tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61014288917540908642024-03-14T00:27:33.839-07:00Boo-Bee TrapA personal narrative and commentary...and sometimes rantings, of one woman's journey through the breast cancer "industry."TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.comBlogger204125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-81378936646520619812014-06-01T19:34:00.001-07:002014-06-01T19:36:37.297-07:00The Gift <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<br />
I tire of hearing so many worry about their deaths.<br />
Fearing the inevitable.<br />
Distressed by the passing of time.<br />
We all die.<br />
It is the way of things.<br />
We cannot wrest destiny of this one single truth.<br />
There is no avoidance of the inexorable passage of life.<br />
We all die.<br />
No matter who we are.<br />
No matter where we breathe.<br />
No matter the size of our bank account.<br />
We all die.<br />
Death is our last point of consciousness within the cycle of life, as far as we know.<br />
The great equalizer.<br />
I prefer to choose life.<br />
To take charge of living my life.<br />
Nurturing the quality and impact that my one life can have.<br />
I prefer to not grasp, barter or negotiate for time unearned.<br />
By embracing the inescapable,<br />
I have found that I am thankfully reminded of the urgency of living.<br />
This is the gift of mortality, of ineluctable death.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-75911133920618475662013-07-12T09:52:00.003-07:002013-07-12T09:52:58.095-07:00Special Delivery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My 12 year old and I have a long standing evening ritual. We read novels together before lights-out. <i>As he is 12, this is not too be misunderstood as "bedtime stories"! </i>(I am asked to always clarify the distinction.) We really do read novels. We've covered a wide-range from <i>Treasure Island</i> and <i>Moby Dick</i>, to various books by Artemis Fowl, Rick Riordan, and Terry Pratchett.<br />
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Last night, as we settling in to continue reading <i>Going Postal</i> by Sir Terry Pratchett, Son noticed that I have difficulty reclining. My breathing becomes more labored, I wince, and am subject to dry coughing bouts.<br />
<br />
"Mom...why are you always in pain?" He asks while nestling closer to me.<br />
<br />
<i>"I am old and decrepit."</i><br />
<br />
"No, really...why?" He starts tucking me in gently.<br />
<br />
<i>"Because I am really ancient and worn."</i><br />
<br />
"No, really...you always seem to be in pain! How come?" His head is on my shoulder now.<br />
<br />
<i>"I really don't know Goober. I don't have a good answer."</i><br />
<br />
"Find out okay. I want you to be around for at least another 25 years. I would ask for 35 years, but you really are pretty old already!" He throws a total "Goober-Face" at me.<br />
<br />
<i>"Well, I want to be around long enough to see whether you go bald or grey first, so 25 years should be long enough!" </i><br />
<br />
He proceeds to shark-attack me . . .25 years . . . <i>you got it Goober!</i></div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-68613645420132223072013-07-10T17:55:00.000-07:002024-01-13T09:37:09.969-08:00Holding My Breath<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Each <i>Cancerversary</i> I have marked the day. With a post. With a "woohoo!" With shock and dismay. Each time July comes around I start with a feeling of dread. My stage III diagnosis came on a July 8. My re-staging to stage IV mets came on a July 11. This July is four (4) years.<br />
<br />
I have no "woohoos" to send up as yet. To be candid, the thin veil of dread that blankets me at the moment, psychically, is as palpable as the 115 degree temps with the 45% humidity we are currently experiencing.<br />
<br />
I have my 3 month follow up with the Onc this Friday, July 12.<br />
<br />
When I started to lose weight back in April / May, I started to try and pound denser calories. The pericarditis, however, makes it uncomfortable to eat. Today, I am still struggling to flirt with the 100lb mark. I know I sound like a bee-atch complaining about weight -- but its not like I am looking hot in a bikini, mini or skinny jeans!<br />
<br />
The chest pains and breathing are becoming more of a challenge, again. (That's the good news.) Although, this time now my entire rib cage feels like it is splintering. Its worse in the morning, when I try to exercise, and when I lay down. Other than that, its tolerable. I am still trying to track down a better cardiologist - one that is not so anxious to discharge me with a treatment plan of hospice.<br />
<br />
Then, there is the broken foot. More than six months and still has not healed. I got so tired of indulging burning pain with flats that I rebelled and went back to my killer high heels for the court room. The pain is constant regardless, so why the hell not sport the power-heels. (Note...no power heels with bikinis or minis - but <i>yes</i> with the skinny jeans!)<br />
<br />
Then there is the persistent nodule in my neck. Its been there for the last 2+ months. Most likely nothing, right?<br />
<br />
So, here I sit on the cusp of my two <i>Cancerversaries</i>, wondering how this July is going to play out. In 2009 two medical oncologists, one surgical oncologist, and one radiation oncologist told me I had only a 4% chance of a five (5) year survival rate. I so need to prove them wrong. Need at least one more July in my life-book.<br />
<br />
Holding my breath, with cautious optimism . . . <br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-3416274576307669712013-05-08T18:20:00.000-07:002013-05-08T18:20:13.735-07:00Random Wednesday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I am in that state again where I am a "human-doing" rather than a "human-being." <br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-16065275127664454092013-03-08T17:42:00.000-08:002013-03-08T17:42:17.045-08:00It's What Makes You Special, Mom!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I will share a not-so-well kept secret. I have been under a great deal of stress lately. <br />
<br />
Well, truth be told, I live in a perpetual state-of-stress. Okay, truth be truly told, I am a type AAA+++ personality. But, <em>shhhh</em>, that's a secret.<br />
<br />
My stress levels fluctuate, however. I can go from <em>mundane-daily-stress</em> levels, to spiking to <em>over-the-top-my-head-is-going-to-explode</em> levels of stress (and back down again) within a matter of hours. It all depends on what goes into the hopper: a client in a <em>gotta-save-me-now</em> mode; battling within a judicial system that has forgotten that <em>what's right</em> and <em>what's legal</em> should not be polarizing concepts; a progeny who is having <em><strong>the</strong></em> worst day/hour/moment ever; a life/business partner fretting or sustaining yet another injury; or being stalked by a hospice director. <br />
<br />
My stress over-flowed this morning. I won't bore you with the details. Suffice to say that I surpassed the brim of my personal carafe and ranted a bit, both internally and externally. <br />
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Included in the <em>in-my-head</em> rant was the following litany:<br />
<br />
<em>DMSO is supposed to exude a wonky smell for 24 hours and dissipate....WHY then, when I had a DMSO infusion I did not start to emit eau de sushi until 18 hours after, and still am 48 hours later?!</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Why, when I am a functioning person working through and living with METS do I have a hospice worker stalking me?!</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>How is it that my oncologist gets testy when I push to have (what I think) a legitimate dichotomy addressed?!</em> (I.e., summer 2011 pet scan identifies a reactive tumor, which is then biopsied and determined to be malignant; fall 2011 pet scan clears me of said reactive tumor ... saying that it appears I am responding to treatment; and early fall 2012 pet scan identifies same reactive tumor, and now says..."since tumor has not changed in size since summer 2011 must not be malignant." But, it was biopsied, and was gone, and then came back (and not biopsied)?)<br />
<br />
<em>Why can I not find an oncologist who will personally review my scans and form an independent opinion?</em> (R.O. is my third onc.)<br />
<br />
And then there is always the "David Byrne" question: <em>"How did I get here?"</em><br />
<br />
One of my progeny, who had a front-row seat to my over-flowing carafe, and with whom I shared that I am so tired of not being "normal," just patted me on my leg, sighed, then giggled and said, sagely..."but mommy, that is what makes you so special."<br />
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I laughed out loud. My carafe, again, was tolerable. <br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-70603741806383138552013-03-01T13:40:00.000-08:002013-04-11T12:52:33.516-07:00 "The Break Up" ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<em>Did you hear the one about the woman LIVING and WORKING with METS?</em><br />
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<em><strong>This</strong></em> Woman walks into her cardiologist's office...<em>and they "break-up" with her?</em> <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So...this Woman wanted to see the cardiologist, but he was otherwise occupied. So Woman's appointment is punted to the cardiologist's #1 PA. <br />
<br />
Because Woman had a particularly rough weekend, health-wise, an EKG is done with a tech before said #1 PA comes in. <br />
<br />
PA walks in, sad and compassionate look on her face. <br />
<br />
Prior, Woman had removed herself from the exam table and is sitting, like a real "equal" person, on one of the room's chairs.<br />
<br />
PA sits herself, with her sad and compassionate look, on the step-up to the exam table.<br />
<br />
"Hi...I'm Brenda PA".<br />
<br />
<em>Hi, Brenda PA. I am Woman.</em><br />
<br />
"What brings you in today?<br />
<br />
<em>Um, scheduled follow up; bad weekend; hoping that the EKG proves husband wrong - that I did not experience a heart attack.</em><br />
<br />
"Yes, I know. Are you still not willing to pursue a treatment protocol of chemo?"<br />
<br />
<em>That has been declined, several times; and off-the-table, since September, 2011. Moot topic. Did I have a heart attack?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
"Do you have children? How many? What are their ages?"<br />
<br />
<em>Yes, three. Did I have a heart attack? </em><br />
<em></em><br />
How are they handling your disease? Are they in counseling?"<br />
<br />
<em>Living their lives. No, why? Did I have a heart attack?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
"Do you have a DNR or DNI prepared?"<br />
<br />
<em>Yes, DNR. Don't know what a DNI is. Did I have a heart attack?</em><br />
<br />
"Good. Good. No, you didn't not have a heart attack. I have reviewed and discussed your situation, including what you experienced on Saturday, with Dr. Cardio. He wanted me to talk with you about the "H-word".<br />
<br />
<em>The "H-word"?</em><br />
<br />
"He thinks that this should be discussed."<br />
<br />
<em>Excuse me, what is the "H-word"?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
"It is really a good idea."<br />
<br />
<em>E-x-c-u-s-e ... me, WHAT is the "H-word?"</em><br />
<br />
"Hospice".<br />
<br />
<em>W-T-H - ????? WHY ????</em><br />
<br />
"The pericarditis is just going to worsen because of your advanced cancer".<br />
<br />
<em>Yes, and so....................</em><br />
<br />
"Well, we have to face the fact that your prognosis is not good, not good at all".<br />
<br />
<em>Oh, something to do with having metastatic cancer?</em><br />
<br />
"(Small laugh)...pericarditis with advanced cancer...well, the prognosis is not good, the symptoms are going to get worse. We think that a referral to hospice would be smart."<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
****Interlude****<br />
<br />
By this time I have my little friends sitting on opposing shoulders. My little "angel" and my not-so-little "devil". "Devil" is urging me to rip Brenda-PA a new one. "Angel" is cautioning me to just smile & nod and see where Brenda-PA is going to end up with this dialogue. "After all, this could be really good fodder for <strike>bitching</strike> blogging!" Ah, yes. You are right, "angel"...who's the devil <em>now</em>?</blockquote>
<em>I am not feeling so smart. I don't have time for hospice. It won't fit in my schedule.</em><br />
<br />
