Become a Supporter and Teething

I have mentioned many times the website pregnantwithcancer.org. It is the site I discovered and turned to after my diagnosis. It's a terrifying situation and you really want to hear that it can turn out well. I found that site and was assigned a support woman who had went through it all. She endured all the things I have. Her daughter the last I heard is two. I have lost touch with her. She went through it all though and has a little girl who is about 3 now. My Gabbi is almost 14 months if you can believe it. Time has flown. I want to give back what I was given and that is a shred of hope. That is the whole point of my blog really. In the beginning it was more of an outlet for me. Now, it is that but also a way for me to reach even one woman who gets this awful diagnosis. I got the information packet from pregnantwithcancer.org and am planning on putting my name in to be a support person. I hadn't done it yet simply because of Gabbi being so young, I just didn't know if I'd have the time to be able to help as much as I'd want. I think she's big enough now that I can spare the time to become more involved with that site.

Gabriella is teething now too. She's got 6 teeth but she's cutting four more large back ones. Now I know there are non parents reading. This probably seems dreadfully boring to you. Well let me tell you, teething may seem boring but tell that to my baby girl who decided to stay up until 6:30 a.m. the other night. Between lack of sleep and an excessive amount of infomercials I may just be going crazy! ;) haha Well she did better last night. I gave her some teething tablets I picked up at the pharmacy. I didn't hold out too much hope since ibuprofen didn't seem to help too much. Well it worked. She has been able to sleep for two nights. I am crossing my fingers that it continues to work!!!

Sadness and Shock in My Town

I had heard some rumors but nothing definite until today. My daughters brought home papers with the confirmation that one of our local high school boys committed suicide this weekend. We are a very small community so the whole town is in shock. I am very saddened by this though I do not know the boy. I am sad that my children received pamphlets on how to deal with suicide. I got information on how to talk to my children about it and how to define it. The sister of the boy is in 5th grade as is my oldest daughter. So, the school talked to them specifically about how to talk to and treat the girl when she returns. My heartfelt sympathy goes out to this family. This is definitely something I do not know how I would deal with. I imagine the grief is more than it would be in an accidental death. Whatever the situation we must all remember to NOT blame ourselves. I think I worry about that the most. I would hate to see the family members in anyway blame themselves regardless of the situation which I do not know any details. Anyway I just got these papers from my girls. It's such a shock and so hard to know how to talk to your kids about. It's rare enough to lose a kid like this in a community of our size, but for it to be by suicide it's even more difficult to explain to children.

Hey Don't Forget to Vote!!!

See that little picture of me over on the right hand side of my page where it says vote? Please click it and give me a vote! I am in the top 20 health blogs I think last I checked on that but I need more votes. I appreciate it!!

Blog Award from Dolly's Daily Diary

I received an award from Dolly's Daily Diary. This is a blog I enjoy reading and I think you will too! Go on over and check it out.

This award is one I have never gotten before. I really like it! I like the requirements and I am honored to get it. So thank you Dolly.



Here is why I am so appreciative for the recognition and to be one of its recipients... This award is presented to bloggers who display consistency in any one or a combination of these conditions:
1. The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.
2. The Blog contents inspire; it strives to encourage and offers solutions.
3. There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences, and Beliefs.
4. The Blog is refreshing and creative.
5. The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.


The Blogger who receives this Award will need to perform the following steps:
1. Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.
2. The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.
3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved- preferably citing one or more older post to support.
4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award Conditions.
5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.


I wanted to get this award up. I'll have to think on whether or not to pass it on. At the moment I only have time to post it. If I didn't, it would never get up here! So I just did....and I might pass it on at some point. :)

Follow Up Getting Closer!

Anyone who has followed my blog for any significant period of time knows how stressed and paranoid I get around follow up time. This time is no exception. I am not in super paranoid mode yet. That will occur about one week prior to the appointment. I think my neck and shoulder tension causes things to swell up and then of course since I already have scar tissue in my chest it further aggravates things in there, making me feel pressure similar to when I had the tumor. The reason I believe this is because it always comes when I am feeling shoulder pain or having a tension headache. If I get a good shoulder rub it helps both problems. So I think maybe I should see a chiropractor. I am not sure because I have never seen one before. I imagine it would help though.

