Deadly Advice From a Deluded Young Woman

A couple years ago I joined a members-only online forum with hundreds of other ovarian cancer patients (and a few caretakers or family members).

This past week I got really angry. Really, really angry. (I don't think it is grammatically correct to use two "really" words, but you get the picture.)

A young woman posted on our board as well as eight other forums (eight other diseases) that food is the "only" remedy for our health problems. She insisted that if we all ate raw fruits and raw vegetables only (organic, of course) that we could be "cured" of our ailments.

She insisted that to remove the cancerous tumors was to remove our body's defense against the cancer...that the body had deposited the cancer into our ovaries instead of into the heart for instance. The "logic" behind this was that the heart is more vital to the life of the body and hence, the body had taken toxins that might damage the heart, so to speak, and deposited them in the ovaries without which the body can still survive.

As I mentioned already, she advocated this "raw fruit, raw veggie" diet as a "cure-all".

Regardless of the numerous replies disputing her "unscientific" or even "unsensible" idea, she is still insistent today, some two weeks after her original posting.

Generally, I limit my responses to the topic at hand...ovarian cancer...and all the subtopics involved...side-effects, surgeries, personal experiences, new ovca drugs, new trial drugs, etc. Those are the things we ovarians discuss. We sometimes digress to humor or personal anecdotes of life itself. While we mention faith (of whatever kind), we do not use the forum as a "preaching platform".

But this particular discussion was so false and had such a false concept of how we can be "cured". This deluded young woman is .... well...she's deluded. What more can I say. Today she accused us of "fearing death". And I could not let that pass.

Today I responded thusly:

She wrote this:
"May not the 'FEAR' of death guide you into short-sighted decisions to remove your organs or take dangerous drugs under the 'myth' that you will be cured and live 'happily ever after '."

I responded with the following: (I changed the name to protect the "not-so-innocent".)

First of all, SallyAnn, there is NO MYTH that we ovarian cancer patients are believing. Those of us diagnosed at stage III and IV are under NO ILLUSION that we will live, as you say, "HAPPILY EVER AFTER" if we faithfully do our chemo or any other regimen other than YOUR "food only" policy.

And, personally, SallyAnn, I do not FEAR DEATH.

You see, as a Christian, a follower of Christ, a believer of the Bible, I believe that Jesus was telling the truth when he promised eternal life to those who hear and believe. John 5:24. Here are his words....“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life."

The verb tense of "has" is present tense. Our eternal life begins "right now". And the verb tense of "has passed" is past tense. We have already passed out of death. Into eternal life. It begins right now, here and now, not at some "point of death" when our souls leave our bodies.

He also said such words as "I go to prepare a place for you" and "I will come again". And in the last two chapters of the Bible, in the book of Revelation, we hear his promise, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

And again in verse 6 Jesus told John, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost."

I do not live in fear. Yes, I love this life here on earth. Life here is (can be) very, very good. We love our families, we love the beauty of nature, we love the goodness of common blessings with which God blesses the earth. But we also hate death. Death is the common enemy of all mankind. Thanks be to God, He has provided life beyond our physical death.

I seldom discuss my faith here on this forum. But I figure it is fair to do so, considering how you have shared your "non-medical advice" to those of us ovarian cancer patients who will die soon if we follow your "food only" advice.

Bottom line? We are born. We live. We die. But in Christ we have eternal life. He promises that in John 5:24. No ifs, ands, or buts. No special diet necessary. Simply believe that God is who He says He is, and that He has done what He says He has done, and that He WILL do what He says He will do. And then live what you believe.

If you want to eat raw fruits/veggies only, go for it.
If I want to, or anyone else here wants to do the same, go for it.
But don't believe the LIE that we ovarians can discontinue all medical care and that raw foods will CURE you.
It won't happen.

But eternity? Yeah. It's there. And I am not afraid to die.

End of discussion.

Disclaimer: This is not a denial on my part that a healthy diet is a good diet.

Dancing in the Night and Doing a 180

I dunno what was up with the blankets last night. I had a difficult time maintaining control. Somehow during the night they did a complete 180. All three of them. I'm thinking they had a fine time, dancing and twisting, flying up in the air and rotating before landing again atop my semi-sleeping self. It must have been quite a sight!

