Tag: mindset

Life Post Treatment

Life Post Treatment

I have never really been one to want to take a bunch of drugs.  If I have a choice, I will always choose a holistic approach. A vitamin or supplement approach first before turning to the world of prescription medication.

That being said, I do believe there is a time, place, and benefit to prescription drugs and using it them as a last resort has always been my preference.

Until breast cancer.

It is incredible how two words…one that used to remind me of something sexy (breast) and the other a horoscope (cancer). But when combined become deadly and lethal in an instant and have me reevaluating my whole take on life and prescription medications.

I still use supplements first, however I am now in a position where if I want to live, prescription medications will need to be taken for the next ten years…and to be fair, it is still all a gamble as to whether it will work for me or not…but I am not willing to take the chance to go the road without it.

So, you are probably wondering what am I rambling on about here?

Tamoxifen.  This old drug is very effective in treating hormone receptive breast cancers.  This drug works by blocking estrogen in your body.  Basically, I was told that the estrogen in my body is what keeps producing cancer cells, so we need to block them.  Like a bodyguard or the bouncer at a bar so to speak.

Being that my cancer really loves estrogen, the answer is Tamoxifen to help me.  Here is the kicker…you know what else loves estrogen besides some cancers?

OUR BRAIN! Oh yes, the brain loves estrogen and without it, I have begun to feel like I am walking around in one big brain fart.  I go to sleep at night and honestly wake up unclear what I did the night before or when I went to bed.  Kind of like Groundhog Day! This used to be fun when I was in my twenties and had gone out the night before partying.  This is not fun in my late forties after having gone to bed at 9pm after a cup of tea and have no reason not to remember what I did the night or day before!

Even some days trying to remember what I wrote about last and then blogging what I think is an awesome topic, only to discover I wrote nearly the same blog a week before. Frustrating and time consuming to say the least!  The lack of estrogen to the brain can feel very debilitating at times.

So, how does one live with this?

Well…there are A LOT of checklists and calendar entries.  I do my best to write most things down and calendar them.  I take all my vitamins and supplements to help with the rest of my body feeling great and I do my best to not make myself wrong when I do honestly forget things and people must remind me or correct me.

My husband is a saint to put up with my brain in the shape that it is.  He asks me to do something a certain way and I say “sure!” and then, almost immediately do it the opposite way to what he said.  It has taken him some time too to realize that I am not doing this to upset him.  I just honestly don’t remember him saying something or I know he said something, I just cannot remember what it was.

This all can be very frustrating to say the least.  That being said, the silver lining is I don’t always remember all the bad stuff in life and if my socks go missing long enough, I just buy new ones!  Oh and this whole memory loss thing did get me to write a book too so I would remember…You are welcome! See! Silver linings everywhere!

Win Win!

 

Slip and Falls and Silver Linings

Slip and Falls and Silver Linings

I have found in my life that looking for the silver linings in any event no matter how terrible can bring about something good IF you are willing to look for it.

Admittedly, I am not a doctor, but I am fascinated by healthcare in all forms.  While I lean towards more of a focus on what most call “alternative healthcare” I do take an interest in understanding it all. Read on to discover where it all began…

Once upon a time…okay never mind… I am not Cinderella but this story does have a happy ending…continue…

When I was 19 years old, I was waitressing in a very busy breakfast restaurant.  At the height of a busy Sunday rush, I walked into the serving area not realizing the ceramic floor was wet. I slipped and came crashing down on my back with all the plates I was carrying shattering all over.   I couldn’t get up right away.  I couldn’t move. I felt paralyzed with pain. In that moment, my life and everything I thought I knew shifted.

I saw my medical Doctor the day after the fall and was given pain medication but no real plan on what to do.  In the hours, days and weeks to come my condition grew worse.  I couldn’t go back to work because the constant walking and then strain of lifting anything gave me horrendous back pain. All I would be given is something to take the edge off the intense stabbing discomfort radiating from my neck and spine.

I wouldn’t work for nearly a year.  I literally couldn’t work.  I was now dealing with how groggy and unclear the medication made my brain on top of the constant physical discomfort. My doctor told me that my injury to my back was bad enough that I would most likely struggle with back problems most of my life.

My mental health was deteriorating from this news and laying around all day in pain just made the bottomless pit of despair seem to be growing bigger and bigger by the day. I felt helpless.

Was this what the rest of my life now looked like?

After about 6 months of this constant pain, complaining and feeling like a victim of all my circumstances, I was sitting with my employer at the time voicing my upset and he turned to me and said,” you need to see my chiropractor.”  He immediately got up from the table, went into his office and made me an appointment for the next day.  He didn’t ask me if I wanted to. He just did it and honestly, I was desperate to feel better and couldn’t handle the thought of where my life was currently heading.  Pain pills. Chronic discomfort. Constantly feeling unhappy.  I knew I had to try something different…Anything!

The next day I was sitting in the chiropractic office that was a small room with a weird looking table in it.  A nice (and I could tell right away POWERFUL) woman walked in.  She asked me lots of questions. She listened intently to my answers.  She took the time to educate me on what was happening with my body and what to expect out of this treatment.  She was honest.  This wasn’t going to be a one session, and all is well again.  This was going to take time and if I did the treatments and the recommended exercise she gave me to do at home, I would get better.

