So, so, so, it's been almost a year since I posted. It's been a crazy time, but a much better year than 2012. Still cancer free and very grateful. Another CT Scan coming up at the beginning of December and hopefully still free. So much I want to do. Still have Neuropathy in my hands and feet, but I think it's getting better slowly. Was given the opportunity to attend a After Cancer support group, but after some thought turned it down. I just don't like thinking about cancer unless I absolutely have to. I have other things in life I would rather concern myself with, like my daughter's upcoming mission to Halifax, NS. and our son's wedding in December. I have a new grandson who is just so cute, and another grand daughter to be born in March of next year. I have a son whose divorce is almost final and 2 grandsons who are paying the biggest price for all of this mess. I have personal goals and goals I want to do with my husband. I'm working on getting our home more organized and even taking an online course to do so. There is so much I want to do. My biggest challenge right now is just getting going. I seem to be in some emotional quicksand and tend to spend a little too much time watching Netflix or just being on the computer, or just sitting thinking about all I want to do. I think though that even this is beginning to improve as I am gradually doing more and more around the house, and getting myself on a better schedule. Gradually working on each room in the house and getting them organized and set up the way I want them. With the wedding coming up and Jaime heading out the door on her mission the theme of the next 18 months will be living "broke", money that is. Will have none. BUT we are very grateful, cause there is no better reason to be "broke" than when sacrificing to serve the Lord. Jaime has saved quite a bit on money but all of it went to pay off her student loan. Good for her. Thank goodness for the blessings of paying tithing, because I have complete confidence that we will be okay. Blessings await those who do what is right.
So I'm going to change somewhat the theme of my blog. The road is still going up, but in a different way. Over the next 18 months I will share how we live "broke" and how we are doing it successfully. It's a great time and I'm actually excited to see how we do. So BRING IT ON !!! Tis a great time of life.

I am Christian

I am Christian. Many people of other religions say that Mormons aren't Christians. How they come to that conclusion I have no idea. For everything within our faith denotes that we are indeed Christian, that we believe that God the Father and his son Jesus Christ live. I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when I was 15 and I have remained faithful for 35 + years. I love this gospel and know that it is true. At this Christmas time I wish to share my testimony. This has been a year of great challenge and at times I have felt very weak; not just physically but even spiritually as well. I have asked God many times why I needed to go through this and why and I believe that he has told me. I have learned that we need to love each other as neighbors and friends and serve each other. That's why we are here on this earth; to be like him and to do what he would have us to. I have learned that we need to stop decorating our windows and start looking out of them. Who is in need around us and what can I do to help. We don't always need an invitation to pay a visit or to help one in need. Even when we are the ones being served, we are giving service by allowing others to be Christlike towards us. Another thing I have learned is that we need balance in our lives. I don't think the Savior spent his time running around like a chicken with his head cut off. He took time to be with others and to visit and to comfort. We need to have temperance in our lives and find balance and be grateful for all things we have. The last thing I have learned is that it is important to find out why we are here on this earth. What is my mission? What is it that Heavenly Father wants me to specifically accomplish with my time here? I would hate to enter Heaven only to find out that I somehow missed the boat  of what I needed to do. Did I use my gifts as Heavenly Father wanted me to? To all my friends and loved ones. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. The Book of Mormon stands with the Bible as another testament of Jesus Christ. It is the record of the ancient American people who lived on the American continent before the coming of Christ. And they are some of the "other sheep he had which were not of the fold of those in Jerusalem." He lives today as a glorified being, and stands at the head of church guiding and directing our prophet today, Thomas S. Monson.  May this Christmas be a meaningful one filled with family and friends, and may next year bring you all joy and happiness.

