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1661

<p>“Local Cancer-Survivor Priest to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to Raise Funds, Awareness of Multiple Myeloma; After forty years of service, Father Phil climbs to ‘roof of Africa’ to help others”</p>

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<p>[Local</a> Cancer-Survivor Priest to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to Raise Funds, Awareness of Multiple Myeloma; After forty years of service, Father Phil climbs to ``roof of Africa’’ to help others | Business Wire | Find Articles at BNET.com](<a href=“http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Sept_15/ai_n15392475]Local”>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2005_Sept_15/ai_n15392475)</p>

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<p>NYMomof2, it’s the strangest thing. For nearly a week now I have been feeling just simply horrible. Never could I have imagined that I could feel this terrible. As in, get up and shower in the morning, but then lay down and rest for 10 minutes. In the process of getting dressed, have to stop and rest between steps. Really haven’t been able to do much of anything without resting along the way. Then, the walk to the Metro. I was wrong - my house is only .48 miles from the Metro, but, force myself to make the walk. Things like “you can do this” and “just a few more steps, just focus on making it to the next street” is what I repeat to myself, every step of the way. (I could drive, but, actually have felt too sick to drive.) Then, on the other end of the Metro, I take three flights of escalators - I walk up the escalators, never, ever ride. It’s hard, and, yesterday, on the third flight (these are long escalators = 30 steps each or so), I seriously thought I was going to collapse. But I made myself do it. Then, in my office, in the afternoons especially, all week, it has taken every ounce of self control I have to NOT close the door, turn out the lights, and curl up and sleep. But I somehow worked through this too. Totally have had no appetite but there are always people around me who make me eat whether I want to or not. Things got so bad last night that I walked from the Metro to my house at a snail’s pace - was so exhausted and felt so horrible that I could only walk very, very slowly - sort of like a 100 year old person, shuffling along. </p>

<p>Then, suddenly, this morning, I feel like a different person. I didn’t need to rest at any point during my morning routine, made the walk to the Metro this morning just fine, did the flights up all the escalators just fine, didn’t feel like collapsing, and was actually hungry enough to eat a LOT of food this morning. I am a very long way from feeling like myself again, but, this is a tremendous improvement. </p>

<p>I am going to guess that this is because of blood counts, which apparently hit a low point, and then recover. I am not on any medicines such as Procrit etc. that would boost my counts, so, I am going to guess this is the cause, and, since Monday will be day 21, it’s sort of the only thing that makes sense and explains why I feel so much better today. I see my doctor Monday and I am going to ask him to help me out with something here, because these past several days have been just simply horrible.</p>

<p>I’d be curious to hear from others who have had chemotherapy if they experienced anything similar…</p>

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<p>Epistrophy, thank you for the links. I hope your trial/trial preparation is going well.</p>

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<p>I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better! It makes sense that you were feeling the effects of the chemo, but isn’t there a possibility that you also had the flu? </p>

<p>I’m sure I’m not the only one who is wishing she could have been there to give you a ride to work or, better yet, urge you to stay home and sleep!</p>

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<p>LTS,
you are a very good writer…as I sit here reading your morning post…I too feel the exhaustion of climbing those metro stairs… I have not had any chemotherapy…I had a radical thymectomy years ago…and I remember walking the hallway of the hospital…when I could get out of bed… and how desperate I was to walk and feel better…I was on the cardiac ward… and everyone seemed so ill…all I wanted was to get out and be normal. They had a little breathe meter for me to blow into that measured lung capacity… and I practiced a lot because I wanted OUT, OUT, OUT. So, I have a small sense of how this “minor” improvement is such a big milestone for you. Congratulations for focusing forward and forcing yourself to stay the course. Happy Friday!!</p>

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<p>LTS, when my sister-in-law went through chemo she had the kind of exhaustion you describe. There were times where she just couldn’t move. I remember once her coming to our house and at one point she just laid right down on the floor where she was because she suddenly could not stand and could not make the few steps to the couch. She couldn’t be alone with her toddler because the overwhelming weakness sometimes kept her from lifting or caring for her child. It did all pass.</p>

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<p>LTS, I am struggling with exactly what you describe. I am on a two week cycle of chemo and the first three days the steroids they give me make me feel like a million bucks. My counts start falling on day 7 and then, while my other symptoms like quesiness and headaches are gone, I have this horrible exhaustion. I feel like I should be able to function normally but I do simple things and have to lay down for 1/2 hour. One day I really overdid it and couldn’t even lift my head to eat. Then suddenly I feel normal as the counts bounce back.
I am not working through my chemo so that helps tremendously, I can’t imagine how you manage. You are unbelievably strong. I just went through having my hair loss and I found myself using you as an inspiration, your grace and courage through everything you have gone through.
I have been told over and over if you can have any activity during the fatigue portions that it actually helps you bounce back faster.
Many prayers.</p>

