Category Archives: Health

Cancer Awareness | Breast, Prostate, Skin, Colon, but Where is Lung?

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I want to let you know upfront that I am about to express my strong opinion in this post. If you are easily offended or quick to send a defensive retort, then it’s probably best that you close this page now and don’t look back.

Breast cancer awareness dominates the airways. Public Service Announcements abound. Races for the cure happen all over the place. It is the #1 cancer found in women. There are even PSAs for Prostate cancer – the #1 cancer found in men. I’ve seen and heard spots on colon (colorectal) and even skin cancer. However there is very little going on to raise awareness of lung cancer, which is the #2 cancer found in both men and women. I want to see this killer get equal face time right up there with breast cancer. Pink, pink, pink – I see pink ribbons, shirts, and hats all over the place. I have family members who’ve battled this and, fortunately, have won! There are many more with lung cancer that don’t win their battles, though.

Early detection is a huge reason for breast cancer survival, and we are reminded all the time how important breast self exams (BSEs) are in early detection. We need to support such research for early detection of lung cancer. Detection at earlier stages greatly increases the chances or survival or, at the very least, to survive longer than a year or less as is often the case with late-stage detection. My dad lived only five months after detection, and he had a lot of “what if” and “should have” thoughts.

Even before detection needs to be a thought in your head, prevention is more important! For those who don’t have time or wouldn’t give a thought to clicking that link, here’s some interesting information from that page:

When Smokers Quit – What Are the Benefits Over Time?

20 minutes after quitting: Your heart rate and blood pressure drops.

12 hours after quitting: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal.

2 weeks to 3 months after quitting: Your circulation improves and your lung function increases.

1 to 9 months after quitting: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) regain normal function in the lungs, increasing the ability to handle mucus, clean the lungs, and reduce the risk of infection.

1 year after quitting: The excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a smoker’s.

5 years after quitting: Your stroke risk is reduced to that of a nonsmoker 5 to 15 years after quitting.

10 years after quitting: The lung cancer death rate is about half that of a continuing smoker’s. The risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, cervix, and pancreas decrease.

15 years after quitting: The risk of coronary heart disease is that of a nonsmoker’s.

~ from American Cancer Society

I smoked on and off (more on than off) for a total of about 13 years. I quit cold turkey when I was 27 (that’s 17 years ago). Even before I started smoking, I had been exposed to second-hand smoke my entire life. That’s more than half my life so far exposed to smoke daily. {Please note that I am not trying to make anyone feel badly here.} So hopefully, everything in that list above now applies to me! If you’re in your 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, don’t think it’s too late to make any difference. Don’t think that if you’ve made it this long, you may as well die enjoying your death sticks. As early as one month after quitting, you can feel a big difference and have more energy. That alone would be worth it to me!

Why not add yet another tax to packs of cigarettes (1$ per pack) that is designated to fund lung cancer research? I like that idea! Do you want to see something interesting? I’m going to show you anyway! I found a breakdown of the price of cigarettes by state. The average price, all states considered, is $5.51 per pack. Smokers in New York pay $8.97 per pack! :O That is freakin’ INSANE! Think about it… if the average smoker smokes one pack per day, that’s about $270 per month! On average, using the same numbers, smokers are spending about $165 every month (that’s damn near $2000 per year) to smoke one pack per day. Why?! I just don’t get it! You can’t tell me, “You’re not a smoker; you don’t know.” I was a smoker; I do know! When I smoked, I thought it was relaxing. At the same time, if I smoked too much, I felt jittery. Contradiction!

OK – That’s all I have time for. It wasn’t as strong as I thought it would be so let me add a strong statement to close the post. How dare you smokers who feel it’s your right in this “free” country to smoke in restaurants and expose non-smokers to the carcinogens you are placing in the air we breathe! Just as we don’t understand why you continue to smoke knowing the risks (and a great number of you have seen the results first hand), you don’t understand how sad it makes us to be reminded of loved ones lost to this terrible killer every time we smell your smoke. Have a heart and show compassion before getting defensive.

Stepping off soapbox … for now.


Arbonne® Essentials 7-Day Body Cleanse

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OK, so here’s the embarrassing truth. I’m doing this 7-day cleanse using Arbonne® Essentials 7-Day Body Cleanse. I’m on day four. You don’t have to fast while using the supplement, but it’s recommended that you forgo caffeine and sweets. I’m still drinking my morning java, and I do partake of a few sweet morsels, but I am watching it and am eating more fresh fruits and veggies, watching portion sizes, and eating three meals plus two healthy snacks in between each day. I would give you a link detailed information but, sadly, there is none – not even on Arbonne’s site. That’s disappointing.