Tossing and turning myself, I continue to struggle with a rash that is a side-effect of the drug Avastin. Sometimes the rash is quiet. I do not notice it. Other times one area of my body will begin an intense burning/itching. The palms of my hands insist on a repeat performance of heavy itching every morning.

The Avastin is a relatively new drug in terms of treating ovarian cancer. When I experienced recurrence in January my new oncologist (Dr. W) put me right back on carboplatin and paclitaxel which were the drugs used the first time round. And he added avastin to the mix. I finished the six rounds of carbo/taxol in July and have continued with the avastin every 3rd week since.

Dr. W (should I call him Dr. Who?) would like me to stay on the avastin. But I dunno how long I can continue with the rash symptom. Neither antihistamines nor steroid creams seem to help.

On the other hand, with a clean PET/CT scan in August and again in November I'm reluctant to give up on the drug. The current statistics show longer remissions for those who continue on the drug. It's not a cure-all. But it does extend the time of non-recurrence.

So I'm hanging in there. And I'll tuck my blankets in a bit more securely when I make the bed today.

As for Thanksgiving? I'm thankful for today's medical profession. And I'm thankful for family. Most of all I'm thankful that I can trust all to a loving God...one who provides for His people all that they need here and in the hereafter.

Disclaimer: For any readers who may be using the drug Avastin, my rash is an unusual side-effect of the drug. Don't let my experience cause you apprehension about treatment with Avastin.
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A Post Entitled "The Furnace!"

My mother is a hardy soul. For those of you who have not been following along, her furnace gave a great sigh of despair and quit working...right in the middle of a long intense cold spell.

As a refresher here, the word "cold" is defined as 23 degrees below zero. That's cold, my friends!

Mom lives in a tidy little two bedroom home. She had it winterized a few years back with extra insulation in the attic, etc., which makes it economical to heat or cool. That extra insulation came in handy this past week when she had to heat with three stand-alone radiant heaters...one in the kitchen, one in the living room, one in a bedroom.

It was worrisome to me. This house is not new. That means the wiring is not new. Heating the house through that old wiring was worrisome to me. So I asked her if she wanted to come over to our house and stay until the furnace was fixed. No, she preferred staying at home. The heaters were keeping the house "almost" as warm as the furnace had done.

Last Thursday, on the third try, the correct part finally arrived. Mom was happy. I was happy. The repair guy was happy. I checked with her today and she says "all is well". Except that she's now a bit nervous...every time she senses the room cooling even slightly before the thermostat kicks in, she begins to wonder!

Stay warm, Mom!

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Two Cars, Parked Side by Side

Back home again after a week with our granddaughter in Oregon. The update on the baby is that the baby is still cocooning in Momma's womb. Silly boy.

First night back "in town" we actually never made it home. We scheduled our flight home for the day prior to my next infusion of the clinical trial drug (or placebo, whichever). And since the airport is in the same town as the clinic and since the clinic is 65 miles from home, and since our flight came in at midnight, we decided to stay at a motel overnight, do our chemo thing next morning, then head home.

Our room at the motel was wayyyyy around back, which I thought was kinda weird, and obviously we were the ONLY guests in that wing for ours was the only car in that particular parking area.

Since it was late at night, it didn't take us long to put on our jammies and hop into bed. And it didn't take long for us to drift off into sleep. But it was just long enough for the motel's ONLY other guests to arrive. After 1:00 o'clock in the morning. Right next door. And they enjoyed talking for considerable time, and opening and closing doors, and talking some more. You can see where this is going, right? A grumble session! I'm grumbling.

They finally quieted down and we went back to snooze mode.

The next morning we slept in until 8 am. Not a sound from next door. We did not worry about keeping our voices down. Nor the laughter. Our family laughs a lot. At the dumbest things. But that's okay. At least we laugh.

The other guests had parked their little yellow car with Colorado license plates right next to ours. At least our car was not lonely during the night.

So here's my question of the day...Why in the world would a motel that obviously knows their rooms are not very soundproof install new guests right NEXT DOOR to their ONLY other guests at one o'clock in the morning? Especially when there are a gazillion empty unused rooms on that wing? Why, oh why, Mr. Ramada Inn in Omaha on 72nd?