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<p>Keymom, I am probably not really all that strong, but I am fantasically in love with my work. I cannot imagine NOT doing my work, ever, so this drives me, and, I will find a way to go to my office, every day, even if I have to crawl there. The very idea of staying home and sleeping on a business day would send me into a psychological train wreck and I think I would die of grief and professional degradation, not cancer. And I wouldn’t be able to sleep, anyway.</p>

<p>I could of course take taxis and car services etc. but I do firmly believe that one must engage in physical activity, even if it’s only walking at a snail’s pace, in order to have any hope at all of presevering physical capacity. Two weeks ago though my oncologist told me “no more exercise for now”, so, I am not going to the gym at present. Not that I could function there anyway. </p>

<p>I did also talk to the five year survivor in Texas - I explained to him how horrible I felt. Mostly I wanted to know if feeling this horribly meant the cancer is progressing. He told me that this is almost certainly chemotherapy impact (he said it has to just about kill the person in order to stop the cancer) and not progression; that this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. He also told me the day is coming when I am NOT going to be able to walk up the escalator flights, but, that when that day comes, I must never stop trying, regardless of how hard it is. </p>

<p>He told me that at one point he could not even walk across the room, and now he does the stairmaster for 90 minutes straight etc. </p>

<p>Mimk6, that’s how I felt yesterday morning after the second series of escalator stairs - I seriously thought I was going to collapse and the Metro police were going to have to call an ambulance. But I recovered by the time I got to the third escalator, made it up that flight too…</p>

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<p>LTS, I am in awe of you. I think about you often and am glad to hear that you’re rebounding from your last chemo.</p>

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<p>LTS, another midwesterner here echoing martharap’s sentiment. To date you are the most awesome person I ‘know’. I do not post often but I follow your day to day struggles and triumphs. You are always in my prayers.
I am so ashamed of myself when I find myself complaining about trivial things like the worst winter we are having. I just think of you and your brave and loving daughter and what an inspiration you are to us all. God bless.</p>

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<p>LTS, you are a wonderful writer. I keep thinking that your posts here would be a good start to an article or book.</p>

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<p>Thank you for the kind words, but, I think it is probably easier to write with clarity about something that has such profound impact. I am astonished, shocked, amazed - just blown away that this is happening to me. I am no longer frightened, but, I am simply amazed. I have enjoyed almost unreal, excellent health all of my life. Don’t even know what a menstrual cramp feels like - never had one. Never had a headache, etc. Maybe antibiotics twice in my life for sinus infections. Never once in my entire career have I not gone to work because of illness. Same with my daughter - she did have mono in high school, but it was either such a light case or she recovered so quickly that she only missed five days of school. So this is very bizarre territory for me, and so perhaps that makes writing about it easier (vs. writing about a fictional situation). </p>

<p>It’s surreal to me that the process of getting it together in the morning means using every ounce of physical and mental strength I have to navigate the shower, teeth brushing, getting dressed, etc. with lots of stopping and resting along the way. And the things I cannot control or cannot anticipate are just beyond anything I could have ever imagined. For example, I stopped wearing regular earrings because chemotherapy does something strange to how they look in my ears. I purchased very nice clip in earrings instead, and, wearing them just one day, both earlobes got infected and it has taken two weeks for them to heal. How in the world to anticipate these things…what’s going to get weird next?</p>

<p>All of my life I have obnoxiously, arrogantly assumed that people who are sick just didn’t try hard enough to fight off the sickness, or they didn’t take care of themselves, didn’t eat right or exercise enough, or perhaps they didn’t work hard enough to overcome physical handicaps, etc. Now, I am getting an unfiltered, inescapable front row seat of just what it means to be very sick, and what it means to live one’s life dictated by a disease, and doctor’s decisions. What an amazing lesson. </p>

<p>I am luckier than most though. I am very, very fortunate to have a lot of resources, and to be surrounded by people who care about me. I am mindful that many people who are diagnosed with lung cancer are older; their resources are more limited and in some cases they are going through this all alone. They cannot make sudden, snap decisions to change doctors or their geography or anything else. They certainly in most cases do not have a profession to keep their minds engaged. I just cannot imagine that. There has to be a way to get to these people and help them, and I think it has to start with firm health care policy, followed by sufficient funding.</p>

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<p>LTS I think you’re smart to stay as active as possible, as it absolutely helps with “bouncing back”-- plus the pure grit of refusing to succumb is surely a good mental boost as well. </p>

