Elvis has left the Vampires

Elvis and his parents are buried at Graceland.

The following is an account of a strange dream I once had.

Squish, Squash I was Having a Mammogram

EDMOND, OK. — October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and to mark the occasion many women schedule a mammogram.

Chemo Tales, Volume 2: I’m Not Your Superwoman

Squirrel
by SMRJigsawPuzzles

 

This is the second entry in a series I have started on my mother's cancer journey. For the first story click here

  Many things have occurred since I last sat down to write about my mother’s cancer journey.

  We have learned more stories from others, endured port surgery, heart procedures, and miscommunications with medical professionals.

  It continues to be a learning and challenging time in life with little or no support from others.

  I will begin with more stories from the chemotherapy room.

  There has been a seemingly fragile but strong woman present at several of the sessions.

  She caught my attention one day as she sat in a recliner singing out loud to tunes playing on her I pod.

  She was singing “I’m Not Your Superwoman” by Karyn White. Click here to view music video

  I thought to myself she must be someone's superwoman if she is battling cancer.

  At the next session, the woman begin suffering from SVT.

I watched as the woman's daughter was told she would have to check her mother into the hospital across the way for observation. I could relate to this because my mother has been suffering from the same racing heart condition.

  The woman was back and singing again at our next session.

  This time I struck up conservation with the woman's daughter. She told me that her mother had been taking care of her mom, who was suffering with cancer, when she began losing weight.

  The daughter said the family thought it was stress from taking care of the grandmother. They later learned it was the same cancer.

  Now the daughter has stepped into the caregiver role. She said when she is not at work she is running her mother to chemo or doctor appointments. That is when I realized I’m not the only one living this life.

  We have been off our normal schedule with all of our recent complications, but the last time I saw the woman she was still singing her tunes, and she had traded in the scarf for a wig. She was looking like someone's Superwoman.

  In addition to the usual cancer war stories exchanged in the chemo room, we have endured port surgery.

For those not familiar with the term port, it is a device implanted, usually in the left breast area, that allows the patient to receive chemo without the needle stick.

  My mother endured nine rounds of chemo without a port. Her veins are virtually trashed and even the simple blood test is taking forever to do.

  So the doctor said the procedure would be an outpatient procedure and take 30 minutes or less.

  Well as always in our case, it was not that simple.

Instead of 30 minutes, it was three hours.

  The surgery got under way and I waited in the designated area next to a family waiting on news from their doctor on their mother.

  An hour went by and still nothing from the doc. Eventually the other family's doctor came and gave them the dreadful news that their mother had cancer and maybe a year to live.

  Suddenly their loud joyous conservation turned to tears and silence. My thought was at least they are not alone like I have been through most of this journey.

  Soon after our doctor came and told me that things were more difficult then anticipated. He tried both sides and was unable to insert the port, so they were seeking the help of another surgeon in a different operating room.

  So off to another waiting room to wait for another hour or so.

  Finally the doc came and said all was well and completed. The staff then scheduled chemo for the very next day, insisting it was the right thing to do. They said they had left what they referred to as access in the port so that chemo the next day would not be uncomfortable. They said if we waited even one day chemo would be a painful experience.

  So the next day after port surgery we headed off to chemo. My mother had puncture wounds in her neck area that Dracula would be proud of.

  We arrived for chemo, with my mother feeling weak and exhausted. The medical team took her vitals and then began the debate whether or not she was strong enough for chemo. They determined she was but they then couldn't find the "access" which meant a painful experience or more needles, the very thing the port was supposed to eliminate.

  After a call to the doctor the staff determined the port was the way to go.

  The chemo nurse took my mother to the restroom to do the deed of inserting the IV into the port. Now remember this is less than 24 hours after surgery and all of the chest and neck muscles are swollen.

  After a scream that was probably heard throughout Oklahoma City, the chemo IV was inserted and the day went on in the chemo room.

I suffered a melt down and called family members to beg for help, but was told I should see a doctor and get some anti-depressants. I informed them that a pill will not drive the car or comfort my mother. After an argument and the realization that there would never be any help, I carried on and the journey continued. 

