B - Blogging for Breast Cancer - A to Z Challenge (PR)

Someone asked me once why would I want to put myself out there for everyone to see that I had Breast Cancer. 

• I have nothing to hide.
• If something I went through helps someone else, I guess I am paying it forward.

We all have obstacles to overcome, but it is so much easier if you have the support of those you love. 

When you find out you have breast cancer, your first reaction is "Why Me?" and maybe a few tears. Then you start to share with your friends and family and you see how much you are loved. Stress is much easier managed when you have friends to share with and build up and encourage you.

All things are possible with God! You may not believe in God, but if you do, He will be there for you. Talk (pray) to Him a lot. Of course, he knows what we want and need, but He wants us to ask for it. He is our Father. He loves us and wants the best for us. Sometimes what is best for us in our eyes is not His plan. Be still, meditate on Him, He will speak to you.

I have added one of my Social Media Girlfriends, Marie Walker Riddle to my prayer list, and be sure, God will be hearing from me each day. 

Marie Walker Riddle

                                                 

"I would rather live my life as if there was a God and die to find out there isn't, than to live my life like there was no God and die to find out there is."    - Albert Camus

So everyone have a lovely day, and remember someone who needs your prayers and encouragement today.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!

ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!

The Girls are Back in Town!

Reconstruction #2 brought the "Girls" back in line. Thank you, Lord. The only thing left now is the tattoo. Funny, I always said that I would never get a tattoo. First, they gave me 2 blue dots when I had radiation, and now I am going to get a nipple. They say that the results are amazing.  Do I have to be awake for this? Will they make it look like a butterfly if I want? I found this picture on a breast reconstruction website, so don't get all excited thinking it is me. Mine should look a little better since I don't have a big scar. Something I had not expected, but the plastic surgeon moved the nipple on the left and I still have feeling in it. When he did a tummy tuck in 2002, I lost all feeling in my stomach below my waist. I can give myself shots without even flinching.

The amazing thing is that they are C-cup. I could have had larger, but I prefer for people to look at me in the eyes instead of my chest. I have had to wear a bra since the surgery, but soon I will be able to go without one if I want. They are back where they were when I was twenty and it is amazing. I can get a normal swimsuit again. Now I cannot imagine why I waited 4 years to have this done. I was under the impression that it really did not matter. I am married to the last husband I will ever have and the only other people who will actually see my chest are doctors and nurses.

I cannot even explain how this has made me feel. I feel whole again. I had no idea that it would give me this feeling of validation. Somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind, I must have concluded that I was no longer a real woman. If you think about it, we are in a society that makes us feel less than whole if we have imperfections.

I do not remember, but I think I explained that the cancer in my breast was not hereditary, but environmental. Be careful about what chemicals are in your home, your workplace, places where you visit, for any length of time. I worked in a sick building at Langley Air Force Base. There was a bay door in the warehouse that the communications squadron left open on a regular basis. Pigeons would  fly into the rafters and poop on top of our building. Our air condition was on our roof and the drain pan would get stopped up, overflow into the wall by my desk. It was always damp, The water was filtered through the pigeon poop, which can lead to all kinds of problems. There was one desk in the big room that had a hole in the wall where they had removed a plug or something. Everyone who sat in that position, contracted cancer, and passed away (3 people). I guess I am the one who is lucky to still be here.

GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME

ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!

Pain in Pink

I know everyone is wondering what happened to me, since I haven't been on Twitter and Facebook much lately. I am having a Rheumatoid Arthritis "Flare-up".

My feet are swollen and hurt badly. My arms and hands are the worst parts, although my neck comes in a close second. It is difficult to type and use the mouse.

Wikipedia explains Rheumatoid Arthritis:

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks flexible (synovial) joints. It can be a disabling and painful condition, which can lead to substantial loss of functioning and mobility if not adequately treated.