"What do you mean? What are you doing?" <em>(You mean, besides LIVING?)</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>Everything that I have been doing for the last 18 years.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
How are you still working?<br />
<br />
<em>How could I not be?</em><br />
<br />
"Really? Wow! How are you able to continue? <em>(Because the alternative is...?)</em> You are so calm. Are you afraid of dying ... Are you ready to die?" <em>(Oh my!)</em><br />
<br />
<em>Brenda-PA, I am not afraid of dying. It is an unavoidable consequence of living. But no, I am not ready to die. I am not planning to do so anytime soon. So, I think I will take a pass on "ready-ing" myself to at the moment, at least this week.</em><br />
<br />
"(Another small laugh) Are you so calm because you are in the 'acceptance' phase?" <em>(Obviously not, as I am NOT READY to engage hospice services this week, or next, or the ones thereafter!)</em><br />
<br />
<em>I don't think so. I am just too busy...LIVING.</em> <br />
<br />
"May I give you the hospice information? They are a wonderful entity. They are not all about grim-reaper stuff <em>(did she just say that?). </em>If I did not work with Dr. Cardio, I would work with them in a heartbeat <em>(oh Brenda-PA is puny)</em>. I will give you the card of the intake director and make the referral."<br />
<br />
<br />
. . .<br />
<br />
. . . Brenda-PA plucks herself off her lower perch and leaves the exam room to retrieve the information. She re-enters exam room and meaningfully squeezes Woman's arm while she hands over the card and information sheet. Brenda-PA walks Woman to the front desk and hands the charting information to the clerk. Clerk looks at the paper and looks at Woman and Brenda-PA and asks: "Are we scheduling a follow up visit?"<br />
<br />
. . . Brenda-PA, not missing a beat says (with the sad and compassionate look plastered to her punim) "Oh no, there will be no need." .... <i>Badadum!</i><br />
<br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<blockquote>
<em>I</em> walk out the door wondering, and wonder still, did that REALLY just happen? WHAT just happened? Did my cardiologist just "break-up" with me? Was Brenda-PA a REAL person? I have had heart-wrenching <em>(pun intended)</em> relationship break-ups that made more sense. Talk about turning the classic break-up scenario on its head!</blockquote>
<blockquote>
This time it was definitely<em> "more about me"</em> than it was about <em>"them"! </em>And where this relationship was going...well, let's just say I was not thrilled with the punch line!</blockquote>
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<strong><em>Post Script</em></strong>: In less than 5 minutes after posting the above, the hospice intake social worker called me on my personal cell phone. I repeat, with more vehemence...<em>W-T-H???? "I would like to schedule a time for one of our hospice nurses to come out and do an intake. Would you like to set that up?" <b>No, I would not, but thank you very much! ~~Click~~</b></em><br />
<em></em><br /></div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-66228916834858448442013-01-28T16:37:00.002-08:002013-03-01T14:21:52.236-08:00“The more you know . . .,"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Summary-KeyPoint">“The more you know, the more you know you don't know and the more you know that you don't know.” </span> </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="Summary-KeyPoint">― <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27078.David_Byrne">David Byrne</a>, <i><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/1603743">The New Sins</a></i></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span class="Summary-KeyPoint"></span><br />
<span class="Summary-KeyPoint">I did not know.</span><br />
I thought I had a handle on what to expect.<br />
How dumb. How<em> very dumb</em>.<br />
I thought that the path I chose would save me from the foreseen.<br />
How wrong. How absolutely <em>wrong</em>.<br />
I thought that bullets could be dodged, if I opted to weave.<br />
Sometimes an aim is too sure.<br />
Sometimes fate has other things in mind. <br />
You can never be sure.<em> No sure thing</em>.<br />
Not today.<br />
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Today, I learned something I didn't know. <br />
Knowledge can be dear.<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<span class="Summary-KeyPoint"><em><u>Pericardial effusion is extra fluid around the heart.</u></em></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Section_170" name="Section_170"></a> <br />
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45825&version=Patient&language=English">Pericardial effusion</a> is extra <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=44669&version=Patient&language=English">fluid</a> inside the sac that surrounds the heart. The extra fluid causes pressure on the heart, which stops it from pumping <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=270735&version=Patient&language=English">blood</a> normally. <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=269462&version=Patient&language=English">Lymph vessels</a> may also be blocked, which often causes <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=44123&version=Patient&language=English">bacterial</a> or <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=44629&version=Patient&language=English">viral</a> <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45364&version=Patient&language=English">infections</a>. If fluid builds up quickly, a <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=651193&version=Patient&language=English">condition</a> called <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45634&version=Patient&language=English">cardiac</a> tamponade may occur. In cardiac tamponade, the heart cannot pump enough blood to the rest of the body. This is life-threatening and must be treated right away.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Section_171" name="Section_171"></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Keypoint12" name="Keypoint12"></a> <span class="Summary-KeyPoint">Pericardial effusion may be caused by <em>cancer</em> or other conditions.</span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Section_173" name="Section_173"></a> <br />
<div id="Section_173">
A pericardial effusion may be <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45772&version=Patient&language=English">malignant</a> (caused by <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45333&version=Patient&language=English">cancer</a>) or <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=44217&version=Patient&language=English">nonmalignant</a> (caused by a condition that is not cancer). A malignant effusion is common in certain types of cancer. <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=445043&version=Patient&language=English">Lung cancer</a>, <strong>BREAST CANCER</strong>, <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45135&version=Patient&language=English">melanoma</a>, <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45368&version=Patient&language=English">lymphoma</a>, and <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45343&version=Patient&language=English">leukemia</a> cause most malignant effusions. An effusion also may be caused by cancer treatment, such as <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=44971&version=Patient&language=English">radiation therapy</a> or <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45214&version=Patient&language=English">chemotherapy</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Keypoint13" name="Keypoint13"></a> <span class="Summary-KeyPoint">Possible signs of pericardial effusion include anxiety and dyspnea (shortness of breath).</span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Section_176" name="Section_176"></a> <br />
<div id="Section_176">
At first, a pericardial effusion may not cause any <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45022&version=Patient&language=English">symptoms</a>. These and other symptoms may be caused by a pericardial effusion or by other conditions. Check with your doctor if you have any of the following problems:</div>
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<ul class="Protocol-UL">
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"><a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46183&version=Patient&language=English">Dyspnea</a> (shortness of breath). <em><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">√</span></em></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Cough. <em><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">√</span></em></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Trouble breathing while lying flat. <em><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">√</span></em></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Chest pain. <em><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">√</span></em></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Fast heart beat or breathing.</li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Feeling faint. Sometimes</li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Swelling in the upper <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45070&version=Patient&language=English">abdomen</a>.</li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Extreme tiredness or weakness. <em><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">√</span></em></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet">Being <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=430405&version=Patient&language=English">anxious</a>.</li>
</ul>
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<div id="Section_202">
Pericardial effusion usually occurs in <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=478743&version=Patient&language=English"><strong>advanced cancer</strong></a> <em>or</em> in the last few weeks of life. During these times, it may be more important to relieve the symptoms than to <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46450&version=Patient&language=English">diagnose</a> the condition. However, in some cases, the following tests and procedures may be used to diagnose pericardial effusion:</div>
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="Section_203" name="Section_203"></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="ListSection" name="ListSection"></a> <br />
<ul class="Protocol-UL">
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"><a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=304687&version=Patient&language=English">Chest x-ray</a>: An <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=45944&version=Patient&language=English">x-ray</a> of the <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=257523&version=Patient&language=English">organs</a> and bones inside the chest. An x-ray is a type of energy beam that can go through the body and onto film, making a picture of areas inside the body. <span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em>√</em></span></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"><a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46032&version=Patient&language=English">Echocardiography</a>: A procedure in which high-energy sound waves (<a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46157&version=Patient&language=English">ultrasound</a>) are bounced off internal <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46683&version=Patient&language=English">tissues</a> or organs of the chest. The echoes form a picture of the heart's position, motion of the walls, and internal parts such as the valves.</li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"><a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=635410&version=Patient&language=English">Electrocardiogram</a> (EKG or ECG): A line graph recording of the heart's electrical activity to check its rate and rhythm. A number of electrodes (small pads) are placed on the patient’s chest, arms, and legs. The electrodes are connected by wires to the EKG machine. Heart activity is then recorded on paper. Electrical activity that is faster or slower than normal may be a sign of heart problems. <span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em>√</em></span></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><em></em></span></li>
