nancia

thank you all! i feel very blessed. when dh was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer it was easy to expect the worst. but, he had promised me i get to die first, so i either had to come down with something quick or he had to live.lol, fortunately he chose to live so we are still together. i had sort of started taking him for granted and this was a huge wake-up call! helped me figure out what's really important and what's just fluff.
in honor of all good things, i am off to get my hair done. i actually have a favorite stylist that i ask for. i feel so up-town! lol, and brat, you can say lmfao, or even rotflmfao!! better than saying or spelling out!

lovngrandma

narci, taht is wonderful news, and i copied that and sent it to my mother, as she is in her second year fighting pancreatic cancer, she is doing her second turn of chemo, they did one with rad and then had time over the holidays again to let it do more work, and then they took more pictures and it is still not small enough to remove so she is doing different checmo and no rad this time, as she had a little sidestep with a new cancer in her back , and they did some extensive rad on it and no chemo, nad then mor epictures found out she had broke her back, and so they fixed that , and now back to reg chemo but she is as well as all of us are holding storong that she will survive and beat this, and i have told the doc if anyone can she can, she is too darn hard headed adn stubborn and strong willed to let it get the best of her, she still has her job, even though her husband of 27 years plus years has to drive her are one of my neices, but usually him, she has a federal job, and alot of driving, so its like she has a chouffeur, lol, well again so glad about your husband, and i will ahve a runner topper finished before too long, sure wish mail was cheaper, i just love these swaps

Vanogay

Jaba, no patriotic is not finished. Spring runner for here is in the process of being quilted - no way ready to mail.

nancia

lovngrandma- the mind is the most powerful healing tool there is! my dh did not believe he was going to die, in fact he refused to. i nearly lost him 3 times due to a sepsis he developed from a blocked gallbladder tube. he never knew it was touch and go but i did. he had chemo and radiation before the tumor surgery. then he had the surgery and another bout of chemo and radiation. he developed an allergy to the chemo drug and it took 40% of his kidney function.fortunately, you only need 50% so he's ok on that, but he also lost some bone marrow function and that means he gets dangerously anemic about every 6 weeks. there are shots for that, too. you can see why we celebrate every positive we can find! i'm glad your mom is a strong woman! and i'm sure you give her your strength , too. i'm adding mine to the mix also! i'm sure there are more strong women who will gladly pray for her in whatever way works for them. when dh was sick and people offered to pray for him, it didn't matter in the least what religion they believed in, all that positive energy and strength helps to hold us together. fight like a girl, mom!

DustysMomma

I'm about to go head off to work on Nancia's runner. I dropped in here first though.

I agree that the mind is the #1 tool for getting through this disease. I'd like to share a story, and I'll try to keep it brief, about a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer. She and I met through the online support and study group for the university we both attended. I live in Alabama, and she lives in Kentucky, so we only talked online. She was about 6 months behind me, in the same major. When we got to know each other, she confided in me that she was battling breast cancer, but the doctors didn't expect her to survive long enough to complete her associates (2-year) degree. She enrolled in college as soon as they told her she would have to quit her brand new job for a more aggressive treatment, so she would have something to keep her busy and driven, since she would have the time to do the work while she wasn't working. In summer 2010, she finished her associates degree, despite a double mastectomy, chemo, radiation, and having to move in with a friend so she would have a live-in caregiver. The cancer spread for the second time as she began her bachelor's program. The doctors told her she should slow down and work on her bucket list. Her response was that finishing her degree was the biggest thing on her bucket list. She was told to prepare for the fact she wouldn't live to finish her bachelor's. Despite the cancer eventually spreading to her stomach, intestines, leg, pelvic and lower spinal bones, she didn't give up. She had two or three more surgeries to remove various tumors and part of her stomach, more chemo and radiation, and was told repeatedly she had weeks or just a couple months to live.

I met her in person in July 2012 when I went for her bachelor's graduation in Louisville, Kentucky. Another friend and I made the 500 mile drive, because I couldn't imagine not being there for her graduation. She was chosen as the undergraduate speaker for commencement, and as she stood at the podium and talked about facing challenges but refusing to give up, I sat at the back of the theater and cried. Two months earlier, the doctors told her there was nothing else they could do for her except radiation for pain management. Her response to them was "Good. So that means I can go back to work now," and she did. That day during her speech, I cried as much for her triumph as I did for the fact that those listening to her, who didn't know her story, didn't know that her biggest challenge wasn't over. Because she hadn't disclosed her illness to her employer, she couldn't include the fact she had cancer in her speech. Instead, they heard about her going from being homeless (which she was when she was diagnosed) and lacking family support, to having to live with friends and dealing with "other challenges" as she persevered through and finished her bachelor's degree. (She removed the mention of cancer from her final speech because the media was covering the event and doing a story on her, but it was in her audition speech, which brought the whole panel to tears.) She ended her speech by telling them that she was two weeks into her master's degree and still going strong.