The process involves an inflammatory response of the capsule around the joints (synovium) secondary to swelling (hyperplasia) of synovial cells, excess synovial fluid, and the development of fibrous tissue (pannus) in the synovium. The pathology of the disease process often leads to the destruction of articular cartilage and ankylosis (fusion) of the joints. Rheumatoid arthritis can also produce diffuse inflammation in the lungs, membrane around the heart (pericardium), the membranes of the lung (pleura), and white of the eye (sclera), and also nodular lesions, most common insubcutaneous tissue. Although the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, autoimmunity plays a pivotal role in both its chronicity and progression, and RA is considered a systemic autoimmune disease. It is a clinical diagnosis made on the basis of symptoms, physical exam, radiographs (X-rays) and labs.^[1]"

Rheumatoid Arthritis is a auto-immune disease. Although Arthritis is mentioned, it is not a real factor, unless you also have Osteoarthritis, as I do. You can look up on Wikipedia; it goes into much more detail. So, don't ever dismiss someone when they tell you they have RA, with the phrase "Oh, yeah! I have trouble with arthritis in my knees." RA is so much worse than arthritis. It can be extremely painful. It was discovered in 2009 after I had pneumonia in North Carolina. I was in the hospital in New Bern for 10 days in August. Everyone you can imagine was trying to find out what was wrong. I had every x-ray you could possibly think of. All they could come up with was pneumonia. They had me on morphine because the pain was so bad and oxygen because if I hurt, I would forget to breathe. 

There was a group of traveling doctors that spent their time going to different hospitals and working for a month or so, then moving on to another hospital. They were some of the best in their fields in NC. I saw heart, internal medicine, infectious disease doctors, and a neurologist. I didn't feel like I had pneumonia, but that was probably due to the generous doses of morphine.

My daughter, Rhonda would spend the night with me. She was a teacher-assistant and they were on Summer break. I slept a lot. After they determined I wasn't dying, my mother left to go home to Kentucky. When I finally got out of the hospital, Ray took me to our little house in NC for the night. Then we got up the next morning and came back to Virginia. I was so glad to drive over that State line. That was on Sunday. On Monday, I went to get my blood checked at the Cancer Center. Dr. Schlesinger had been the intermediary with the hospital in NC and with Riverside Regional. She wanted to see me and insisted I have another chest x-ray. Well, guess what, I still had pneumonia and I was put in Riverside for the next 9 days. The doctor had her nurse go back through my records and see if there was anything that might be causing this. He went through everything and then he was going through test results and he came to the BRACA test for breast cancer. I didn't test positive for breast cancer, but evidently I had two markers for Rheumatoid Arthritis. They had found the cause of a lot of my pain. 

When I was over the pneumonia and sent home, they sent me to Dr. Wilson, one of the few RA doctors in this area. He put me on Enbrel, which is a biologic and comes in a shot. I give myself a shot every week in my belly. Oh, don't worry, I have had a tummy tuck and have no nerves that work there. Doesn't hurt at all. I also take methotrexate and prednisone. I have pain pills that I try not to use, but sometimes when I start to hurt, it is better to take something and head the pain off at the pass. I cannot take over-the-counter medicine for pain because it might take so many that it could cause liver failure.

So, right now, I am going through a flareup in my RA. This too shall pass. I am on a few prayer lists. I know it is driving Ray crazy because I cannot drive. I simply cannot take pain medication and drive. The few places I have gone lately, he has taken me. 

I contacted the doctor on Wednesday and he put me on a prednisone pack, and I am better already. The only thing about the prednisone is that it helps add weight to my thighs.

So, if you have a friend or relative that has RA, don't feel sorry for them, but ask if there is anything you can do to help. A dear friend brought a quiche for our dinner for Valentines Day! I still was not feeling well enough to go out.

For more information about Rheumatoid Arthritis click here.

GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!

ALL THE TIME - GOD IS GOOD!

By the way, if you like this blog,  

Please subscribe, leave a comment,

or send cookies.

Read my other blog The Professional Encourager - Spam Bullies  

YEARS ENDING PINK?

Flowers sent to me by
Kathy Ireland
when I was so sick
with pneumonia.