<li class="Protocol-IL-Bullet"><u>Pericardiocentesis</u>: A procedure to remove fluid from the pericardium using a needle inserted through the <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=44996&version=Patient&language=English">chest wall</a>. The doctor may use echocardiography to watch the movement of the heart and needle inside the chest. The fluid is viewed under a <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=638184&version=Patient&language=English">microscope</a> by a <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46244&version=Patient&language=English">pathologist</a> to check for cancer <a class="Summary-GlossaryTermRef" href="http://www.cancer.gov/Common/PopUps/popDefinition.aspx?id=46476&version=Patient&language=English">cells</a> or signs of infection. This procedure can also be used to treat pericardial effusion. Removing the fluid reduces pressure on the heart.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-11108641887095401802013-01-11T17:17:00.000-08:002013-01-25T17:11:46.917-08:00Domino Effect<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
Last night the pressure in my chest was disquieting. <em>Not that I am complaining, screaming, groaning or kvetching!</em><br />
<br />
It was followed up with heartburn. <em>Who knew plain baked sweet-potatoes could cause such burn?</em> <br />
<br />
Then the dry cough starts. <em>Irritating.</em><br />
<br />
This triggers a broad ache through the upper chest wall that traverses the clavicle and tracheal areas. <em>Every inch of me wants in the fun.</em><br />
<br />
This then starts a deeper, but still dry, cough. <em>Lung, anyone?</em><br />
<br />
The "cherry" is, what can only be described, as a splintering pain in my chest wall.<br />
<em>Think, stomping onto a glass figurine with a lumberjack boot.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
The cycle is topped off with stabbing pain up underneath my right rib cage. <em>Because as the song goes...it is all connected.</em><br />
<br />
Sigh....some days are indeed better than others. <em>Today was not that day.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-35163355269434732302012-12-28T12:03:00.000-08:002013-01-25T17:06:06.974-08:00Cancer: Sometimes it's a Shell Game<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<em>I have been chasing the ellusive pea in a shell game, and I am growing cross-eyed!</em><br />
<br />
Those who share my shoes blanche at the usual cancer tropes. My newest personal visualization is not original, but it sums up my fall season. <em> </em>Monitoring my health has not been a game of medical skill, but of chance and opportunity. With all such slight-of-hands, if you stay focused you can get lucky and track the path of the disease. Take your eyes off the trajectory for a second and the forces will push the "pea" to unexpected destinations. The gamer, as always, is unscrupulous.<br />
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<br />
June 2011 - "Evolving lymphatic metastasis" / "hypermetabolic focus also seen in the anterior abdominal wall near the base of the umbilicus...soft tissue metastasis cannot be excluded"<br />
<br />
<em>...I then started on an aggressive regimen of supplements; bi-weekly high dose IV vitamin C; and weekly ozone infusion treatments...</em><br />
<br />
November 2011 - "July 2011, core biopsy sampling of left axillary lymph node demonstrated metastatic invasive lobular cancer [but at this time] no suspicious abnormalities are identified...may represent positive response to treatment."<br />
<br />
<em>...I then tapper off aggressive regimen and opted to do a modified maintenance program of supplements only...veins can only take so much sticking.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
August 2012 - Concurrent pneumonia and shingles. Both controlled with broad-based antibiotics.<br />
<br />
September 2012 - Sharp intermittent chest pains and shortness of breath unresolved. PCP orders EKG and Chest CT, and refers to pulmonologist and cardiologist.<br />
<br />
October 2012 - "Subpleural nodule in the left lower lobe" / "metabolic activity in left axillary"<br />
<br />
November 2012 - "Shadow present on right lung...recheck in 2 months with follow up chest CT with contrast"<br />
<br />
<em>...Weight loss of 6 lbs over the course of a two plus weeks...Chest pains are now accompanied with nausea and heart burn. Falling asleep curled up in weeble position, propped up because laying on back increases pain. Laying on side makes rib cage feel like its splintering. Not much recuperative sleep happening. Sucks!</em><br />
<br />
November 2012 - "Chronic pericarditis secondary to invasive lobular carcinoma...recheck in 2 months with follow up echocardiagram"<br />
<br />
<em>...Restart ozone infusion treatments. Start pounding "Meriva (aka Curcumin") like "skittles" (to challenge the inflammation). Scheduling IV vitamin C treatments. The game plays on. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-78332905231758342262012-12-07T16:18:00.000-08:002012-12-07T16:18:04.076-08:00I am part of the 8%. Lucky me.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="articleMeta">
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Original Article</div>
<h1>
Effect of Three Decades of Screening Mammography on Breast-Cancer Incidence</h1>
<div class="authors">
Archie Bleyer, M.D., and H. Gilbert Welch, M.D., M.P.H.</div>
<div class="citationLine">
<span class="citation">N Engl J Med 2012; 367:1998-2005</span><a href="http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/367/21/">November 22, 2012</a><span class="doi">DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1206809</span></div>
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Background</div>
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<div class="abstract">
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To reduce mortality, screening must detect life-threatening disease at an earlier, more curable stage. Effective cancer-screening programs therefore both increase the incidence of cancer detected at an early stage and decrease the incidence of cancer presenting at a late stage.<br />
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<h3 id="abstractMethods">
Methods</h3>
We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data to examine trends from 1976 through 2008 in the incidence of early-stage breast cancer (ductal carcinoma in situ and localized disease) and late-stage breast cancer (regional and distant disease) among women 40 years of age or older.<br />
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<h3 id="abstractResults">
Results</h3>
The introduction of screening mammography in the United States has been associated with a doubling in the number of cases of early-stage breast cancer that are detected each year, from 112 to 234 cases per 100,000 women — an absolute increase of 122 cases per 100,000 women. Concomitantly, the rate at which women present with late-stage cancer has decreased by 8%, from 102 to 94 cases per 100,000 women — an absolute decrease of 8 cases per 100,000 women. With the assumption of a constant underlying disease burden, only 8 of the 122 additional early-stage cancers diagnosed were expected to progress to advanced disease. After excluding the transient excess incidence associated with hormone-replacement therapy and adjusting for trends in the incidence of breast cancer among women younger than 40 years of age, we estimated that breast cancer was overdiagnosed (i.e., tumors were detected on screening that would never have led to clinical symptoms) in 1.3 million U.S. women in the past 30 years. We estimated that in 2008, breast cancer was overdiagnosed in more than 70,000 women; this accounted for 31% of all breast cancers diagnosed.<br />
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<h3 id="abstractConclusions">
Conclusions</h3>
Despite substantial increases in the number of cases of early-stage breast cancer detected, screening mammography has only marginally reduced the rate at which women present with advanced cancer. Although it is not certain which women have been affected, the imbalance suggests that there is substantial overdiagnosis, accounting for nearly a third of all newly diagnosed breast cancers, and that screening is having, at best, only a small effect on the rate of death from breast cancer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/suppl/10.1056/NEJMoa1206809/suppl_file/nejmoa1206809_disclosures.pdf">Disclosure forms</a> provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at NEJM.org.<br />
We thank Lynn Ries, M.S., of the Surveillance Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, for her help in analyzing Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data.</div>
<div class="section section-back">
<div class="sourceInfo">
<h3>
Source Information</h3>
From the Quality Department, St. Charles Health System, Central Oregon, and the Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland (A.B.); the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston (A.B.); and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH (H.G.W.).<br />
Address reprint requests to Dr. Bleyer at 2500 NE Neff Rd., Bend, OR 97701, or at <a class="email" href="mailto:ableyer@gmail.com">ableyer@gmail.com</a>. <br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-43009998037211155652012-11-14T14:19:00.001-08:002012-11-15T11:49:30.840-08:00Things Doctors Say ... <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<strong>Cardiologist:</strong> <em>So, I have looked at your paperwork. You list "MBC / ILC" as a chronic condition. That's inhalation....</em><br />
<br />
<strong>TC:</strong> <em>No, sorry for the shorthand. Its stands for Metastatic Breast Cancer / Invasive Lobular Carcinoma</em>.<br />
<br />
<strong>Cardiologist:</strong> <em>Oh, I am sorry. How long do you have to live? Have they given you a time frame?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<strong>TC:</strong> <em>Not sure who the "they" are, but I am certainly frustrating the time frames that were given to me each time I declined chemo and radiation from the "they."</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<strong>Cardiologist:</strong> <em> Very good. Have they ever done a CT of your brain?</em><br />
<br />
<strong>TC:</strong> <em> WTH???? (because I am here having this conversation with you?)</em><br />
<em></em><br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-71708561186135946822012-11-06T13:52:00.001-08:002012-11-06T13:52:15.605-08:00Il s'agit d'une épidémie mondiale. . . Stupide; यह एक वैश्विक महामारी है.. बेवकूफ.; Это глобальная эпидемия. . . Глупые; ; این یک اپیدمی جهانی است.است. . احمقזה מגיפה עולמית. . . טיפש<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span class="hps">סרטן השד</span> <span class="hps">מבאס</span><span>, לא משנה</span> <span class="hps">באיזו שפת</span> <span class="hps">האבחנה</span> <span class="hps">מועברת.</span> <span class="hps">בשנת 2012</span> <span class="hps">כמעט</span> <span class="hps">500.000</span> <span class="hps">נשים תמותנה</span> <span class="hps">מסרטן השד</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">סרטן השד</span> <span class="hps">גרורתי</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>MBC</span><span>) עכשיו</span> <span class="hps">שהסחת הדעת של</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>סרטים ורודים</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">הסתיימה</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">האם לא הגיע זמן</span> <span class="hps">לקהילה העולמית</span> <span class="hps">לנקוט צעדים ממשיים</span> <span class="hps">כדי לטפל</span> <span class="hps">בגורמים</span> <span class="hps">הסביבתיים</span> <span class="hps">וטיפולים</span> <span class="hps">משמעותיים</span> <span class="hps">למגיפה</span> <span class="hps">העולמית.</span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps">Cancer du sein</span> <span class="hps">suce</span><span>, peu importe</span> <span class="hps">dans quelle langue le</span> <span class="hps">diagnostic est</span> <span class="hps">prononcé</span><span>.</span> <span class="hps">En 2012,</span> <span class="hps">près de 500.000</span> <span class="hps">femmes meurent</span> <span class="hps">du cancer du sein</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">Cancer du sein métastatique</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>MBC</span><span>)</span> <span class="hps">Maintenant que</span> <span class="hps">la distraction de</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>Pink Ribbons</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">est terminé</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">n'est-il pas</span> <span class="hps">temps que la communauté</span> <span class="hps">internationale</span> <span class="hps">prendra</span> <span class="hps">des mesures concrètes pour</span> <span class="hps">s'attaquer aux causes environnementales</span> <span class="hps">et les traitements</span> <span class="hps">pertinents</span> <span class="hps">pour</span> <span class="hps">cette épidémie mondiale.