A Nurse's Journey » cancer

An you thought Scrooge was bad

Lillie — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 03:57:24 +0000

Who ever said that no good deed goes unpunished was oh so right. When a group of Washington high school football officials decided to donate their pay checks to the Susan G. Koman foundation for breast cancer research and to use pink whistles at the next game, little did they know that they would be fined for not being in proper attire because they did not ask permission first.

Breast cancer, which is the second largest killer of women, means that few of us have not been touched by this disease. You would think that they would have been commended for this act o charity, but NO the Chairperson of the Washington Officials Association, Todd Stordahl, feels he must discipline them to give the right message to student players. I guess the wrong message would be you can’t do anything good unless you first get permission. If the two game suspensions go through the refs will not be able to officiate the season top games and that will also mean they will loose two additional paychecks.

How the heck can this man be so shortsighted that he could do this to people trying to do a good thing? If we are to beat breast cancer we need to keep research going. We are winning but we are not there yet.

We are winning

Lillie — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 06:18:43 +0000

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This is the time of year when women are asked and encouraged to go get their mammograms. But better yet, they should get theirs while taking someone they love with them. All around the country there are activities to bring to the forefront the need to save lives.

Each year many women are diagnosed with breast cancer but through early detection lives are being saved. You should be getting mammograms after the age of 40. No need to wait until 50 as was once thought.

In the 2009, 192,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the second largest killer of women. Men can also get this disease. We should also take monthly self examinations to check for changes in the shape, size, or skin texture of our breasts. And also to check to see if there is a mass. Most masses are founded to be benign. You are the first line of defense against breast cancer.

Cities around the country are doing such innovative things to bring breast cancer awareness to the public like luncheons and 5k runs. Some companies like QVC, which has been a strong supporter, has special shoes on sell during the month of October.

As women we take care of everyone else so this is a no brainer. Take care of yourself so you can be there to take care of others. Get your mammogram and take a friend.

Continuing through my travels of the medical profession

Lillie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 03:56:09 +0000

I have to say this again. I have been a RN since 1963. I worked full time plus part time jobs and well as as much overtime as I could get. Why am I saying this? Because I have had time to observe doctors and can make a judgment on which doctors are good, poor, mediocre, or excellent.

Recently I had to go into see my new primary doctor since I had never seen him before. I was met by a pleasant Asian man who pondered my chart and talked about my laundry list of complaints giving his opinion on how I was doing and what my lab reports showed. He then tried to address my chronic pain. I am very opposed to taking medications like Percodan, Oxycontain, or the like. I wanted a small dose of a anti depressant that some doctors are using to raise the pain threshold. He did not want to give me this medication. He suggested another drug, Neurontain, used for seizures but can help pain.

Now I have given these drugs over the years and have seen the side effects. I opted not to take this powerful medication. He lost interest and sent me away without relief for my pain which on some days is very debilitating.

I was now at my wits end but pulled one more rabbit out of my hat and went to see my orthopedic doctor. First he asked me what my problems were. He then told me we would work on one problem at a time to get back some of the quality of life I deserved.

He injected my shoulder, the one with the torn rotator cuff. I was told to come back in a week.It was a little painful but by the next day I felt better than I had felt in twenty years. I could move and I could lie down in bed and sleep. What a wonderful feeling.

When I returned to have the next problem looked, my right knee that hurts all the time and is swollen. The first doctor just looked at it and said “it’s arthritis.” Well my orthopedic doctor ordered X-rays and when they came back he showed me the bony tumors that are causing me problems and pain. I have had bone cancer before so this put me mind in a panic mode. My doctor stated that they look benign but has ordered an MRI. This is the difference between an excellent doctor and a mediocre doctor.

He listened to my complaints and went the extra step to really find out what the problem was.
Can you believe that Kaiser is making this wonderful man retire in two years because he will be sixty-five years old? What a waste. He could teach younger doctors how to treat patients and get to the bottom of their complaints with the least invasive treatment.

The world of medicine has changed since I came into it. But I feel its not all for the good of the patient. If you have a good doctor treasure him. But if you have a bad one, run don’t walk away. Your health and quality of life is at risk!

Know when to shut up

Lillie — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:38:57 +0000

The recent passing of Patrick Swayze from pancreatic cancer after a year and a half valiant fight, has left the world mourning. Swayze was beautiful inside and out. He had a way of reaching the soul of those that watched him. Bringing things into the story he was telling to make you feel the movement of his dancing as he glided across the stage. I listen to the many stars who remembered him with love and kindness. I remembered him in films that the critics found lacking. The one thing his passing has made me wonder where people’s hearts and minds are.

Suzanne Somers made a remark that made me, as well as others, very angry. Somerssaid that we lost this beautiful man because the doctors gave him chemotherapy which poisoned him. As a cancer survivor herself, this statement was so very wrong. The timing was also questionable so close after his death.

Suzanne is a big promoter of alternative treatment which is fine. But each person has to decide which route they want to take. And no one has the right to question their decision. Somers went on to defend herself by saying she did not know the person she made the remark to was a reporter. To me this made it worse. Here she was flapping her jaws to a stranger. I had always admired Suzanne for being smart and breaking the old thought that blonds are dumb. But this statement made me think that dumb blonds may not be a cliché.

