Sue
My mother died a few years ago and with my father already having passed, my kids were without grandparents in our home town. A dear lady that I had known through years because of church and other activities and I resumed a friendship that turned into extended family as she became the grandma that was no longer with us. She baked the kids cookies and cinnamon rolls and we took her on boat rides and wheel barrow rides and play time on our trampoline and so very much more. She became a vital part of our lives. She had no children and having just lost her husband, it seemed like a good fix for us all. We have spent countless hours making cookies, playing in the garden, going for long rides, to church, out to dinner, and more until her health deteriorated to a point she could no longer enjoy those fun times. The new normal was -going to visit her in the nursing home and after 8 + long years, last night she passed. We will miss her dearly as she was a connection for us all and we were family to her. I can't tell you how many times I took her to Grove City shopping to get her favorite shoes, or clothes or just ride in the woods to enjoy the outdoors. We laughed and cried together and her passing was a blessing as the past few months have been torturous on us all but I will miss her and I have woken up with an empty spot in my heart. Her classic line was, "Oh forever" and she never seemed to be amazed with the world and enjoyed trying it all. She was always game to try the next thing the kids put before her. It was almost her birthday and yet I feel it is her birthday as she is now home and with her Ralph. Through the years she would tease and call me Ruth and my husband Roy (his real name is Ron) or she wouldn't answer if I said I loved you till she would break out giggling and tell me she loved me after already telling everyone else she loved them. We would go and put flowers on her husband's grave and she would ask to open my sunroof and put her hands out and feel the air. She was a gentile and kind person and she made me a better person. She will be missed and trust me, she always made it a good day!.
Sue
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There are so many projects I want to complete on the weekends and either time, money, or energy run out first or maybe all three. What a beautiful Sunday morning with all the snow that just kept coming and coming! I even have to make a path for my dogs so they can go out and take care of business. After making the rounds and cleaning and stripping and washing beds and making my usual check in phone calls - my sails were empty. I instead looked at all the things I need to get done and that just didn't help the whole outlook. Monday though is a start of a whole new week and each day and night are filled so my lists and piles just keep getting higher. I now see as I get older how some of those snow birds head south for a reprieve. I am one of those that has to clean for the cleaning lady though and house has to be in order. I have been doing massive getting rid of things and I figure with our new garbage cans, if I don't add anything else to it, it will probably take me a year to get rid of all the stuff I have already put in a pile to get rid of. The recent news of all the tragedies around the world overshadow the good news that is out there. The new vaccines/ blood tests etc to detect and prevent cancer. It is learning how to best catergorize all this info coming in how best to deal with effectively. A newly diagnosed patient has all these issues and more on their plate and learning how to put them in piles they cal handle and dealing with getting rid the massive amount of information that is not important or even correct. Monday may be rough as the first day of a new week but each of us are fighting our own battles and if you can help someone with either your time, money, or energy you are in fact helping yourself. Let's continue to reach out to make each day better and for those around us that are having a real rough start... today.
