A Homecoming

Today the wee one and I went to the train station to pick up Pace. It's been a year and a half since the three of us were together under one roof and not under the specter of cancer. It's a homecoming, a family reunion and like waking up from a bad dream.

I was looking at Pace and she is a different person, and I'm not talking about the breast reconstruction, battle scars and now curly hair; even though she's finding her old dresses don't fit quite right through the chest. She's more focused and driven; plain and simple.

We re-introduced ourselves of the neighbors at the playground and Kim immediately remembered Pace. We talked about trying to find an acceptable day care facility and other mundane things. Everything felt new and "normal" at the same time.

Cancer found its way into the conversation as a friend of Kim's got breast cancer at 30 just before her wedding. Reminds me of a saying Marcus Spellar told me. "There was a man who complained because he had no shoes until he met a man who had no feet."

We ended up eating a lukewarm dinner as the wee one required attention just as I served the plates. Things are definitely settling back to normal.

Realizing What You're Made Of - An HBR article, March 2007

As I was sitting in the new Terminal One waiting for my delayed flight, I the tile of an article caught my eye "Realizing What You're Made Of." it was a finger of God moment considering this topic has been running around in my mind recently. I mused about overcoming adversity in an earlier post this month. However, it was one of those moments... just when you think you've got it bad, you'll see someone's always got it worse.

The writer is the co-founder of management-consulting firm FrontierWorks. He tells his story of overcoming adversity. He suffered a sudden injury to his spinal cord which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Through perserverance, guidance, effort and elation that he turned a handicap into a new life.

And while Montreal was shrouded in airport closing fog I read a sidebar summarizing what he'd learned from this experience. It rang clear as a bell.

• Adversity distorts reality, but crystallizes the truth
• Loss amplifies the value of what remains
• It's easier to create new dreams than cling to broken ones
• You can't know what will happen tomorrow-and it's better that way
• Your happiness is more important than righting injustices
• You can't control what happens, just how you respond

The article is worth a read if you can find the time, order it here."Realizing What You're Made Of" by Glenn Mangurian

Overcoming adversity

Overcoming adversity and these challenges will lead to accomplishing even greater things than Pace and I thought possible. It's awakening us to new possibilities and opportunities. We're communicating in ways we never have before. We are different people that we were before cancer struck and while that is challenging to our relationship, it's really no different than anyone else's relationship pressures. It's just that Keeping Pace has distorted time and accelerated changes in our outlooks on life.

A famous businessman once said: "You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

Interestingly enough that is attributed to the founder of family entertainment, Walt Disney.

Pace's bones ache, and I feel like a wraith is muttering in my ear

The radiologist told us that Pace will feel pain in her bones as a result of the radio, but to be sure to be aware of any change in the pain and alert the cancer surgeon. Sometimes knowing too much about cancer can cause the mind to turn inward and hear a wraith where there was none to begin with.

And the wraith says things like.

• The thing that makes cancer deadly is when the cancerous cells migrate to other areas of the body
• Different cancers have specific maps and preferred pathways to other areas of the body
• Breast cancer cells often move to the bones.
• The docs say while they actually seem to mutate into another form of cancer, its still breast cancer.
• Breast Cancer also tends to spread to the lymphatic system, liver skin and brain

So I thank the wraith for the warning and get back to focusing on the concrete and the positive.

Researcher dispels Myth of Dioxins and Plastic Water Bottles

In all good intentions my folks sent me an email that has been doing the rounds for a couple of years.
If you're going to use a microwave, it's always a good idea to use class rather than plastic. However, the hysteria of the email is unmitigated.

Below is the link to the clarification from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Researcher dispels Myth of Dioxins and Plastic Water Bottles

If you are interested in the Urban Legand, here it is, it's a classic spammers chain mail, note the variation on "forward this to all your friends!"

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S - PLEASE READ

1. No plastic containers in microwave
2. No water bottles in freezer.
3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer.Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies.

Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic.Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.

He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers.This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.
Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.Cover food with a paper towel instead.This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in your life!