ENDING PINK? On January 2, it will be 4 years since I found the lump on my right breast. On January 28, it will be 4 years since I had surgery to remove part of my right breast and some lymph nodes. It has been a rocky 4 years, after the life-sucking tiredness of radiation and the nauseating chemo-therapy, there still is the overwhelming feeling that the cancer is coming back. I know this is not a good way to think, but sometimes you just cannot control your thoughts.

Kathy Ireland - Super Friend!

I try so hard to be positive and be the Professional Encourager that I say that I am, fights this feeling every day. Something about the word "Cancer" just changes your life in ways that people that have not been through it can not understand. For me, it was like hitting a brick wall at full speed. I was fortunate that the cancer was only very minuscule in the lymph nodes. The treatment was supposed to take care of that and I am still on the 5 year regimen of pills that is supposed to keep it from coming back.

Then, after the chemo, my mother came to visit. You know that when your mother comes to visit, especially if you haven't seen her in a while, you hire people to clean the house and the yard. The house looked great, but unfortunately, the yard guys stripped out all my beautiful Clematis vines and my Grecian urn garden (actually dragged the stones and pots into the street). Mother and I were both prolific gardeners and it made us both sick. The second day she was here, we drove to our "beach house" in NC. On the way down, I started having terrible pain in my right side. I thought it was just "air." Not so, by the time we reached the house, I was in so much pain, I could barely walk. My daughter called 911 and the Rescue Squad was there in less than 4 minutes.

They took me to the beautiful hospital in New Bern. They took many tests and determined it was pneumonia. Ten days there in the hospital went so quickly because Ray brought my computer and doped up on morphine as I was, I really got into Twitter. I became fast friends with people all over the world who ended up praying for me to get better.

Finally, I got to go home to VA. Then I checked in with my doctor here, and ended up back in Riverside Regional Medical Center with pneumonia again. Ten more days with my Twitter friends. During that time, our new pastor at First Baptist Church of Newport News VA, came to visit. He is a very kind and caring person, Pastor Dale Seley. He later told me that they were not sure I was going to make it. They had people come in and sit with me from church because I was in a private room and Ray had to work. The lovely ladies from church were wonderful.

The morphine must have been keeping me upbeat, because I don't remember feeling that I wouldn't make it. The one thing that I clung to the whole time was my love of God and knowing that no matter what happened to me personally, I would be in a good place with Him. I guess he wasn't finished with me yet, so here I am.

Looking back over the past four years, there have been many times when I have been depressed. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis from the markers on the BRACA  test for cancer. I have experienced a lot of pain, but I must always take another look at the day from a different prospective. I see so many people out there who are a lot more worse off than I am. A dear friend, Sandy Gueierre in Wilmington NC has been a great help to me. All I can tell you, is keep your faith in God; He will carry you through it all. He will be your best friend and the love of your life.


My husband, Ray, has be absolutely wonderful through all this. He is so patient with me and says "yes" to everything I want to do. He knows my heart and is truly the man that I prayed for so many years.

I have met so many people on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc. They all had a part in my life that kept me positive. Dabney Porte, my beautiful Social Media Girlfriend has been there for me the past couple of years. She always has a positive attitude, no matter who is trying to tear her down. She has been one of the rocks that I lean on. She has so much integrity, spirit, and love that I cannot imagine how anyone could ever be mean to her. Although, lately, there are a couple of sick people who are trying to destroy what she has, but they will not succeed. Any time you try to tear down others, you are the one who ends up on the bottom of the heap.

Thank you all for all the help, love, and friendship you have shown me over the past 4 years. I love you all more than you will ever know.

GOD IS GOOD - ALL THE TIME!

ALL THE TIME - GOD IS GOOD!

By the way, if you like this blog,  

Please subscribe, leave a comment,

or send wheat-free cookies.

Also, be encouraged by:

http://thoughts-of-christ.blogspot.com

http://thoughts-of-harmony.blogspot.com

http://barbara-duke.blogspot.com

http://attitudeaptitude.blogspot.com

http://lionsgreenroom.blogspot.com

http://nnlions.blogspot.com

http://sweettweetslifeplan.blogspot.com

http://twitter-sweettweets.blogspot.com

http://environmentalhome.blogspot.com