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Averting Cell Phone Disaster - Again!!!

We survived another cell phone disaster!

Yesterday my beloved dropped his cell phone in....well...ahem....the toilet. (Thankfully HE was the one who retrieved it and not I.)

This was Major Crisis! This was a brand-new cell phone. The same one he temporarily lost last month...and found again within 24 hours. But that's another story.

A "toilet dunk" can kill your phone. Permanently. But if you react quickly you have a very good chance of avoiding that costly scenario. I know. Because almost four years ago I dropped My cell in the ocean! In salt water! And I am STILL USING THAT PHONE! So here are my suggestions if you find yourself in a similar situation:

IMPORTANT .. REMOVE THE BATTERY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. THIS IS ESSENTIAL!

1. Briefly rinse phone (and battery which you have already removed!!!) under the kitchen faucet to remove any contaminants. The idea is to clean the phone but NOT to soak it further. This baby is already wet. Rinse it only long enough to remove the bad stuff. Be brief but thorough. Swish it quickly and go to Step Two. (If your phone has a memory card, remove and rinse it as well. And if you dropped it in plain, non-salty, CLEAN water, disregard this step.)

2. Dry with a kitchen towel. As thoroughly as possible, including any crevices and ports. Wick that moisture out with a corner of the fabric or a Q-tip!

3. Find a warm dry spot. Turn on the light in your oven. Do NOT turn on the heat! The light bulb alone will produce a quiet, drying heated air. I've heard of people placing their phones on the dash of their car and letting solar energy provide the warmth to dry it but it would seem that might get a bit hot if you live in Death Valley or some such place...use some sense here.

4. Place the open phone and its battery in this warm spot AT LEAST 24 hours before re-connecting the battery. Forty-eight is even better...if you can stand the suspense that long. If you re-connect while your phone still holds moisture you run the risk of shorting it out completely and your end result will be a dead phone.

5. In my case, I waited about 36 hours before placing the battery back on the phone and it worked fine. In hubby's case, 24 hours did the trick.

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Two Steps Backward - or - Please Stay Home

Scenario: Two days ago...in my hometown thrift shop...a place that is run by the hospital auxiliary which uses their profits to fund many things at our rural small-town hospital which has been a Godsend to me this past year.

I walk into the shop. Several ladies are near the cash register. One asks Ms. M the usual "How ya doin'?"

It's a polite greeting...similar to a "Howdy!" except nobody around here says "Howdy!"

Ms. M replies, "I've got the creeping crud."

At this point I want to remind you that this past winter, while doing chemo, my personal immunity to illness was at a personal all-time historical low. Bottles of alcohol (the hand cleaning kind) were my friend. If someone sneezed, even in the far back of the grocery store, I fled the scene leaving my shopping cart and contents behind. (I exaggerate only slightly.)

Anyway, Ms. M says she has the creeping crud. Every woman in the place took two steps backward. And stopped inhaling.

Ms. M added this reassuring note, "I hope it's not contagious!"

Two more steps backward.

Then Ms. M adds this very reassuring comment..."I'll be over it in two weeks. That's how long it lasted last time."

We flee the scene. Holding our breath. Scrubbing our hands with alcohol once we get in the car.

Ms. M wonders where everyone went.

The thrift shop loses sales for the next three weeks and goes into bankruptcy. The hospital itself, bereft of the assistance of the auxiliary funds, struggles to remain afloat.

I'm not going any further on this. It's ridiculous enough.

However...IF YOU ARE SICK, PLEASE STAY HOME, Ms. M!!!!!!

Today's Magazines and How They Stink!

Oh, oh! This is a rant! Be patient with me. You do know, don't you, that I'm old and gray, old enough to be your grandmother. But that doesn't mean I am stupid, witless, or without thinking ability, nor indeed without life experiences that you may not have experienced...experiences that have caused me to grow in wisdom and knowledge and understanding. That's hard-earned wisdom, earned at the expense of often painful experiences... wisdom that was earned by the grace of God, by His goodness, and not by my own bright thoughts, believe you me! So, please bear with me!

