Skip to main content

Preparation

I am lucky to have some time to prepare, physically, emotionally and spiritually for the journey ahead.

And being the "academic" that I am, I'm doing research and gathering resources.

Thanks to my friend Kristine who directed me to Belleruth Naparstek, of Health Journeys. Her A Meditation to Help You with Radiation Therapy is on the way to my home as I write this. I love Belleruth's voice; her A Meditation to Help You with Helpful Sleep has put me to sleep (in a good way!) many, many nights.

And then there's osteoporosis. Now my dear sister has osteoporosis of the spine. Is it connected to radiation? Maybe, maybe not. After all, we are in our 60's. I've been putting off my bone density test but I'll be making that appointment so I have one before I start radiation.

What else? Yoga. I read this article in yesterday's New York Times: Chair Yoga for My Funny Bones which led me to this article: Yoga for Osteoporosis: A Pilot Study by Dr Loren Fishman which led me to his book Yoga for Osteoporosis which is now in my shopping cart at Amazon and on hold at the Ossining Library.

Which also led me to do yoga this morning, something I used to do fairly regularly but have been more "off again on again" over the past year or so.  It has been just about 16 years since I bought my first yoga mat and started using Rodney Yee's AM/PM Yoga for Beginners.  Rodney Yee does the AM yoga and Patricia Walden does the PM yoga. I've done the AM yoga so many times that I can almost recite the script by heart.

Turns out that many of the poses that Yee has on his AM yoga are the same poses that Fishman used in his study. And while it's not chair yoga, the yoga that Susan Gubar talked about in her article about her funny bones, it is, well, yoga yoga. And if it helps my "funny bones" recover from radiation, or prepares them for it, so much the better.

By the way, Susan Gubar talks about alternatives to Fosamax: "Dr. Guise … recommended Prolia, a twice-a-year injection to help fight osteoporosis, instead of the oral drugs available." Something for those of us dealing with osteopenia/osteoporosis might find useful.

 Oh, and if you are finding any of the stuff that I'm learning helpful, and/or if you wish to share this blog with friends, please feel free. The blog itself is "hidden" from Google searches, unlike other blogs that I write, because, well, just because.

 But if anyone can use what I'm learning, then, as the Buddhist's say, "May this be for the benefit of all."

 More about preparation later this week. Onward, as my s/hero Elizabeth Gilbert likes to say.

Comments

  1. Debbie AmoreseAugust 13, 2017 at 9:26 PM

    Hi Connie. Thank you for sharing your journey in this virtual, yet intimate way.
    I have absolute faith you will come out of this 100% healthy, but in the meantime, the road ahead probably seems daunting at times, and until you can begin to "get to the other side of this", I just wanted to share a few thoughts from my own experience. First of all - Yoga. I found it really helpful while I was waiting for my surgery to happen - I also had quite a wait - and those little gremlin thoughts in the middle of the night (and day) can really get to you. Yoga was very helpful in that, for that hour, I felt in control of my body and totally "in the present" in both my body and my mind. Secondly, I found it helpful to manage my thoughts into time periods. As in..."this time next year i will be totally healthy and looking forward to my next big bucket-list adventure". Or, ""in 2 months most if not all of this cancer will be out of my body". And finally, I wish I had eaten more delicious things before the surgery because it may be a while before you will totally enjoy them after surgery (but you definitely will!). Anyway - just a few thoughts my friend.
    Love Debbie
    PS for whats it's worth, you looked terrific in church today...loved the pants and the hat!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ConnieAugust 13, 2017 at 9:34 PM

      Thanks so much for this, Debbie, and especially for your love and support. I have done yoga for many years but this experience is reinforcing my commitment to practice every day. I love the reminder to manage my thoughts into time periods. I liked what you said to me this morning--that Anne and I should plan a big trip for next summer. That's a good idea.
      And thanks for noticing my outfit--I had fun dressing for church this morning.

      Delete
    2. UnknownAugust 22, 2017 at 8:54 PM

      Debbie is absolutely correct. Eat whatever you crave now because it may be awhile before it appeals to you again. Currently my favorite food is ice cream. You can see what happened to Anne's appetite with her surgery. So, have that piece of pie or that ice cream sundae or that glass of wine. And enjoy every bite and sip. Yummmmm

      Delete
    3. ConnieAugust 23, 2017 at 9:40 AM

      I will!!! And thanks to you both.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"The Waiting is the Hardest Part" RIP Tom Petty

Okay, so I used that as a title in August-who knew that Tom Petty, a man younger than me (who apparently didn't know the rules: people younger than I am aren't supposed to die!) would die ! And actually, at this point, waiting isn't the hardest part. Healing is the hardest part. Every day I feel a little bit stronger, just enough to be dangerous. I'm almost "back to normal" and I just want to resume my "normal" life. As if life can ever be normal once you've learned that you have cancer. I'm still very sore but most of the bruising of the left breast is gone; the right breast is having a harder time of it. My sister drove from PA to spend the day with Anne and me yesterday. It was a wonderful visit.  I had a chance to ask her all the questions I had about radiation. She looks good and is feeling better, so that's encouraging. We had a great lunch at 105Ten in Briarcliff Manor. (Clever name, right? A take-off on the zip code). T...
6 comments
Read more

I feel like I was stepped on by an elephant

who kicked me in the sternum on his way out. Other than that, I'm fine! Seriously, I'm basically tired. I thought I was tired on Saturday, I had no idea what tired even means!! I slept nearly all day Sunday. But the good news is that I'm off the Tylenol and codeine. Tylenol alone is enough to deal with the pain. And I've been able to shower each day and wash my hair, which at least makes me feel somewhat human. Oh, and to add to the fun, I have some kind of rash (Anne thinks it's poison ivy, I think it isn't but I don't know what it is) that itches like mad. Me with pillow and bear And I have enough concentration to read- Glass Houses by Louise Penny. I'm enjoying it immensely. Maybe in a few days I can read The Thinking Woman's Guide to Breast Cance r -- just not now. I am so lucky--friends have dropped off food, delivered a beautiful stuffed bear (thank you Matt and Suzanne!!), sent cards, called and basically "been there....
6 comments
Read more

Cancer...there I've said it.

I had a bone density test this morning. When I registered I was given a "profile" form to complete. I was going along, happily checking "yes" and "no" until I came to a list of things you could have, and I had to check "cancer." And when the technician asked me if there had been any medical changes since my last bone density test, I said yes, I have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Saying it out loud makes it real. My sister Gini told me how hard it was to go to the "cancer center" every day for her treatments, and she posted that she was " processing the fact that the word cancer is part of my life now and forever." I now know exactly what she means.
4 comments
Read more