</span></span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span class="hps">سرطان الثدي</span> <span class="hps">المصات</span><span>، بغض النظر</span> <span class="hps">عن اللغة</span> <span class="hps">في</span> <span class="hps">تسليم</span> <span class="hps">التشخيص.</span> <span class="hps">في عام 2012</span> <span class="hps">فإن ما يقرب من</span> <span class="hps">500،000 امرأة</span> <span class="hps">تموت</span> <span class="hps">من</span> <span class="hps">سرطان الثدي</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">سرطان الثدي</span> <span class="hps">النقيلي</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>MBC</span><span>)</span> <span class="hps">والآن بعد أن</span> <span class="hps">الهاء</span> <span class="hps">من</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>شرائط</span> <span class="hps">الوردي</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">قد انتهت</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">ألم يحن الوقت</span> <span class="hps">للمجتمع الدولي</span> <span class="hps">اتخاذ خطوات حقيقية</span> <span class="hps">لمعالجة الأسباب</span> <span class="hps">البيئية</span> <span class="hps">والعلاجات</span> <span class="hps">ذات مغزى</span> <span class="hps">لهذا</span> <span class="hps">الوباء العالمي</span><span>.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span><span class="hps">ძუძუს კიბოს</span> <span class="hps">sucks</span><span>, არ აქვს მნიშვნელობა</span> <span class="hps">რა ენაზე</span> <span class="hps">დიაგნოზი</span> <span class="hps">გადაეცემა</span><span>.</span> <span class="hps">2012 წელს</span> <span class="hps">თითქმის</span> <span class="hps">500,000</span> <span class="hps">ქალთა</span> <span class="hps">მოკვდება</span> <span class="hps">ძუძუს კიბოს</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">მეტასტაზური</span> <span class="hps">ძუძუს კიბოს</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>MBC</span><span>)</span> <span class="hps">არის</span><span>, რომ</span> <span class="hps">განადგურების</span> <span class="hps">შესახებ</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>ვარდისფერი</span> <span class="hps">რგოლები"</span> <span class="hps">დასრულდა</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">არ არის</span> <span class="hps">ის</span> <span class="hps">დრო</span><span>, გლობალური საზოგადოების</span> <span class="hps">მიიღოს</span> <span class="hps">რეალური</span> <span class="hps">ნაბიჯები</span> <span class="hps">მივმართო</span> <span class="hps">გარემოს</span> <span class="hps">მიზეზები</span> <span class="hps">და შინაარსიანი</span> <span class="hps">მკურნალობის</span> <span class="hps">ამ</span> <span class="hps">გლობალური</span> <span class="hps">ეპიდემიის</span><span>.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span><span><span class="hps">Breast</span> <span class="hps">Cancer</span> <span class="hps">saugt</span><span>, egal</span> <span class="hps">in welcher Sprache</span> <span class="hps">die Diagnose</span> <span class="hps">geliefert.</span> <span class="hps">Metastasiertem Brustkrebs</span> <span class="hps">(MBC)</span> <span class="hps">Nun, da die</span> <span class="hps">Ablenkung von</span> <span class="hps">"Pink</span> <span class="hps">Ribbons"</span> <span class="hps">beendet</span> <span class="hps">... -</span> <span class="hps">Im Jahr 2012</span> <span class="hps">fast 500.000</span> <span class="hps">Frauen</span> <span class="hps">an Brustkrebs sterben</span> <span class="hps">ist es nicht Zeit</span> <span class="hps">die Weltgemeinschaft</span> <span class="hps">zu nehmen</span> <span class="hps">konkrete Schritte</span><span>, um die</span> <span class="hps">umweltbedingten Ursachen</span> <span class="hps">und sinnvolle</span> <span class="hps">Behandlungen für diese</span> <span class="hps">globale Epidemie</span> <span class="hps">anzugehen.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span><span><span class="hps"><span>स्तन कैंसर</span> <span class="hps">बेकार है,</span> <span class="hps">कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता कि</span> <span class="hps">किस भाषा</span> <span class="hps">निदान</span> <span class="hps">वितरित किया जाता है</span><span>.</span> <span class="hps">Metastatic स्तन कैंसर</span> <span class="hps">(MBC)</span> <span class="hps">अब</span> <span class="hps">कि</span> <span class="hps">गुलाबी रिबन</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>की व्याकुलता के</span> <span class="hps">समाप्त हो गया है</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">2012</span> <span class="hps">में</span> <span class="hps">स्तन कैंसर के</span> <span class="hps">लगभग 500.000</span> <span class="hps">महिलाओं</span> <span class="hps">मर जाएगा</span> <span class="hps">यह समय</span> <span class="hps">है</span> <span class="hps">वैश्विक</span> <span class="hps">समुदाय</span> <span class="hps">वास्तविक</span> <span class="hps">कदम उठाने के लिए</span> <span class="hps">पर्यावरण</span> <span class="hps">का कारण बनता है और</span> <span class="hps">इस</span> <span class="hps">वैश्विक महामारी</span> <span class="hps">के</span> <span class="hps">लिए</span> <span class="hps">सार्थक</span> <span class="hps">उपचार</span> <span class="hps">का</span> <span class="hps">पता</span> <span class="hps">नहीं है.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span><span><span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span class="hps">Krūts vēža</span> <span class="hps">sūkā</span><span>, vienalga</span><span>, kādā valodā</span> <span class="hps">diagnoze</span> <span class="hps">tiek</span> <span class="hps">piegādāts.</span> <span class="hps">2012.gadā</span> <span class="hps">gandrīz 500,000</span> <span class="hps">sieviešu</span> <span class="hps">mirst no</span> <span class="hps">krūts</span> <span class="hps">vēža</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">Metastātisks krūts</span> <span class="hps">vēža</span> <span class="hps">(MBC</span><span>) Tagad</span> <span class="hps atn">par "</span><span>Pink</span> <span class="hps">Lentes</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">izklaidēšanās</span> <span class="hps">ir beigusies</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">vai nav pienācis laiks</span> <span class="hps">pasaules sabiedrība</span> <span class="hps">veikt</span> <span class="hps">reālus</span> <span class="hps">pasākumus, lai</span> <span class="hps">risinātu vides</span> <span class="hps">cēloņus</span> <span class="hps">un jēgpilnu</span> <span class="hps">ārstēšanas</span> <span class="hps">šo globālo</span> <span class="hps">epidēmiju</span><span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span><span><span class="hps"><span class="hps"><span><span id="result_box" lang="lt"><span>Krūties vėžys</span> <span class="hps">sucks</span><span>, nesvarbu,</span> <span class="hps">kokia kalba</span> <span class="hps">diagnozė</span> <span class="hps">pateikta</span><span>.</span> <span class="hps">2012 metais</span> <span class="hps">beveik 500.000</span> <span class="hps">moterų</span> <span class="hps">miršta nuo</span> <span class="hps">krūties vėžiu,</span> <span class="hps">metastazavusiu krūties vėžiu</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>MKV)</span> <span class="hps">Dabar</span><span>,</span> <span class="hps">kad</span> <span class="hps">"Pink</span> <span class="hps">Juostelės</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">išsiblaškymas</span> <span class="hps">baigėsi</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">ne laikas</span> <span class="hps">pasaulio bendruomenė</span> <span class="hps">imtis realių</span> <span class="hps">veiksmų siekiant</span> <span class="hps">spręsti</span> <span class="hps">aplinkos apsaugos</span> <span class="hps">priežasčių</span> <span class="hps">ir tinkamų</span> <span class="hps">gydymo</span> <span class="hps">šios</span> <span class="hps">globalios epidemijos</span><span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span>سرطان</span> <span class="hps">پستان</span> <span class="hps">بمکد</span><span>، بدون توجه به</span> <span class="hps">در</span> <span class="hps">چه زبانی</span> <span class="hps">تشخیص</span> <span class="hps">تحویل داده</span> <span class="hps">شده</span> <span class="hps">است</span><span>.</span> <span class="hps">در سال 2012</span> <span class="hps">نزدیک به 500،000</span> <span class="hps">نفر</span> <span class="hps">از</span> <span class="hps">سرطان پستان</span> <span class="hps">می</span> <span class="hps">میرند</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">متاستاز</span> <span class="hps">سرطان پستان</span> <span class="hps">(MBC)</span> <span class="hps">که انحراف</span> <span class="hps">از</span> <span class="hps atn">«</span><span>روبان</span> <span class="hps">صورتی</span><span>»</span> <span class="hps">به پایان رسیده است</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">وقت آن است که</span> <span class="hps">جامعه جهانی</span> <span class="hps">را</span> <span class="hps">گام</span> <span class="hps">های</span> <span class="hps">واقعی</span> <span class="hps">برای رسیدگی به</span> <span class="hps">علل</span> <span class="hps">زیست</span> <span class="hps">محیطی</span> <span class="hps">و درمان</span> <span class="hps">های</span> <span class="hps">معنی</span> <span class="hps">دار</span> <span class="hps">برای</span> <span class="hps">این بیماری همه گیر</span> <span class="hps">جهانی</span> <span class="hps">نیست</span><span>.</span><br />
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<span><span class="hps">Рак молочной железы</span> <span class="hps">сосет,</span> <span class="hps">независимо от того,</span> <span class="hps">на каком языке</span> <span class="hps">диагноз</span> <span class="hps">поставлен.</span> <span class="hps">В 2012 году</span> <span class="hps">около 500000</span> <span class="hps">женщин</span> <span class="hps">умирают от</span> <span class="hps">рака молочной железы -</span> <span class="hps">метастатическим раком молочной железы</span> <span class="hps">(MBC)</span> <span class="hps">Теперь, когда</span> <span class="hps">отвлечение</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>розовыми лентами</span><span>" закончилась</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">не пора ли</span> <span class="hps">мировому сообществу</span> <span class="hps">предпринять реальные шаги</span> <span class="hps">для решения</span> <span class="hps">экологических причин</span> <span class="hps">и значимые</span> <span class="hps">методы лечения этой</span> <span class="hps">глобальной эпидемии.</span></span><br />
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<span><span class="hps"><span id="result_box" lang="uk"><span class="hps">Рак молочної залози</span> <span class="hps">смокче</span><span>,</span> <span class="hps">незалежно</span> <span class="hps">від</span> <span class="hps">того</span><span>, якою мовою</span> <span class="hps">діагноз поставлений</span><span>.</span> <span class="hps">У 2012 році</span> <span class="hps">близько 500000</span> <span class="hps">жінок помирають від</span> <span class="hps">раку молочної залози</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">метастатичним раком молочної залози</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>MBC</span><span>)</span> <span class="hps">Тепер</span><span>,</span> <span class="hps">коли</span> <span class="hps">відволікання</span> <span class="hps atn">"</span><span>рожевими</span> <span class="hps">стрічками</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">закінчилася</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">чи не час</span> <span class="hps">світовій спільноті</span> <span class="hps">зробити реальні кроки</span> <span class="hps">для</span> <span class="hps">вирішення екологічних</span> <span class="hps">причин</span> <span class="hps">і</span> <span class="hps">значущі</span> <span class="hps">методи лікування</span> <span class="hps">цієї</span> <span class="hps">глобальної епідемії</span><span>.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="gt-undo" style="display: none;">Undo edits</a><span class="hps">Рак дојке</span> <span class="hps">је срање</span><span>, без</span> <span class="hps">обзира</span> <span class="hps">у ком</span> <span class="hps">језику</span> <span class="hps">дијагноза</span> <span class="hps">испоручена.</span> <span class="hps">У 2012</span> <span class="hps">скоро</span> <span class="hps">500.000</span> <span class="hps">жена</span> <span class="hps">ће умрети од</span> <span class="hps">рака дојке</span> <span class="hps">-</span> <span class="hps">метастаза</span> <span class="hps">рака дојке</span> <span class="hps atn">(</span><span>МБЦ</span><span>) Сада</span> <span class="hps">да</span> <span class="hps">ометање</span> <span class="hps">"Пинк</span><span>"</span> <span class="hps">тракица</span> <span class="hps">је завршена</span> <span class="hps">...</span> <span class="hps">зар није време</span> <span class="hps">глобална заједница</span> <span class="hps">предузме</span> <span class="hps">праве</span> <span class="hps">кораке на решавању</span> <span class="hps">еколошких</span> <span class="hps">узроке и</span> <span class="hps">смислене</span> <span class="hps">третмане</span> <span class="hps">за</span> <span class="hps">ове глобалне</span> <span class="hps">епидемије.</span></div>