The box comes with seven one-ounce bottles of liquid supplement that they suggest adding to 32 ounces of water at the start of your day to drink throughout the day, shaking before each drink. I don’t have a 32-ounce shakable water bottle, so I just add half the bottle to a 20 ounce glass of ice water twice throughout the day and stir before each guzzle. Yes, I’ve found that sipping is not the way to go with this stuff. Take a guzzle each time while holding your breath, then let out a big AHHHH as if you’ve just done a shot of tequila afterwards. It really helps!

The other recommendation is that you stay close to a toilet. Good thing I work from home! Any of my co-workers reading, you may have noticed a few more breaks noted on Skype than normal. :) (TMI) I was down 1.5 pounds from Monday morning as of this morning, but I’ve had three brownies since last night and too many chips, salsa, & sour cream this afternoon. Oops! I wonder where I can squeeze in a workout?

Since there was no detailed information to be found, and I still can’t believe there wasn’t even so much as a pamphlet with my order, I researched each ingredient separately. I’ll list them below with a word or two describing each, but you can search the internet for full descriptions if you want.

Full Body Cleansing Blend Ingredients

Senna Leaf – laxative – In many OTC laxatives!
Astragalus – anti-aging properties (if you search nothing else, search this one for interesting stuff)
Fucoidan – flavor
Rhubarb root – purgative
Psyllium husk – GI transit aid
Milk thistle – used against poisoning
Agave – fiber
Inulin – prebiotic fiber
Aloe Vera – digestive aid
Nettle – fiber
Chlorella – detoxifier
Blue green algae/Spirulina – blood health benefits
Red marine algae – vitamins & protein
Cascara sagrada – laxative - Also in many OTC laxatives!
Buckthorn – purgative
Slippery elm – soothes digestive tract
Meadowsweet – treat diarrhea

Superfood Antioxident Blend

Juice powders of the following:
Grape
Orange
Pineapple
Grapefruit
Blueberry
Passion fruit
Carrot
Mango
Kiwi
Cranberry

Hmmm… Maybe next month I’ll eat plenty of the above fruits (carrot is the oddball in that mix of fruits), lots of fiber-rich foods, yogurt, and take Senokot® daily for seven days and compare the results (including price). I’m not knocking anyone’s business. Please don’t get me wrong. I do, however, believe the price is jacked up too much for the passing Casey Customer who doesn’t buy an annual membership to Arbonne for a 20% (I believe) discount. Nevertheless, I did buy it because I’ve been curious about this whole cleansing idea and the fact that you don’t have to fast while using this one. At the very least, no one will be able to tell me I’m full of crap anymore. :D (Expletive deleted to maintain G rating!)

4/8/11 Update: Mixing half an instant sugar-free flavored drink single packet (I like raspberry) to the water as well helps a lot!

Hits & Misses | Day 2 of Vacation

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I woke up the first time this morning just after 7 a.m. and promptly closed my eyes again until 8. Then I thought I would have enough time to get up and get ready for church at 9:30 – only church isn’t at 9:30, it’s at NINE! So much for that idea yet again. We used to have services at 9:10 and 10:35 on Sundays, but they changed and now only have one contemporary service on Sunday mornings followed by Bible classes and “life application” studies based on books or video series by various authors & speakers. While this is a good thing for those who were never able to attend the classes before, it also eliminated an option.

So after a leisurely morning, I attended my first ever Arbonne party. Interesting stuff with a fascinating story, as they all are, but WOW! The prices. I’m not sure why, other than I’m a sucker for helping others, but I bought this 7-Day Cleanse product. I’ve always been curious, and I need to rid my body of all the bad stuff I feed it. You don’t have to starve yourself while doing this one. So we shall see!

After leaving the party, I stopped at Sprouts and King Soopers to be sure no one in the house would starve in the near future and was home in plenty of time to watch Army Wives. After a good cry over that (five tissues filled with tears & snot), I discovered that my other two shows were repeats tonight. So I read two more months worth of The Julie/Julia Project. I will admit to skimming over the cooking process and the names of the recipes, which are in French of course. It’s the little tid-bits in between that are fascinating. Of course, I did squirm and wince a little when reading about a second adventure with lobster that was not in the movie. She described in too much detail her experience of taking the giant bug’s life with a knife to its head. EW! I’m now five months into the blog documenting the project – January 19, 2003. And, yes, I’ve made it past aspics!

