tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43772187715060510652024-02-19T08:02:55.238-06:00Appendix Cancer Survivor's BlogThis blog is dedicated to those who, the moment after receiving a cancer diagnosis, assume the identity of "cancer survivor" for the rest of their natural livesCarolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.comBlogger284125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-169719157902650842017-08-07T20:07:00.002-05:002017-08-07T20:07:55.363-05:00New Web Site and Blog!Hi Everyone!<br />
<br />
I just had a new website created, and my blog is now posted on my site. The new site is www.appendix-cancer.org. I hope you like the new site and would love your feedback! Just did my first blog post on the site!<br />
<br />
The new site also has some forums!<br />
<br />
Hope to see you there!<br />
<br />
CarolynCarolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-49266947419446605982017-04-30T15:47:00.001-05:002017-04-30T15:47:32.198-05:00Rejoining!I'm wanting to rejoin the cancer community, I've been away for awhile. I will be 16 years free from signet ring appendix cancer on May 16th! <br />
<br />
I am currently working as a clinical nurse specialist and a clinical nurse educator. My CNS job was combined with the educator job recently, so I've been very busy and sometimes overwhelmed at work. I work for an LTACH, a long-term acute care hospital. We have very sick patients, many on ventilators and dialysis, so it's challenging.<br />
<br />
I am currently redesigning my web site! I created my first one alone, with some software I bought used- can't even remember the name of the software but it is no onger produced. That was in 2008. In about 2013 I had a professional redesign it, but in the end was not happy with the result. I now have a new highly recommended web designer, so stay posted! My site is still appendix-cancer.com, though it may become appendix-cancer.org. I like .org better for a non-profit.<br />
<br />
I hired the designer over 4 months ago and am now just starting to work on editing my web pages and fixing broken links etc. Shame on me!!<br />
<br />
Working on the web site takes me back to the first time I created it though, good memories, I had so much I wanted to give back. I still do. <br />
<br />
I'd love to hear from any of you still out there! I would love to be in touch again! I'm guessing I don't have many readers at the moment since I've been away so long, but I hope to change that!<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-60804605580041249372016-05-15T17:54:00.000-05:002016-05-15T17:54:18.075-05:00Gosh....it has been a year since I've posted. I am doing great and cancer free. I finished my nursing Masters Degree, it was a long journey, I am now a Clinical Nurse Specialist. I have a new job working as a CNS. Life goes on!!!Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-46605425942771856532015-05-14T13:41:00.000-05:002015-05-14T13:41:51.055-05:00Back again!I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted! Life has been very busy, I've been working full time and going to school full time. <br />
<br />
I was teaching in a college nursing program, and our school just closed, so now I am only going to school and not working! I graduate with an advanced practice nursing degree this August, so will just go to school until then. I will have a Masters degree in nursing and will be an oncology clinical nurse specialist. A CNS of four advanced practice nursing degrees. <br />
<br />
I taught oncology in my college to my student nurses. They knew I was a survivor, I shared my story. Aside from diagnosis and treatment, we talked about the personal aspects a diagnosis has. I shared with them the things I felt they should NEVER say to cancer patients:<br />
<br />
1. <b>"You need to stay positive!!!"</b> I had people who felt I would not survive if I didn't stay positive. That staying positive was vital to a cure. This is not true, and it's unrealistic. Research has not shown positive thinking to affect cancer survival. Jimmie Holland, a renowned scientist and psychiatrist who has worked for years with cancer patients (and who was still working full time at 80!) wrote a book, "The Human Side of Cancer: Living with Hope, Coping with Uncertainty" , a book I read shortly after I was diagnosed. BTW, I got to meet her and have lunch with her at a cancer conference!!!! She founded the field and science of psycho-oncology.<br />
<br />
The second chapter in her book was "The Tyranny of Positive Thinking". Expecting a patient to think positive makes the patient feel their attitude is responsible for their survival, it places a burden on them. I told my students, when faced with losing everyone you love and involuntarily abandoning your children, losing everything you own and losing your future, it is normal to feel the negative emotions of anger, fear and sadness. Many cancer patients become depressed....that is normal. The best thing you can do is listen and support them through their negative emotions. For many people I felt I had to fake a positive attitude and that was very difficult. The person who was the most support to me at the time was the person who let me sob as I talked about possibly dying and leaving my children motherless.<br />
<br />
2. <b>"Now you understand how to live one day at a time and to stop and smell the roses! How wonderful". </b>Okay, that means you live contemplating dying and losing everything tomorrow. I did live that way for awhile and it was a kind of hell. I couldn't make a 6 month dentist appointment, I couldn't say the words "next year", I couldn't plan a vacation. I couldn't contemplate going back to school. I couldn't imagine seeing my kids graduate from high school, driving a car, their first boyfriends. I lived one day at a time. I lived CT scan to CT scan. I could only plan my life in 3-6 month intervals between scans. It is a hopeless way to live. We all live for dreams of tomorrow, even if we are enjoying today. Hope involves tomorrow.<br />
<br />
If you work with or communicate with cancer patients, be careful what you say! Try to be empathetic, put yourself in their shoes!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-51177702052746772072014-09-06T17:39:00.000-05:002014-09-06T17:39:50.007-05:00New BlogI would love to introduce a new blog, here...http://strengthistheonlychoice.com/. The woman writing this blog has a husband diagnosed with appendix cancer. Please read....she talks about many things we all, as patients, survivors and family members deal with. It's difficult being the patient, but also difficult being a person who loves the patient.<br />
<br />
<div class="site-content" id="content">
<div class="content-area" id="primary">
<br />
<main class="site-main" id="main" role="main">
<article class="post-7 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-uncategorized tag-adenocarcinoid tag-adenocarcinoma tag-appendix-cancer tag-cancer tag-cancer-survivor tag-carcinoid tag-divorce tag-finding-strength tag-hipec tag-joe-burt tag-life-after tag-life-after-cancer tag-life-after-trauma tag-pmp tag-rare-disease tag-shawn-burt tag-support tag-survivor" id="post-7">
<header class="entry-header">
<h1 class="entry-title">
<a href="http://strengthistheonlychoice.com/2014/08/19/its-not-a-book-its-a-blog/" rel="bookmark" sl-processed="1">It’s Not a Book, It’s a Blog!</a></h1>
<div class="entry-meta">
<span class="posted-on"><a href="http://strengthistheonlychoice.com/2014/08/19/its-not-a-book-its-a-blog/" rel="bookmark" sl-processed="1"><time class="entry-date published" datetime="2014-08-19T23:49:07+00:00">August 19, 2014</time></a></span> <span class="comments-link"><span class="sep"> / </span><a href="http://strengthistheonlychoice.com/2014/08/19/its-not-a-book-its-a-blog/#comments" sl-processed="1" title="Comment on It’s Not a Book, It’s a Blog!">11 Comments</a></span>
</div>
</header>
<div class="entry-content">
<br />
<div id="contact-form-7">
<form action="http://strengthistheonlychoice.com/2014/08/19/its-not-a-book-its-a-blog/#contact-form-7" class="contact-form commentsblock" method="post">
<div>
<label class="grunion-field-label email" for="g7-email">Email(required)</label>
<input aria-required="true" class="email" id="g7-email" name="g7-email" required="" type="email" value="" />
</div>
<div class="contact-submit">
</div>
</form>
</div>
I’ve always been better at expressing my feelings in writing than
any other form of communication. I was a Journalism major in college
and books have always been like friends to me. The written word, if used
for good, is very powerful.<br />
My husband, Joe, was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer at the
end of 2012. Appendix Cancer affects 1 in a million people. And, the
type of cell Joe had was even rarer. To date, I have yet to talk to
anyone or find a case study just like his. When we first learned of
Joe’s diagnosis, I didn’t handle it well. Can you blame me? He had just
turned 36. The business we had started was really taking off. Like all
marriages, we had our ups and downs over the years and at that time we
were in a good place. Our kids were flourishing. We were happy. Life was
pretty good. Then…..WHAM. After Joe was diagnosed, I went to the bad
place and immediately assumed we were going to lose him. At the time our
little boys were 8 and 5 and I saw a future where I was raising them
alone. It was the most all consuming fear I had ever experienced.<br />
For better or worse, I made it my mission in life to find out
everything I could about the stupid appendix, this stupid cancer and
what I could do to make it go away. Joe was staged at IIIB (meaning it
had spread to his lymph nodes), borderline stage IV. Everyone I knew
told me not to research it, to stay away from the studies and the books.