And I did.

That Doctor was Dr. Christine Majeran, D.C.

As I was increasingly getting better, stronger, I still knew I didn’t have enough strength to go back to serving full time. I had to continue to build up strength to lift things.  People don’t think about what it takes to be a server.  You are on your feet all day and you’re carrying many heavy plates.  It is exhausting and hard work to do.   Tip your servers well! They deserve it! Trust me!

One day while at my treatment I was so happy to share that I was feeling so much better but still frustrated that I wasn’t strong enough to lift and get my job back. Dr. Majeran  turned to me and said “I have an opening for a receptionist here at the office.  You will need to meet my husband as well who is the other Chiropractor here but if all goes well in your interview, the job is yours.”  I was gobsmacked!  This was awesome! How did I just go from being a patient to a possible employee in this GLORIOUS place of wellness?!

This terrible situation I found myself in when I fell is now turning out to be the catalyst to a lifelong journey of learning and being within healthcare.  I must admit, I have loved every minute of it!

Working with everyone at the First Chiropractic & Wellness Clinic in Moose Jaw those many years ago was incredible.  I learned so much about chiropractic care and the nervous system. I learned that chiropractic is not just for pain but for overall health and wellness!  I learned all the different techniques in chiropractic and even became a patient educator at one point.  During this time at the office, they began to expand their practice and brought in a Naturopathic Doctor.

There was so much more to learn!

See, once I started to feel better in my body from the accident, I no longer needed the pain medication and I began to feel that I wanted to fuel my body with vitamins and supplements and take on other “alternative” treatments to see how much better I could feel.

This discovery of Chiropractic and Naturopathic medicine was all coming at a time where my marriage at 19 years old was falling apart. (That is a whole story for another blog post! Stay Tuned!)  There was a ton of stress on my nervous system from the fall and from the ongoing stress of a failing marriage.  The glue that held me together became chiropractic and naturopathic medicine.  It fueled my soul.  Gave me strength to keep moving forward.  Gave me strength to move on.

It also gave me a much-needed paycheck!  But that was just a bonus to all the other benefits I was receiving!

See, had I not fallen on that floor that day I am not sure what my life would look like today.  Also, I love it when someone tells me that I can’t or won’t be able to do something. It pretty much fuels me to prove them wrong!

At 30 years old, I started teaching Zumba full time and for someone who had a back injury that technically “should be” living with chronic pain, I am pretty sure my medical Doctor at the time would be shocked to know I was shaking my hips all over the city! This was definitely not a career path I am sure they would foresee me doing for over a decade now!

I mean, come on! Tell me I can’t DO something!

I DARE YOU!

Like I said, I truly believe that silver linings in any situation DO exist.  IF you are willing to look for them!

Looking for a recommendation for Chiropractic care in Moose Jaw or Toronto?  (I know, that seems like very random places to to know about…but I do!)

Contact me and I am happy to provide you information.

 

 

Truth Bomb for Family & Friends

Truth Bomb for Family & Friends

People reach out to me often about either themselves with cancer or family members or friends. I appreciate your trust in me to speak from the heart on this subject.

I am reminded often that when one person is affected by this disease, a whole community is hit. Cancer is like a tornado that whips its way through a community causing destruction everywhere.
When it comes to an end of treatment either by the individual surviving and thriving or passing, there is a lot of debris and emotions that have happened and now the community is out there looking together to see what damage has been done and will either rise above it all or may feel deep pain. Either way are very normal reactions to this disease and its impact.

Why I wrote my book was in part because of this. The impact that I saw for myself and my family was huge. I know I have a great support system around me but I am sure there were times, not said directly to me, but I knew people were thinking it… Will she live?
Some families I have spoken to have started creating memory boxes of their loved one. I get it. You want to ensure that their memory lives on.

Please be mindful though that this can occur to the patient like you have given up. It is not supportive to have someone treating you like you are dying or nearly dead when you are still alive and fighting!  It shouldn’t even have to be said but many don’t understand that unless they go through it themselves. Having cancer is not easy to go through and mindset and who you surround yourself with can be everything.

Think about it from the patient’s point of view

How would you like it if people started treating you like you will be dead tomorrow?

As the patient, you are already dealing with your mortality. You do not need others fears to fuel what you are going through and causing you to become more afraid. What you need is strength. Making what seems impossible now possible.

If you cannot be that for your family or friend who is going through it, you need to get your own support. Please do not put your fears and emotions on the patient. They need to stay positive and believe they can overcome.  There is lots of support out there for everyone and talking it through with someone other than the patient can be very helpful. It is always a scary and an emotional time for everyone. What is needed is love, belief to overcome and compassion.
Please know that your reactions and actions can get on the patient. Be kind, loving & supportive.

Seek out the support you need as well.  It is okay to not be okay and there are incredible resources out there to help you too!

If you are unsure where to look for these resources, please send me a message and I will be happy to support you to find them.

We are all in this together!

(Below photo taken during my chemotherapy treatment)