delicate Arch, thank you for pointing out the potential for support, and of a CC member in close proximity. Somehow, I never thought of that, can you imagine? What an incredible community is CC.</p>

<p>Mythmom you weren’t overstepping. Not at all. I will make this decision within a day or so - I will have to, in order to get flights etc. done. I want to go. I just don’t want to compromise myself. And I am worried - I don’t look like myself. The other people I will be interacting with “know” me; we had several days of meetings at the same military installation and then follow up meetings in Washington, all just prior to my diagnosis. Since then we have had conference calls, but, they haven’t seen me in person in eight months. Chemotherapy and all the collateral treatment has been seriously impactive to my physical appearance. It’s not just a matter of having to wear a wig; it’s the lines and dark spaces under my eyes; the moonface from the steroid course I’m stuck with while completing wbr; the 18 lb. weight gain, just all of the things that cancer treatment does to how a person looks. And these people are highly trained to observe even the smallest detail; there is simply no way in the world they are not going to notice. Add this to the fact that I feel “off”, not anything like myself (while not exactly feeling “sick”), I am not sure how to handle this. Just bravely go forward and hope for the best, I supposed, and, if asked, perhaps just admit it all. Arlen Spector did, and it doesn’t appear to have hurt him professionally. I don’t know - on top of all the other concerns, this is hard. But I suppose I can deal…</p>

<p>Countingdown, that’s sort of what I thought too…</p>

<p>Thank you very much to everyone who posted, and continues to offer support. It means a lot to me and helps a great deal; I sincerely appreciate it.</p>

[mythmom]

<p>LOL. You’re describing me on a good day! My asthma has required many courses of steroids and lots of weight gains. I just have to put a brave face on. </p>

<p>But I really do understand.</p>

[anon94785555]

<p>If you feel you can handle something, go for it. Do not worry about pre/post cancer image- we are all changing, some of us look worse, a few lucky ones look better than we did the last time people saw us. You are asked there for your presentation, not to be a fashion statement- do not start hiding because you have battle scars. Keep on living, judge your ability to do things on how you feel, not on how you look. Don’t worry about any possible need to cancel- the guy who died of his sudden heart attack didn’t… I am so glad you have a full life, enjoy it as much as possible.</p>

[calmom]

<p>

Arlen Spector did, and it doesn’t appear to have hurt him professionally. I don’t know - on top of all the other concerns, this is hard. But I suppose I can deal.

I know you have decided to keep the details of your cancer diagnosis and treatment under wraps except for your closest friends and associates, but I am quite sure that if others suspect or find out they are only going to have the greatest respect and admiration for your tenacity. </p>

<p>However, if you are worried about disclosure of the cancer, you can always tell people who inquire that you have a health problem without going into details. I know that you are upset about the weight gain, but this isn’t unusual for women in their late 40’s. So I would say that you really would be safe to hope they don’t notice, but if they do and you don’t want to talk about the big C, then blame the physical changes on some unspecified “hormonal” problem. I guarantee you that the minute you say that, the men will stop asking any more questions. </p>

<p>You know, the rest of the people you work with aren’t immune from health problems. Many of them have serious medical issues that they haven’t mentioned or disclosed for the same reason you don’t feel like broadcasting yours. The only unrealistic thing would be to expect that everyone would stay in perfect health forever.</p>

[mominva]

<p>LTS,
If you do decide to go forward with your professional event, I think you’d be fine to quietly mention to your closest colleague(s) there, that you feel a bit ‘off’ as you have had a health issue to deal with recently. Furthur inquiries could be deflected with ‘We are still working it out.’ You could be honest without full disclosure.</p>

[sunnyflorida]

<p>LTS, there are MANY reasons to be on steroids, and many are knowledgeable of their side effects. If it became necessary, ou could easily mention that you are on steroids for a health issue, causing you to be “off.” You would not have to totally “admit it all.”</p>

[anon94785555]

<p>Never lie, or fudge the truth, however- you don’t want to deal with keeping any story consistent. Best to say as little or as much as you feel comfortable with, such as a general “health issue” so you don’t have to get into pronged discussions of your specifics.</p>

[ADad]

<p>Colon Cancer Survivor Proves Doctors Wrong</p>

<p>

I believe the medical folks treat us for the disease, but they don’t teach us how to survive. We must learn that for ourselves.

</p>

<p>

“If you don’t get hope from your doctor, fire your doctor,” he tells those who ask for advice.