It would only drag us down. But, I couldn’t. I felt like if I knew
enough, if I had all the facts we could better face the monster. I
learned a LOT about Appendix Cancer. Can’t say it was something I wanted
to be an expert on, I would rather take up paddle boarding or biking
(this is how I envision myself, so just go with it). When someone you
love is battling a rare disease, it is imperative (I can’t stress this
enough–imperative) you seek out the guidance of a specialist in that
area. No matter how far you have to travel. In our case, there are only a
handful of appendix cancer specialists in the world. If I hadn’t done
my research, if I hadn’t advocated for my husband and found a
specialist, our story would have ended a lot differently.<br />
I won’t go into too many details of the cancer battle itself. It was
long. It was hard. There were many days I thought Joe was going to die.
He got scary skinny. He looked like he was dying. Our boys spent far too
much time at their Grandparents house—-I didn’t want them to see the
horror that chemotherapy truly is. It drug on and on and on.
Fortunately, for us, there was an end. I know families that battle
cancer for years and years. We are blessed that we got to see a light at
the end of the tunnel. One huge surgery (they call is MOAS, Mother Of
All Surgeries), 9 rounds of chemotherapy and months and months of living
nothing but cancer later, we are starting to get back on our feet.<br />
Joe is doing pretty well. He has physical limitations due to the
surgery. They removed 6 inches of his colon, his gall bladder, and
omentum and bathed his abdomen in a chemotherapy wash. He also has
pretty extreme nerve damage in his feet from the chemo. We have a lot of
anxiety when it is time to get a CT scan. In fact, he had scans last
week and met with his surgical oncologist today. There is a spot of
concern and to be on the safe side his doctor wants to run some
additional scans. Honestly, I’m pretty scared. I’m trying to stay calm,
but I’m pretty scared. I don’t want to show that to Joe or our kids, but
I can feel the terror rising in my belly. I’m pretty sure we couldn’t
do this again. A person has their pain threshold, I kinda feel like
we’ve met ours! This stupid cancer, like all stupid cancers, can return
(I always tell my boys not to use the word stupid, in this case I want
to use another word, but will refrain). And that’s terrifying. We will
live with that fear for the rest of our lives.<br />
Life after cancer is way harder than I ever dreamed. You don’t go
back to the way things were. Sure, those around you figure everything is
good–normal (whatever that is). You can pretend like you are a better
person for having gone though it, but the reality is it is very, very
hard. There is guilt around every corner. Questions at every bend.
Wondering if our kids are going to be super screwed up as a result of
the things they’ve seen and gone through at way too young an age. I
catch myself feeling sad, angry and emotional and it’s kind of
embarrassing—after all, my husband is a survivor. I’ve even felt
resentment at Joe for putting us through this. Terrible, right? Joe is
different too. Really different. I have a hard time figuring out what is
going on in his head. I know he is grateful to be alive, but I see the
internal struggle he has to try to figure out what is next for him.<br />
Getting back to why I am boring the world (or the two people that
read this) with details of our lives. Should our feelings, our private
goings on, my husband’s health, be made into a public forum? I always
believed that it was a private matter and should be kept so. When Joe
was battling cancer, I started a little private Facebook group to keep
family and close friends informed on what was going on with us. I
believe it helped me, and in turn my family, get through our darkest
days. I even had people tell me it helped them. After all, we all know
someone affected by a life threatening disease. Although Joe wasn’t
actively writing the posts, he always read them and the comments lifted
him and gave him faith.<br />
I have had many people ask me when I am going to write a book about
this journey. I know they were probably joking, but it did get me to
thinking. I guess the thing that disappoints me the most about myself is
that as we were going through this battle I vowed I would make a
difference for someone, somewhere battling a rare cancer. Truth is, I
haven’t really done anything. It’s a huge task and I really just wanted
to get back to living our lives. The emotional challenges we have faced
led me to seek more information on the aftermath of a major life trauma.