Tomorrow: Unique Thrift Store hunting for “vintage” costume jewelry and prom dress shopping.

Smoking Isn’t Cool or Glamorous

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When I see someone smoking, it reminds me of my dad. Being reminded of him in this way really stings because that’s what killed him. Yes, there could have been other contributing factors – who knows what all he was exposed to in his history of jobs but by and large, cigarette smoke was the biggest offender. Seeing teenagers smoke kills me even more. Seriously? Why? Wait! I know! I was a teenager once, and I caved to the desire to look cool. No one asked me if I wanted a cigarette or pressured me into it. It was my own idiotic choice. A choice I regret.

When I finally decided enough was enough in my 20′s, I quit cold turkey. If someone wants to quit badly enough, this is how to get ‘er done! You don’t need to wean yourself off with patches, pills, or gum. Just rip that band-aid off and quit! Don’t fire back retorts or whine that it’s too hard. I have the waaaaahmbulance on speed dial and won’t hesitate to call for it. That whole having an opinion vs. being opinionated thing? I am definitely opinionated about this issue. Those who take offense are probably the same people who offend me by smoking in my presence. You may even be someone I know and love, but I don’t have to love your choice to smoke. Deal with it. Before you light up in front of me, think about how it hurts me by reminding me of my dad, who didn’t even see his 60th birthday because of it.

There are those who don’t give a flying fig about the warnings and dangers of smoking. They use cop-outs like “We’re all going to die sometime.” and “I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.” I have nothing to say to people who feel this way – people who would rather choose their own possible slow, agonizingly painful deaths. Harsh? Damn straight! I won’t apologize for that.

If you smoke, know someone who smokes, or are even slightly entertaining the thought of trying it, here are some videos you need to watch…

The only apology I’ll make is out of sympathy for those who’ve lost a loved one to lung cancer or anything else related to smoking. I realize this may bring some tough emotions to read. I’m sorry if this hurts in any way. It’s not my intention to be insensitive to your feelings.

Year 45, Day 3 | Day One of Vacation

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Mourning the death of my mixer.Thursday was the 44th anniversary of the day of my birth (fancy way to say it was my birthday). Day 1 of my 45th year of life. Like the day of my birth, the day was a bit stressful. I was 8 lb 5 oz, and my mom was a petite thing at barely 5’1″. My fat head was stuck in her pelvis, and apparently the only way to save one or both of us was to do an emergency Cesarean. As I struggled to make my way into the world 44 years ago, I struggled to make my way through the day on my birthday. I can imagine the next 36 hours after my birth, I was pretty exhausted – as most babies are. Well the next 36 hours after my 44th birthday, I felt much the same and kept longing for the work day to be over.

I ended day two of my 45th year with my husband at a little corner bar called G-Ducks, where our friends’ band ONE15 was playing. I had shared the Facebook invite several times and even mentioned my birthday. I don’t normally throw guilt trips around, but I have to say to the multitude of local “friends” on Facebook, “Where were you?” I know it’s the first day of spring break in our area so I tried giving the benefit of the doubt that maybe people had family plans. By coincidence, the friends who were there were friends and family of the band members already.

It’s all good, though! I had a good time. Well, with the exception of some chick who thought her shot at the pool table trumped my photo op that I was already poised and focused, ready to capture. She expected me to get out of her way and was clearly irritated when I didn’t immediately move but said “Hang on” nicely as I took my shot. I saw her much later at a table glancing over her shoulder at me and miming taking a photo with a cell phone as she was clearly relaying the story to her guy friend. We made eye contact, and I smiled with a slight smirk and tiny shake of my head as if to say, “Get over it already!” Sad to know that these are the things people choose to hold on to. <sigh>

Moving on to day three of my 45th year of life. I woke up with a splitting headache, which I believe is purely coincidental and not just a hangover since I only had three draft beers last night. So I guzzled some water, made coffee, and started to make buttercream frosting for the cupcakes I made yesterday. As I was waiting for the water and Meringue powder to come together and form stiff peaks in my KitchenAid mixer, something popped and clattered inside and the damn thing just died. It’s only MAYBE two years old and is very gently used. Why??? So my cupcakes sit naked in the kitchen while I sit with head pounding in front of this computer avoiding anything resembling work of any kind as this is, after all, day one of my vacation.