<p>I have a friend who had a brain aneurism when he was 20, which left him physically incapacitated, speech-damaged, and partially paralyzed… at 20, he was like an elderly victim of a stroke. He had been a gifted athlete prior to this. Anyway, he REFUSED to use any physical assistance as he recovered. I recall him literally dragging himself up the flight of stairs to his bedroom, a process that took forty minutes, with a rest after each stair… Unsurprisingly his recovery went well beyond all medical predictions.</p>

<p>Glad your appetite is back, cheering for you!</p>

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<p>Another voice behind you softly urging you onward and upward. You are our hero!</p>

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<p>[His</a> cancer fight is for others, too](<a href=“http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2007/10/02/2007-10-02_his_cancer_fight_is_for_others_too.html]His”>http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/brooklyn/2007/10/02/2007-10-02_his_cancer_fight_is_for_others_too.html)</p>

<p>(P.S. to LTS: Thanks for your thoughts re the trial. This week we picked the jury [it took 2 1/2 days]. Monday we start opening statements. [We’ll have most Fridays off during this 2-3 month trial; today I travelled to a State prison, where I visited a client who’s serving a life sentence.])</p>

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<p>“The Power of Words for Cancer Patients”</p>

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<p>[The</a> Power of Words for Cancer Patients - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog](<a href=“The Power of Words for Cancer Patients - The New York Times”>The Power of Words for Cancer Patients - The New York Times)</p>

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<p>“Blogging Is Good for Your Health”</p>

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<p>[A</a> Pastor’s Cancer Diary](<a href=“http://www.cewilton.blogspot.com/]A”>http://www.cewilton.blogspot.com/)</p>

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<p>“The Survivor Monologues
Life on the other side of diagnosis”</p>

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<p>[Cancer</a> - The Survivor Monologues – New York Magazine](<a href=“http://nymag.com/news/features/2007/cancer/32123/]Cancer”>Cancer - The Survivor Monologues -- New York Magazine - Nymag)</p>

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<p>Epistrophy. thank you for those links, and especially the New York Magazine. Some of those people have had absolutely incredible experiences. However, as hard as I tried I could not find a single lung cancer representative in all of those survivor profiles.</p>

<p>The 29 year old never smoker, lawyer with stage IV non small cell lung cancer patient that I posted about over the holiday season died yesterday. He had all of the right resources; his doctors and medical care were MSK in New York - literally the best resources in the U.S., and he had no other health problems. </p>

<p>There must be a way to increase awareness - and funding - for lung cancer. We shouldn’t be losing 29 year old never smokers to this disease.</p>

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<p>LTS: I am writing a novel. One of the characters was diagnosed with
Cancer. I made it small cell so I could do a little educating about non-smokers and young people who get the disease.</p>

<p>I will look for places to raise consciousness.</p>

<p>I am sorry disease has to be your teacher. It’s not a fun ride. But we seem to get these lessons where we least expect them.</p>

<p>I’m one of those people whose life has been dictated for disease, and it has taught me patience, enough patience to write novels! And people have looked at me in the way you described yourself.</p>

<p>I would not wish this on you for anything. For since you have encountered this, your response is valiant and compassionate.</p>

<p>Here’s another voice for the quality of your writing. Just putting these posts together would make a book, I’m sure.</p>

<p>Have a good Sunday.</p>

<p>And someday, I would love to know exactly what you do that you love so much. You told us bits, so I have an idea, but your amazing love is also something that is inspiring.</p>

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<p>Yes, I, too, looked through the photos and did not see anyone with lung cancer. Why? I don’t know. Given the myriad forms that cancer takes (as well as, as you know, the relatively small number of long-term lung cancer “survivors”), I don’t know that I’d read too much into it. I suspect that there are likely (many?) other forms of cancer that also weren’t represented.</p>

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<p>On a different note, here’s a blog by someone who (like you) apparently has had great success in the business world, and who now appears to be applying the very same qualities that helped him achieve that success - self-confidence, drive, determination, etc. - to his own experience with cancer and to helping others: </p>

<p>[THRIVE[/url</a>]</p>

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<p>[url=<a href=“http://thriveblog.typepad.com/about.html]Paul”>http://thriveblog.typepad.com/about.html]Paul</a> Schaye](<a href=“http://thriveblog.typepad.com/thrive/]THRIVE[/url”>http://thriveblog.typepad.com/thrive/)</p>

<p>[url=<a href=“http://paulsposse.com/default.aspx]Home[/url”>http://paulsposse.com/default.aspx]Home[/url</a>]</p>