</p>

<p>[ACS</a> :: Colon Cancer Survivor Proves Doctors Wrong](<a href=“http://www.cancer.org/docroot/FPS/content/FPS_1_Colon_Cancer_Survivor_Proves_Doctors_Wrong.asp]ACS”>http://www.cancer.org/docroot/FPS/content/FPS_1_Colon_Cancer_Survivor_Proves_Doctors_Wrong.asp)</p>

[Kelowna]

<p>LTS, this is your oncologist speaking

he told me he has never in all of his years of practice been interrogated so thoroughly by any patient, ever. I asked - was I really that bad? I will of course try to tone it down in the future. He said no. Don’t change a thing. Just keep being who and what you are. Don’t even consider being anyone different…

</p>

<p>You are doing GREAT!!!</p>

[epistrophy]

<p>

Haiku Stones
Cluster Four: Cherry Blossoms</p>

<p>Here are three haiku about sakura, cherry blossoms. We start with Basho’s confusion among the blossoms, which make him so drunk with their visual power that he can not discern between the bells of Ueno and Asakusa anymore. In the second haiku he suddenly sees the magnificent roof of Sensoji, soaring above the blossoms . . .</p>

<p>The third haiku is by Shushiki, a thirteen-year old poetess who was the disciple of Kikaku, who again studied with Basho. Fitting for Ueno, which is still the prime blossom-viewing spot in central Tokyo, she also writes about cherry blossoms and her fear for the fate of those fragile petals still holds true . . .

</p>

<p>[Basho</a> Haiku Stones in Tokyo: Cherry Blossoms](<a href=“XS4ALL - First Class Internet”>http://www.xs4all.nl/~daikoku/haiku/meguri/kuhi-4.htm)</p>

[neumes]

<p>LTS, I am in awe of your will, focus and grace. Your writing is a daily dose of inspiration.</p>

<p>I imagine the people who know you will forget all about any changes in your physical presence in a few minutes, and if you are concerned about your focus, I’m sure you’ve heard stories about people who aren’t undergoing serious medical treatment who have lapses in the boardroom. I have an amazing friend who just retired from a head position at a Fortune 500 company who told me that she was giving a presentation to some high-powered people and the room was hot (might have been abroad, or DC in the summer!), so she started to unbutton her jacket. Only it was her blouse. She sensed some real tension in the room and looked down. Thankfully, she had a nice bra on…She laughed and buttoned back up. Perhaps it lightened up the presentation.</p>

[epistrophy]

<p>two more</p>

<p>

Violet Webb, a 57-year-old former health care coordinator who never smoked, has lung cancer.</p>

<p>A vibrant woman and a spirited pastor at United Assembly for Christ downtown, Webb was diagnosed in 1999 after experiencing shortness of breath so bad she couldn’t climb a flight of stairs.</p>

<p>For a long time doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. After all, she didn’t smoke. But when she was diagnosed, the questions returned. Was she absolutely sure she wasn’t a smoker?</p>

<p>“They asked me that a whole lot of times, as if they didn’t believe me,” Webb said.</p>

<p>Webb’s story is familiar to those acquainted with the disease. You must be a smoker if you have the deadly disease, seems to be the conventional wisdom.</p>

<p>But actually, about 10 percent to 15 percent of lung cancer patients are nonsmokers, and about half of the patients are former smokers who had quit.</p>

<p>“We have a very nihilistic opinion of this disease,” said oncologist Mark Socinski at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. “It’s the thought that if you get lung cancer, you must’ve smoked, and it was your fault. We need to dispel this myth.”</p>

<p>The negative public perception has led to a dangerous lack in research funding, which in turn has meant the disease remains the biggest cancer killer in the country. It has a five-year survival rate of just 15 percent, a grim statistic mostly unchanged since the 1980s.</p>

<p>But in recent years, researchers and advocates nationwide – and many who hail from the Triangle – are building momentum in raising awareness of the disease.</p>

<p>"There was a lot of shame associated with lung cancer in years past. But now, people are getting around the shame and blame and saying, ‘We want a solution to the problem,’ " said Jennifer Garst, an oncologist at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center.</p>

<p>Garst is one of the founders of National Lung Cancer Partnership, a nonprofit organization seeking to sound the alarm about the disease, both in researchers’ professional circles and with the public.</p>

<p>“About five years ago, several of my colleagues and I really became frustrated because there wasn’t awareness about lung cancer,” Garst said. “There was a paucity of lung cancer research dollars in general. The disease was being ignored.”</p>

<p>To date, lung cancer still lags far behind the other major cancers in funding. For every dollar the National Cancer Institute spent on lung cancer in 2005, $16.90 was spent on the others.</p>