There aren’t a lot of books on the matter. No manual or guidebook. I
couldn’t find a blog or a support group on this specific issue. Then
Robin Williams committed suicide. I lost two Grandparents to suicide
and I know firsthand the stigma that surrounds it. I know it’s a
different subject altogether, but really it’s about feeling like you
have a lifeline SOMEWHERE, no matter what the challenge is. It seems
like there is a lot of discussion and openness about the struggle
itself, be it cancer, death of a loved one, a divorce or really any
major life trauma, but the support and open discussion seems to fall off
once you are “through it.”<br />
I digress (and I promise, my future posts won’t be this windy)…….<br />
I can’t tell our story from a survivor’s point of view, but I do know
what it’s like to be a caretaker (this role is no picnic either), a
mother and a wife while facing less than ideal life circumstances. Words
are powerful, hopefully I can use mine to make a difference.<br />
Please share with me your experience or story! I want to hear from you.</div>
</article></main></div>
</div>
Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-67270949116436295942014-06-28T18:46:00.001-05:002014-06-28T18:46:19.491-05:00Hello!Hello! Sorry it's been so long since I have posted, I can't believe it, almost a year. I attended the 4th Heat It To Beat It walk in Baltimore last September. I will attend again this year. This year the walk won't be around the inner harbor, but at the Baltimore Zoo! I love zoos so am looking forward to it.<br />
<br />
I was also an advocate mentor again in San Diego for the Scientist-Survivor Program and the American Association for Cancer Research. It was a great experience, and I enjoyed the weather after a rather awful Chicago winter! <br />
<br />
I have been busy. I work full time as faculty in a college nursing program and I am going to school for my Master's Degree at Purdue University. I have one more year and then I will graduate. For awhile my family was paying for four tuitions! I was going to both Loyola and Purdue (I got a graduate certificate in oncology from Loyola while I was working on my masters). My two daughter were also in college. Now we are down to just one tuition, mine! My daughter's have graduated. My youngest will be getting married this October. I have been able to be here for so much, they were only 10 and 11 when I was given a terminal diagnosis! I am also working now as a CASA, a court appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children. I am an officer of the court and speak on behalf of children in protective services to the courts to help find good homes and placements for them. I've been doing that for about a year now, I think.<br />
<br />
A patient a few years back asked me if you ever get over the fear of recurrence. At the time I said no, I still sometimes feared it. But I am 13 years cancer free as of May 16th of this year, and I no longer fear recurrence as I once did. I know it is still a possibility, but now it's only in the back of my mind...I don't think I fear a recurrence of appendix cancer any more than I fear being diagnosed with a new primary. It could happen, but it no longer causes me anxiety. I did struggle for many years after completing my treatment with a profound sense of uncertainty, though, it was very difficult. I had no trust or faith in a future, I could only live one day at a time,and in actuality, that is a very hard way to live. Living every day as your last is really a very difficult way to live. We are a future oriented society. <br />
<br />
You can guess my age, though. I was diagnosed at age 41 and am 13 years past diagnosis, so I think still deal with issues of mortality, we are, after all, mortal. Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-1814062669561383272013-08-16T16:11:00.000-05:002013-08-16T16:11:22.779-05:00KnowingI have a neighbor I am close to. She inspires me. She was like many women of the previous generation...dependent on husbands to make decisions, to lead, to pay the bills, to do the expressway driving etc. One day, 12 years ago, her husband died of a sudden heart attack. Totally unexpected. He had been her life, her protector, the person who managed her life. She wanted to die when he did as she didn't know how to live without him, how to live independently. <br />
<br />
But cool thing...she grew. She wanted to see her grand kids, but couldn't unless she drove on expressways. So she learned how to do that for the first time. She'd never used a computer, but bought one one day and asked me to set it up for her and show her how to use it..I did. She bought and learned how to use a genealogy program. Her husbands Italian family had been the focus of her married life...but now she wanted to know about HER family! In the end, she drove all over the country on expressways to meet distant relatives. She worked harvesting on a farm in the Dakotas with distant cousins. Spent months in California with newly discovered family. She wrote two genealogy books. She traveled alone to Russia and Germany to find more about her roots. Amazing. <br />
<br />
Today she called me. They've found a spot on her lung. They gave her antibiotics...maybe pneumonia? Though she had no symptoms of pneumonia. The antibiotics didn't help. Now a PET scan...she used to smoke but quit years ago (half of the people diagnosed with lung cancer are FORMER smokers). <br />
<br />
She now has the "scanxiety" we all know. She feels fine! She said maybe she doesn't want to know..she can just go on with her life feeling great like she does now (at 75) without tests! They want to do a biopsy...but why? She feels fine! Cancer patients feel sick, don't they? I told her when I'd been diagnosed with stage 4 terminal cancer I'd felt fine too. She should just get the tests so she knows what she's dealing with. Though we discussed if she would chose to have treatment if cancer was discovered?<br />
<br />
But I'll admit..nowadays I don't want to be tested either. If I feel fine, I don't want to get tests that might tell me otherwise. I don't get CT scans or tumor markers anymore, though maybe I should. I reluctantly go for my to frequent colonoscopies. I have one scheduled soon.<br />
<br />
When I am 75, will I get any tests? Would I want treatment if I found I had cancer? Something to think about. I had an 80+ year old uncle who was diagnosed with cancer..he died of the treatment, not the disease. When do we quit looking for problems? When is it better not to know than to know and treat?<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-69543980046534566562013-08-06T16:42:00.003-05:002013-08-06T16:42:33.952-05:00Heat it to Beat ItGoing to Baltimore again this year with my daughter for the Heat it to Beat It walk....always enjoy it and am looking forward to it again! If any of you will be there, please let me know so we can meet up! I will again have a booth for my organization, the Appendix Cancer Connection. I will be giving out free appendix cancer ribbons this year! I love meeting other appendix cancer survivors at the walk, and always love seeing and talking to Dr. Armando Sardi. <br />
<br />
Will try to post pictures when we get back! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-68583408133175511082013-07-30T22:27:00.001-05:002013-07-30T22:27:42.584-05:00Such a long time....I didn't realize it's been almost 9 months since I've posted! I used to try to post weekly, not sure what became of that. When I posted more frequently and occasionally went a month between posts, people used to worry I was sick, that my cancer had come back.<br />
<br />
