How's Kip?

[...] try to figure out how to manually drain the area that has built up under my right arm. The lymphatic system is quite amazing, and I now have a sense of where the lymph channels are and how to massage [...]

[...] fine). And I just learned from Judy Davidson via Catherine that acupuncture is good for the lymphatic system. She put needles in both arms and then in my legs and continued working. Then she took them [...]

[...] will do. When we exercise, fluids move at a higher volume through the body; a compromised lymphatic system becomes overloaded and fluids can't get through the vessels, or or back up the arms. On a [...]

[...] off any new bad cells, and there's grieving to do around changes to my body (mostly my lymphatic system). I will adjust, but I need time to integrate it all. Which leads me to this week: [...]

[...] last CT scan which should never have been ordered, that they've done all they can and that ovarian cancer is hard to treat. Now go have your last chemo. She was destroyed and cried all morning. By [...]

[...] to have my mother here, and we have had a good reunion. Tomorrow my cousin Ellen--who had ovarian cancer--is coming into town and we will all have lunch together. Then the countdown begins for the [...]

[...] . Then I read Gilda Radner's It's Always Something, the story of her struggle with ovarian cancer. Radner's description of cancer cells was so radically different: she imagined them at [...]

[...] out. I SO understand that now--eyes, skin and joints certainly take a moisture hit during cancer treatment. Now it's all about keeping my skin moist, and for that I alternate aloe vera and lubriderm [...]

[...] starts to heal up. In Ruth Rakoff's book *When My World Was Very Small,* a memoir of her cancer treatment, she talks about the "cancer gift" - the item you get to buy yourself for getting [...]

[...] some of us. The facilitator talked about recent studies that draw close parallels between cancer treatment and PTSD. Cognitively, that feels like a thin argument, but emotionally, it seems spot on. [...]

[...] , Julie, Walter and I meet to begin planning a small book that will explore cancer, cancer treatment, recovery and life. Julie will take the photographs, Walter will provide the poems. [...]

[...] me blog entries by a woman who had radiation in 2009 at Sunnybrook. She commented that in her radiation unit they played April Wine and Gino Vanelli. It seems they are into Canadian content at [...]

[...] will say how fragile we are, how fragile we are..." An interesting choice for a radiation unit? Over the music (which was repeated for the duration of my visit), I could hear the [...]

[...] ) how many beams I'll have directed at me over the 15 minutes. I'll first meet with my radiation oncologist that afternoon in clinic, then go in for the procedure. (I'll have lots of company: 457 [...]

[...] cancer is gone. Catherine and I were reminded of this yesterday when we went to see the radiation oncologist. The oncologist was with the patient in the next room a very long time and when she came [...]

[...] ." How true. I have attached above a photo of the multivitamins I am taking during my radiation treatment. Radiation works by creating free radicals that damage all cells in the affected area; [...]

[...] , Well, after all of our musings about Sting's "Fragile" during yesterday's radiation treatment, I asked the technicians today about their song choice and why I heard only the intro and [...]

[...] not for the reasons one might think. You all know that during the second half of my chemo treatment I experienced significant joint pain. This pain diminished in the month of December, [...]

[...] able to see the distortion I feel. This afternoon I also began some new nerve pain in the radiation area, particularly at the incision and under the left arm. I'm on Tylenol for that and we will see [...]

[...] unit is informed that I have arrived. Then the computer in the unit brings up my radiation specifications. When I walk in the room they ask me my birthday to confirm it's me, and everything else [...]