<p>Advocates say the imbalance is particularly unfair since lung cancer causes about 160,000 deaths a year, more than breast, colon and prostate cancer deaths combined.</p>

<p>The lack of funding drives away young researchers who had an interest in the disease, Garst said.</p>

<p>So the National Lung Cancer Partnership has made one of its missions to boost research dollars. With the help of private donors and other lung cancer organizations, the group has shored up funds; 2008 will be its best year yet, with six grants available at $100,000 each.</p>

<hr>

<p>Beth Williams, a Raleigh resident who is one of four founders of the organization [North Carolinians Against Lung Cancer], is herself a lung cancer survivor. She hadn’t smoked for more than seven years when she was diagnosed in 2000. </p>

<p>More than 800 people showed up for the [fund-raising] walk on Nov. 3, Williams said, many more than the group hoped for.</p>

<p>But in the midst of the successful event was another reminder of how much work was left to be done.</p>

<p>When lung cancer survivors were called to come on stage, Williams said, only 12 stood up.</p>

<p>Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in North Carolina. According to the N.C. State Center for Health Statistics, 5,355 people died of lung cancer in 2006, with 117 deaths in Durham County.</p>

<p>There aren’t enough survivors who could speak up for lung cancer, Williams said, but the group will do their work for them.</p>

<p>“We hope to be a part of turning the tide,” Williams said.</p>

<p>It seems that in public perception, the tide indeed is beginning to turn. High-profile deaths in recent years, including longtime ABC news anchor Peter Jennings and Dana Reeve, the widow of actor Christopher Reeve and a nonsmoker, have raised awareness.</p>

<p>For the first time last Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives declared lung cancer a public health priority and called to halve the number of deaths by 2015.</p>

<p>Several research projects that could boost survival rates are in the works.</p>

<p>Socinski, the UNC oncologist, is heading the local division of a global research project on a lung cancer vaccine.</p>

<p>The vaccine, called Stimuvax, is given to patients for whom the cancer has been controlled by chemotherapy and radiation and is meant to boost patients’ immune systems to fight cancer cells.</p>

<p>"The question is, ‘Does the vaccine add to chemotherapy and radiation, improve the chances the patient has for survival?’ " Socinski said.</p>

<p>Advocates and researchers are also pushing for preventive screenings for those at risk for the disease.</p>

<p>The spiral CT scan, a rotating computerized X-ray, picks up abnormalities in the lungs smaller than those picked up by routine chest X-rays or regular CT scans.</p>

<p>A nine-year study on the scan by the National Cancer Institute is due to be finished in 2009. It is expected to have an impact on whether the scans would be adopted as a standard in preventive care, like mammograms for breast cancer.</p>

<p>If such a preventive scan existed for Webb, the pastor in downtown Durham, doctors might have diagnosed her cancer earlier.</p>

<p>After she was diagnosed, doctors removed her right lung, only to find later that the cancer had spread to other organs in her body.</p>

<p>Since then, Webb has had numerous operations to remove one kidney, one adrenal gland and have a total hysterectomy. Still, doctors found cancerous spots, just “pinheads,” she said, on her other adrenal gland and recently found spotting on her liver.</p>

<p>Webb has to take painkillers at night to help her sleep, but she still sings and preaches, and she keeps her faith.</p>

<p>“I had to trust God because otherwise I probably would’ve fell apart,” Webb said. “This just makes us believe that God could do the impossible.”

</p>

<p>[UNC</a> Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center - NC Cancer Hospital](<a href=“http://cancer.unc.edu/news/2007/release1119-hs.asp]UNC”>http://cancer.unc.edu/news/2007/release1119-hs.asp)</p>

[mominva]

<p>LTS,
Your PM box is full!</p>

[epistrophy]

<p>and another</p>

<p>

**“Exercise ‘gave me my life back’
Fitness regimens credited with helping survivors return to normal”</p>

<p>Surgery for lung cancer left Nick Rognlie, 71, tethered to an oxygen tank 24 hours a day. Now he’s back on the golf course – without the tank.** </p>

<p>Cancer survivor Rick Hutchings works out at CFFL (Cancer Foundation for Life), located in the McDonald Activity Center of First Baptist Church in Garland. He says he’s in the best shape since college. When he finished treatment for lymphoma, Dick Wright, 67, was so weak he couldn’t lift his arms to brush his teeth. Now he’s logging more than 200 miles a week on his road bike. After chemo, radiation, surgery and more chemo for colon and renal cell cancer, Rick Hutchings was unable to stand straight and could barely walk around his block. Now, he exercises for 1 1/2 hours, five days a week.</p>