As a young mother, a young homemaker, and young adult I learned much from women's magazines and I subscribed to several. These were magazines that provided articles on being a good mother, on learning to wisely use my paycheck, on gardening or making my home attractive. The editors provided me much good information.

But for a long time now I have been completely disenchanted with today's magazines for women. It's enough to make me puke (I hope that word does not offend) sometimes. I don't have to tell you to check the covers of those mags where you stand in line to buy your groceries...you know... those magazine covers touting articles that proclaim something akin to "20 gazillion ways to fool a man on your first date into thinking that you are that one and only". And they are not talking about your lovely sense of humor nor your ability to look deep into his eyes and give attentive ear as you dine at some fine restaurant. Of course, I've toned that down a bit because if I quote exact words I'll get a million hits from weirdos who are seeking some "R" rated site where they can fulfill their latest weird fantasy. But you know which magazines I mean.

Even the old standbys have resorted to worthless, witless articles that do nothing but promote irrational useless foolishness. A friend gave me her mags recently and yesterday I read how to have good luck in a New Year...something about carrying 27 one dollar bills in one pocket and 42 coins in the other. And changing the position of 29 items in the house prior to New Year's Day...moving the salt and pepper around counted as a change. This is WISDOM? The writer obviously believed it...she has written an entire book on the subject!

But back to the headlines at the supermarket. I'll tell you about my personal boycott, my personal resistance, my personal sabotage (are Christians supposed to practice sabotage?). Here it is. Whenever I spot a magazine with particularly objectionable photos or racey titles, I casually pick up a more family-oriented magazine, glance at it a moment, then place it in front of the one I find distasteful. Sure, someone else will come along and remove it, but at least for a few moments or hours, I've prevented or postponed a sale. I consider this my personal expression of "freedom of speech". If dissenters can burn the flag, I can relocate magazines at the grocery store.

I think my mother mentioned once or twice that I was a stubborn child. Not in a malicious way, but as a part of my personality. Yep. I'm stubborn. And I'll stubbornly dislike and find distasteful these kinds of magazines as long as I have breathe in my body.

Now...if your mind thinks like mine, next time you are in a grocery store, find a nice cooking magazine, glance at it a moment, then place it in a different magazine slot. You'll know which cover to cover.

Yep! This is a rant!

Today's Scriptures:
Proverbs 9:10
Psalm 111:10
Job 28:28
Ecclesiastes 8:12

P.S. Cat Rocketship makes a valid comment that there are many good magazines out there that relate to career, finances, home improvement, etc. In fact one of my favorites is "This Old House" and I often clip pages from cooking or interior decorating magazines for future reference.

Little Annoyances

Does anyone else find it exceedingly annoying that food items, liquid or solid, are sealed seventy times over (it seems like it!) and one must use knife, fingernail, scissors, and teeth to open bottles, boxes, and packets. When the cheese package says "tear here" it really means "t-e-a-r" as in "liquid that overflows the eyelids and dampens the face". Okay! Okay! I'm a wimp!

We're Here to Help You Anytime Day or Night - Whatever is Convenient For You

Those are the words I recently heard while attempting to contact by phone a business with whom I had to do some business. "We're here to help you anytime day or night - whatever is convenient for you."

And all the while I'm listening to the background music and waiting for a REAL LIVE PERSON to speak to me I'm thinking to myself, "What do they mean by anytime? And what do they mean by convenient?" Thankfully I can set my phone to speaker phone and go about my business while I wait. I can't leave the room, however, for then I won't be able to hear when that REAL LIVE PERSON comes on the line. And where do they get That Music anyway? It's excruciating to my ears and to my musical preferences.

It took twenty minutes flat for this business to come to my aid anytime and conveniently!

I'm Sorry, but I'm old enough to remember when a REAL LIVE OPERATOR dialed the numbers for me. I simply picked up the phone, gave the operator the number I wished to call, and she made a connection for me and a REAL LIVE PERSON answered on the other end. In a moment's time, in almost the twinkling of an eye, I was in speaking contact with the intended party. No computer responses, no "if this, press 1" or "if that, press 2". And then onward to another list of "if this", and "if that", ad infinitum.