Let Patrick rest in peace. With only good thoughts from his family and friends that loved him and admired the brave fight he fought to try and survive. We loved this great artist and will always remember him admiration.

http://perezhilton.com/2009-09-18-suzanne-somers-controversial-remarks-about

The Battle rages on

Lillie — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:00:37 +0000

If you have read my blog before, you know that I have a number of health problems from being a cancer survivor to a sufferer of Fibromyalgia. Most people and doctors acknowledge my other problems, but when it comes to the Fibromyalgia, even my orthopedic doctors say there is no such thing. I respect this doctor because he worked with me through ten surgeries for my cancer stricken arm, but he won’t discuss my Fibromyalgia. Going so far as to say that I don’t have the personality for the disease. Why? Because I don’t or won’t give up?

I have had to struggle for years to work through the pain and only five years ago stopped working. They told me if I had another problem with my arm, which had cancer, they might have to cut off my arm. Would I still be working with my Fibromyalgia? YES! I have a very high pain threshold. And pain and I are old friends. But what hurts most is having people you hope will help you, look at you as if you are not sick. Just because there are no tests the doctors can look at and say “oh yes this is what you have” doesn’t mean it’s not real. The days when it hurts so bad to take a breath, I wish I could trade places with these learned men and women!

I know there are a few new medications that might help with the pain. But after reading the side effects, I choose not to take them. Does this limit what I can do? Yes ! I can’t make plans too far in advance because I never know if my pain will allow me to do things. Would I like a better quality of life? Well I prefer not to go around in a fog but that’s just me.

I would like to see doctors get together and realize that when you have very large groups of unrelated people with he same symptoms, there must be something going on. What you call it doesn’t matter. Its real! Give the sufferer the care they need without the doubt we now see in your eyes.

What have I done to myself and how do I correct it

Lillie — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:20:56 +0000

I hate to keep harping on the fact that I spent over three decades working the 1100 pm to 730 am shift. But after a week like this last one, I can’t help but wonder what the hell did I do to my body. I have spent the last few days with swollen joints and pains so bad that getting from one room to the other was almost impossible. My doctor has said I have arthritis and some other inflammatory disease causing the pain. I am offered pain pills but I have not found any that doesn’t cause me to feel like a damn zombie or toss my cookies. What is a girl to do?

I have read lots of studies and they are just trying to find out the effect of people working nights, but I can tell them it is great. I have just read a study that ranked up a number of illness that I have like and irregular heartbeat with no heart disease. How that counts is a mystery to me since the last time I had an episode my heart rate was down to 38 beats per minute. The pain I have leaves me unable to plan too far ahead. For a social person like myself, it’s murder. Today I woke up wanting to do some housework but by noon I realize it just wasn’t going to happen. So here I sit talking about pain that I am sure is part if not all due to too many nights working the night shift.

Think Pink

Lillie — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:22:15 +0000

October is breast cancer awareness month. One out of eight women will be affected by this brutal and demoralizing disease. That means that 200,000 women will be affected. The good news is that 160,000 will be cured. Even though we think of this as a female disease let it be known that men are affected also. Over one thousand men in this country are affected each year.

What can we do? Well first we must get do our monthly breast checks. This includes checking for lumps and changes in the shape of the breast. Next we should be standing in line to get our mammograms each year. Support events that fund research. Many of these are fun and gives you a chance to buy products of which a part of the money will be given to cancer research.

One fun sell in on QVC where you can buy high name designer shoes and the net cost will go to the Susan G. Komen Center. HSN, another shopping network, is giving a portion of the money from selected products to the cause.

Think pink! Wear a pink ribbon during October. This will start conversations about the subject when someone asks you what the ribbon is for. Get moving! Each of us will be touched by this disease either personally or though someone we know and love.

Cancer – This Nurse’s Nightmare P3

Lillie — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:54:28 +0000

I went back to work with my badge of courage, a scare that runs from under my right shoulder blade to five inches above my right wrist. I have never tried to hide it. I think of this as something to remind me that I am a survivior. As little as I thought about it, others could not let their curiosity go unanswered. Did your husband cut you? I had long since been divorced. Were you in a fight? I would turn, smile sweetly, and say “yes, I was in the fight for my life, I had cancer and won!” The response was usually “oh, I’m sorry.” Why was the first thing they thought of me was that a Black woman could only have a scar like this from violence?

Well I was back to work with a long list of what I could not do. Did I follow this? Heck no! I was a Psych nurse and at times had to do physical take downs. There I was right in the middle of a fracas. My nursing team would protect me when there was enough staff to not need my help. One night I thanked them for trying to take care of me. They all piped up saying, “Lillie we don’t want you to have to go back to the hospital because we don’t know who we will get to replace you.” From what I heard through the grapevine, the Head Nurses that were brought in during my absence left a lot to be desired.

After 11 surgeries I thought all my pain would be gone but it was not. For the next eleven years I worked in mild to moderate pain. I was just glad that I still had a functioning right arm. Yes it was scarred and slightly shorter, but it worked and so did I. But that “pleasure” would be shot lived.

I fell again. This time I did break my nice metal parts.My doctor John Murphy, a wonderful man who had followed me all these years, searched to find a doctor to repair this mess I called my arm. My first doctor, William Bowman, refused this pleasure. But I would like to thank him for his care during my first surgeries. Kaiser San Diego sent me to the Kaiser in Baldwin Park, near Los Angeles. There I met my new doctor, Dr.Helmstatter. I was set for more surgeries. One 2 hour biopsy done by Dr. Murphy in San Diego, and then the biggies. I endured 5 hours to remove the old parts and ten hours to replace them, three weeks later. I am now 4 years post surgeries and retired. I could not take the chance on breaking these parts as they said they would not be able to repair the arm again if there was a “next time”. I came through that nightmare and survived it. The sky is blue and all is right with the world.

Stay tuned for more of This Nurse’s nightmare.