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-17868183382235484942012-11-05T16:28:00.000-08:002012-11-05T16:28:06.971-08:00Looking Forward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of my other full time jobs is parenting a <em>Tween</em>. A male <em>Tween</em> at that. My prior tweening experience has been limited to girls. Not the same by any means. At this stage of my life I continue to have to push my limits of parenting knowledge. All good. All welcome. Although, truth be told, some days are better than others. <br />
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On this week's parental lesson plan has been the nuances that distinguish between "looking forward" and "being fully in the moment." For the seasoned existentialists, the subtle yet significant differences are elemental. If you are a cancer journeyer (me) and the <em>Tween</em> (aka, the Goober) the differences can be a little more blurred. <br />
<br />
A <em>Tween</em>, whether male or female of this subspecies, appears to be constantly looking forward: to the next play-date (although they are now called "hanging out(s)"); to the next sleep-over; to the next field trip; to the next video game; to the next iPad app; to the next birthday party. . . .you get the point. I find myself having to constantly remind him to push the <em>pause</em> button, look at where he is in the moment, and take time to appreciate the experience he is in the midst of at a given time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SbwzmQmi4Cs/UJhZaxEpTKI/AAAAAAAAAv8/h8hIuEjgxE8/s1600/Dawn+SF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SbwzmQmi4Cs/UJhZaxEpTKI/AAAAAAAAAv8/h8hIuEjgxE8/s1600/Dawn+SF.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
For a cancer journeyer, I must do likewise. At the same time, however, I must also push myself to <em>remember</em> to look forward. Call it hope, optimism, the power of positive thinking...but I have to look forward. I have to imagine myself planning my daughters' future weddings; attending my <em>Tween's</em> college graduation; holding my daughters' hands while they are in labor; holding my grandchildren. <br />
<br />
Unfortunately, there are days that these forward-looking thoughts feel more like pipe-dreams. Those are the days when I can't catch my breath; or when taking a deep breath creates the sensation that my ribs and sternum are splintering. Those are the days that the fatigue wins over my typical kinetic energy. Those are the days when inexplicable small hematomas pop up on my arms and hands leaving me sore and bewildered.<br />
<br />
Those are the days that it is more important than ever for me to embrace and cherish the moment, while at the same time strongly reminding myself that there is the sweet potential for a tomorrow.<br />
</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-2923862555373961502012-10-23T13:11:00.003-07:002012-10-23T13:11:50.012-07:00Things Doctors Say . . .<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
. . . I will preface, I am skeptically enthusiastic about my new GYN. I had to find her because my <em>other</em> new GYN, whom I was skeptically enthusiastic about last year, has ditched conventional GYN care. My newest newbie, who is no-nonsense and a look-you-in-the-eye kinda gal, won brownie points with me today when she performed my ultrasound in-office, had read my med hx, and essentially confirmed that the radiologist who reads my PetScans is a moron: (1) contrary to <em>his </em>findings (which he confirmed after a second look) I do NOT have a prominent uterus displaying heterogeneous metabolic activity; and (2) contrary to his findings (which he confirmed after two second looks) I have NOT spontaneously re-grown my right ovary - a little item that was surgically removed in 1981 during a right-salpingo ooverectomy. She did, however, find dime-sized cysts...but that is another appointment and not of any remarkable concern.<br />
<br />
Then, my newbie said the darnedest thing. <br />
<br />
<strong>I was thinking about you yesterday.</strong><br />
<br />
<em>Really, because it was birthday?</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em>Chuckle</em>...no, but Happy Birthday! A patient who came in yesterday was visibly upset. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that her BFF had just died. Apparently her friend had been diagnosed with breast cancer three years prior. A few weeks ago this friend started having shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with Valley Fever and her PCP started treating her as such. Then she started having headaches. When she collapsed and taken to hospital, they found she had masses in both her lungs and brain. She died 5 days later. </strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>I immediately thought of you.</strong> <br />
<br />
<em>Oh.</em><br />
<br />
<strong>What is your doctor doing about your breathing issues?</strong><br />
<br />
<em>The antibiotics didn't work. The breathing treatment worked only for a day. The steroid shot too only gave relief for a day. They want to now assess me for Valley Fever.</em> <br />
<br />
<strong>Get a second opinion if that is the conclusion. </strong><br />
<br />
<em>Yup.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTE0tPZ9-ws/UIb4dN2ilXI/AAAAAAAAAvk/Ev-7S74k1SU/s1600/conversations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VTE0tPZ9-ws/UIb4dN2ilXI/AAAAAAAAAvk/Ev-7S74k1SU/s400/conversations.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<em></em> </div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-67693762293157881952012-10-19T13:53:00.001-07:002012-10-19T13:55:19.587-07:00Six-Word Memoir: PINKTOBER<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: purple; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">PINKWASHED....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"></span> <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: purple;">MISLEADING....</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: purple;">THIRTY PERCENT....</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: purple;">FORTY-THOUSAND</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nNOZJ81WziQ/UIG89xv3rrI/AAAAAAAAAvM/FCKWi10Pbx0/s1600/anti-pink+spot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: purple;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nNOZJ81WziQ/UIG89xv3rrI/AAAAAAAAAvM/FCKWi10Pbx0/s400/anti-pink+spot.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://sixwordmemoirs.com/" style="color: #004499; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Six-Word Memoir®</a> challenge<br />
<br />
</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-88050154842041511782012-10-17T11:52:00.000-07:002012-10-17T11:52:19.488-07:00Things People Say . . .<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KpHZ1IIMqJc/UH79_6rRO9I/AAAAAAAAAu0/PxM0bvvrJZw/s1600/whispering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KpHZ1IIMqJc/UH79_6rRO9I/AAAAAAAAAu0/PxM0bvvrJZw/s1600/whispering.jpg" /></a></div>
<em>. . . to those with cancer and their loved ones.</em><br />
<br />
My husband's elder cousin, who is 82, was inquiring (while he was on a speaker phone at our office), <br />
<br />
<em>How are things going with TC, is there anything we should know?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
Well, her last PetScan has some oddities that she is following up on, and they found another small tumor in her lymph nodes. <br />
<br />
<em>Sorry to hear that. Well radiation will knock that out, right?</em><br />
<em></em><br />
TC has never opted for radiation or chemotherapy.<br />
<br />
<em>Well, if it is any consolation, our friend Mr. J., they found a tumor. They checked him into the hospital and gave him an intense doses of radiation and kicked that tumor right out of him!</em><br />
<br />
Glad to hear that.<br />
<br />
<em>Yeah, well, he caught MRSA in the hospital and died 3 days later - nasty case. But that radiation sure worked on the tumor!</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em><br />
</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-75700226002433293352012-10-13T04:00:00.000-07:002012-10-13T14:34:43.858-07:00MBC Awareness Day - The Darkside of the Pink Ribbon-Fest<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<blockquote>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PEolRyt53e4/UHYQuZHf1ZI/AAAAAAAAAuY/viCm1UZUqDo/s1600/%23+13.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PEolRyt53e4/UHYQuZHf1ZI/AAAAAAAAAuY/viCm1UZUqDo/s1600/%23+13.png" /></a></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote>
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, <span style="font-size: large;">October 13th</span>, is <span style="font-size: large;">Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day</span>. YES, this select subset of Journeyers get one day out of the entire Pinktober-fest. One day out out of 31, to bring attention to that form of breast cancer that claims the lives of women & men at an average rate of <span style="font-size: large;">40,000</span> per year. That significant statistic is only for the U.S. Approximately <span style="font-size: large;">470,000</span> die each year world-wide. Such little attention has, historically, been given to MBC - either in "awareness" or in research. MBC is the dark underside of the Pink Ribbon. I do not often paraphrase <em>Stalin</em>, actually, this is my first time, but it seems fitting. Sadly, in the world of MBC, one death is a tragedy but thousands seem to be merely a statistic. <br />
<br />
I wrote the following in February 2010 - just over 6 months after my initial diagnosis; while I was still in the throws of multiple surgeries; and while I was still in the midst of embracing my own cancer journey. This was in response to the dearth of information and mis-information that I was having to contend with as I groped my way along a well-chartered, but equally mystifying path. It seemed apropos to reprint again, as I continue to stumble along the routeway of MBC.</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sMOiJxEnVkU/UHYQaICjjgI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/LuEdEDTyY2M/s1600/Singed+Pink+Ribbon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sMOiJxEnVkU/UHYQaICjjgI/AAAAAAAAAuQ/LuEdEDTyY2M/s400/Singed+Pink+Ribbon.jpg" width="268" /></a><em><strong>Please to Meet You...Can You Guess My Game?</strong></em> <br />
<br />
You pay homage to me<br />
With candlelight's,<br />
With relays, and<br />
Pale pink parades.<br />
You go through these motions, notions<br />
and emotions half-veiled and dazed.<br />
Caring, yet not comprehending the dark nature of my true game.<br />
<br />
I have marched on,<br />
I have latched on,<br />
I live due to the choices you have made.<br />
You're dumb-founded and scared, and<br />
Emboldened and brazen.<br />
And I enjoy this pink badge of honor,<br />
Celebrating the carnage left in my wake.<br />
Yet you don't seem to understand when you meet me,<br />
Thou you flippantly market my game.<br />
<br />
You clamor to the life I've taken -<br />
Fear gripping you like a vise,<br />
Yet celebrating with ribbons and vigils<br />
And solemn events to light up the night.<br />
Yet I still seize, clutch, and penetrate,<br />
Creating breastless creatures with the disease I rake.<br />
And in response you raise your banners and tie your pink laces,<br />
Feigning a civilized calm, within the din of despair,<br />
Yielding and railing at the call of my name.<br />
<br />
I enjoy an enviable market niche,<br />
A public relations dream with a broad reach.<br />
I bring many persons together<br />
To walk,<br />
To share,<br />
To cry, and<br />
To prescribe.<br />
Together you'll meet me, step-to defeat me and fight,<br />
While still shunning from the meaning of the game that I play,<br />
For the "greater purpose" you cling to me me, giving life to my name.<br />
<br />
I'm embraced,<br />
I'm battled,<br />
