Friday, June 4, 2010
Cool diversion
Last year, I was very sad when Craft magazine folded. But while the paper version may have died, Craft lives on in their very cool online presence Craftzine.com. What I'm loving right now - their blog features this DIY dry erase board originally designed by Brittni of paper n stitch. I'm making one for the front hall this weekend.
Chemo and the hell it plays with your tastebuds
Ok - so, my order of treatment has been (1) chemo (2) surgery (3) radiation (4) ongoing herceptin and tamoxifen. That may not be the order you do it in. Often surgery comes first, but I had a really big tumour and my oncologist wanted to try and shrink it first. And he was succesful.
So let's talk about chemo. Everyone is afraid of it. I certainly had a mental picture of what it would be like based on, I don't know, after school specials and very sad movies. But mine was very manageable. Yes I lost all my hair, most of my eyebrows, all but 7 eyelashes (total between the two eyes) and lots of other body hair. Yes I was tired, green, irritable and, sometimes, very shakey and cold. But at no point did I think I had to stop. Everyone's experience is different though. And I talked to many people who did want to stop. Work with your doctors, nurses and other health carers to try to make your journey as manageable as possible.
The single biggest problem I experienced during chemo involved eating. I was never nauseated to the point of vomiting. The new steroids worked wonders for me. But food never tasted good and eating became a challenge. Water tasted like death. And the thought of eating made me angry. I love food - cooking is my single biggest hobby and I read cookbooks for fun. My altered tastebuds were torturing me.
So I turned to the Internet and books. I found very good advice from others further down the cancer path - keep trying. Try new foods. Try foods you used to hate. Try foods again even if they tasted awful before. My tastes continued to change throughout treatment. Food never tasted good - but sometimes, some foods tasted close to normal. Cucumbers, which ironically had been a craving during my pregnancies, were one of these foods. Apples, bananas, raw vegetables in general were ok. Small portions of whole grain bread. Oatmeal porridge. Meat wasn't great. Coffee wasn't great. Wine was dreadful. And hot dogs - lord - hot dogs were horrific.
But you have to eat - even when food tastes awful. Eat healthy foods as much as you can. But also choke down the foods that bother you least, even if they aren't spectacularly healthy. Some days a fast food hamburger may be the thing that doesn't bother you - eat it. I think I ate just ice cream once for supper. Cherry Garcia.
That reminds me of another thing I read that was not good advice for me. Some people said don't eat your favourite foods during chemo as it can ruin your love of them after you finish treatment. I tried that but out of desperation returned to old favourites, like Thai curries and Ben and Gerry ice creams. They were fine - not great - but manageable. And it has not had any impact on my love of these foods now that my taste buds have returned to normal.
Finally, if you are having trouble eating, talk to your nurses. They usually have lots of advice, tricks learned from years of helping people like us. And, if you happen to have joined a support group or have informally built relationships with others undergoing cancer treatment, talk to other people to see how they are coping. Make it a priority to find out how to make eating more enjoyable.
So let's talk about chemo. Everyone is afraid of it. I certainly had a mental picture of what it would be like based on, I don't know, after school specials and very sad movies. But mine was very manageable. Yes I lost all my hair, most of my eyebrows, all but 7 eyelashes (total between the two eyes) and lots of other body hair. Yes I was tired, green, irritable and, sometimes, very shakey and cold. But at no point did I think I had to stop. Everyone's experience is different though. And I talked to many people who did want to stop. Work with your doctors, nurses and other health carers to try to make your journey as manageable as possible.
The single biggest problem I experienced during chemo involved eating. I was never nauseated to the point of vomiting. The new steroids worked wonders for me. But food never tasted good and eating became a challenge. Water tasted like death. And the thought of eating made me angry. I love food - cooking is my single biggest hobby and I read cookbooks for fun. My altered tastebuds were torturing me.
So I turned to the Internet and books. I found very good advice from others further down the cancer path - keep trying. Try new foods. Try foods you used to hate. Try foods again even if they tasted awful before. My tastes continued to change throughout treatment. Food never tasted good - but sometimes, some foods tasted close to normal. Cucumbers, which ironically had been a craving during my pregnancies, were one of these foods. Apples, bananas, raw vegetables in general were ok. Small portions of whole grain bread. Oatmeal porridge. Meat wasn't great. Coffee wasn't great. Wine was dreadful. And hot dogs - lord - hot dogs were horrific.
But you have to eat - even when food tastes awful. Eat healthy foods as much as you can. But also choke down the foods that bother you least, even if they aren't spectacularly healthy. Some days a fast food hamburger may be the thing that doesn't bother you - eat it. I think I ate just ice cream once for supper. Cherry Garcia.
That reminds me of another thing I read that was not good advice for me. Some people said don't eat your favourite foods during chemo as it can ruin your love of them after you finish treatment. I tried that but out of desperation returned to old favourites, like Thai curries and Ben and Gerry ice creams. They were fine - not great - but manageable. And it has not had any impact on my love of these foods now that my taste buds have returned to normal.