Tune in next time to learn about Cardiac Ablations.

Chemo Tales, Volume 1: Chemotherapy Treatment, a Room of Horrors and Hereos

Long-Haired Dachshund Bottle Opener
by SMRJigsawPuzzles

The first in a series of articles I plan to do on my experiences in the chemotherapy treatment room 

On Aug. 20, 2008, change was forced upon myself and my mother as she was diagnosed with Peritoneal Cancer, and or ovarian cancer. 

 Since then things such as Supraventricular Tachycardia, (SVT) and Chemotherapy have become a part of life. My mother went for her first dose of chemo on Sept. 10.

It was my first time to see a chemo treatment room and it was an overwhelming experience. A friend, Jerilyn, made the trip to the Oklahoma University Physicians Building in Oklahoma City with us and she too was overwhelmed. 

 We checked in and then was led to a room by a chemo nurse. The scene is one of recliners and beds full of bald people hooked up to intravenous drips. The smell is one of medicine that brings on an undesirable sensation in my nose and throat. 

It makes me wonder if healthy people should even be breathing such an odor. I live in a refinery town and I do believe I would rather smell the fumes of ConocoPhillips compared to Chemotherapy. 

 After entering the room, we were directed to another treatment room which was not as crowded and not so overwhelming. My mother was placed in a recliner and soon a nurse came over and hooked her up to an IV. We had been given no details on how this works. 

As it turns out, the chemo she is given takes five hours to distribute. I have since learned that chemo treatments can be as long as nine hours and that some people endure this once a week or even three times a week. In our case the drip is started with a bag of Benadryl followed by the toxic concoction that not only destroys cancer cells but also good cells in the body. 

 Like most people I think we were and somewhat still are dealing with a case of this can't be happening to me. A couple days after the first treatment she landed in ICU, sick with upset stomach and the SVT. The same thing happened after the second round and the doctor said we may have to do this every time. After the third treatment her hair fell out and the SVT continued as did the trips to the emergency room. All of this lead to the reality that this was happening and we were not going to escape it any better shape than the others. 

 During this time, I had observed and listened to stories from others receiving chemo for female type cancers. There is the insurance sales woman who went on vacation and suddenly had her abdomen swell up. She said she looked nine months pregnant. 

She went to the doctor and was diagnosed and set for surgery. On chemo number two, a lady entered the room dressed in business attire, carrying a briefcase. I thought she must be a drug saleswoman coming to give a sales pitch or deliver an order. Wrong! She was a patient coming for her weekly treatment. I was in shock. Not only was she a working woman coming for chemo. But she does it every week and continues to work. She said she started gaining weight after the holidays. She saw her doctor and was told she needed to watch her diet and exercise. 

 She did this but the weight gain continued. After several months she was diagnosed with cancer. Everyone in these treatment rooms have stories that should be told in an effort to educate others. These cancer victims are fighting for the right to live everyday. 

They view their chemo nurses as friends and heroes because they are distributing deadly drugs that are prolonging and saving lives everyday. However it takes a strong person with the will to live to endure what the nurses are distributing. 

 After three rounds of chemo, surgery was done on my mother. It consisted of a complete hysterectomy, tumor removal and the removal of the greater omentum which is a large fold of peritoneum that hangs down from the stomach. 

 The doctor explained that the size of cancer riddled tissue removed was equivalent to the size of family size frozen lasagna found in your grocer's freezer. In the end not all of the cancer was removed. He said this type of cancer cell develops like frosting on a cake and that some cells were located on the liver and diaphragm. 

The good news was they have not metastized. The bad news, trips to the chemo room continue. I continue to collect knowledge, fears and feelings of anger from these experiences. 

 I have learned that chemo is not an instant end to the world like I had thought. There are people continuing a somewhat normal life while undergoing chemo treatments. But for others and their care takers it is a life changing experience forced upon on them that consumes a large portion of their lives. For those who have not experienced this you can't understand. 

No matter how much you think you do, trust me you don't. Until you walk in these shoes you have no clue. 