I'm run for, and against.<br />
I raise warriors in pink,<br />
I raze survivors inside and out.<br />
You speak awareness of who I am,<br />
Yet I'm still the ever uninvited guest.<br />
You know me, but you choose not to see,<br />
Past the Madison Avenue glitz; and<br />
In the whispers of your fears, my name is endorsed on your lips.<br />
<br />
You make me t-shirts and teddy bears,<br />
Coffee cups and pins<br />
You celebrate my name,<br />
In the hopes that YOU will win?<br />
I'm on bracelets and billboards,<br />
T.V. ads and magazines.<br />
You use me to bond women together,<br />
Through hats, key chains and I.V. scenes.<br />
You want to be rid of me, wrench me from your breast,<br />
While still elevating my name like some personal test.<br />
<br />
You breathe and drink me, in<br />
The chemicals you create.<br />
The ones that both heal and do harm.<br />
You willingly open your body to my sin.<br />
Your lust for luxuries simply invites me in.<br />
Through cosmetics,<br />
Beauty creams,<br />
Lipsticks,<br />
Shampoo,<br />
Hair color,<br />
Deodorants, and<br />
Perfumes.<br />
You gulp me down in plastic bottles.<br />
Swallow me hungrily in pills.<br />
You ingest me in the foods you eat,<br />
And still,<br />
You come gripped with shock and dismay,<br />
And curse when you greet me,<br />
Still stoically refusing to take personal ownership of my game!<br />
<br />
I bring sorrow,<br />
You bring hope -<br />
And wrap yourself in courage desperately borrowed.<br />
I bring profit -<br />
Greedily spawned from your daughters,<br />
Yet you say you know me, with no knowledge.<br />
And you keep coming to me in droves,<br />
Throwing away your intuition,<br />
Innate sense and well being, no longer trusting your own.<br />
You claw at and cling to the coattails of Big Pharma,<br />
Opening your veins up to the corporate dogma.<br />
Good patients burn flesh and sear mind under the guise of a pink banner,<br />
And savor Red Devil cocktails, while<br />
Quality of life becomes nothing but face-book banter, of<br />
Buzz words, fly-bys, statistics, wigs, and trials,<br />
As you uncomfortably nestle blindly in my surreal guile.<br />
<br />
Am I nature,<br />
Am I man-made, or<br />
A product of freakish DNA?<br />
You don't know,<br />
You don't ask,<br />
You lock-step on.<br />
You want only to walk on the pink runway,<br />
Fear as your drum.<br />
All the while feeling empowered,<br />
Rallying with the pink-media monster, who<br />
Romanticizes the call,<br />
To join the growing roster forged in my name,<br />
And trust that I am very pleased to shroud you in the nature of my game!<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"> - TCShanker (aka "TC")<br /> February, 2010</span>
<br />
<br />
# # #<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
To gain greater insight into the MBC Community; the grass roots movements to educate the general as well the Pink-Public as to MBC; and to make this deadly aspect of breast cancer a priority in funding & research, please explore the following resources. Thank you for taking the time this October 13th, and beyond.</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>Metavivor.Org</strong></em></span><br />
<a href="http://www.metavivor.org/index.html"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://www.metavivor.org/index.html</span></a><br />
<br />
<em>From support groups to funding vital research, our programs sustain the power of hope. Passionately committed patients ourselves, we rally public attention to the urgent needs of the metastatic breast cancer (MBC) community, help patients find strength through support and purpose, and make EVER dollar count as we work with researchers to regain longevity with quality of life</em>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<em><strong>Metastatic Breast Cancer Network</strong></em><br />
<a href="http://mbcn.org/"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">http://mbcn.org/</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div style="z-index: 97130;">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><span class="gray-para-verdana" style="z-index: 97120;">MBCN is a national, independent, nonprofit, patient advocacy group dedicated to the unique concerns of the women and men living with metastatic breast cancer . </span><span class="gray-para-verdana" style="z-index: 97110;">We strive to help those living with stage IV breast cancer be their own best advocate through providing education and information on treatments and coping with the disease.</span></em></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times;"></span></em> </div>
<div style="z-index: 97100;">
</div>
<div style="z-index: 97100;">
<span class="gray-para-verdana" style="z-index: 97090;"><em><strong>National Foundation for Cancer Research</strong></em></span></div>
<div style="z-index: 97100;">
<span class="gray-para-verdana" style="z-index: 97090;"><a href="http://www.nfcr.org/metastatic-breast-cancer-research">http://www.nfcr.org/metastatic-breast-cancer-research</a></span></div>
<div style="z-index: 97100;">
</div>
<span class="gray-para-verdana" style="z-index: 97090;"><em>Even after successful removal of a primary tumor, cancer patients still live under the constant fear that a few cancer cells have escaped the surgery, and that these cells may eventually become secondary tumors in other locations of the body. Presently, there has been insufficient research on the root cause of metastasis, which means that there are no effective medical strategies to prevent or stop cancer once it has spread. Although chemotherapy drugs are used to inhibit the cancer metastasis, this form of treatment often leads to debilitating side effects which diminish the quality of life for patients and their families.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>There is an urgent need f
or better methods to prevent and treat metastasis. Due to the complex nature of this aspect of cancer, extensive research collaboration among scientists is essential to tackle this problem. Critical as it is, research funding in this field is severely limited. Of the $6.2 billion dollars allocated to the National Cancer Institute for cancer research, less than 1% of that budget focuses on research trying to understand the fundamental mechanisms of cancer metastasis. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>The metastasis of cancer cells is the greatest cause of lethality from tumors. Despite this fact, metastasis remains a relatively understudied area with a corresponding lack of understanding of the metastatic process. The research presented above has already provided new insights into the causes and mechanisms of cancer cell metastasis.</em></span><br />
<span class="gray-para-verdana" style="z-index: 97090;"><br />
<em></em><br />
<em></em> </span></div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-53104924642420358942012-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:002012-10-11T17:17:20.871-07:00"31 Truths" the Pink Ribbon Does Not Tell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/">http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/</a> (check out this URL for the complete history behind each of these Truths)<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><strong></strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><strong><h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-size: x-small;"><strong><img height="122" src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/31-truths-webpage-banner-1.jpg" width="400" /></strong></span></h2>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-right: 0.5em; width: 651px;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="width: 7%;"><h2>
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-1.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
</td><td style="width: 65%;"><h2>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-1.html">Over 2 ½ million women in the United States have a history of breast cancer.</a> </span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-2.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
</td><td><h2>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-2.html">About 40,000 women and 450 men die from breast cancer each year in the United States.</a> </span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-3.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
</td><td><h2>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-3.html">Breast cancer accounts for nearly a quarter of all cancers in women worldwide.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-4.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
</td><td><h2>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-4.html">Men do get breast cancer.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-5.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-5.html">The biggest risk factors for breast cancer are being a woman and growing older.The average age of diagnosis is 61.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-6.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-6.html">Most women who are diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-7.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-7.html">Most people think they have a higher risk of breast cancer than they actually do.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-8.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-8.html">While breast cancer mortality has gone down in recent years, too many women still die of the disease each year.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-9.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-9.html">The mortality rate from breast cancer is higher for African American women than for white women and women of other races.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-10.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-10.html">All breast cancers are not the same; there are different types of breast cancer.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-11.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-11.html">We do not know how to prevent the spread of breast cancer to other parts of the body (metastasis).</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-12.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-12.html">For the majority of people with breast cancer, treatment options have changed very little in the last 20 years.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-13.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-13.html">The treatments for DCIS and invasive breast cancer can themselves lead to severe side effects, including death.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-14.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-14.html">Early detection is not the answer. Finding and treating all Stage 0 breast cancer, or DCIS , will not prevent all deaths from breast cancer.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-15.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-15.html">In many cases, more treatment is not necessarily better treatment.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><strong> <img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-16.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-16.html">Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) may increase your risk of breast cancer.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><strong> <img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-17.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-17.html">There are many unproven and uncertain risk factors for breast cancer cited in the media and among the public.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-18.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-18.html">Most women who find their own breast cancer do so as part of normal routines (showering, getting dressed, etc.) not during systematic monthly breast self-exams.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><strong> <img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-19.png" /></strong> </span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-19.html">Mammography is not prevention. Getting regular mammograms does not prevent you from getting breast cancer.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"> <strong><img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-20.png" /></strong></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-20.html">Five year breast cancer survival rates do not give an accurate picture of progress against breast cancer.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-21.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-21.html">Breast cancer awareness campaigns have helped move the disease from behind closed doors but have not had a significant impact on the incidence of Stage 4 disease or on mortality.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-22.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-22.html">To end breast cancer, research must focus on understanding how to prevent the disease from developing and on how to stop the disease from spreading to other parts of the body.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-23.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-23.html">We will not see a significant decrease in breast cancer mortality without a better understanding of breast cancer metastasis.</a></span></span></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-24.html">Women with breast cancer deserve evidence-based treatments that have been proven effective.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-25.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-25.html">Once there is a cure, breast cancer will still not end until everyone everywhere has access to health care.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-26.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-26.html">The media do not always get it right when reporting on breast cancer. </a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-27.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-27.html">Your tax dollars fund a significant amount of breast cancer research.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-28.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-28.html">Breast cancer survivors can learn and understand science, and can help influence the direction of breast cancer research.</a></span></span></h2>
