Finishing? Chemo ; Independence Day

This is the week my wife finishes her chemotherapy. It's seems to me a very ironic and strangely pleasing that the end of this step in my wife's treatment is falling in the general time of Independence Day. I do feel a certain sense of new independence, and relief. I know the road ahead is still going to be eventful and unknown, but I am very thankful that this particular ordeal is over. I must say this experience has both changed and reinforced some of my views of healthcare facilities in general. It is a well know fact that, King Hostile doesn't "DO" doctors. To my much appreciated surprise I found several of the professionals the did and did not fit in my normal Medical Clowns categories. I found the particular group from the infusion center to be caring and compassionate. I know everyone that goes through this must be as worried and confused as my wife and myself. I found it very odd that even a lot of the actual doctors showed little or no care in the questions that were foremost important to us. I got more information about the real effects and whats to be expected from the crew at the infusion center, than from any other source we had available.
     I am so thankful that this process has been a lot easier for her than I had imagine. I guess it's always best to pray for the best and expect the worst and reality falls somewhere in between. Still at this point she has yet to lose control of her nausea to point of vomiting. She was very set on being one of the few, if not the only person, to go through this process without vomiting. i still don't really understand why this was so important to her but I am glad she achieved this goal if she wanted to. The last treatment falls where she will miss one of the Nuepogen shots that she is given after each treatment. Today being Independence day the breast center is closed so she will begin the regime again tomorrow. I will relate how this affects her treatment in a later post.
     That's all for now I think I will take the rest of the day to relax with my wife, and play some 8 Ball on Google game with her.

Closing Doors???

"Sometime we concentrate on closing doors, to the point we don't see others when they open."

Sometime we concentrate on closing doors, to the point we don't see others when they open. I have heard this saying many times throughout my life yet really until rec3ently I had really not understood fully how true this really is. The discovery of my wife's cancer lead to her being able to finally receive some of the other much needed health care she has needed before the discovery. Her insurance only covers certain things and some of her problems were not covered. We have since found many systems of support in place for cancer victims and survivors. Many of these places offer counseling, financial aide, and even transportation to and from the multiple visits that are required to various health care facilities. We only took part in the programs we truly needed as not to over tax the system for others with the same needs. I can only hope others in the system try also to observe this practice in order to keep these entities in place since they do so very much good for the community they serve.

One of the other doors that opened seems to be opened since this discovery is a newly rekindled closeness to her father. Without going into great detail since our marriage my wife's father had for the most part dis-owned her. It had been over 10years since they had spoken face to face. I was very proud to have been present when he did appear at her hospital room door with a smile for her and even a few kind words. I do believe there are more "opening doors" to come and I do believe they will be very important and much needed.

Silent Survivors

There are a group of cancer survivors out there that go for the most part unrecognized. These survivors are the families and friends of the cancer patient. It is this unrecognized group I hope to offer some support and guidance to.

First I must say I am in no way a licensed professional in any field, let alone a healthcare professional. I am just an ordinary average guy, with a recently diagnosed wife. I never really understood the impact of this monster we call Cancer. It always seemed almost an unreal and impossible occurrence. I have since found that this monster touches many, many lives every day. There are of course the obvious hurdles that one would expect to have to overcome but I have also begum to see many new and unconsidered problems that come to light in each new stage of this journey.


I do hope to help even just one needy soul through this blog, I will say that I am not one to preach and pour religion onto problems. I do however in fact do believe highly in prayer, I do not wish to even begin to tell you which God you should pray to, or how you should do it. I understand we all have ourown personal beliefs, one of mine is to never question or change someones choice of God or belief. I will say try and stay close to whatever it is that you do believe.

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