Archives for posts with tag: Family

Best of Blog: Reach Out and Touch…Somebody’s Toe

March 2, 2013 //

This post is from 7/18/12, the day of my second lumpectomy. I was already resting at home and had enough energy and adrenaline to write two posts! This is the second post. I have been very lucky to have such caring and competent medical care. Unfortunately, this surgery was not the end of cancer surgeries since the margins weren’t clear. I had multi-focal cancer, meaning that there were multiple tumors, which although tiny and relatively slow growing, were separate tumors. Consequently, I got another toe squeeze from Dr. Beatty after my mastectomy, which I would have three weeks after I wrote this post.

Surgery went well and I am resting at home. Dr. Beatty reassuringly squeezed my foot as he left after we had our pre-op talk. My first thought? “I have to tell my mom!”.

This is the email my mom sent to my last night after hearing about the clear PEM scan. (It still won’t make total sense so I’ll explain it later in the post.)

Hi Liz,

I was so relieved that I forgot to wish you well on the lumpectomy.

Hope all goes well. We love you so much.

All week I kept hoping that Dr. Clark would squeeze my foot

and tell me you’d be OK. I guess he did.

Okay, so here’s the explanation:

I was a preterm baby born with respiratory distress. My body was not yet producing sufficient surfactant, which allows lungs to inflate with air and keeps the air sacs in the lungs filled with air. Back then, physicians didn’t know how to treat it so the prognosis was more touch and go. JFK and Jacki Kennedy had lost a baby a couple of years previously from respiratory distress. (For years, all I knew about my rough start in life was that my lungs weren’t fully developed and that I had the thing that the Kennedy baby had.) To make a long story short, it wasn’t clear that I was going to survive. My mom’s OB/GYN, Dr. Clark was talking to her while she was in the hospital. I imagine that she was alone. She had 4 other children at the time so I am guessing my dad had them at home. Seeing that she was scared and tearing up, he squeezed her foot as he left the room. My mom has spoken of this event many times over the years so I know this little gesture meant a great deal her.

So when I told my mom about this she said, “You need to write about this in your blog!”

So hospital physicians out there, we like the foot squeeze. We give it two big toes up!

Tags Best of Blog, Breast Cancer, Coping with cancer, Family

Categories Best of Blog, Facts, Feelings

My Grandma Lives in My Pill Box

January 26, 2013 //

My grandma took a lot of nutritional supplements and thought a lot about nutrition. She worked at a health food store, Ames’ Nutrition, until she was about 80. In some respects, she was far ahead of her time, for example her concern about cholesterol. Other times, her beliefs and health practices struck me as eccentric and at times, down right illogical. Like the time she asked for a whole wheat bun at Burger King. Maybe she thought by requesting whole wheat, it would help the fast food chain reconsider their offerings. Okay, now that doesn’t sound so illogical. A better example would be when she put honey in my grandpa’s eyes to help his cataracts. Grandma always carried a large purse. When we had some kind of ailment, she often had some remedy in there. She always had papaya enzyme tablets in there, in case someone had indigestion.

My father-in-law was visiting recently. He got a look at my pill box and was impressed by the size of the daily compartments. After many years of just taking vitamin D and calcium, I am now taking A LOT of supplements. I laugh at myself and think, “I am one of those crazy supplement people. One of the pod people.” Cancer has made me more like my grandmother than I had expected to be.

So what supplements are in the enormous pockets of my pill organizer, you ask? (Everything but the multi-vitamin are what my naturopath has recommended for me.)
Vitamin D (breast cancer prevention)
Vitamin E (tissue healing)
Fish oil (cancer prevention)
COQ10 (for cardiac health)
Bone Strength (combo of calcium and other goodies for the bones)
Zyflamend (combo of turmeric, ginger, and other anti-inflammatories for cancer prevention)
B12 to combat fatigue
B Complex for stress
GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) cancer prevention and skin health
Magnesium Citrate-for sleep and to keep me regular ’cause the 2 TB flax meal is not enough for a lady on hormone blockers
Multiple Vitamin (You know, just in case I missed anything.)

Tags Coping with cancer, Family, health, nutrition

Categories Uncategorized

Protected: A Lovely Holiday–Complete with Quiz Show!

December 26, 2012 //

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Tags Christmas, Coping with cancer, Family

Categories Feelings, Not Cancer-the other part of my life

Protected: Indiana Jones and the Curse of the Menacing Midden

December 11, 2012 //

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Tags Family, Humor

Categories Feelings, Silly

Tony Torlai Memorial Service

November 28, 2012 //

I saw that there are people doing internet searches for information about my cousin, Tony’s memorial service who have ended up on my blog. His memorial service is noon on Saturday, 12/1 at St. Stephen’s Church in Renton. A rosary service will be held at the church on Friday, 11/30 at 7pm.

There’s quite a nice obituary in the Seattle Times here.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations to the Swedish Neuroscience Institute in Seattle or to St. Stephen’s Church, Renton’s mission program. It is a little hard to find the exact page for making donations to the Swedish Neuroscience fund. It can be found here. When designating a fund choose “Ivy Center for Advanced Tumor Treatment.” Contact information for St. Stephen’s can be found here.

Tags Family, Tony Torlai

Categories Not Cancer-the other part of my life

Sad Sad Time

November 27, 2012 //

I learned this morning that my cousin, Tony Torlai died yesterday afternoon. He had terminal brain cancer and was not very old, just his early 50’s, I think. My mom told me last week that the Archbishop (Tony wrote him regularly) had visited him to give him last rites. The last time I saw him was last June at my Aunt Gloria’s funeral. It had just been a couple of weeks since learning of my own cancer so I was in a bit of a fog. Tony showed definite cognitive impairment from his disease but was congenial with a most positive attitude. He was getting a great deal out of going to church each day. I was overwhelmed with admiration for his strength and faith. I was also overwhelmed with sadness for his family, especially his three children,

Tony was really close to his brother and four sisters as well as to his parents. They live very close to one another. I can only imagine the depth of their grief right now and in the time ahead. I am heartened that their great love for one another will, in time, carry them to a place of peaceful solace.

To lose someone so young is the hardest loss, especially when he was a father, still so needed by his children. This must have been an awful grief for him, knowing that he was leaving life while his children are still growing up.

I carry them all in my heart and hope that I will be able to provide a little bit of comfort in the days ahead.

Tags Family

Categories Feelings

Fewer Egg Shells Today

November 14, 2012 //

Thanks all of you for your supportive comments! The family seems a bit more even-keeled today. And if they aren’t, that’s okay, too. Everyone has earned their right to crankiness and anxiety. Plus, I’m going out with a friend tonight after work. So if they are still cranky, I will miss it! Crank away, family!

Tags Coping with cancer, Family

Categories Feelings