Blood Test That Accurately Detects Early Stages Of Lung, Breast Cancer In Humans

A new blood test has been developed which detects early stage lung and breast cancer.  WOW.  Very very exciting for everyone.  Now to find a cure.  Today.

http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Cancer_Issues_660/Blood_Test_That_Accurately_Detects_Early_Stages_Of_Lung_Breast_Cancer_In_Humans.shtml

"Surprise, surprise, surprise!" Gomer Pyle aka Jim Nabors

Whenever I am met with a "will you take me to Lowe's" request the minute I walk in the door, I should know by now to focus on what exactly is being said and why the request is being made.  Another milestone in this journey is quickly approaching apparently.  At Lowe's we visited the bathroom section as Sam is needing assistance getting in and out of the bathtub.  During the day he often takes warm baths to increase his body temperature and he is experiencing more and more difficulty in being able to get out of the bathtub.  Hence, the trip to Lowe's.  As we were walking down the hall he also informed me that yesterday he walked to the post office and had shortness of breath.  The post office is only a few blocks away.

All in all, though, the man is amazing because he really does not complain, just chooses when (and where) to inform me of certain details which might prove to be important in the days to come.

It seems like Sam is slowly starting to wrap his mind around where he is currently in his journey.  His mood has improved greatly, thus, so has mine.

Luckily, the Oregon Ducks are doing amazing things on the field which boosts his spirits incredibly.  Too bad my Broncos are not doing the same, which does boost his spirits, just so you know.  What a guy.

q'ua

Whether the weather be fine, Whether the weather be not, Whether the weather be cold, Whether the weather be hot, We'll weather the weather, Whatever the whether, Whether we like it or not ~Author Unknown

If you have not heard, southcentral Alaska is under a severe weather advisory and has been for several weeks now.  This week it all came to a head and now we are experiencing major flooding, mudslides, hillsides collapsing, dikes and levees breaching, and everything that comes along with those events.  Most of all, we are wet.  Very, very, very wet.  And guess what?!  There is more on the way.  Today we enjoyed a few hours of blue sky and sunshine, just enough to give us time to realize we are in the midst of a disaster, to clean up quickly what we could, and prepare for the next onslaught. Luckily, as of yet, no lives have been lost due to the weather...that we are aware of anyway.  It is quite possible there are people who live off the grid as well as others who are out hunting that we will not know about until someone realizes they are missing.  Until then, though, I am celebrating that we are all safe.

Tyonek, Alaska on the west side of Cook Inlet.

Tyonek is on the west side of Cook Inlet and is currently without power and phones plus the roads around it are impassable. Most are washed out and if bridges are involved, either the bridge or the bridge approaches are washed out.  They are amazing people, though, and since they live off the grid, they are used to taking care of themselves.  There has just been so much rain and wind for several weeks with more on the way, there will come a breaking point for some people.  This evening Governor Parnell declared a disaster area for the Kenai Peninsula and MatSu Boroughs which is good to hear.  We are all going to require assistance in repairing and replacing all the infrastructure which has been affected. My hat is off to those on the west side, though.  Being off the road system, they tend to get overlooked.  Hopefully since Tyonek is in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, it will benefit from the disaster declaration.  No matter what, though, CIRI (where I work) will do whatever it can to assist.

This week it has been my pleasure to be able to assist many of our shareholders who live in the Cook Inlet region which spans from the Kenai Peninsula to Sutton and Chickaloon, to Talkeetna and along the west side to Tyonek and Beluga, as well as keeping an eye on all my projects is what I have been working on all week. Alaskans are amazing people and everyone seems to be pulling together to help each other out.  Here is a link to a page which has a map identifying CIRI villages and this entire region is experiencing this weather.  http://www.ciri.com/content/history/villages.aspx

Tonight Sam and I are relaxing, although I have my cell phone close just in case.  We plan on doing nothing this weekend (since it is supposed to rain all weekend) except watch football (as long as the power holds out), read and rest.  We also need to unload the trailer and get it ready for winter storage.

Sam is feeling much better, I am grateful to report.  Life has calmed down and is much more relaxed.  Next Friday is his final chemo treatment this round and then sometime in October will be a PET scan.  In the cancer world, each type of treatment is considered a "line".  This chemo is Sam's 9th line of treatment.  NINE.  That is absolutely nuts.  Usually the most is third or fourth line treatments.  Ninth is crazy.  The man is amazing. Once the chemo is over, I am hoping beyond hope that his energy level increases.  It will never be to the point it was before because it is just not possible, but even if he could go 3 hours without a nap rather than 2, that would be terrific.

Enjoy your weekend everyone and stay safe.

q'ua (Dena'ina for "good-bye")

"Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”–Mario Andretti

Peyton Manning.  Wish I could say I was there.
Instead I have to thank the Associated Press for the picture.  Darn.

This week started off much better than the past few weeks, thank goodness!  The Ducks won, the Beavers won, the Longhorns won, the Prospectors kicked some butt...and best of all...my Denver Broncos won.  What can I say?  It is amazing how one football game can set the tone for the entire week and that is what Sunday night's game did for me.

Actually, Sam seems to be feeling better, too, so that really helps.  He is sleeping a lot still but he did manage to get out a couple times this week to workout.  Exercise in a cancer patient's life makes such a huge difference.  So many studies have shown that exercise alone extends a cancer patient's life more than any other treatment.  Even if it is just a short walk around the block each and every day, that is all it takes.

Today was chemo day.  Sam told me the other night he only has one more treatment after this, then they will be doing a PET scan, the first complete PET scan since the lung cancer diagnosis 3 years ago.  It will be fascinating to see what is going on now compared to 3 years ago, although like Sam pointed out, it will not make any difference in the end result, sadly enough.  We just will not focus on that and instead will focus on the fact that he is still alive after 3 years, much longer than most people anticipated.  How awesome is that?