I am doing well and am now 12 years cancer free, can you believe it? This year was a landmark, in a sense. For many years I had all of my cancer dates in my head...date of diagnosis, date of surgery, date I finished treatment. I always awaited the date of my surgery, as that is the date my surgeon told me I was initially cancer-free. So that date in my mind was always my annual survival date. I would never tell someone I was a five year survivor unless it was past my 5 year date..not even on the day before. Didn't want to jinx myself?<br />
<br />
Well, this year I actually forgot the date!! Was it May 12th or May 16th? Cancer for the first time wasn't in the forefront of my thoughts. My daughter's best friend sent me a congrats on your cancer anniversary text on the 16th.....turns out I had told her years ago and it happened to also be her birthday, so she remembered. But it was a relief not to be obsessed with the date anymore. But it took 12 years?<br />
<br />
And while I don't live in fear of my cancer returning anymore, cancer has still left me changed. I no longer feel safe in the way I did before cancer. After cancer we always feel a vulnerability that others don't. Before cancer I accepted I would one day die, but actually facing that reality puts a different spin on that knowledge. We still always know the bottom can drop out of our lives at any time and in a sense almost anticipate it now? Getting older doesn't help, either. Something about getting an often terminal disease that only affects one in 10 million kinda makes you feel the odds may not be in your favor?<br />
<br />
But I can now plan for a future....for many years I could not plan life past the next scheduled CT scan (I don't get scanned anymore). For years I could not make future plans or say the words "next year". Now I can. For years I only had agency or PRN (as needed) jobs with no commitment....now I teach at a college and have commitments to students and a 401K. I'm in school for a degree I won't obtain until 2015. I can't plan 10 or 20 years into the future, but maybe five? Definitely progress!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-7292137128876986382012-11-20T11:51:00.003-06:002012-11-20T11:51:59.137-06:00Loose Screws and Skinned Knees - Turning Life's Obstacles and Adversity Into Opportunities and Adventure<div class="parseasinTitle ">
I recently read a book on my new Kindle (didn't think I'd want to read books in an electronic format, but fell in love!), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Loose-Screws-Skinned-Knees-ebook/dp/B008QQ1RXE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353433203&sr=8-1&keywords=Loose+Screws+and+Skinned+Knees%3A+Turning+Lifes+Obstacles+and+Adversity+into+Opportunities+and+Adventure."><span id="btAsinTitle">Loose Screws and Skinned Knees - Turning Life's Obstacles and Adversity Into Opportunities and Adventure. </span></a></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<span id="btAsinTitle"><br /></span></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<span id="btAsinTitle">The book was very inspiring. It was written by Care Tuk, an 11-time cancer survivor. While she didn't have appendix cancer, she had several other cancers, including ovarian, which is similar to ours. This is the discription of her book posted on Amazon.com:</span></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<span id="btAsinTitle"><br /></span></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<span id="btAsinTitle">"</span>Obstacles and adversity are common to us all. But turning challenges
into opportunities and difficulties into adventures is the hallmark of a
powerful, fruitful, joyful life.</div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br />Like many, you probably won’t
believe the story of Care Tuk. Eleven separate bouts with cancer. Eleven
separate victories. A near-death car crash at the hands of a drunk
driver. A brain bleed that left her speechless and nearly immobile. Ravaged
by the painful side effects of DES (Diethylstilbestrol) – an
experimental drug intended to save her life – her body is held together
by bolts, screws, titanium plates, and 25-pound mono-filament fishing
line. You can’t find a more dramatic, heart-wrenching, raw, honest, and
inspiring story than that of Care. It is a story of hope, a message
of strength, and a tale of one amazing lady who overcame the odds and
found significance and meaning in it all."</div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br /></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
We all struggle with uncertainty after a cancer diagnosis, but can you imagine facing that many cancer diagnoses and still managing to live a full and productive life!? </div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br /></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
She also has a blog you can follow: <a href="http://www.carescorner.net/">Care's Corner</a><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br /></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br /></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
</div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br /></div>
<div class="parseasinTitle ">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-56397680026979405752012-11-07T15:14:00.000-06:002012-11-07T16:08:40.656-06:00Cameron Von St. James<div class="bio staff">
I am republishing this post from a wonderful blog written by Cameron Von St. James about his experience as the spouse of a cancer survivor. His wife, shortly after giving birth to their first child, was diagnosed with mesothelioma. She is now more than a 5 year survivor! She was treated by Dr. Sugarbaker. The link to his blog is: Cameron's Blog</div>
<div class="bio staff">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm">http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm</a></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="bio staff">
</div>
<div class="bio staff">
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">His wife, Heather Von St. James also has a great blog about her journey. Her latest post is about scanxiety...which we all experience: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/heather/ </span></div>
<div class="bio staff">
<h1>
Cameron Von St. James</h1>
Husband of Mesothelioma Survivor Heather Von St. James<br />
<a href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/bio.htm" rel="author">Read About Cameron »</a></div>
<div class="title">
<div class="datestamp clearfix">
<span class="year">2 0 1 2</span><span class="monthday"><span class="month">Jan</span><span class="day">26</span></span></div>
<h1>
The Other Side of The Equation; How I Coped With My Wife's Diagnosis</h1>
<div class="byline">
Posted by <span class="strong"><a href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/">Cameron Von St. James</a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_line addthis_details" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/SiteNavigationElement">
<a class="addthis_button_facebook at300b" href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm#" title="Facebook"><span class="at16nc at300bs at15nc at15t_facebook at16t_facebook"><span class="at_a11y">Share on facebook</span></span>Share</a> <a class="addthis_button_twitter at300b" href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm#" title="Tweet This"><span class="at16nc at300bs at15nc at15t_twitter at16t_twitter"><span class="at_a11y">Share on google_plusone</span></span>Tweet</a> <br />
<div class="makeright">