Making it a great day! S This week has been an interesting week as my computer was not always doing what it was supposed to do and IT got several calls and have continued to be on my speed dial. Technology can be great when it works but when it fails you, it is beyond frustrating. Just like my Christmas present- I got a new phone. That is the good news and the bad news is that I got a new phone and when they transferred my sim card I got all the home numbers but lost all the cell numbers which brings me back to the technology issue and it is great when it works. Now for those of you that I had your cell, you better call me so I can put you back in otherwise, I did not give up on you, just lost all the numbers. Start of a new year and I realize that my mental computer needs to catch up on friends and acquaintences that I have not been in touch with and I have not lost you totally just temporarily misplaced you or have put you in a back file and need to retrieve you. I might need a little jump start if it has been awhile since we have been in touch but know that each and everyone of you has touched me in some way on my journey and as I start heading to the big 60, I realize how many lives have touched me. Some of you have been in my more recent past and some from way back but you are all important. I am gearing up to get back out and do education for breast cancer awareness and what can I bring new to the table and how can I influence or make an impact to have you realize that you and your health is important. Take care of you first and everything else will fall into place as far as your health first. As a mother and a wife, I am definitely a co-dependent and live to give to my family and help as I can. I know that it is time to reflect and regroup and dig in again and do the best I can. I look forward to seeing you again or meeting you for the first time and please don't hesitate to call and I will be glad to come do a program or help in anyway I can. In the meantime, it is snowing, it is January and after the holiday and my computer is finally running and although I am out of steam, it will have to fill in where I am
I attended the Meadville Area Family of Professionals meeting this morning in Cambridge Springs and was fortunate enough to do some networking and found some new places that I can go do a program on breast cancer education and awareness on. This is new year and so much out there to do. I have updated my one presentation and am working a whole new one as well. Lots in the works for the upcoming year and I am excited. I have made so many connections and friendships and continue to find new avenues. There are many misconceptions about breast cancer still out there and I can honestly say that each day there are new advances and medicines and techniques and proceedures. I am only 5 years out and I am shocked and amazed at those changes in just the past 5 years. There is hope and help for the future! So keep me in mind if you need a speaker or just a friendly ear and we will continue to open up the awareness and education around breast cancer. Make it a great day! Sue
Simple Blood Test -- "Liquid Biopsy" -- Will Spot Even Low Levels of Cancer
A blood test so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor's office. Boston scientists who invented the test and health care giant Johnson & Johnson will announced that they are joining forces to bring it to market. Four big cancer centers also will start studies using the experimental test this year. Stray cancer cells in the blood mean that a tumor has spread or is likely to, many doctors believe. A test that can capture such cells has the potential to transform care for many types of cancer, especially breast, prostate, colon and lung. Initially, doctors want to use the test to try to predict what treatments would be best for each patient's tumor and find out quickly if they are working. "This is like a liquid biopsy" that avoids painful tissue sampling and may give a better way to monitor patients than periodic imaging scans, said Dr. Daniel Haber, chief of Massachusetts General Hospital's cancer center and one of the test's inventors. Ultimately, the test may offer a way to screen for cancer besides the mammograms, colonoscopies and other less-than-ideal methods used now. The test uses a microchip that resembles a lab slide covered in 78,000 tiny posts, like bristles on a hairbrush. The posts are coated with antibodies that bind to tumor cells. When blood is forced across the chip, cells ping off the posts like balls in a pinball machine. The cancer cells stick, and stains make them glow so researchers can count and capture them for study. The test can find one cancer cell in a billion or more healthy cells, said Mehmet Toner, a Harvard University bioengineer who helped design it. Researchers know this because they spiked blood samples with cancer cells and then searched for them with the chip. (AP/MSNBC) CASTING FOR RECOVERY- for all Breast Cancer Patients and Breast Cancer Survivors
Toll Free:888-553-3500 or contact SUE KILBURN 373-3381 The issue of breast cancer these days isn’t as much about survival, as about managing a diagnosis while pursuing life and engaging in the full range of possible activities. Physicians and breast center personnel recommend Casting for Recovery because they know that it helps provide tools needed for a healthier life. A Casting for Recovery weekend is about empowerment Knowing little about fly fishing, women learn the basics while experiencing a spirit of trust and sharing that cannot be put into words. Participating at your own comfort level, you will find new strength, joy, and confidence, leaving the retreat with a belief in your ability to master the challenges ahead. The Casting for Recovery program has generated a wide circle of survivors whose new-found understanding and enthusiasm creates ripples outward in their communities, among their friends, families, and colleagues, helping improve the quality of their lives. · Offer a 2½ day retreat for 14 women per retreat, at no cost to participants. · Provide fly-fishing instruction and breast cancer information in a setting that helps lessen isolation, providing a recreational activity with both physical and emotional benefits · Help participants go forward optimistically with new knowledge and new friends · Provide an experience that promotes coping and problem-solving skills · Provide methods to gain self-esteem, network, make new friends, and learn new skills as a commitment to the future. · Focus on wellness and empowerment rather than illness and helplessness · Provide a forum to broaden understanding about breast cancer treatment and enable sharing among participants RETREAT IN PA TBA |
AuthorMy name is Sue Kilburn and I am a clinical nurse breast cancer educator at the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Archives
March 2015
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