Finally done; I hope

I haven't posted in a long time, because there hasn't really been anything to post. I just finished 8 rounds of Chemo. At first it didn't go too badly. I would have a bad week then a good week. At about the 4th round my bad week started running into my good week. The last 2 rounds were not good at all. And to top it off right after my last round of Chemo I ended up in the hospital with multiple and extensive blood clots in both lungs. It is a rarer side effect of one of the Chemo drugs I was on. I was in hospital for 2 days while they taught me how to give myself injections in the tummy. I am now on a blood thinner which will help me reabsorb the clots. I am feeling lots better, but am still quite weak and can't do a lot. My neighbors and friends, and family have been taking great care of me. I live in the best town in the world. So now that Cancer treatments are done, i hope forever. I am anxious to move on to the next step of  Saving Carol. I don't see my Oncologist until the middle of February, when they will recheck my blood for Cancer markers, and will repeat the CT Scans. I'm looking forward to an all clear. Here's hoping.
Because I am pathetically weak right now, I am starting really slow. My exercise consists of walking our long  hallway, back a forth twice, 3-4 times a day. Doing very gentle yoga, and drinking lots of water. I'm going to start putting a little bit of lemon in my morning glass of water, or having a lemon and honey tea every day. Steal cut oats in the morning with wheat berries and a couple of tbs. of ground red river cereal. Top it off with 1/2 cup of skim milk. I drink the other half when I take my daily dose of Vitamin D, and Vitamin C. Coming back from being really sick for a lengthy period of time takes patience, and diligence. I need to be careful not to injure myself and set myself back even further. I'm hopefully going for a massage on Wednesday, plus I start Physiotherapy on the 29th of November for my messed up hip. I injured the muscle back in September and it doesn't seem to want to heal. My thinking is it's due to the Chemo which can also cause joint Neuropathy, and muscle damage. I will keep all posted with a weekly update and may I just say. Here's to 2013, it's going to be a wonderful year.

TOO TIRED!!!!!

I'm so tired that today as I was practicing the piano, I played an entire sheet of music upside down before I realized it was upside down. I thought "In Humility Our Savior", sounded unusual, but it was a new arrangement so I didn't question it until at the end when I noticed the bass clef was on the right side of the page and upside down. LOL.
One of the side effects that I am experiencing with the Chemo is sleeplessness. They have given me sleeping pills, but I try really hard not to take them. Because of this over the last 3 nights I have only gotten a total of 9 hours of sleep. I feel tired and like I could fall right to sleep, but it just doesn't happen. So tonight I am going to take a sleeping pill and try to get a full nights sleep. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Tosca Reno: Eating Bird Food

Protein Overnight Oats

Ingredients
1/2 cup rolled oats (old fashioned oatmeal)
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 scoop vanilla brown rice protein powder
1/2 T chia seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 strawberries, sliced
1 teaspoon almond butter

Methods
Combine all ingredients in a small container, stir until the protein powder is completely mixed in, seal with a lid and place in the fridge overnight. You’ll notice that the protein powder, oats and chia seeds soak up a lot of the liquid so you may want to add a little more almond milk or water before serving. Top with an almond butter and strawberry slices. Enjoy!
Tosca Reno: Eating Bird Food

Here is a recipe that I'm going to try. I found it on a blog called www.eatingbirdfood.com. I'm excited to try it. Being Vegan for breakfast and lunch is easy, but supper is presenting challenges. For one by late afternoon I'm feeling tired and don't even feel like cooking, so out comes the chicken breasts or burgers and off Kevin goes to cook some hamburgers, which I really appreciate cause right now in the middle of cancer treatments I can use all the help I can get.
I started my second round yesterday and spent most of the day in the hospital getting the new drug infused, then came home with another drug that infuses over 48 hours. The side effects were fast in coming. My fingers are very sensitive to cold as well as my mouth. It's like I'm being burned. And when ever I start eating the nerves in my mouth go crazy and it really hurts for the first few bites. So for the next 4 months I won't be eating anything that comes from a fridge or freezer unless its sat on the counter to get to room temperature. BORING!!!! And this morning as I was reading my scriptures an overwhelming feeling of nausea came over me. It only lasted a few minutes though and hasn't come back. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
On Monday I went to my first Yoga class at the Canadian Yoga Institute and it was great. I'm taking a gentle yoga class, with 3 other ladies who are suffering from various chronic illnesses. And even though the whole class is done in a chair, I felt it when I got home. So either Yoga is amazing or I'm just pathetic. I think Yoga is amazing. My brother has Gout and about 15 years ago he started yoga and it has saved his life. One of the best things about this Yoga class is that my instructor is a Vegetarian and has been for 15 years. She looks amazing. I will be getting more info from her in the near future. If you would like to know more about the Canadian Yoga Institute go to www.yogacanada.org/
Today I am so appreciative of extended family, who make this journey so much easier. I am grateful for many things.