I cannot tell you how glad I am to not be walking on eggshells 100% of the time anymore.  There is still some angst on his part so we are just taking it day by day.  Tonight he is pretty quiet and looks a little on the pale side after the treatment, and I am hoping the paleness resolves itself in the next couple days. It is always interesting to watch his color change after the chemo even though it is more than a little freaky at times.  The Xanax has not come out of its hiding place all week, just in case you were wondering.

Anchorage is under another storm advisory, presumably just as bad as the last one.  At first the weather service was saying only 65 mph winds were expected, then as the weekend got closer, the predictions increased to 110 mph winds.  Oh boy.  Some residents did not get their power back on until almost the weekend last week...and here we go again.  Makes me really wonder what winter is truly going to bring us.  If the ground was frozen with a lot of snow, it would be completely different, but since it is not, odds are whatever trees did not come down last week, will this week.

We were going to go camping and on a glacier cruise, but not now.  This is also the weekend of the Denali Road Lottery - 4 days of 100 vehicles each driving in, most all the way to the end of the road and back.  Normally private vehicles are not allowed back in the park, you have to take a tour bus or a shuttle.  Hopefully the weather there will be somewhat better than here, but the road did shut down a couple times this week due to snow.

It was quite a week for my family, too.  My dad has 5 living sisters, 2 of which had surgery this week, one to have a stent put in her heart and the other to remove 4 brain tumors and do some other work.  Out of the 8 children in my dad's family, at least 5 have been diagnosed with some type of cancer or another.  Have I discussed this before?  If so, please accept my apologies.  It is difficult to determine what the root cause is, could be genetic or it could just as easily be environmental.  My grandfather homesteaded in what is known as the Black Canyon Irrigation District in Idaho, farmed a little bit and was also the chemist at the sugar factory across the Snake River in Nyssa, Oregon. It would be an interesting situation to research, needless to say.  Personally, if my siblings, cousins and I are not diagnosed with cancer at the rate of my dad and his siblings, I would have to say it is environmental.  It is just very difficult to say.  At any rate, both of my aunts are doing fine as well as is my aunt who has been in Houston receiving treatment at MD Anderson.

We also received word that my step-grandmother, Violet Drydale Evans passed away this week.  She was an adorable and amazing woman who had a large clan of her own and then came into ours to be a companion to Grampa after my grandmother passed away.  Always very kind and gracious to all, I will miss her very much.

As for me, work is extremely busy, exercise has fallen by the wayside and I need to get back into the routine.  The weather, though...oh boy...

The past few weeks some of my friends have done wonderful things for me and I cannot thank them enough.  Going to lunch with me, calling, trying to figure out play dates but talking on the phone all the same, patiently listening to me cry, whine or whatever I was doing at the time.  I really appreciate it.  Sam's and my families are quite concerned that he and I are in Anchorage alone but we truly are not.  We have a tremendous support system, not only in Anchorage, but all over and I thank each and every one of you very much.

Ciao!

O, with what freshness, what solemnity and beauty, is each new day born; as if to say to insensate man, 'Behold! thou hast one more chance! Strive for immortal glory!' Harriet Beecher Stowe

Nikki kissing her first Alaska salmon.

What a week!  Last weekend we were in Valdez with Nikki, hoping to catch fish.  She managed to catch her first Alaska fish and therefore, kissed her first fish according to Alaskan custom (or so 'they' say.)  Rain, wind, more rain, more wind, and no fish.  The hatchery managed to get their quota of silvers, though, so my thinking is that the fish all bunched up together waiting for that one moment in time and made a mad dash for home all at once.  Saturday we spent 9 hours out in the bay, had 5 bites and caught 2 between 6 people.  Pretty lousy statistics.  We had a great time, though, and that is the important thing.

Alaska experienced its first major storm of the season, the 4th big one of the year.  Normally we do not get these until winter when the ground is frozen and there is several feet of snow on the ground. Basically the storm is Alaska's equivalent of a hurricane, so we really should be naming these storms. At a meeting I was at the other day, a gentleman sitting next to me noted since it was the 4th major storm of the year and since my name starts with a "D", it should be named "Dara."  Oh yes...if he only knew...or maybe he does!  Gave everyone at my table a good laugh, I must admit.

Sam is sleeping a lot as a result of the chemo.  Last week at his support group, he learned of a recent study proving ginseng helps with the fatigue from chemo.  2000 mg/daily for 8 weeks is required before a chemo patient begins to see results. Eight weeks is a long time, especially in my book.  Tonight his mood finally seems to be less agitated than earlier in the week and for that I am extremely grateful. Of course, as you might already be aware, Xanax is my best friend right now and that helps me stay somewhat calm and less defensive which makes a huge difference in how we handle the unhappier moments.

The support group I am involved with has had a difficult week. Yesterday a member of the group lost her husband and today another did.  There are probably a dozen or so in the group and we have been together online for quite awhile. This morning when I read about yesterday's death, it hit me really hard.  As I was attempting to write a note to my friend, I could not stop crying.  She is now experiencing what I dread.  Then, to receive a second email this afternoon about our other friend...I had to close my office door for a few minutes.  I know when the time comes for me, I will recognize it as a blessing for Sam in that he will no longer be in pain, but I will be alone without my best friend and partner.  Luckily, I was single for a long time, so I know I will be okay, but that does not make it any easier.  Needless to say, tonight I am exhausted.

I am so glad tomorrow is a new day.  Enjoy it to the fullest, I plan on it.

Ciao!