Issues like this can sure make a girl feel old. Then again it's the only real issue I have. I feel great otherwise. I was in the best shape of my life before I got sick. I had gone back to college. I was in a fitness class working out 5 days a week and doing a yoga class 2 or 3 days a week. I think it was two, but I can't remember for sure. Yoga was hard though in some ways. There were a couple of moves I couldn't do. I had thought it was the thyroid pressure preventing it but of course we now know it was the huge tumor choking me to death when I tried putting my legs up and over my head. haha I am so glad to have a reason! I don't feel lazy or like I just couldn't do it anymore. It's not a sad feeling at all. Once you find out you finally feel validated! You feel like finally everyone will understand you do have a problem and then not look at you like you're crazy anymore. It was a mixed feeling because of course I had cancer...which is not good news. At the same time all the symptoms I had for years were finally explained and it was so good that all the complaining I had done to my husband and family for years had an explanation.

My follow up is actually going to be fairly exciting for one reason. We are taking a vacation to see my hubby's parents that week. We are heading straight out from my appointment. I am so excited. I am actually really excited to see my doc too. I love that whole office and they love us. We are treated like family there. That's just how a place like that should be, I think. We just got a new mini van with a DVD player in it too. So this trip will be great for the kids too!

Hodgkin's Lymphoma Statistics and in Celebrities

I actually forced myself to NOT look at statistics while I was sick. The statistics are not bad for Hodgkin's really but while looking for them you still find the bad ones. The worst case scenarios are out there. They are scary. I have seen many young women and men that died from Hodgkin's that kept coming back, so obviously that is my worst fear. It's hard to not be afraid. The best statistics are if it's caught early. I know without a doubt I had it for about 3 years before we found it. So, would that be found late? I don't know. I know I had a large bulky tumor but was never for sure told what stage I had. We couldn't do a full body scan with me being pregnant and unable to lie flat. It changed things and left me so confused. I think I'll discuss this with my doc on the 22nd. I'd like to know what stage he would have considered me. He must have an educated guess!

Here are some statistics regarding Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

1. It occurs most frequently in two separate age groups, the first being young adulthood (age 15–35) and the second being in those over 55 years old although these peaks may vary slightly with nationality. Overall, it is more common in males, except for the nodular sclerosis variant which is more common in females.

2. The annual incidence of Hodgkin's lymphoma is about 1 in 25,000 people, and the disease accounts for slightly less than 1% of all cancers worldwide.

3. Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma may present with the following symptoms:

Night Sweats
Lymph nodes: the most common symptom of Hodgkin's is the painless enlargement of one or more lymph nodes. The nodes may also feel rubbery and swollen when examined. The nodes of the neck and shoulders (cervical and supraclavicular) are most frequently involved (80-90% of the time, on average). The lymph nodes of the chest are often affected and these may be noticed on a chest radiograph.

Splenomegaly: enlargement of the spleen occurs in about 30% of people with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The enlargement, however, is seldom massive and the size of the spleen may fluctuate during the course of treatment.

Hepatomegaly: enlargement of the liver, due to liver involvement, is present in about five percent of cases.

Hepatosplenomegaly: the enlargement of both the liver and spleen caused by the same disease.

Pain:
Pain following alcohol consumption: classically, involved nodes are painful after alcohol consumption, though this phenomenon is very uncommon.

Back pain: nonspecific back pain (pain that cannot be localized or its cause determined by examination or scanning techniques) has been reported in some cases of Hodgkin lymphoma. The lower back is most often affected.

Red-colored patches on the skin, easy bleeding and petechiae due to low platelet count

Systemic symptoms: about one-third (⅓) of patients with Hodgkin's disease may also present with systemic symptoms, including low-grade fever; night sweats; unexplained weight loss of at least 10% of the patient's total body mass in six months or less, itchy skin (pruritus) due to increased levels of eosinophils in the bloodstream; or fatigue (lassitude). Systemic symptoms such as fever, night sweats, and weight loss are known as B symptoms; thus, presence of fever, weight loss, and night sweats indicate that the patient's stage is, for example, 2B instead of 2A.