<a class="addthis_button_email at300b" href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm#" title="Email"><span class="at16nc at300bs at15nc at15t_email at16t_email"><span class="at_a11y">Share on email</span></span>Email</a> <a class="addthis_button_print at300b" href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm#" title="Print"><span class="at16nc at300bs at15nc at15t_print at16t_print"><span class="at_a11y">Share on print</span></span>Print</a> </div>
</div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<img alt="Cam and Lilly" class="floatright" src="http://www.mesothelioma.com/images/blog/posts/cam-lilly2.png" width="225" />My wife has often commented she can't imagine what I went through after her mesothelioma diagnosis. I have only really talked to her once about my experiences as a caregiver and with this I hope to share more.<br />
<h3>
A Shocking Diagnosis</h3>
Three months prior to her diagnosis we celebrated the birth of our first and only child; our daughter Lily. We went from a time of great joy and promise to a period of fear and uncertainty. I can remember the day the doctors said “<a href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/mesothelioma/">mesothelioma</a>” for the first time. I remember looking into my wife’s eyes as she was crying from the news thinking,<br />
<blockquote>
<b><i>"how are we ever going to get through this?"</i></b></blockquote>
<br />
I was feeling overwhelmed and on the verge of breaking down, when suddenly, the doctors questions about future medical choices brought me back to reality. That was the first of many days in which I would feel emotionally overwhelmed and still be required to make difficult life decisions with my wife.<br />
<h3>
Hardships & Sacrifices</h3>
Immediately following the diagnosis I was full of rage, anger and fear. At times, I was reduced to communicating with others by using only profanity. This included members of the Church and medical community. Fortunately, with time I was able to control my emotions a little bit better. I realized I had to be strong for my wife and daughter. They were depending on me. I had my moments, but I always tried to be strong when I was around my wife. I never wanted her to see my fears. I needed to be her rock, a source of optimism and stability. As with many things, this is easier said than done.<br />
<img alt="Cam & Lilly" class="floatleft" src="http://www.mesothelioma.com/images/blog/posts/cam-lilly.jpg" width="225" />Right after the diagnosis there were many days where I had an impossibly long to-do list. I had to deal with everything, from work and travel arrangements, to caring for our daughter and pets. At first I was overwhelmed but I quickly learned to prioritize and focus on the most important tasks. I also learned to accept the many offers of help we received from others. We were blessed to have so many people offer to help during this time. I am not sure what I would have done without all these wonderful people in our lives. However, even with all of the help, I still felt overcome with the responsibilities at times.<br />
There was a two-month period in particular that Heather can’t imagine what I went through. It was directly following her surgery in Boston. Heather had flown to South Dakota to spend time with her parents, recovering from the surgery and preparing for the next phase of treatment, chemotherapy and radiation. Our daughter was also staying with Heather’s parents while I was home, working and trying to keep our heads above water. During this time I only saw Heather and Lily once. <br />
<img alt="Heather & Cam" class="floatright" src="http://www.mesothelioma.com/images/blog/posts/heather-cam.jpg" width="250" />One Friday after work, I drove the 11 hours through the night, in the middle of a late season snowstorm to see them. I slept a few hours in the car, hoping the snowplows would have time to clear the roads. When I arrived Saturday morning I was exhausted. I spent the rest of Saturday and a little time on Sunday morning with them before hopping back in the car and driving the 11 hours back home to be at work Monday morning. <br />
<h3>
No Regrets</h3>
While it was extremely difficult for me to be away from my wife and daughter, I never look at this time as a loss. Instead, I realize it was the choice that made the most sense. There was no way I would have been able to take care of Lily and work at the same time. I don’t look back at this, or any of the other difficult choices we made with regret. I accept them as things we needed to do. The cancer diagnosis forced us to make many difficult choices, but I took comfort in the fact that we could still make choices.<br />
<b>If I learned anything during this difficult time it was to accept the offers of help from others, and to take comfort in the fact that having the ability make choices, although extremely challenging, was a way for us to maintain a level of control during a time of such uncertainty.</b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm#ixzz2BZSdGxY1" style="color: #003399;">http://www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/cameron/the-other-side-of-the-equation-how-i-coped-with-my-wifes-diagnosis.htm#ixzz2BZSdGxY1</a></div>
Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-79986867980195551852012-08-22T18:02:00.000-05:002012-08-22T18:02:53.610-05:00Heat It to Beat It 2012I am again going to Baltimore for the third Heat It To Beat It walk. It is a great event, and though new, has been amazingly successful. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised to fight abdominal cancers like ours that respond to cytoreduction surgery and intraperitoneal chemotherapy. I was almost in tears when I was there last year as I saw so many people who cared about helping us beat our cancer. It was so inspiring. <br />
<br />
I created an Appendix Cancer Connection team this year...if you want to meet us in Baltimore or support our walk, check out this link:<a href="http://www.heat-it.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1011762&lis=1&kntae1011762=E57D4F20E0564E8083A2F85406B5DBAC&team=5182018"> Appendix Cancer Connection Team</a><br />
<br />
I love that when I am there I get to meet some of you I have before only known via email! Hope to meet some of you there! I'll have a booth...and this year you can also meet my daughter, who will travel with me!Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-70838201024646924362012-07-02T17:07:00.002-05:002012-07-02T17:07:51.696-05:00Why Me?Funny....I never felt "why me" in regards to my cancer diagnosis. I had smoked for many years, ate fast food, didn't exercise sometimes. I had young children I needed to raise, but I was a nurse, I knew that never stopped cancer. And I've communicated with cancer patients who never smoked, never drank, who worked out every day and ate an organic vegetarian diet, and who asked "why me". But I didn't. Being a nurse in my situation had it's ups and downs. In a sense I knew too much when I was diagnosed. I could read the medical research (which didn't offer much hope). But I also knew how to look into clinical trials, to say no to my local oncologist and surgeon who wanted to treat me; I knew I needed a specialist, I knew I needed to see someone familiar with my disease.<br />
<br />
I've been advocating for appendix cancer patients now for several years, and I see so many unfair cases. The single mom with a handicapped child who lost her battle. A woman who became a good friend and saw a specialist and had HIPEC who lost her battle; her kids were 4 and 6 years old. Another mom lost her battle, she had 4 children, one only 18 months old. I've talked to moms who only wanted to live long enough that their children would remember them when they were gone...and who didn't make it.<br />
<br />