Tonight; July 20th, 2012 @ 8:36 pm I am starting the "Engine 2 diet- 28 day challenge". For the next 28 days I will be a vegan. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. I have done lots of reading from doctors, medical papers, and others. The book "Engine 2 diet" is written by Rip Esselstyn whose father and grandfather are world renowned cardiologists. Rip himself is a firefighter and tri-athlete. Right now I'm just curious to see if I can do it, especially living with a "carnivore extremist". I hope you will follow along as I give this a try. I will post experiences and emotions everyday. So here we go!!!!! I am not a missionary for being vegan. This is just something I want to do for my health and future well being. I'm also starting a yoga class on Monday, at the Canadian Yoga Institute in Lethbridge. It's a class that is specifically for those with a chronic illness or injury. It was advertised at the Cancer Center in Lethbridge.
I start my 2nd round of Chemo on Wednesday the 25th of July. When I saw my Oncologist this passed Monday he gave me a prescription for 2 anti-nausea drugs, one which I have to take 1 hour before I go. I also have to take an anti-inflammatory 1 hour before I go. The first drug will be infused there in the hospital and will take about 80 minutes, I then get hooked up to another drug that I will take-(oops, the power went out just for a second, so glad I didn't lose any of this post), that will infuse over the next 48 hours at home. I then go back to the hospital to get unhooked and don't have to go back for a week and a half. I will get 8 treatments in total that will come to an end sometime towards the end of November. Hopefully I will do as well with this 2nd go round as I did with the first.
Even after all the treatments are done I still have a 30-35 % chance of the cancer returning either again in the colon, or to my lungs or liver. I certainly don't want that to happen. Medical research is starting to show astounding results in the benefits of regular exercise and the recurrence of Cancer. Also the nutritional benefits of eating plant strong. What have I got to lose? Maybe everything by not making any changes, but could gain a clean bill of health for a very long time yet by changing. So again; here I go!!!!

Finished Phase One, enjoying a break.

It's been awhile since I have posted anything, mostly because one day was just a duplicate of the previous. As of last Friday the 29th I finished my Radiation Treatments and my 7 day Chemo Bottle. It has felt so good to be free of that bottle hanging off of me. I now am getting a little break. I don't start the 2nd phase until the 16th of July.
My biggest challenge during the 1st phase was sleeping. I just couldn't seem to get myself to go to sleep. So I finally gave in a started taking a half a sleeping pill. My oncologist told me that not sleeping was not an option. With my white count already compromised I couldn't compromise myself further with not sleeping. Fortunately I got a bit of a cold so I switched from the sleeping pill to Benadryl, and slept like a baby. Now I seem to be over this hump and am sleeping fine again without anything. Hope this lasts.
My next biggest challenge has been the radiation burns on my bottom end. Not really bad, but just enough to annoy me sometimes, especially now as it is healing, it is really itchy. Thank goodness for Glaxal Lotion, keeps me from scratching.
Still dragging a bit physically, not a tremendous amount of energy returning, but all in all I've done amazing so far.
Had my first GREEN DRINK this morning; not bad, not bad. Here's the recipe.
1 banana
1/2 Cup berries
1/2 pineapple
1 Cup spinach
1 Cup Kale
1 Cup greek yogurt/ or 2 scoops protein powder
20 Ounces of water
Blend
This makes alot, and can be divided into 2 servings, but it was easy to get down and tasted good.