Cyclical fever: patients may also present with a cyclical high-grade fever known as the Pel-Ebstein fever, or more simply "P-E fever". However, there is debate as to whether or not the P-E fever truly exists.



Notable cases

Gerald Finzi, English composer. Died of the disease in 1956 aged 55.

Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder, was diagnosed and treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1983.

Lynden David Hall died of Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2006.

Delta Goodrem, Australian singer, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in July 2003


Alese Coco One of the most notable non-celebrities to have Hodgkin's disease. Known worldwide as a torch bearer for Hodgkin's research. Died at 23 years old.

WWE wrestler Rowdy Roddy Piper was announced to have been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2006.

John Millington Synge, the Irish author best known for the play The Playboy of the Western World, died in 1909 from the disease.


Dinu Lipatti, the Romanian pianist, died of Hodgkin's disease in 1950, 33 years old.


Wayne Shelford, aka 'Buck' Shelford, former All Black rugby player for New Zealand.

Elizabeth Madox Roberts, a noted Kentucky poet and novelist, died from Hodgkin's in 1941.

Joy Hester, a noted Australian artist, died from Hodgkin's in 1960.

Emma Lazarus, Jewish American poetess, writer of the New Colossus, died of Hodgkin's disease on 19 November 1887.

Martin Fry, vocalist with ABC, was treated for Hodgkin's Disease in 1985/86.


Journalist Giles Smith describes his bout with Hodgkin's in his memoir Lost in Music; he refers to the fact that Martin Fry (above) had the same condition.


James Whitham, motorcycle racer, was treated for Hodgkin's Disease in 1995/96.

Glen Goins, singer and guitarist for Parliament Funkadelic died from Hodgkin's Disease in 1978.

Alexander Litvinov, a Russian rock poet and musician, died from Hodgkin's Disease in 1999.

Jamie Tape AFL Footballer.

Freida Riley, an American schoolteacher who inspired the Rocket Boys, died of Hodgkin's Disease in 1969 at the age of 31. The movie October Sky was made in honor of her and the Rocket boys.


Jane Austen, one of the most famous authors of English literature, died in 1817 aged 41. Previously it has been thought she died of Addison's disease; however, more recently speculation has suggested that it may have been Hodgkin's disease instead

Seumas McNally, a computer game programmer and president of Longbow Digital Arts, died on March 21, 2000; he was diagnosed with the disease three years earlier.


Famous American writer Dale Carnegie died of Hodgkin's disease in 1955.

Michael Cuccione, member of the spoof boy band, 2ge+her, was treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 1994/95. He died from complications related to his treatment in 2001.

Knut Schreiner of Turbonegro was diagnosed with the disease in March 2008

Martyn Bennett One of Scotland's most talented musicians died of Hodgkin's Lymphoma in 2005. He was 33 years old.


Actor DJ Qualls diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at 14, declared to be in remission after 2 years of treatment at 16.

Australian Artist Joy Hester (1920-1960) was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease at the age of 27.


I got a lot of this information from Wikipedia which I know is not always 100% correct but I have looked for this information many times and it appears to be accurate. Here is where I obtained the info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodgkin's_lymphoma

Also one that I am personally aware of and was saddened by is Richard Harris or the first Dumbledore from the Harry Potter movies. You might notice he was replaced after the second film. He died from Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Here is an article I found on it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/2362935.stm

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Celebration. My husband and I went out and had a wonderful time with my sister, her husband and another couple who are good friends of ours. We stopped at Applebees and had some appetizers and drinks. I had a delicious Caramel Appletini. I always wanted to try an appletini since I saw Emeril Aggassi make one. I think that's how you spell his name by the way. Not quite positive. I love watching cooking shows. When I was sick I really did watch them all the time. I couldn't eat, so I watched others cook and eat. Sounds so funny to me now. I could only stomach a bite or two before I got sick to my stomach. I really love Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay. They are my favorites. I love watching Iron Chef and that Throw Down one with Bobby Flay. Good stuff!

I promised pictures but unfortunately took two pics all night. I did not end up taking my camera into the places we went. It was SOOO cold out! Check out these two pics of my husband and I and my sister Cindi and my husband. She bought the same coat I have. I am very flattered she liked it! It's a really comfy warm coat.