So my "why me", is why was I chosen to survive? I just hope I make a difference with my survival, and help others be where I am today.Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-89941318459575769732012-06-12T23:36:00.000-05:002012-06-12T23:40:38.758-05:00The Second "C"We all know the big C- cancer. But there is a second C those of use diagnosed all want, the second C word is Cure. It seems like a word now not often used in the cancer community. Though 11 years cancer-free, I am still considered "long term remission", still see an oncologist (thought only annually now). The "cure" word we want would mean we are forever done with cancer, don't need testing or oncology appointments, that we can move on with our lives and not feel vulnerable anymore. But we don't get that word now. We don't get the "second C". I thought of that as tonight I received an email from WebMD....don't remember how I got on their mailing list, but the topic of today's post was <a href="http://blogs.webmd.com/cancer/2012/06/am-i-cured-yet.html?ecd=wnl_nal_can_061212">"The Big Question: Am I Cured?</a>". <br />
<br />
I remember in my younger years, if someone survived cancer free for 5 years, they were considered "cured". But some cancers recur many years later- my aunt had a breast cancer recurrence 17 years after her initial diagnosis. After 17 years of being cancer-free, her cancer came back. Some renal cancer patients have recurrences up to 20 years later. So now, the medical providers are afraid to use the word "cure", though we so long to hear that word.<br />
<br />
<div id="e">
Also, the NCI cancer bulletin was also delivered to me today, it seems the anti-depressant drug Cymbalta can help treat some of the peripheral neuropathy that we get from chemotherapy drugs like FOLFOX. Read more here: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_510406850">Study Shows First Effective Drug for Cancer Patients with Peripheral Neuropathy</a></div>
<a href="http://www.cancer.gov/ncicancerbulletin/061212/page3#e"><br /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-13277497391879182562012-06-11T22:43:00.001-05:002012-06-15T18:35:38.140-05:00Cancer is fickle!Cancer. We all fear it. When diagnosed, we all change our life perspectives and learn to live with uncertainty.<br />
<br />
I'd have been grateful to only have breast cancer after being diagnosed with signet ring appendix cancer and learning of the survival stats. Funny, I've developed a menu of "good" and "bad" cancers. The best cancer to have in my book is basal cell skin cancer...almost never spreads, no chemo, remove it and you are done. A complete cure. I think thyroid cancer comes next. Surgery, no chemo, usually also a complete cure, though you have to take thyroid meds (which I do anyway). Prostate is also up there...sometimes without treatment it grows so slowly you'll die of something else before it gets you. But me, I had a terminal diagnosis and an aggressive cancer and am cancer-free 11 years later. My sister-in-law, who got diagnosed with breast cancer, now three years later has an untreatable recurrence. Dan Fogelburg died of prostate cancer at age 57. I've always felt if I got diagnosed with breast cancer tomorrow it wouldn't be a big deal, highly curable, a lot less surgery and chemo than I had. My daughter once told me, wouldn't it be ironic if I died of breast cancer after surviving appendiceal, though?<br />
<br />
But sometimes the "good" cancers have a bad outcome and the bad cancers have a good outcome. In my travels of the cancer world, I've met a long-term pancreatic cancer survivor, a long-term lung cancer survivor....both who had my same statistics. <br />
<br />
Who knows...cancer is so fickle. There is no fairness.Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-65317869600559329312012-05-17T00:04:00.001-05:002012-05-17T00:04:48.663-05:00Yet one more landmark!Today I am an 11 year cancer-free survivor! No one has yet used the "cure"word, I am still in "long-term remission". The anniversary date for me is a personal one...I don't think anyone else in my family remembers the exact date,so for me it's a personal celebration. Funny how those of us with a cancer diagnose remember exact dates forever. I was diagnosed March 29,2001. I had my cytoreduction surgery May 16, 2001. I finished chemo January 22,2002. <br />
<br />
We all live with uncertainty after a cancer diagnosis. Though I am 11 years cancer-free, I still live with some uncertainty. I still don' t take tomorrow for granted,which is both a good and bad thing. There is security in assuming a future, especially a long one. We all wannt to believe we will live to be 90 and will die peacefuly in our sleep. But most of us after a cancer diagnosis can't assume that. It's just a dream.<br />
<br />
But I've come a long way. After my diagnosis I couldn' t say the words "next year" for several years, as I didn't feel I could take another year for granted. But now I'm in school, I have a three year committment to a degree. I couldn't have made that kind of a comittment a few years ago. Progress after cancer, in a sense! I'm sure we all measure progess differently.Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-74958597889958764322012-05-06T11:06:00.002-05:002012-05-06T11:06:34.108-05:00Another landmark!!Yesterday I attended my eldest daughter's college graduation. Another gift! I was given a terminal diagnosis when she was 11 and wanted so much to live to see her graduate from high school...now I've seen her graduate from college! Amazing!<br />
<br />
Sorry I haven't posted much here lately. My web site is finally back up, but the carolyn@appendix-cancer.com email is not yet working. If you need to email me, instead use clanglielesnik@gmail.com. Thanks!<br />
<br />
<br />Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-79916085712157213582012-02-27T20:47:00.000-06:002012-02-27T20:47:49.866-06:00YIKES!!!I just realized my website is down!! Apparently I failed to renew my domain, and now I am having trouble accessing the domain vendor to try to renew it. If I access it, I'm going to renew the domain for 10 years so I don't have to deal with this again! It explains why recently I have received no emails from newly diagnosed appendix cancer patients. I thought it was just a lull....no, my domain email doesn't work either. I'm so sorry to any of you who have tried to contact me. In the meantime, if you need to contact me, you can email me at clanglielesnik@gmail.com. I'm working on trying to get the site back up and the email working.<br />
<br />
Also, I was recently in the hospital, not cancer related, but had a close call and again am glad to be alive. I am fine now, and am leaving tomorrow with my husband to go on a 2 week Hawaiian cruise to celebrate our 25th anniversary. Yet another landmark I get to celebrate...we'd been married 15 years when I was given a terminal diagnosis.Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-54961078855561883142012-02-06T16:14:00.000-06:002012-02-06T16:14:24.218-06:00Sorry!If you've emailed me and I have not replied, it's because my email program crashed. Will reply as soon as I can! I know several have requested PROGRESS questionaires, I will get them to you as soon as I can!Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-53271413206902063902011-12-22T15:08:00.003-06:002011-12-22T15:34:50.947-06:00Back Again!Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted! I've had a really tough semester at school. I am attending two universities, Purdue University for my masters degree as a Clinical Nurse Specialist and Loyola University Chicago for a Graduate Certificate in Oncology. Loyola is a very tough school (lowest B 86%, lowest A 94%). I love my Loyola classes the best as though they are very tough (lots of microbiology, biochemistry etc.), they are all cancer related and I am learning so much. So far I've gotten all As in my Loyola classes (though one was an A-). I am very proud of that. This semester I paired very difficult classes at both universities (I usually try not to do that!). I was in way over my head and have been very stressed out for awhile!! But finally.......this semester is over. I am so grateful to be done. After this semester I'm cutting back on my classes for future semesters. I won't do this to myself again!<br />