As of now, she has 7 months left to finish her master's. Last Monday they started her back on treatment again. She said they were going super aggressive this time. I've emailed her, but haven't heard from her this week. I know she is probably not up to talking right now though, so I won't push. The school has agreed, because she has a 3.5+ GPA and a terminal illness, to let her walk in July. She's believing by then she will be healed, even though the doctors still say she won't live to see it.

dabbler312

I believe in the power of prayer and the blessings from above. There is nothing more important than the love and support of friends and family while going through cancer treatments. Brian's sister Annie passed away last year on March 4 from a 12 year battle with cancer of one form or another. She worked with the public and not many knew she had cancer - most were suprised when the good lord called her home - they didn't know she was sick. She remained positive throughout her fight - she believed as long as there was another form of treatment to try there is hope. So for all you with friends and family fighting the cancer battle - keep praying and keep being there for the person who needs your strength and when your tired from fighting call on your friends to help lift you up and keep you going - we are all here for one another.

Elisabrat

I dont have cancer. I had liver disease. tumors. I had a full transplant last April 26th. I have kidney failure currently. I have the most supportive friends, family and man in my life. He tells me.. I am his hero. Me? me? looking left right ME? he says it to everyone who will listen. I tell him just as often.. he has it backwards.. he is my hero. My lil sis is my hero. My friends ALL OF THEM were there with me throught it all. they are here still. And my new friends? they are here for me too. You see, we can have bucket lists but it takes a village.. to hold you up sometimes.

I have my top for my seperate patriotic runner for Hot Toddy lol done. I had an idea today and just ran with it. Now to make her spring table runner as well I drew her name TWICE for runners this month. she will be runnerized by the brat it appears sure hope she likes me style or she could have a problem here.

upside is I am winding down on some of my other commitments.. almost breathing room. even using restraint in signing up for one more thing til I have sent out: spring runner, patriotic runner (by weekend both of them) and wall hanging for Rhondas swap, and suprise for dustys swap, and finished quilt for quilters quilt And finished my boom. other than nothing else I am obligated to at all. lucky for me I am finished or close to with four out of six of those obligations. yahoooo. now anyone here me think of signing up for anything I am ready to be smacked upside the head until I say I finished everything! drive myself crazy. lol.. sorta love it. secret is the craziness is my sanity. keeps me from getting sad. no time for that if I seem too crazy or goofy at times.. its a good way for me to just lighten up my life. so grin for me ok?

Elisabrat

typo hell so sorry guys. I am typing and about six words into things they finally show up and already I am so far down the line .. I need to reread before I hit send it appears. at least til I get more web. even postings of pics.. I am getting just a box not a picture or a blank spot. I am going to pray for charming wonderful weather tomorrow. after the morning freeze. its already down to 25. and dropping. yippee. I have to be outta here at 6:00a.m. should be down right.. brisk. bundle up time for sure.

nancia

brisk i enjoy. brisk with driving winds and ice pellets? not so much~ due to the changing weather patterns i might have to move back to texas to get some real winter! we are having cold, and today i counted 10 snowflakes. the others got away before i could count them. pretty sure there will be school tomorrow, lol. little known fact-- teachers love snow days, too!!
brat-- what ever illnesses or medical trials you face, you are doing so with a voice that makes us admire and enjoy you. please recognise that there are 2 lanes to that street! also, if you need a place to rant and rave, and not risk over ranting to a long time friend, there are p.m's. mine is always open to you! i made it through some of life's challenges thanks to some good friends that gave me encouragement and "poor baby"'s as needed. they were and are wonderful friends right here on the magic quilt board. just sayin'

dabbler312

Waiting on snowfall tonight - friend Judi is planning on wearing her pj's inside out tonight hoping it will bring snow luck so she can have a snow day from work tomorrow - the school children around here used to do that all the time - they thought if they wore their pj's inside out it would bring massive amounts of snow and school would be cancelled the next day; kinda goofy but fun for some none the less. I'm on snow shovel duty for two of my neighbors - one is an elderly woman 90+ years old and the other is a couple - he just got home from surgery to remove saliva glands from under his cheek - YEA he is cancer free - so shoveling off the driveway and walks for them plus my own. Still like being outside and I have never shied away from physical work, it's how we were brought up.

Just looking at the calender - time has zipped by; February is almost over and I wonder if March will be in like the lion and out like the lamb or the other way around - after our drought last season all moisture is welcome.

Have a wonderful and productive day doing something that makes you happy and if just sitting there going DUH makes you happy that's good too - I sometimes have a day like that.