Health Update July 24, 2013

Emmy Lou's Vest...if I could only sing like her!

Yesterday was another milestone for me. It was the last infusion of a two-year “rituxan maintenance” program. It was bittersweet; I felt like I was throwing away the crutch I’ve been walking with and now it’s up to me to keep the cancer at bay. However, my doctor assured me this was not the case and research is charging ahead with lots of new and amazing drugs for non-Hodgkin lymphomas.

At the moment, there are clinical trials on a new agent called SYK (GS9973) that is targeting lupus and/or non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, and ibrutinib is on a fast track to replace rituxan at the end of the next year or two http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/07/10/pharmacyclics-johnson-johnson-file-for-marketing-a.aspx. I feel fortunate that I was diagnosed with a treatable form of cancer and that it has been treated successfully so far. However, I am warned to watch for secondary cancers and a change in the IGM. My oncologist wants to keep tabs on me every three to four months. I suggested four or five, and she smiled. “That’s fine. You be the judge.”  This kind of cancer is not a black and white issue. With the threat of the tumor load returning, I am keenly aware that my days are precious. Yours are too, and don’t forget it!

A new venture of mine is to sing with a choir. Just as I was wavering and thinking perhaps that was too big of a stretch, my friend Mary Ann Firmin sent me a vest worn by my idle, Emmy Lou Harris! It’s a funny story: Her brother bought it at an auction of Emmy Lou’s clothing in Nashville, Tenn. and gave it to Mary Ann for Christmas. Mary Ann has given it to me, so I can wear it while I sing! The pressure is on…I’ve joined “Portland Sings” and will wear the vest at our first concert. Thank you Emmy Lou and Mary Ann too!

I’ll be a facilitator again this fall for Write Around Portland. I had a great group of fifteen women last spring that produced some really wonderful short stories for the Spring Anthology. I’ve continued to dabble in writing, but have not yet gotten serious about it. I prefer to inspire others, so I do have a writing practice group here in my apartment every Thursday, which I thoroughly enjoy. The bonus to this group is our semi-annual retreats at Connie’s beach cottage in Long Beach, WA. There, our quick writes take us into hours and hours of story telling and that leads to walks on the beach, sampling local coffee shops and restaurants, etc etc. It’s great fun.

Jude and Auggie continue to be my anchor here in Portland, and because they are changing so quickly, I try to update their progress on my blog. You are welcome to look there for news of them and also my poetry workshops at Sitka Art Center on the Oregon Coast. http://ruthsramlings.blogspot.com

And finally, I will attach some random items I have found interesting. You may want to take a look; you may not. Your choice!

Best wishes to all,

Ruth

Items I have found interesting during the past three months, perhaps you will too:

Misunderstandings

http://committedparent.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/why-my-brain-rarely-lets-me-undress-the-maid-myself/

Sleep from Brain Pickings

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2012/08/13/the-twenty-four-hour-mind-rosalind-cartwright/

TED Talk: What’s In The Box

http://www.lifeedited.com/graham-hill-on-ted/

The Selfish Dying

How the regrets of the terminally ill reveal the influence of others.http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-self-illusion/201205/the-selfish-dying

The subject is time management.

 “Plan ahead and protect a period of time every day, probably in the morning, and use it to do the long term things that matter.”

http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/05/spend-time-wisely/#ixzz2ZwBZbnJL

Linney Mines talks about “The Big C” for serious laughs. 

She is a cancer survivor on the show and talks sensitively about how that changes people.

http://www.npr.org/2013/05/06/179881310/linney-mines-the-big-c-for-serious-laughs

Free on-line classes you.

https://www.coursera.org

Part of my speeding ticket test….see below

Court Services Institute

Because I had a speeding ticket I wanted to keep off of my driving record, I volunteered to take a “class” and a “test” about driving. It was more about attitude than the driving rules, and I found that aspect very insightful. We all know the rules, but how we follow or not follow them has to do with values and beliefs. This is one piece of the test I cut out because I loved it! Driving isn’t about rules really, it’s about attitudes towards the rules and being accountable. And isn’t this part of the bigger picture of how we live or lives? It got me thinking.

Ruth

Taken from the test:

There are a number of warning signs of avoiding accountability. Following are a few examples. Check the ones you have used in the past two weeks.

·      Pointing out inadequacies of others

·      Building yourself up by putting others down

·      Telling others what they want to hear, not the truth

·      Lying by distorting the truth, omitting , or disclosing only what benefits you

·      Diverting attention from an issue by introducing irrelevant information

·      Trying to confuse by over-talking or being louder than the other person

·      Minimizing the situation (It’s not a big deal)

·      Saying yes without meaning it

·      Putting others on the defensive

·      Inattention or silence

·      Accusing others of misunderstanding

·      Claiming you have changed because you did it right one time

·      Making a big thing out of a minor point

·      Putting off by saying you forgot

·      Being vague (I’ll get to it), uncommitted (someone will do it, I’ll think about it)