Restricted Performance | Auto & Human

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The engine light came on in my car last week when it was below zero, and the “Restricted Performance” message appeared until the car warmed up (photo from internet – not my car). Understandable. The engine light wasn’t on once it was above zero. This week, the engine light is now staying on consistently, and the “Restricted Performance” message flashed briefly this morning and then went away. I have several short jaunts to drive per week, and I definitely don’t plan on driving far until this is figured out. That’s the issue, though… When do I have time to deal with this? If it has to go to Jag to be fixed per warranty, that’s at least a 45 minute drive one way! So my first trip is for an oil change on Saturday, followed by a visit to AutoZone where they can hook it up to a computer to see if they can determine the issue that way.

My personal restricted performance seems to be multiplying. My performance on the job is excellent – above and beyond actually. However, I need to pull back on how much overtime I work because it’s restricting my performance in other areas of my life.

Then I just about went deaf in my left ear due to wax build-up. Before you gross out and think I’m not a clean person, that has nothing to do with it. See this information about when and how to clean your ears. First of all, I’m too cautious to put a Q-tip any further than what’s visible. Any further, and it can and will just push everything back more causing a bigger issue. Where this wax was in my ear canal was way too far back to be reached by Q-tips or other fancy ear-digging instruments and had to be irrigated at the doctor’s office, which was not fun! It turns out that the right ear is also a little blocked, but they couldn’t break that one free. So I continue with ear drops at home. Blah.

Now, about those ear drops… Two nights ago I was leaning to the left after filling my ear with Debrox, and I sneezed. Yeeow! Something popped, and now my bottom rib on the left is extremely tender to the touch. Sitting is fine, but sleeping is a nightmare even before getting to REM stage! Last night I tried rolling to my left side and thought I was going to puke. Lying too far on my right side causes issues because of my girly figure (hips) causing my side to crunch in like that. So I have no other option but to sleep on my back. Even that puts a little pressure from behind, so a wedge to keep my left side slightly elevated would be perfect I think. Deep breathing is a little painful at times, but ibuprofen and acetaminophen help.

This seems super odd to have happened within a week of my husband doing nearly the same thing! He sneezed hard while driving and felt a pop, but his pain is towards the back at the bottom of the ribs. Also left side. Some of you may remember the year Jason broke his arm and in that same year, Josh broke his, and then Ali broke hers! Then there was the time I fell down the three steps into our family room and whacked my upper back (not broken). I don’t remember how long after that, but Miranda slipped down the same stairs and broke her leg (spiral fracture). THEN not long after getting out of that cast, she slipped and broke her arm! When we do calamities around here, we do them up big!

Vegetarian or Vegan?

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Would you, or could you, become either one?

I could be a vegetarian (I’m sort of a semi-vegetarian already), but I don’t have the time, energy, or money to be a vegan. I added money because to be 100% strict vegan, you have to make absolutely sure you aren’t consuming or using anything that contains anything related to animals. I’m guessing that would include avoiding food grown in dirt that has been fertilized with manure? I found this interesting diagram explaining what all contains animal products:

Another Virus Standing in Line

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I’ve taken the last few viruses down that have stepped up to take a swing at me. I hope I can do the same with this one! What’s in my arsenal this time? Greg tried some of this Emergen-C stuff so I thought I’d check it out, too. While it wasn’t the best tasting drink I’ve ever had, it wasn’t entirely horrible. I followed it up with a couple Tylenol. A nap would be the perfect thing to round it all out, but I have to work another 3.5 hours first.

Growth Hormone Dosage Increased | Some Progress Seen

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A few tenths of a centimeter taller!

A follow-up appointment with the endocrinologist showed that Ali has grown a tiny bit, but the doctor thinks we might see more growth in the small amount of time we have left before her growth plates close at a higher dosage of Omnitrope (growth hormone). They also took another bone-age x-ray of her hand & wrist today to check the growth plates.

The slightly higher dosage is fine. The bad news: About every fourth day will require two shots. The vials of GH contain 10 mg. The last we checked, 2.7 doesn’t go into 10 evenly, and the doc doesn’t want to dose a smaller amount once or twice a week as the vial runs low. The specialty pharmacy doesn’t take this into account when filling the prescription and dispenses enough to cover 28 days with as near to an exact calculation of milligrams as possible.

Next appointment: May 24

I told Ali we could rig something up to stretch her while she sleeps. :D Did you know your natural growth hormones increase while you’re sleeping? Fact. This is why they recommending doing the injections at night.