<p>All three men credit their recoveries to exercise.</p>

<p>“It gave me my life back,” Mr. Wright says.</p>

<p>Their stories echo something that Dr. Gary Kimmel, an oncologist in Tyler, repeated many times during his 30 years in practice: after cancer treatment, many need rehab to return to normal function. But insurance won’t pay for it.</p>

<p>“During treatment, everything is geared to fighting the cancer,” Mr. Hutchings says. “And when it’s over, you’re just depleted, emotionally and physically.”</p>

<p>When he retired more than five years ago, Dr. Kimmel devised a program to help cancer patients after treatment. His nonprofit organization, Cancer Foundation for Life (CFFL), offers free exercise therapy to survivors. After establishing several centers in Tyler, he opened five in the Dallas area in 2007: at Gilda’s Club, Baylor University Medical Center, the Texas Cancer Center Mesquite and at the First Baptist churches in Plano and Garland.</p>

<p>Space is provided at no cost by churches, hospitals or other community organizations. The only expense is a staff person and an initial investment in equipment: a treadmill, stationary bike, some weights and other gear. Cancer patients are referred by their doctors. Dr. Kimmel works with each patient to design a simple, customized routine of low-impact aerobic exercise, stretching and conditioning. Participants keep a log and gradually increase the duration and difficulty of their routines.</p>

<p>Mr. Rognlie, of Bullard (near Tyler), is a “graduate” of CFFL. He signed up after finishing treatment a few years ago. After following the exercise program, he was able to lose his oxygen tank.</p>

<p>“The exercise just seems to get your lungs working,” he says. “I can’t be a track star, but I can keep going all day.”</p>

<p>New data supports another purpose for CFFL: for certain types of cancer, exercise may boost survival rates.</p>

<p>Dr. Kimmel cites an 8-year Dana Farber Cancer Institute study indicating a 45 percent improvement in survival rates among breast cancer survivors who exercised, and another study showed a 50 percent improvement in survival rates among colon cancer patients who walked an hour three times a week.</p>

<p>“If you’re an oncologist, you don’t have drugs that good,” Dr. Kimmel says.</p>

<p>Studies like those may soon turn exercise into a significant component of every cancer patient’s overall treatment program. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, for example, is running a study to help survivors of endometrial cancer to shed pounds and stick with a regular workout program.</p>

<p>Mr. Hutchings, 61, started exercising at the Garland CFFL shortly after finishing treatment in June. Exercise, he says, was “the one thing that I could control.”</p>

<p>Now, he believes he’s in the best shape of his life.</p>

<p>“My cholesterol is down, my blood pressure is the best it’s ever been, and I’m at my optimal weight,” he says.</p>

<p>Dr. Kimmel adds, “When you think about what we do to patients to treat their cancer, physically and psychologically, it’s all negative,” he says. “So why don’t we do something positive to at least partially counteract that?”

</p>

<p>[Exercise</a> ‘gave me my life back’ | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Life/Travel: Health](<a href=“http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving2/stories/DN-nh_cancerfitness_0401liv.ART.State.Edition1.4677cd9.html]Exercise”>http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/fea/healthyliving2/stories/DN-nh_cancerfitness_0401liv.ART.State.Edition1.4677cd9.html)</p>

[latetoschool]

<p>Epistrophy, thank you for that outstanding link. Excellent - just excellent. It also mirrors what the five year survivor in Texas has done, and what Spector said in his book (played squash every morning all the way through chemotherapy).</p>

<p>Mominva, there is room now…</p>

<p>Neumes that is a hilarious story. It also sounds like something I might do. Actually, once, I stood at a podium to give a speech, opened my notes, and found not my talking points as expected but rather the breakfast menu for the next day for some tour group. The location was a large five star resort, the topic was China Most Favored Nation status and I had done ZERO prep, because I was asked to substitute for my boss at the last moment. I had asked my #2 for the talking points, which she prepared and had delivered to me, but, the convention staff where I was speaking delivered to me a breakfast menu instead, not talking points. Shame on me for not checking out what was handed to me before I approached the podium to address an audience that included not only presidents of very large corporations, but also my boss’s boss, whose scowl of confusion and irritation sent me a very strong message to cut things short. </p>

<p>I had to make due with what little I’d bothered to learn about CMFN, and it was rather embarrassing. Lucky for me, I was one of the last speakers, the audience wanted to go home, and I was able to get to my boss to tell him what happened AND offer suggestions as to how to follow up and fix things, before anyone else got to him to tell him. </p>

<p>I don’t make mistakes like that any more; I am very, very careful and put a LOT of time into preparation. I do not like to be embarrassed in public.</p>