February 11, 2011
Coming Soon!
Long time no blog… Changes in direction and exciting changes to the site. It will all be worth the wait!
There will be everything from fitness advice to recipes and all around adventure!
Hold on to your seats, it’s going to be fun.
New post coming this weekend.
Sign up and come back.
October 3, 2010
Creating a Care Package for a Friend with Cancer
Putting together a care package for a friend with cancer will be one of the most wonderful gifts you can give. I’m speaking from experience and every little gift and card keeps your spirit going (I have each and every card and item seven years later). It doesn’t have to be elaborate because it’s the thought that counts, anyhow and it blesses regardless.
Here are some fun ideas, followed by a list of special items that help cancer survivors through their treatment.
1. Lemon Drops—Helps settle stomach and with dry mouth… Just plain yummy.
2. Mint Tea—Soothing and assists with digestion.
3. Aquaphor—This is a must for those going through radiation. Helps with burn and the extremely dry skin.
4. Silky Soft Scarf/Hat—Nice for those dealing with hair loss, especially when it’s cold.
5. Stuffed Animal—Just something fun that ends up meaning a lot. Took mine with me for each surgery.
6. Card—There are a number of nice cancer support cards available these days (Have seen them at both Hallmark and Walmart).
7. Chocolate—Need I say more? Be careful if individual is having chemo, but if not, should be good to go!
8. Puzzle Books—Something to do during treatment/recovery.
9. Inspirational Books—There are a number of wonderful books on the subject matter. A personal favorite is Chicken Soup for the Survivor’s Soul.
10. Trashy Novels—This is a matter of personal taste and could as easily be mysteries or whatever the individual prefers.
11. CDs—Feel good music and or something soothing to help rest when needed.
These are just a few ideas, but put them in a nice little basket or gift bag and I guarantee you’ll have a winner.
Once you choose hope, anything’s possible. ~Christopher Reeve
September 6, 2010
Chaotic Logic or Let’s Live?
Let me to clarify that this is only my opinion and clearly not everyone else’s, but I’m sure that cancer has the same affect on other survivors as well. Logically, we all know that our cancer can come back at any given time and for the first few years after NED (No Evidence of Disease) we walk on eggshells with every set of scans, but as the years go by we breathe easier.
By year five we’re getting pretty comfortable in our survivorship and with every year after that, even more comfy in it. Some of us actually start getting a bit complacent and a tad lazy in the promises that we made to ourselves when the bombshell was originally dropped.
Then one day, one of us are struck by it again… And the bottom falls out of our lives. Not only do they recur, but they lose the battle and in our mind (okay, my mind) that isn’t possible. How can this be??? We win, we don’t lose! Who can we call about this, because this is simply not acceptable? I want to know NOW! I want to talk to whoever is in charge because this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be!
Now, I’m not stupid (naïve, yes, but not stupid) and I know that my cancer can come back, but I choose not to live my life that way (I’ve got the whole denial thingy down to a science). The thing is that I forgot the promise I made to myself to LIVE. Once again, swept away by life and everything that “seems” important at the moment, instead of what really is important to living a full life.
Someone mentioned that now I know how they felt when they lost their best friend and I’d agree with that if it wasn’t for the other emotions in play here… Blind rage because we are survivors and we have ALREADY won this battle and sheer terror because we know that no matter how many times we tell ourselves that we’re good to go, it CAN come back.
Life is meant to be lived and DOING what matters is WHAT MATTERS. Tomorrow never comes and sitting on our thumbs waiting until tomorrow to make our dreams happen, doesn’t work. Now is all there is, there’s no guarantee that tomorrow will be there. Have I covered every possible cliché on the subject???
I lost my best friend a couple weeks ago and honestly NEVER saw it coming. Should have, but didn’t and now a dream was missed, but there was a promise made and THAT PROMISE will happen!
We need to stop allowing procrastination control our lives. It’s time to move full speed ahead… Anything is possible IF we keep moving forward. We can change the world if we remember to stop putting living on hold for life. Let’s live!
We can find a cure to this horrible disease and stop these losses, if we as survivors don’t stop living and don’t forget that WE ARE SURVIVORS!
Photo courtesy of http://www.freeimageslive.co.uk/
August 14, 2010
Pardon???
Now tell me, if someone told you that you had Liposarcoma… Wouldn’t you be scratching your head, wondering what the heck they were talking about? I KNOW, ME TOO! Shoot, it sounds more like something that you pay to have done, than something that you get diagnosed with! Throw in the fact that I was diagnosed on Friday the 13th and you have the makings of some twisted joke. Yep, that’s my life!
Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a pleasant period of my life, but looking back I see the humor (I’m really sick and twisted that way). From the argument with the Operating Room nurse that included the whole head bobbing thing that I mock others for doing, to walking around with the ability to make water spray from my leg and actually saying that “I’m fine.” Yeah, I was an idiot, but a cute and entertaining one!
So when life seems bleak and without a boatload of hope, remember you can go further than you believe and when you look back, there will be moments that will make you smile. If I can do it, anyone can.
“Every survival kit should include a sense of humor.” ~Author Unknown
July 30, 2010
Cancer Diagnosis AKA Mad Dog Syndrome
Seeing the bright side of cancer is difficult for anyone and generally you need to be on the back side of it to see ANYTHING positive from the experience, but it CAN happen. Toss in a twisted sense of humor and the cancer experience can have its moments of humor.
There are those incredible individuals that are diagnosed with cancer and go at it like Patton… Then there are those, like me that go at it like Cujo. We’re mild mannered individuals until someone decides to drop the cancer bomb on us and then it gets butt ugly. If I recall, hunkered down in a corner growling and frothing at the mouth; ready to take the head off the first individual that tried to be positive was the best description of me. Does that sound familiar to anyone else? It might be an exaggeration, but not by much.
The point I’m trying to make is that there isn’t a right or wrong way to handle a cancer diagnosis. It’s okay to go a little crazy or A LOT CRAZY if need be… The important thing is not to let it cause you to freeze up and do nothing; you need to move forward, and go into battle. Sometimes in battle, you need to be a little crazy to win.
“Crazy… The only REAL cure for cancer.”
(The picture for this post really has nothing to do with anything, but I thought it was cute)
July 6, 2010
Let’s Get Chaotic!
There are some pretty amazing cancer survivors out there. They go through their treatment with grace and style; courageous throughout… Get over that, that’s not me. I was all about insanity, banging head against the wall crazy… Yeah, that was me (as I curtsy semi-gracefully).
Through cancer we learn that it isn’t necessarily how well we survive, just that we DO survive. You can do it with style, making it look easy or again, like I did it and get chaotic… Hey, it’s okay! You just do it and when all is said and done, know you did your best. Sometimes just finding a little humor in the situation can help.
Here are just a few of the fun Chaotic Lessons cancer offers:
Radiation “Perks UP” muscles in areas that are zapped.
During rads, it pulls fluid out of the tissue that it’s making toasty and this creates some entertaining after effects. I had a seriously pumped up looking calf and from what I hear, other nifty areas get “perky” too.
The music they play when you’re stuck in a MRI machine is NEVER loud enough to cover the trash can banging sound.
I don’t care where I’ve had it done, no matter how much you tell them to “crank” it up, it ain’t going to do it. Oh yes, their radio stations are generally lame also.
A doctor with a wicked sense of humor can make some of creepiest procedures fun (yes, I said fun).
Even having something like a PICC line installed… Let me explain PICC line. When you have a severe infection and need to be on heavy hitting antibiotics for a length of time this line is installed in your arm and ran through increasingly larger veins over to your heart. When installing it they are X-raying you to see that it’s going where it needs to go. When lying on your back you can see it going by your beating heart…. Creepy, huh? Now toss it a comedian of a doctor telling cooky stories and it actually can turn into a game. Normal people don’t usually get this, but once you have cancer, your sense of humor gets a bit twisted.
Getting creative with explanations about obvious scars makes it easier to deal with.
Okay, this is a true example of a twisted sense of humor, but when you can’t hide it or refuse to become an artist. Liposarcoma left me with a nifty scar on my right leg and in the beginning it deeply bothered me, but after a couple of times of saying that it was a shark bite from the rare Fresh Water Great Lake Great White and enjoying the look, my point of view changed. It’s all a matter of how you look at it.
Cancer is a terrible disease and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, but if you’ve got to go through it, get a little crazy, find the humor, and you just might kick it’s tail.
Have fun, get chaotic and be well…
Oh yes, the picture was chosen because he made me laugh! ;o)
June 21, 2010
Welcome…
Welcome to Chaotic Survivorship… A site born out of the “desire to inspire” and offering hope to those living with and beyond cancer. With a slightly (or not so slightly) twisted sense of humor, hopefully helpful advice, and stories from the battlefield to show that the fight can be won.
I want this to be all that I was looking for with my own diagnosis. I’m not even close to a doctor, but I am a seven year cancer survivor with a razor sharp wit.
Posts will be once a week, unless I get quirky and something comes to mind (which is ALWAYS possible), with that anything goes.
Enjoy the site and let’s make this fun!
Angie
June 17, 2010
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