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<img src="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/assets/images/admin-use-only/31-truths-graphics/Truths-for-Landing-Page/Truth-Number-Webpage-29.png" /></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-29.html">Great scientific achievements have been accomplished in less than 10 years.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-30.html">Breast cancer advocates can—and will—lead an effort to end breast cancer by 2020.</a></span></span></h2>
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<span style="color: #333333;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerdeadline2020.org/breast-cancer-information/31-truths/truth-31.html">It will take collaboration among many groups and stakeholders to meet Breast Cancer Deadline 2020<sup>®</sup>.</a></span></span></h2>
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-66896859746506703012012-10-08T18:07:00.002-07:002012-10-08T18:07:57.049-07:00A "WOW...REALLY?!!" Moment <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xELCaCapKeA/UHN4iV0qlHI/AAAAAAAAAtg/sjydjsD1RPQ/s1600/celebrate+survivors+celebrate+sexy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xELCaCapKeA/UHN4iV0qlHI/AAAAAAAAAtg/sjydjsD1RPQ/s640/celebrate+survivors+celebrate+sexy.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-4573613235033648422012-10-06T17:45:00.001-07:002012-10-08T16:06:28.261-07:00Pinktober Pictorial Perspective - Unfurling the Pink Ribbon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Test your Pinktober I.Q. - Which picture raises your AWARENESS of the disease that has been killing women (and yes, men too) at a rate of 40,000 per year since our grandmothers were being diagnosed? </span></div>
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(Caution: Contains graphic content. Only scroll down if you really want to know what breast cancer looks like unwrapped from the pink trappings.) </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Woaxw5ECTXY/UG4lVK_uKKI/AAAAAAAAApo/Of8salaUTVA/s1600/Barbie.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Woaxw5ECTXY/UG4lVK_uKKI/AAAAAAAAApo/Of8salaUTVA/s1600/Barbie.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Barbie does Breast Cancer, for 6+ years of age.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Indoctrinating a younger audience that breast cancer is Pretty & Pink.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Soon every 6 year old will want to be a member of our </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">ever-expanding "club"!</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-94PI8P5u5qY/UG4lpcjDMyI/AAAAAAAAAqI/DjL06NaYD9U/s1600/SNB+Injection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-94PI8P5u5qY/UG4lpcjDMyI/AAAAAAAAAqI/DjL06NaYD9U/s1600/SNB+Injection.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Prepping for the Sentinel Node Biopsy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">First step is to be injected with nuclear matter. Yes it does hurt.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zau2qJ03TMA/UG4leD5oZDI/AAAAAAAAAp4/GXgMGILtMBk/s1600/Hard+Rock+Pink+Guitar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zau2qJ03TMA/UG4leD5oZDI/AAAAAAAAAp4/GXgMGILtMBk/s1600/Hard+Rock+Pink+Guitar.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Hard Rock's 2012 edition is a double-necked</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">blinged out guitar. Last year was single-necked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Maybe this is for the double-mastectomy crowd?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To the left is one of the potential side-effects of radiation treatment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, the skin can get that damaged.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To the right is a potential side-effect of the Sentinel Node Biopsy - lymphedema.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Lymphedema can be debilitating, and a life-long issue. </span><span style="font-size: small;"> Granted, "life-long" for a breast cancer journeyer carries a different meaning than for the non-journeying population.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tyXJ2fYeI58/UG4lkBp9jbI/AAAAAAAAAqA/SYHdfHGByBA/s1600/inspiration+series+boobie+wear.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tyXJ2fYeI58/UG4lkBp9jbI/AAAAAAAAAqA/SYHdfHGByBA/s1600/inspiration+series+boobie+wear.png" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">There is actually a contest for the </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">most inspirational quote. You too can </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">have your words pressed against the </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">scarred bosom of a breast cancer journeyer</span>.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxKw5SMtA_I/UG4l4j4Rq3I/AAAAAAAAAqY/flAYXME7L4g/s1600/SNB+Graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxKw5SMtA_I/UG4l4j4Rq3I/AAAAAAAAAqY/flAYXME7L4g/s320/SNB+Graphic.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The surgical search for those pesky lymph nodes that</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">can indiscriminately carry cancer cells throughout a person's body</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">While I appreciate the efforts of the NFL. And, admittedly, a buff athlete in </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">tight stretch pants, flexing his "guns", may give me pause to rethink my abhorrence of pink. On the other-hand, I think the NFL should stick to trying to ameliorate the traumatic brain injuries their own players are incurring. BTW, the full add said a whole 10 cents on the dollar went to breast cancer research. Guess the NFL learned nothing after the recent referee strike.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pinkwashing Retail Awareness. Enough said.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_SAWvH2JMks/UG5VrX_R1cI/AAAAAAAAArg/2XwrKf1YXGg/s1600/breast+cancer+vi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_SAWvH2JMks/UG5VrX_R1cI/AAAAAAAAArg/2XwrKf1YXGg/s320/breast+cancer+vi.jpg" width="175" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, this is what a mastectomy scar looks like 2-3 weeks </span><span style="font-size: small;">after the surgery. The drainage tubes have been removed. Thank goodness, </span><span style="font-size: small;">otherwise this reality would <em>really</em> be scary looking!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Yes, ladies and gentlemen - THIS IS BREAST CANCER! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Not pretty, but maybe a little pinkish</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Awareness for breast cancer? or an ad to save</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">the local strip joint, "Tatas," from closing down</span>? </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Smith & Wesson...and your thought was what?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">If breast cancer and its progeny doesn't kill you, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">try this????</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Chemo. It sucks.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">No matter what your </span><span style="font-size: small;">opinion as to this poison-filled, conventional treatment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Damn...I like penguins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Not sure I want one </span><span style="font-size: small;">squishing my "boobs", however. Oh, forgot </span><span style="font-size: small;">I don't <em>have </em>real "boobs" anymore. How about </span><span style="font-size: small;">we just squish the Boob who thought this was clever??</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Double mastectomy, approximately</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">two months after surgery. I don't think Pinkwashing</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Retail Awareness is going to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Chicken should not be pretty or pink. Even </span><span style="font-size: small;">fake chicken</span>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Petrol containers for Breast Cancer! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">How apropos. After all, we slather ourselves in petrol each and every day. Its in our soaps, shampoos, cosmetics...and we pay top dollar for these carcinogens. Read your labels: paraffin; sodium lauryl sulphate, ammonium lauryl sulphate, dibutyl, phthalate, butyl benzl phthalate, parabens (butyl, ethyl, propyl isobutyl), benzoates, tolune, methlybenzene, dimethicone, propylene glycol .... to name a few.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lp4aR1fhdF8/UG5Yyf2srPI/AAAAAAAAAsg/Ic1VsFysHkw/s1600/pinktober+iii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lp4aR1fhdF8/UG5Yyf2srPI/AAAAAAAAAsg/Ic1VsFysHkw/s1600/pinktober+iii.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Chicken should not be pretty or pink, or canned, or sodium filled...</span></div>
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Cardiac Pre-Tamponade in Metastatic Breast. In other words, the breast cancer has spread to the cardiac structure. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pNyWgPsIJbo/UHDE7PNs0pI/AAAAAAAAAtA/Bby0dRyU6m4/s1600/metastatic+breast+cancer+cardiac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pNyWgPsIJbo/UHDE7PNs0pI/AAAAAAAAAtA/Bby0dRyU6m4/s1600/metastatic+breast+cancer+cardiac.jpg" /><br />
</a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9SdXTTPq5qc/UG5Vux4rptI/AAAAAAAAAro/9x6gUd6BUMM/s1600/breast+cancer+viii.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9SdXTTPq5qc/UG5Vux4rptI/AAAAAAAAAro/9x6gUd6BUMM/s1600/breast+cancer+viii.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I reiterate, in the event the point is still not apparent. Breast Cancer is </span><span style="font-size: small;">NOT pretty and pink!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Actually, this IS a t-shirt I might wear to Trader Joe's</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">during the weekly shopping trip!</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-size: large;">Related PINKTOBER Posts:</span></u></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><strong><em>Awareness - </em></strong> <a href="http://boo-bee-trap.blogspot.com/2009/10/awarenes.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://boo-bee-trap.blogspot.com/2009/10/awarenes.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><strong><em>Kindly...STOP Waving the Pink Ribbon in My Face</em></strong> - <a href="http://boo-bee-trap.blogspot.com/2010/09/dichotomy-of-breast-cancer.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://boo-bee-trap.blogspot.com/2010/09/dichotomy-of-breast-cancer.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><strong><em>Awareness Revisited </em></strong>- <a href="http://boo-bee-trap.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-is-breast-cancer-awareness.html"><span style="color: blue;">http://boo-bee-trap.blogspot.com/2011/10/october-is-breast-cancer-awareness.html</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-68901625279515266732012-10-02T12:52:00.003-07:002012-10-02T12:52:33.049-07:00The Things People Say...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RFBlrCC4wqE/UGtE5ZcBz4I/AAAAAAAAApU/rkPgE97-71g/s1600/Things+People+Say.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RFBlrCC4wqE/UGtE5ZcBz4I/AAAAAAAAApU/rkPgE97-71g/s1600/Things+People+Say.jpg" /></a></div>