<br />
At any rate, I've usually tried to post here once every week or two, and it's been 2 months! I am so sorry! I've still communicated with many newly diagnosed appendix cancer patients over the semester....one diagnosed at only 28 years old just months after giving birth to her first child. My heart truly goes out to her. Luckily, she got to a specialist and had HIPEC surgery, I am praying she does well. I want everyone to do well.<br />
<br />
Another newly diagnosed patient was upset that her doctor admitted he knew little about appendix cancer and it's treatment, so immediately referred her to a HIPEC specialist. I told her she had an excellent doctor. Most know little about appendix cancer (I'm sure little to no time is spent on the subject in med school, or nursing school....when we covered GI cancers at Loyola, no mention was made of appendix cancer). The best doctors are the ones who discover our cancer, are willing to admit they know little about it and send us to one of the few experts who DOES know how to treat us! For what it's worth, one of my Loyola projects was to teach a subject to my class....I did appendiceal and other abdominal cancers, peritoneal carcinomatosis. I was able to make many nurses aware of cytoreduction surgery and HIPEC for our cancers.<br />
<br />
For those of you willing to help, we still need more patients to participate in the PROGRESS initiative I am working on in conjunction with Dr. Esquivel and the American Society for Peritoneal Surface Malignancies (I have kept up with that this semester too!). If you've had or will have HIPEC surgery and would like to help, email me at carolyn@appendix-cancer.com for more information, and thank you in advance!<br />
<br />
I guess what I want to talk about is what I am learning at Loyola. Personalized cancer treatment and molecular therapeutic targets are where cancer care is going. One day soon chemotherapy may be a thing of the past. All cancer is genetic. Only a tiny amount of cancer is inherited, most is caused by genetic mutations we pick up as we live our lives. As it turns out, two people with the same cancer (ovarian, colon, appendix) can have very different genetic mutations of their tumors. I don't know if you are familiar with HER2 positive breast cancer (very responsive to the new targeted drug Herceptin), but it turns out a certain percentage of stomach and colon cancers are also HER2 positive. HER2 positive stomach cancer now has FDA approval for treatment with the breast cancer drug Herceptin, though for some unknown reason HER2 positive colon cancer does not respond to Herceptin. They are starting to identify enzymes in the blood related to genetic mutations that cause cells to uncontrollably reproduce (cancer) and are finding ways to block these enzymes with new drugs (pills and not IV chemo) that can stop certain cancers....an example is the pill Gleevec given to those with a form of leukemia. Gleevec can cause a prolonged remission from the disease by blocking an enzyme. These drugs only affect the cancer, unlike chemo drugs that kill<b> all</b> rapidly dividing cells (good and bad, like our hair cells and cells of our GI tract, so also cause baldness, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting). Gleevec is an example of a targeted therapy...it targets the one abnormality that causes the particular cancer. 10% of those with a usually fatal lung cancer have a genetic mutation that responds to another new drug, Tarceva. Tarceva is a pill, not IV chemo. I went to a research presentation and an oncologist showed us a patient's chest X-ray, many tumors, advanced lung cancer. He had the specific genetic mutation that made him a candidate for Tarceva. He showed us another chest X-ray from that patient taken just weeks after he was on Tarceva. No tumors at all, and he has been tumor free for 5 years while on the drug.<br />
<br />
It takes many years (about 15, if I remember right) and billions of dollars to develop just one of these new drugs, so it may be awhile before we see many of them. Many are in development. Developing these drugs also depends on patients willing to participate in clinical trials. But wouldn't it be great if chemotherapy and sitting for hours in infusion centers became a thing of the past? Maybe one day.....<br />
<br />
This is a link to an NCI site about targeted cancer treatments: <a href="http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Therapy/targeted">Targeted Cancer Therapies</a>.<br />
<br />
Promise to be back soon!Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-92207200382974971012011-10-21T22:03:00.001-05:002011-10-21T22:04:18.067-05:00Heat it to Beat ItGot notice that over 700 attended this years Heat It To Beat It walk in Maryland, and over $114,000 dollars were raised for research! It's only the second annual walk and was SO successful! The money will all go to research. I hope those of you who read this blog can attend next year, I'd love to meet you!Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-14384368143274155972011-09-20T17:23:00.001-05:002011-09-20T17:26:08.602-05:00Heat it to Beat It 2011!!!I just returned from Baltimore. Was a great trip. I met several appendix cancer survivors, some of a year or less, others longer term survivors.<br />
<br />
Sunday was the day of the walk, and I was SO inspired. I don't know the exact numbers yet, but I think 800-900 attended. The walk was SO well done. It's a beautiful walk in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The walk offered DJ assisted dancing before and after the walk, an exercise coach led before-walk warm up exercises, there was plenty of bottled water and snacks for the walkers, and an opening talk by Dr. Sardi . I was called to the stage by him and had handed a microphone. Had to do an impromptu short speech! Caught me off-gaurd, but I was glad to do it! I had a booth for the Appendix Cancer Connection, and the PMP Research Foundation and PMP Pals were represented at the walk also.<br />
<br />
Here are some pictures! <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKecReP1vxrpC89140AavBquprFlc77JDsokQfHpzaJpFPlr8IaphBNvNEbVQvLUnGpb77KVUKnWcseWgz-rN0qvpQ_w6Y2q6XFYChqZmuGFtDV75Le1DtqCFR6hUGQWh1c2wYgJWXh8m/s1600/Baltimore+2011+023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKecReP1vxrpC89140AavBquprFlc77JDsokQfHpzaJpFPlr8IaphBNvNEbVQvLUnGpb77KVUKnWcseWgz-rN0qvpQ_w6Y2q6XFYChqZmuGFtDV75Le1DtqCFR6hUGQWh1c2wYgJWXh8m/s320/Baltimore+2011+023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Registration before the walk....lots of people!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_36iIeiw9nNRC9RtghOiK_udG6JCtLd3dcyElk9IL0WOscNm4vmdq-pj4tgPLL74gykC7dKt-nGiQ-pdpFhbf81dJLaAE33oYfpvtqQ9vgM40XWoSIViG_2_M16Ns9yY5ozJvS0WWqXB/s1600/Baltimore+2011+030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN_36iIeiw9nNRC9RtghOiK_udG6JCtLd3dcyElk9IL0WOscNm4vmdq-pj4tgPLL74gykC7dKt-nGiQ-pdpFhbf81dJLaAE33oYfpvtqQ9vgM40XWoSIViG_2_M16Ns9yY5ozJvS0WWqXB/s320/Baltimore+2011+030.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Pre-walk warm up exercises!