 As my journey continues in the chemo rooms, I will write these stories in hopes of educating and informing others about this dark side of life that millions of people are experiencing everyday. It contains, sickness, frustration, financial disaster and terms such as chemobrain. So stay tuned for what I hope becomes a collection of stories that helps someone somewhere.

Fig Newmans vs. Fig Newton: A comparison of two fig cookie treats

Sunflower
by SMRJigsawPuzzles

 

I have discovered another tasty organic treat from Paul Newman's line of organic foods called Fig Newmans.

  The fruit filled snack is Newman's organic version of Nabisco's Fig Newton.

  Fig Newmans are available in fat free, low fat and wheat free/dairy free flavors.

  So far I have tried the low fat version and unlike some low fat treats, the snack has flavor.

  The Fig Newman contains organic figs, organic unbleached wheat flour and organic sugar, while the Fig Newton contains enriched flour, figs, sugar, and of course high fructose corn syrup.

  A closer comparison of labels show that the snacks are somewhat equal in some categories.

  A serving of two Fig Newmans is said to contain 140 calories including 20 calories from fat. That breaks down to 70 calories per cookie with 10 calories from fat.

  A serving of two Fig Newtons is said to contain 110 calories including 20 calories from fat. That breaks down to 55 calories including 10 calories from fat which is actually better than the organic Fig Newman.

  However, Fig Newmans win in the protein category two grams to one.

  Fig Newtons even the score in the sodium category with each snack containing 125mg compared to 179mg in a Fig Newman.

  Both snacks are cholesterol free and trans fat free.

  For those looking for snacks containing no artificial flavors, Fig Newmans win as Fig Newtons contain sulfur dioxide which is added to preserve freshness.

  One downfall for the Newman snack is price. I paid $5.19 for a 12 oz. package where as Fig Newtons can usually be purchased anywhere from $2.50 a bag to $3.29.

  As for my vote, I like them both, but I have to say I find the taste of the Fig Newman a little more desirable and the organic ingredient list more attractive than the high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavoring of the Fig Newton.

Diamonds Are Forever and so is the Medicare Drug Plan Late Fee

The  Medicare Drug Plan Late Fee: The Late Fee that Outlasts You

If you enroll in a Medicare Drug Plan after the deadline, you will be assessed a late fee for the rest of your life. Allow me to share a frustrating aspect of the Medicare Part D drug plans available to seniors.

Raising Awareness about Supra-ventricular Tachycardia

Supra-ventricular Tachycardia (SVT) is a condition where heart beats extremely fast, in some cases over 200 beats per minute.

My mother who is diagnosed with ovarian cancer has now experienced SVT four times in two weeks.

Each time, her heart rate was over 200 beats per minute, with the highest recorded rate chiming in at 247 beats per minute. A normal heart rate is considered to be 70-80 beats per minute.

The condition is not a result of the cancer and anyone can suffer from it.

It seems that the hear has a special electrical system that controls the heartbeat. In some cases SVT is caused by a problem in that system that the person is born with. A valve problem or blocked arteries can also cause SVT.

Other causes cited are: thyroid disease, heart failure, low blood pressure from bleeding or dehydration, or anemia and drug abuse.

The cause of SVT can be difficult to pinpoint. In my mother's case, the first episode occurred three days after chemotherapy.

The second episode occurred several days later and she had to spend the night in the hospital.

As she was being prepared to be released, the nurses were running late. And that was a good thing. Shortly after they unhooked her from the wires, SVT struck again. This time the doctor was there and was able to treat the episode from start to finish.

She spent another night in the ICU as a result.

The next day she was home by noon with a new prescription.

However, by 2:30 p.m. the ambulance was back and we were back in the emergency room awaiting admittance to the ICU.

This time a drug called Cardiem was prescribed and so far it has worked.

Information given to us by the hospital list things that can be done when SVT hits. It includes a vagal maneuver where the patient bears down like they are having a bowl movement. 

Surgical procedures can also be done.

In the end my mother had an ablation. This is where small wires are fed through a blood vessel in the patient's arm or groin to the heart. Heat energy is applied to the area causing the electrical impulse problem. 

In my mother's case it worked and she was cured of SVT.