Cancer is evil. It is insidious, cruel, random, and inexplicably difficult (although science is doing better at fighting some kinds of it.) No one deserves it. No one should get it—ever. Especially people we love.
I recommend Bernie Siegel's book Love, Medicine and Miracles: Lessons Learned about Self-Healing from a Surgeon’s Experience with Exceptional Patients. Dr. Siegel has a life-time of experience in treating cancer patients. He believes that positive thinking and visualization can make a difference in the quality of life for cancer patients. Although written 15 years ago, Siegel is on to something that current research is now proving. Attitude is everything.
In empathy with his child patients with cancer, Dr. Siegel shaved his head to be like his little bald-headed patients. He has devoted his life to caring for cancer patients—finding best treatments, being present, and understanding the cancer journey.
This book is in most libraries. Anything else by Dr. Siegel I highly recommend.
Also check out Andrew Weil, MD, (alternative medicine and positive visualization) and Norman Cousins (Anatomy of an Illness). Also, Harold S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People.
Yes, my answer for everything is in a book, except for when the answers are right there in front of us: in the people we love, the blue sky, the sun, the moon and stars, a pair of baby foxes in the yard, a fresh strawberry, a huge oak springing to life with new green, a homemade oatmeal cookie, a belly laugh, a good cry. Enjoy the precious moments of each day! Courage all.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Jan-u are truly amazing...just sayin
ReplyDeleteThank you for this thread Jan!
ReplyDeleteI was going to say earlier I HATE CANCER!!! But I was afraid everyone would think I was losing it.
ReplyDeleteDr. Siegel sounds like the character Robin Williams played in a movie, I can't remember the name now, but he did things to make the kids who were sick laugh. It was a really good movie too.
And ditto on the thank you to Jan, you always have the right words...
Patch Adams
ReplyDeleteAhh,thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI love that movie...it makes me cry every time!
ReplyDeleteWell we took mom for her scan today to see if the cancer has spread....we won't know anything for a while, it's hard to tell what will happen...but we are thinking positive and keeping our fingers crossed that we will get good results this time.
ReplyDeleteLisa and Debbie...how are your mothers doing? Busy day today..will be busy tomorrow too, but Skippy is home and we are going to watch a movie before we hit the sac.
Til tomorrow (waving)
Doctor called this morning and said that the MRI showed something in the left breast....more tests, an ultrasound. Won't know until after Monday...waiting...waiting...and more waiting
ReplyDeleteMy mom is spending some time with her sister. My Aunt Donna booked them a room at Spring Mill Inn and they are meeting their brother there. They all do that from time to time. They have another brother in Nevada, and they call him when they all get together. They lost their oldest brother to cancer a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteThen if the weather holds up, they are going to camp out at Ditney Ridge, on the land where they grew up.(Boonies-big time!) They go around and visit the neighbors who are still around.
My aunt is fearless, she has a golf cart she rides around in, but my mom absolutely refuses to go into the woods with her...I can only imagine what brought that on!
So, she just doesn't have the time to mess with this cancer stuff...When she had the lump taken out of her breast, I went over the next day after her surgery to help her, and she had gone to have her hair done and to the grocery store. She always pays for it later, but if she can, she is up and running!
She will hear something on Monday morning, I think today was when all her doctors were going to talk....but she told them she would not be home, so they would just have to call her on Monday!!!
I love her attitude!
Sounds like your mom has learned how to live life to the fullest...to busy to be sick...that is great!
ReplyDeleteIt is great that she is spending quality time with her sisters...so why aren't you up there catching some girl time in the boonies??
I meant TOO busy TO be sick, I really do know my homonyms, just haven't figured out how to edit in here yet..lol
ReplyDeleteCause I am flooded in up here on the hill. Jimmy paddled across in the canoe this morning...he is brave.
ReplyDeleteBut I really like to be stuck up here. It is nice to just stay home sometimes.
The water has gone down a bit, hopefully it will stay that way, but I think more rain is coming...
Mom has been wanting to talk to someone who has had breast cancer, and a girl from where she banks has a mother who has gone through surgery and treatments for breast cancer. She promised to have her mother call mine and tonight while Mom was at work, I recieved a call from a very lovely lady who introduced herself as Judy. It amazed me how open she was about her experience. I think she will have a lot of good information for Mom and her positivity is contagious...her and Mom will meet tomorrow for coffee and conversation. It's been a great day!
ReplyDeleteLooks like everyone has gone... oh well I will continue on.... We finally got some good news today. Mom got results from her bioposy on her left breast and both were negative!!!
ReplyDeleteso it is fine, now we go to the surgeon to find out what we do next....
Negative is good in this case!!! Yeah!!!
ReplyDeleteEveryone has not gone Skip! I have been "lurking" as Jan calls it!
ReplyDeleteGood news for you, Mary and mom, Yeah! I hope things go well for her.
I have been busy with my Mom. She had her chemo and then her white count was critically low so we had to take her for a shot everyday last week to build them up. Then she went for a shot to build up her red blood cells on Wednesday and her hemoglobin was critically low so I had to take her to the hospital immediately and they gave her two pints of blood. Kept her overnight so I stayed with her. She seems to be doing better and the doctor said this was to be an expected side effect of the chemo. She goes for her fourth round of chemo this Wednesday and then they will decide what her treatment will be after that.
But the good news it that she is still with us and she is still staying by herself and is able to pretty much do what she wants. I just worry because she never was very active. Liked to read and watch t.v. but now she has lost the desire for that. She needs to find something to occupy her time. I wish she would develop an attitude like Lisa's mom and get involved in something instead of sitting around wondering when she is going to die!