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8EU01nt5LQvBKo8nyuDgFvg2YRNzNTbVdegT5UWj4oquayWFe_l0VO627jqhbUI5J1XAvJMt7e739FheAutfZxbVXkFtZsEuR9YLciLzMqoHgWIZ7_rj8Yd5_yyrwRtYUSQqEJo3UtrJ/s1600/Baltimore+2011+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu8EU01nt5LQvBKo8nyuDgFvg2YRNzNTbVdegT5UWj4oquayWFe_l0VO627jqhbUI5J1XAvJMt7e739FheAutfZxbVXkFtZsEuR9YLciLzMqoHgWIZ7_rj8Yd5_yyrwRtYUSQqEJo3UtrJ/s320/Baltimore+2011+034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Dr. Armando Sardi welcomes the crowd.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMJFrI-Ky_ZFD4d3-56iX0RQNgfD6IQPs9Ae4bK2XjP6PmnZXpTlPbqCbutjCd2Bk9QdXHF34DU2lgiE5_uFKUTc3RH8eZCyxg6E_yng834vWa-1UKnrcwHaEas5qDcnpDUebK07RA1O6/s1600/Baltimore+2011+042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUMJFrI-Ky_ZFD4d3-56iX0RQNgfD6IQPs9Ae4bK2XjP6PmnZXpTlPbqCbutjCd2Bk9QdXHF34DU2lgiE5_uFKUTc3RH8eZCyxg6E_yng834vWa-1UKnrcwHaEas5qDcnpDUebK07RA1O6/s320/Baltimore+2011+042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The walk begins!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDPUd999FwN9ErINXK2xTI5gLnFrPSMFv1HKH8RRELywL1s7vKWjznY6OSe41ilx0rwuGHPwFTprU8Y_YLyQz9w8pi0dBioswO_XDx-iLFixECHBXOfk4-N_uPbvtgVdKa0ZcT5byT4QA/s1600/Baltimore+2011+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIn0kNwDQPz5iKsvK55z8XxKb4nSPwDqOstpcFk6-gYKiTeSe0zjgpYtEbaTZgCnaK7XisowSRZecKgp6gDa-E9XN59SjLVIRFmyRlLon4k9tYXFIhWfcXcDH-ijW-2bbkTPqmtHMjlnTo/s1600/Baltimore+2011+051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIn0kNwDQPz5iKsvK55z8XxKb4nSPwDqOstpcFk6-gYKiTeSe0zjgpYtEbaTZgCnaK7XisowSRZecKgp6gDa-E9XN59SjLVIRFmyRlLon4k9tYXFIhWfcXcDH-ijW-2bbkTPqmtHMjlnTo/s320/Baltimore+2011+051.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The walk continues!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitDPUd999FwN9ErINXK2xTI5gLnFrPSMFv1HKH8RRELywL1s7vKWjznY6OSe41ilx0rwuGHPwFTprU8Y_YLyQz9w8pi0dBioswO_XDx-iLFixECHBXOfk4-N_uPbvtgVdKa0ZcT5byT4QA/s320/Baltimore+2011+018.JPG" width="320" />Post walk dancing complete with DJ!!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoucpGMU57VNHzWSqVo25Y52BXM5cDLiCLiP4LBKmKlrOznr4GB6Q7Nn7t10yhNMPki-7Mwitr3CjkpM96nbyWymO_Qp_yXHM1VuUygflKS8_3SgOfwUbZ1JnmwrfE5fkAt1NtUFYbIeDu/s1600/Baltimore+2011+058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoucpGMU57VNHzWSqVo25Y52BXM5cDLiCLiP4LBKmKlrOznr4GB6Q7Nn7t10yhNMPki-7Mwitr3CjkpM96nbyWymO_Qp_yXHM1VuUygflKS8_3SgOfwUbZ1JnmwrfE5fkAt1NtUFYbIeDu/s320/Baltimore+2011+058.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> B&W photo of me and Dr. Sardi!<br />
<br />
The walk was terrific! I hope you are able to come next year....like me, you will be inspired!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-83280252198524798812011-09-17T21:28:00.000-05:002011-09-17T21:28:35.888-05:00In Baltimore!!I'm in Baltimore for the 2nd annual Heat it to Beat It walk! I'm getting better at knowing where I'm going and using the light rail, a commuter train. The walk is held in the center of Baltimore, the Inner Harbor, but hotels there are very expensive, so I stay near the airport in a nice hotel that is 1/4-1/5 of the cost of an Inner Harbor hotel ad use public transportation to commute. Only $3.50 buys you an all day pass to use all of the trains and buses...can't beat that ($40-$50 one way commute to the harbor via cab). After walking miles downtown today, I attended a very nice and well-attended reception for the walk at Mercy Medical Center tonight. I got to meet some other great survivors! One is an 11 year survivor. She also initially received a terminal diagnosis, and after her first HIPEC surgery it recurred three years later...and she received a second terminal diagnosis. She had a second HIPEC surgery 7 years ago and has since been cancer-free. The walk is tomorrow, and so far 671 signed up prior on-line, more signed up tonight at the reception. Will let you know the grand total when I know! I will post pictures of the walk when I return home (forgot my card reader). Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-27294841245020097012011-09-08T20:40:00.000-05:002011-09-08T20:40:31.501-05:00Sept. 11, 2011We are approaching the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. I read that there may be terrorist attacks planned for the anniversary, possibly car bombs in DC and NYC. It made me worry, made me feel sad. I remember how depressed I felt after the Sept. 11th attacks. I was supposed to be in NYC on Sept. 11, 2001, but instead went there Sept. 5th and 6th. I saw the Twin Towers and took pictures of them just days before they went down. I was there again sortly after and visited Ground Zero. We lost 3000 Americans that day. The whole country was saddened.<br />
<br />
But I think now....I've been in the cancer community for 10 years. We lose 500,000 Americans a year to cancer. The same as losing 3000 Americans every other day, but we don't feel the shock and sadness at that statistic as we did the Sept. 11th statistic. Cancer terrorizes us too. It is a much bigger enemy. I think of the saying, "one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic", and it really is true. It's how our minds work. <br />
<br />
I looked it up once, we spend a fraction of the money on cancer research as we do on fighting terrorism. Makes no sense....Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4377218771506051065.post-73053686620800477852011-09-03T18:37:00.002-05:002011-09-03T19:28:06.014-05:00My Apple TreeDon't know if I'm being sappy or indulgent or sentimental here, but please bear with me!<br />
<br />
Before my cancer diagnosis, I bought an apple tree. We'd had a large above ground pool in our backyard, which we'd removed, and I wanted TREES in our back yard to fill the space. I thought a fruit tree would be nice, so bought a self-pollinating green apple tree. After a few years, it actually had lots of apples, and they were the best apples I'd ever tasted. One year, just after my cancer diagnosis, I notices we had a worm problem with the apples, so I decided to spray the tree with insecticide. A few days after I sprayed it, the leaves started dying, and I realized my mistake...I'd sprayed it with herbicide instead of insecticide. Soon branches started dying. I pruned the tree many times hoping that when I removed the dead wood, enough of it would survive to keep the tree alive. As I did that, I felt I was "debulking" it, much like my own cytoreduction surgery. In the end, all of the branches died, and I had only a dead trunk. I cut down the trunk, I'd killed my apple tree. It was gone.<br />
<br />
But the next spring, a small shoot appeared where the dead trunk had been. The tiny leaves looked a bit like my old apple trees leaves, so I tried to nurture it. The next year the leaves came back again. Over the next several years, I nurtured the small plant, and it grew to a small tree. No blossoms, no apples, but I kept nurturing it anyway. I wasn't sure if it was a tree or a big weed, but I kept it.<br />
<br />
This year, my tenth anniversary cancer-free, my tree bloomed...and it has apples again! I picked one, and it tasted GREAT! <br />
<br />
My apple tree now reminds me that when all hope seems gone, just a small bit of hope can grow. It can become whole, be fruitful. That even after devastatingly hard times we can be reborn.<br />
<br />
As a side note, I looked at my apple tree today, and many apples were gone, there were only three remaining. Balanced on my fence-top was a half-eaten apple. We have raccoons and squirrels in my yard, and they never cared about the apples before, but now my apple tree seems popular!! But I don't mind.....I think hope is something to share. As long as they leave me a few....<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN BSN MSNhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16809251183587926473noreply@blogger.com1