RGB - A Role Model of Hope

 

Every cancer is different. But as a cancer survivor, I know the thing we all have in common is to never give up hope no matter what. Never go down the dark path of doom. Never make a diagnosis until you have all the puzzle pieces, until you have talked to all the doctors on your team that know cancer -- know it intimately, know it across googles of cancer clients. Get all the pieces, make a plan, keep hope. 

For this path of hope, having cancer sisters and cancer brothers along the path helps so much. It does what the doctor treatments do not -- it feeds the soul, it speaks to our humanity, it provides a place of privilege versus a place of oppression. From my cancer sister Sue Beam, I learned from her that there never is a dumb question, a limit of questions, a limit of sources to examine or types of sources to examine. I was lucky to have her as my advocate who attended my oncology consults -- her MD training as a neurologist never made me feel insignificant in any of my questions, comments, fears, or places of hope. She was a source of humanity.

I look to her and to all my cancer sister and brothers for sources of this humanity. For this post, I want to focus on Ruth Bader Ginsburg, my cancer sister and a woman of courage and hope.

* Ruth Bader Ginsburg got colon cancer in 1999 (deadly - high morbidity rate).

* RGB then got pancreatic cancer in 2009 (again, along the deadliest cancers)

* RGB had lung cancer and broken ribs in 2018; treatment led to cancer free diagnosis

* RGB in September 2020 had pancreatic cancer return. She died of these complications of pancreatic cancer, just shyly missing the new Supreme Court appointment.

She was 87 and worked full time that whole time -- and with that first ten years of cancer, taking care of her husband with his cancer metastasis. He got cancer in 1956 and his returned -- he died 2010, 54 years later after his cancer. I'm 54 -- he lived my amount of years alive. Again, everyone's cancer trail is different, but what remains the same whether we get an extra day, year, decade or more -- always keep ones eyes on hope.

Radiation and Chemo -- What I learned

The details of a person's cancer is unique to each person. In that cancer trail, one might need radiation or chemo or both. There are other options, but for this post I will focus on radiation and chemotherapy.

1. If there is a planned surgery, doctors think there is hope for longer term survival. They would not have a compromised, weak person who only has two months to live through surgery. Surgery is not easy.

2. If there is a planned oncology team, doctors think there is hope for treatment or hope for palliative care to keep a person comfortable when treatment is not an option.

3. Radiation means they know where the cancer is -- there is no guess work, they can attack it directly.

4. Radiation treatments are typically outpatient treatments. They last between 10-30 minutes each. 

5.  Chemotherapy IV sessions where one goes to the hospital for roughly 6-8 hours a session are completed for cancer that is living in the body somewhere we don't know so let's kill everything. Each person has a different 'cocktail' of chemotherapy types in the IV bag that slowly drips into the bloodstream. As little as one or more bags can be used in that session depending on the cancer type, guess of location, intensity of the medication and how fast or slow it needs to be delivered. This also is typically an outpatient treatment.

6. Chemo pills are administered also as a more targeted approach

Whether it is the traditional IV approach or pill approach with chemotherapy, the oncologist is the one to determine dosing types, amounts, and numbers of sessions. Sometimes it is one oncologist who specializes in one type of cancer; sometimes it is more than one who specialize in other regions.

If an area is not treated with radiation or chemotherapy, it is due to size, location, whether treatments for one area of the body might also shrink that other cancer. My sister-in-law had a caner in her brain that was mostly removed; however they needed to leave some behind due to location. She has been living with that remainder cancer for the past 15 years. Another friend had a smaller tumor of cancer that shrunk with treatments to another area. And numerous breast cancer sisters with metastatic cancer had combinations.

The doctors on ones team will inform the patient -- hopefully with all questions addressed. Sometimes one needs to be the advocate and ask more questions until they know enough. There is no rule of thumb. It is unique to each person. In my case, I was fortunate to have an advocate attend sessions with me who was a breast cancer sister who was also a neurologist. I learned from her there is no dumb question, there is no limit of questions, and sharing of information is helpful for all of us.

additional sources to visit:

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/radiation-therapy/about/pac-20385162

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24323-chemotherapy-drugs

https://www.healthline.com/health/cancer/oral-chemotherapy

Look Good Feel Good

When you feel horrible on the inside, sometimes feeling better on the outside does help. This is the goal of this program, which I found uplifting. Imagine a bunch of us bald women doing each other's makeup with the help of an expert coach. That's what this was -- it was more than the makeup. It was that human connection.

 

http://lookgoodfeelbetter.org/program-finder-results?city=&state=&zip=90815

Call


http://www.breastcancerfund.org/reduce-your-risk/tips/choose-safe-cosmetics/