Finally, if you are having trouble eating, talk to your nurses. They usually have lots of advice, tricks learned from years of helping people like us. And, if you happen to have joined a support group or have informally built relationships with others undergoing cancer treatment, talk to other people to see how they are coping. Make it a priority to find out how to make eating more enjoyable.
Life saving tip of the day
Walk! Take a trip around the block and then keep going. Studies (like this, this and this) show that exercise can vastly improve breast cancer survival rates. And, like with green tea, studies (like this one) have found a link between exercise and lower rates of depression. Do what I do - grab your mp3 player and get going. I listen to podcasts but music may be your thing. A pedometer (my iPod has one built in) will track your steps and give you that much more motivation. Yesterday, I cranked out close to 10,000 steps listening to Terry Gross's interview with The Daily Show's Samantha Bee - painless! And don't wait for a sunny day - some of my best walks here on the rainy west coast of Canada have been on pretty drizzly days. Greet the people you meet on your walk with a smile and, most of the time, you will be rewarded with one in return. Win win. Win. :-)
Cool diversion
Haul out that crockpot and head to A Year of Slowcooking. I first found it when researching yogurt makers. I eat a lot of yogurt, as does my family. Well, via Stephanie's website, I found out how to make it myself without investing in another piece of kitchen equipment. Click here to find out how and then take a tour of her site to find lots of yummy ways to shorten your time in the kitchen.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Life saving tip of the day
Drink green tea. Drink it now. Drink a lot. Drink it hot, drink it iced, heck, drink it lukewarm. Just get it down ya. Preferably straight, no milk or sugar. Learn to love it.
New studies have shown that green tea may not only be a powerful tool in the fight against breast cancer, it may actually help prevent depression in breast cancer survivors.
Buy someone you love a teapot and throw in some tea. Please and thank you!
Cheers!
New studies have shown that green tea may not only be a powerful tool in the fight against breast cancer, it may actually help prevent depression in breast cancer survivors.
Buy someone you love a teapot and throw in some tea. Please and thank you!
Cheers!
Cool diversion
Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools - Spend an hour, or more, learning how other people have figured out how to make your life easier.
Gettin' through
Cancer is scary. I think I said that before! And you will spend a lot of time thinking about it. And you should. Denial is not your friend anymore.
But, you need to give yourself a break, think about other things. In this case, technology is your friend. One word - podcasts. My husband bought me an iPod and everyweek I fill it. Then I turn on the iPod, turn off my brain and just listen. Listen to what is happening anywhere, everywhere else.
NPR is a huge source - Fresh Air, All Things Considered, All Songs Considered, Story of the Day, World Story of the Day.... CBC is a good resource for humour. Laugh Out Loud saves me some days. And Vinyl Cafe is an old friend that gives me a nice sense of normal on stressful mornings. Wire Tap is a great new find. And Eli Glasner On Film keeps me in touch with the movies I'm not seeing. Tavis Smiley's PBS podcast is a comforting friend. And I can lose an hour relearning long forgotten conjugation skills with French Verb Drills.
Be sure to check out Radio Lab, How Stuff Works, TED Talks, Old Jews Telling Jokes, BBC Desert Island Discs and the World in Words. For everything that interests you, there is a podcast. Audio and video. Cooking lessons to yoga. Current events to science breakthroughs. See what works for you. It's all free, except for the initial outlay for an iPod.
Podcasts have given me much more stress relief than relaxation cds or classical music. I turn them on and walk for hours, squishing the cancer cells with each step I take. And I turn them on late at night, when I cannot sleep and my brain aches with fear. In a moment, I am transported...out of my head and back into the world. I like it there.
But, you need to give yourself a break, think about other things. In this case, technology is your friend. One word - podcasts. My husband bought me an iPod and everyweek I fill it. Then I turn on the iPod, turn off my brain and just listen. Listen to what is happening anywhere, everywhere else.
NPR is a huge source - Fresh Air, All Things Considered, All Songs Considered, Story of the Day, World Story of the Day.... CBC is a good resource for humour. Laugh Out Loud saves me some days. And Vinyl Cafe is an old friend that gives me a nice sense of normal on stressful mornings. Wire Tap is a great new find. And Eli Glasner On Film keeps me in touch with the movies I'm not seeing. Tavis Smiley's PBS podcast is a comforting friend. And I can lose an hour relearning long forgotten conjugation skills with French Verb Drills.
Be sure to check out Radio Lab, How Stuff Works, TED Talks, Old Jews Telling Jokes, BBC Desert Island Discs and the World in Words. For everything that interests you, there is a podcast. Audio and video. Cooking lessons to yoga. Current events to science breakthroughs. See what works for you. It's all free, except for the initial outlay for an iPod.
Podcasts have given me much more stress relief than relaxation cds or classical music. I turn them on and walk for hours, squishing the cancer cells with each step I take. And I turn them on late at night, when I cannot sleep and my brain aches with fear. In a moment, I am transported...out of my head and back into the world. I like it there.
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