November 1st Begins Lung Cancer Awareness Month- We are Free to Breathe

#freetobreathe 

During the Month of November Free to Breathe is offering 25 window clings to help everyone make it easier to become aware of the devastation of lung cancer.

I am flying them around - the catch is that I have to take pictures of them and I am obviously not much of a photographer.

Maybe I'll ask my grandsons, Ty and Lew- they are both techies and know how to create the buzz!

Fun Times Fighting Cancer at the Gym

Yesterday, I had met up with some of my exercise buddies for a rousing stationary bike ride.   We were blabbing on and on about whatever came to mind.  Now, I want you to know that we are all cancer survivors and we didn’t once mention cancer- not an easy feat.  Anyway, as we were chirping and blabbing, the man at the farthest bike seemed to be getting agitated (he had ear plugs in and was listening to the TV).

Finally, he burst out and yelled at us, right in the middle of the gym!  “Will you pipe down, I can’t hear the television!” 

( he lost his ear plugs)

Frankly, my family of origin included a father who was a truck driver his whole life long- so my immediate reaction was to bop him over the head-but I I held my deep and dark feelings in and my co-horts and I exchanged aggravated glances. 

 

Later, one of the ladies who had heard the whole thing came over and said, “That man is so rude-he constantly is yelling at people!”   One of my co-horts said that she was sick of the complaining she always heard there.   I told her that maybe the man needed a suppository. 

Finally, the jerk got off his stationary bike and ambled away- lucky not to have gotten a swift kick in the butt!  

When another one of our co-horts came in we hurried to tell her about the exciting event that had taken place and how rude the jerk was!   Then an elderly lady came in and got on the same stationary bike he had been on- one of my co-horts told her the story and she shook her head back and forth.  She said she knew who he was and that he was always a rude person.

Later, our groups moved over to the weight resistance area and were doing our regimen.   My co-hort told one of the trainers about the event and she was shocked.  “What is wrong with him?”  “We are here to enjoy ourselves, after all!”  She shook her head in consternation.  

And with that, my exercise time at the gym came to an end.   I needed to hydrate.

Become a Respant- Lung Cancer Screening Begins with YOU!

The controversy that surrounds lung cancer screening rages on, but hope is on the horizon as organizations in every health care arena seen the wisdom in early detection of this deadliest of all cancers.

The Lung Cancer Alliance has compiled this list of organizations that have stepped forward to lend their support in the form of a letter to the Centers of Medicare and Medicare Services.   Read about this.   And, remember to become a respant!  What is a respant?   Here are some ideas-

“Unfortunately doctors and health professionals, in general, do not study success. We are far more likely to consider an unexpected recovery to be due to the treatment or a spontaneous remission. However, I have learned from my experience with patients and by asking them, “Why didn’t you die when you were supposed to?” that they always had a story to tell. I can recall, as an intern, realizing that the seniors, with hip fractures, who were noisy and demanding didn’t develop pneumonia and die while the submissive, quiet seniors who never raised their voice or caused a problem had a much higher mortality rate.   – Bernie Siegel, M.D.

 You are your own best advocate!

Chemo, Nausea, & Tacos

When I began chemo in early 2013, an X-ray technician at IU Simon took me aside and asked if I would soon be starting chemo.

I told her yes, and she said she had a tip for me!  Well, I am always open to tips, aren’t you?

She told me that many of the people who she talked to who had gone through chemo ate tacos to help them with their nausea, or general feeling of yuck!

I have to tell you that I was often at the point of that general feeling of yuck- and my son made many a trip to Taco B---

Now, I am not saying it is a cure all-just saying it worked for me and apparently for others.

I Am a Social Media Ambassador for Lungevity

As a social media ambassador for Lungevity I will be sending out news and other interesting facts about lung cancer to heighten awareness about the deadliest cancer.  

Watch for more information!  

What a Day for a Bronchoscopy!

Today, I got a nice little note from Facebook saying that 69 people who liked me on my page haven’t heard from me in a while and then I was ordered to write a post!

On August 6, I was rushed again into the hospital with another SVT episode.  I will be writing more about those later, and what I have learned about their relationship to lung cancer.   Anyway, after my SVT was controlled I was given a CT scan and the doctors up here thought it would be a good idea for my oncologist to see the results.  I had a sinking feeling, especially when the ER doctor waved his hands in the air and said, “Looks the same as it did 20 or so months ago!

To make a long story a little shorter, my oncologist looked at the scan and said he saw a slow progression.  So, I made the trip down to Indy in mid- August and was asked if I would like to try to see if I might be eligible for a program at IU Simon known as Precision Genomics.   This is targeted therapy and again an explanation about that is for another post. 

In order to find out if I am eligible I had to undergo a bronchoscopy yesterday.   This is a not fun procedure that is done to capture tissue from the lungs to see what cells will work for certain targeted therapies and which will not.  I am going to insert an illustration for my reader’s enjoyment.  AS you will see it is not a good time.  

The bronchoscopy procedure is used for several other reasons, but for me a good amount of tissue had to be extracted to be tested.   In  the needle biopsy that was done in 2012 to determine if I had cancer, not enough was extracted.    

More options are available to me now than there were then.    But, if the results of biopsy show I am not a fit then we will go on to chemo.    

"Don't Get Caught in the Financial Mess that is Cancer" - a Fellow Cancer Survivor

In the beginning I was told by a fellow cancer survivor to be careful with my finances as I went about the bureaucracy that is cancer, testing, treatment, insurance issues, and so much more.  Here are a few of the organizations that might be able to help.  If you know of more, let me know.

Financial Help

Co-Pay Relief- copays.org- 1-866-512-3861

Patient Advocate Foundation- patientadvocate.org- 1-800-532-5274

Cancer Financial Assistance Coalition-cancerfac.org

I really believe that having to worry about all of this during a time when you are fighting for your life is criminal.   I love the way certain individuals rant and rave that being self-sufficient is the only way to be a great American- these people have obviously either never been thrown into the sea without a life preserver or they are just so self-absorbed that compassion is not in their vocabulary.

The following excerpt from Social Work Today  highlights in concrete numbers the impact of financial stress on cancer fighters.

"According to the survey, 66% of patients with major financial challenges suffer depression or anxiety, 29% delay filling prescriptions due to financial pressures, and 22% skip doses of their medications. Sixty-three percent of oncology social workers surveyed said financial issues reduce patients’ compliance with their cancer treatment even though that treatment is key to their recovery. Additionally, 40% of patients reported depleting their savings, almost 30% reported dealing with bill collectors, and 54% of those handling a major/catastrophic financial burden said it had become more difficult in the past year to afford treatment.

Furthermore, 68% of cancer patients and caregivers surveyed reported that the patient is experiencing financial hardship due to medical bills, and 55% of all cancer patients surveyed said the stress of dealing with costs negatively affects their ability to focus on their recovery."

Beyond the hell of the disease of cancer- lies the beating heart of financial strain- reach in any direction you can to ward off the money beast.

I would love to hear any ideas that you or someone you know have used to work with financial difficulties during a cancer journey.  And, please, no part time job applicants need apply.  I would love to see one of them blend a chemo or radiation side effect with a job at Mickey Dees!