Today, technology and efficiency require me to waste half an hour to get a simple answer to an important question. My time is not important????

But, Hey! If you would like to live a simpler phone life, you can call me at my old number. Just ask your local operator to connect you to 45J11. When the phone rings it will ring one long and one short. My neighbors down the road, whose number is 45J12, will know that the call is for me and not for them. Their signal, as you might guess is one long and two shorts. They may pick up and listen in on my conversation, but they will be smart enough to wait a moment or two to insure that I am already on the line before they do so. That was the old party-line system, a swift source of neighborhood news. It may have been aggravating to suspect your neighbors were listening in on your private conversation, but at least it was a simple matter to talk to REAL LIVE PEOPLE!

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ID Theft, Debit Cards and Credit Cards

Twice recently we have been the victim of ID theft through our debit and credit cards. Be Aware that there are Crooks and Thieves out there! (If you've arrived here using a search engine and this is the only post you see, you can read the rest of my blog posts by clicking on the blog title Wanna Walk Along. But first read this post.)

We first noticed an unauthorized electronic withdrawal from our checking account.
The second was an unauthorized charge to our credit card.
Both times the amounts were a mere $9.87
I suppose they thought we wouldn't notice!
And I'm betting that once they verified our account as being "good", the next amount would have been in the hundreds or thousands!

Fortunately we check our statements online and found the thefts almost immediately and so we were able to call the bank and the credit card company and ask for new accounts (new account numbers).

My advice for today? Check your statements often. In particular look for small dollar amounts to StockPhotoPortal, ThePhotosCentral, Photos Paradise, P&P Services, Images Paradise, ProPhotoLand, PolishPhotosOnline, PhotosGeyser, PhotosMix, PicturesJungle, and countless others. Google these names and you will find many online complaints.

If you see ANY of these companies charging small amounts $3 to $15 to your credit card or to your bank account, DO NOT CALL the Crook Himself! He will only squeeze more information out of you.

Instead Call your Bank/Credit Card Company and CLOSE THE ACCOUNT and GET A NEW ONE. The Crooks have your number and they will KEEP STEALING from you as long as they can. If your bank is not helpful ask to speak to someone in their Consumer Fraud department.

Banks will normally refund any theft you report within 60 days but sometimes you have to be persistent. Credit cards are a little more ready to remove unauthorized charges.

Be a Wise Consumer! And one word of advise...as if this entire post isn't one long "advice" ... Never use a debit card any place your card is taken out of sight, like a restaurant. It's an easy matter for an employee to quickly swipe the info from your card with a small portable skimming device. Watch your card like a hawk and never let it out of your sight. Better yet, learn to live without your debit card.

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The Alpha Dog

We live in a small town. We live on a small lot. That means our house is within mere feet of the neighbor's house. The neighbors have a new dog. We don't mind that. We like dogs. We like cats.

The problem is that when the dog is tied out on their back deck, he barks. Yips. Yaps. Barks. Whines. The fella wants indoors where the kids are, where the fun is, where the food is. Can't blame him.

Still. Yipping and Yapping are annoying to say the least. It was especially annoying last summer. Every time we went out into OUR back yard, Neighbor Dog would yip-yap at us...as if WE were invading HIS territory.

DH tried an experiment. He walked outdoors with a hamburger in hand, walked to the edge of the property, faced off Mr. Yipyap, stood there and calmly ate his hamburger. He saved the last little bite and tossed it to Yipyap. To this day Yipyap has never again barked at us while we are in our backyard. What DH did was to tell Yipyap that DH was the alpha male. The alpha male eats first. The rest of the pack eats the leftovers.

The funny thing about this is that somehow Yipyap now assumes that I, too, stand higher in the pack than he. If he happens to be yipping on his back deck, I simply tap on the window, do a stare-down until he is quiet. Now and then I'll have to do this more than once, or perhaps stick my head out the backdoor and give a low growl. He blinks his eyes, looks to each side, pretends he is not watching me, and eventually lies down and is quiet.

A Quiet Yipyap is a much better neighbor than a Barking Yipyap.

Yipyap's two live-in friends, two orange cats, are much friendlier. They are allowed to visit our deck for scratches behind the ears. They purr. They don't yip. That's a nice difference.