Feeling under the weather, still. Been battling my annual pneumonia, that came early this year. Recall pneumonia has been a part of my annual health cycle since 2009, and five months after my stage III ILC diagnosis. This time, however, pneumonia brought a friend: <em>Shingles</em>. I will tell you first hand <em>shingles</em> ain't sexy. In fact, she is a first-class b*tch! Oh, and these immune depressing buddies were keeping a fractured toe and small metatarsal bones in my left foot company. <em>But I digress</em>.<br />
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All of this occurred in mid August, and the residuals of all three remain with me. Probably something to do with the 11-18 hour days I have been putting in 6-7 days a week. <em>But, again I digress</em>.<br />
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In trying to regain some foothold on my compromised immune system, I went over this morning to my Whole Foods juice bar. I am fortunate that in walking distance from my office I have both a Whole Foods and a Starbucks -- between these two cash-suckers I can feed my addictive beasties in many many ways! <em>Ah, digression</em>.<br />
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This a.m. I was looking at my juicing options and confirmed with the counter worker, as I always do, that the WF berries* used in the concoctions are <em>not</em> organic. This adorable cherub face looked at me with her flawless unmade face and large doe-brown eyes and said, enthusiastically,<br />
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"No they are not, but they are all natural." <br />
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<em>Oh, aren't all fruit natural? </em><br />
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"Well, we don't add anything to our fruit."<em> </em><br />
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<em>Oh, aren't they just frozen fruit?</em><br />
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"Yes, and they are all natural"<br />
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<em>But the berries are not organic?</em><br />
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"No, but all of our frozen fruit is all natural."<br />
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<em>Gotcha!? I will take the mango and oranges.</em><br />
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<em>* Eating berries of any type that are not organic is problematic. Berries are very porous. As such, they absorb all the pesticides and other materials they are exposed to. My take, ingesting a handful of conventionally grown raspberries would give me my monthly quota of pesticides and would negate any nutritional value. Conventional fruit with heavy peels, on th other hand, are safer IF you wash the peel thoroughly before cutting into it. I ingest enough toxins just walking through my day. </em><br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-39043087498400483702012-09-20T18:23:00.000-07:002012-09-20T18:23:03.644-07:00Just Another Tasty Thursday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Living with a chronic disease makes daily life interesting, even in the most quiet of times. There are days, only five or seven per week, where the day plays out more like a classic country song. And cancer is only the seasoning.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LhlJgphb7Rs/UFvAzPNJbQI/AAAAAAAAAos/AzVr0N2edjY/s1600/head_all_purpose_30oz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LhlJgphb7Rs/UFvAzPNJbQI/AAAAAAAAAos/AzVr0N2edjY/s320/head_all_purpose_30oz.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Today was such a day. <br />
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<em></em><br />
<em>My daughter is mentally ill.</em><br />
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<em>My grandchildren are heavily medicated.</em><br />
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<em>My dog had to be put down.</em><br />
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Think I will call my lawyer.<br />
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<em>We can't get the documents we needed yesterday.</em><br />
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<em>My 12 year old tried to commit suicide.</em><br />
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<em>Her younger sister is cutting herself.</em><br />
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Think I will call my lawyer.<br />
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<em>The court won't follow the federal mandate.</em><br />
<em></em><br />
<em>The government agency hasn't complied...for 14 years.</em><br />
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<em>My aunt won't give back my meth-addicted sister's children.</em><br />
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Will you be her lawyer?<br />
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<em>My attorney screwed up.</em><br />
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<em>The trial is next Monday.</em><br />
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<em>The deadline for the appeal is in two days.</em><br />
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Will you be our lawyer?<br />
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. . . .Oh, and can you do it pro bono? <em>~ TWANG ~</em><br />
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-31869214127792277232012-09-18T18:35:00.001-07:002012-09-18T18:35:55.996-07:00שנה טובה ומתוקה<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7dSCeU7s-vE/UFkeKQUzWiI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/vxvrv-wH2bM/s1600/Rosh+Hashanah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7dSCeU7s-vE/UFkeKQUzWiI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/vxvrv-wH2bM/s1600/Rosh+Hashanah.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">Shanah Tovah </span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span class="hps"><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e46c0a; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">'</span></span></span><span class="shorttext"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">שנה</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span><span class="shorttext"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">טובה</span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>
(5773)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p>D</o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">uring these days of Yamim Nora'im </span><span class="hps"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">ימים</span></span><span class="shorttext"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></span></span><span class="hps"><span dir="RTL" lang="HE" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;">נוראים</span></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span>, may your final sealing in the
Book of Life be good. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #e46c0a; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-style-textfill-fill-alpha: 100.0%; mso-style-textfill-fill-color: #E46C0A; mso-style-textfill-fill-themecolor: accent6; mso-themecolor: accent6; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sincere wishes for a <em>healthy</em> new
year filled with simcha <span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">
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TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-83746110062753115972012-09-18T14:44:00.000-07:002012-09-18T14:44:40.118-07:00Bad Manners or Good Etiquette?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jRt-j7UklsU/UFjq14hTM7I/AAAAAAAAAn8/o2CyN2Z0m6Q/s1600/victorian+etiquette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jRt-j7UklsU/UFjq14hTM7I/AAAAAAAAAn8/o2CyN2Z0m6Q/s1600/victorian+etiquette.jpg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #f6b26b;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Well, at least it’s not c-a-n-c-e-r! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">So many times I hear this pronouncement when someone shares the
travails in their life or that of a person close to them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does this self-assuring phrase mean to the
utterer? What does it mean to the hearer? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">It harkens me back to the victorian age when C-A-N-C-E-R was hissed in
hushed tones, as if saying it in polite conversation was unseemly, bad-form, or
worse – made the disease communicable. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">To the one sighing in relief, “well…at least it’s not cancer”, it
is comforting as if this means the sufferer in question has somehow dodged a
terminal bullet. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">
</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">To the recipient of this sighed utterance, it can mean further
isolation – especially if you yourself has C-A-N-C-E-R. Those of us with
C-A-N-C-E-R do not have a red letter on our chests (or a pink, or a purple…but
I digress).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">It may mean that in the minds of the speaker anything is still
better than c-a-n-c-e-r … that O-T-H-E-R disease. It may mean that C-A-N-C-E-R
is still the feared death-sentence that it has historically been. It may mean
that subconsciously people do not b-e-l-i-e-v-e the propaganda perpetuated by
the C-A-N-C-E-R <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I-N-D-U-S-T-R-Y. They
may not believe the rhetoric that “awareness” is somehow a cure. They would
accept anything but c-a-n-c-e-r.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">I don’t buy into the billboards, TV commercials, print ads,
direct-mail advertising, pop-up ads, runs, walks, retail-awareness. I do,
however, understand the fear and the loneliness C-A-N-C-E-R can engender in a
person. I would not wish C-A-N-C-E-R on my worst nemesis. Yet, I will not be
hushed when I say C-A-N-C-E-R when speaking about myself, because it is part of
life and reality. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">What do I say in return when I am privy to the sighed utterance, well
at least it’s not….<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">Nothing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #f6b26b;">
</span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q7DBMcFtwOg/UFjokmJwTsI/AAAAAAAAAn0/Yut0bK6uZ2M/s1600/Etiquette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #f6b26b;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q7DBMcFtwOg/UFjokmJwTsI/AAAAAAAAAn0/Yut0bK6uZ2M/s1600/Etiquette.jpg" /></span></a><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">I nod. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";"><span style="color: #f6b26b;">It would be unseemly and bad-form to do otherwise. One social faux-pas
in a conversation is quite enough.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6101428891754090864.post-42304655545570128432012-09-14T22:32:00.002-07:002012-09-14T22:32:47.852-07:00Random Thoughts<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<em>The past cannot be cured.</em> ~ Elizabeth, I. Spot on wisdom.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tj0nIW_nIM8/UFQPDYcNVrI/AAAAAAAAAng/kZ4MOIEfGwY/s1600/random+thoughts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tj0nIW_nIM8/UFQPDYcNVrI/AAAAAAAAAng/kZ4MOIEfGwY/s1600/random+thoughts.jpg" /></a><br />
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I have shared a common theme with varied people over the last two weeks, in different contexts: <em>All you can do is go forward. Going backward is just not an option.</em> <br />
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Why then do so many seem to pine for a constructed rose-colored past?</div>
TChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630204465578778698noreply@blogger.com0