Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Self Exam for lumps

Self Breast Exams
There are several videos on YouTube on how to perform self breast exams.  I encourage all women (and even men….men can get breast cancer) to watch at least one of the videos.  Here’s a link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDWYWo72ZTM

Coconut Oil fight Cancer - Truth or myth

Coconut Oil Fights Cancer!

Cancer cells feed and grow in our body until the illness can eventually take over and ruin our health. And that’s only if it doesn’t kill us.
Don’t be terrified by cancer anymore! Because researchers have discovered it’s possible to actually “starve” cancer cells—and this pro-active defense leaves the body more able to fight the disease than being assaulted with chemotherapy!
In The Coconut Oil Secret: Nature's #1 Best Healing Superfood, you’ll discover:
·         The alternative fuel your body can thrive on, but starves cancer cells—found in abundance in coconut oil!
·         The 7 foods you should be eating to keep the threat of cancer at bay—and hint, coconut oil is one of them!
·         The four lifestyle changes you must adhere to for optimum health—and to avoid cancer!
·         The specific foods you must remove from your diet—because they help cancer thrive!
·          
·         http://www.thealternativedaily.com/alerts/coconutoilsecret/images/jake.png
·         Jake Carney, Founder
The Alternative Daily


Ruth has special significance for Christians:
Matthew's genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:2-17) lists four women, and Ruth is one of them
.

Beautiful Princess that is you

Beauty and Health

Why are we even considering being beautiful when we are involved in a struggle for life.  When we are at war with the big C.  Why are we concerned about our boobs and losing them?  Why did I go and perm my hair in a wash and wear yesterday to ensure I look beautiful after the surgery?  Why a I concerned about my looks – should I not be more concerned preparing my heart and soul?  To be ready just in case I get to dance eternally with Christ and the angels.


Well call me human because I just had to perm my hair and be able to look good and feel a little better about myself.  It is not that you can call me gorgeous now but it did boost my self esteem somewhat, however my skin turned did not take it well at all.  My skin is over sensitive and it burned in my neck skin so that nothing can even touch it.  It is like someone poured boiling hot water on my neck.  I applied some germolene antibiotic crème on it for burns and then it felt like I was on fire.  This is not due to any medical treatment yet  I understand during chemo and radiation I will have to take extra gentle care but what happened now is before treatment is started…  Maybe we want to be pretty so that we will be acceptable to those that we love – perhaps in that back of our head as girls we feel we can only be love if we are the perfect beauty queen with the perfect body.  Inside every woman is the soul desire to be the princess that lives happily ever after with the prince that adore her till death them do apart.

Maybe as women can blame society or men, magazines, Hollywood the media – but in the end if you review history it seems that it always just had being this way.  There is a natural desire within every woman to be beautiful and men naturally desire beautiful women because it is as if he has obtained the ultimate prize of life then.

When we read the story of Queen Vasthi that stood on her principles and denied the drunk king her husband, to show of his wife body in a dancing process before his drunken friends. Queen Vasthi husband King Ahasuerus, so he divorced her and she was banished.    Then the king's servants said 'Let beautiful and virtuous girls be sought out for the king
The king shall appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom, and they shall select beautiful young virgins to be brought to the harem in Susa,  The king was lonely then and decided he will marry the most beautiful women in the land. There was a young Jewish orphan called Esther that lived with her uncle Mordecai, she kept her identity as a Jew secret.

Hadassah, Esther's Jewish name, means 'myrtle', a tree whose leaves only release their fragrance when crushed. Her heroism only appeared when she and her people were in danger.  'Esther' means 'hidden': her Jewish identity was hidden for many years.

Ester was chosen to be sent time in preparation with other young girls in the palace and in the end the king picked her to be Queen. Her uncle was a servant of the king and Mordecai, a servant of the king, overheard a plot and warned his master through Esther.  Esther saved Mordecai from Haman  Esther 3-8:14.  If you read the story you will note that Mordecai upset Haman that was a high court official that then in turn decided to kill all Jews and Mordecai in a plot.  Queen Ester then prepared herself to look awesome when she approached the king.  With this action she put her own life on the line.  If the king refused to see her she could be banished or put to death.  She pleaded with the king at two banquets she gave, and Haman was punished. He was hanged on the very gibbet he had built for Mordecai.  Esther saved the Jewish people        Esther 8:15-10  

Letters were sent throughout the kingdom repealing the decree and the Jewish people in Persia were save  All the Jewish people was happy and greatly rejoiced and a festival called the Perim was introduced to rejoice and remember Esther.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Advance Care Planing




Today is my Advance care Planning Appointment with the Oncology office

I received this packed of paperwork to be completed before the important appointment.  Where is the human compassion in suggesting Advance care planning to a cancer patient is this like a judgment or what?  It makes you feel weak and less strong seemingly planning in advance.  I have to keep reminding myself that most people do actually live and make it in my position this is just smart planning incase>
Tamar‘s advance planning
Tamar means ‘date palm’, source of food, shade, life
Judah means ‘give praise to God’  
Er, Judah’s firstborn was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan ‘Go into your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law; raise up offspring for your brother.’Read 

The truth is that we think we plan in advance but God always has a plan himself for long-term.  Bad things happen to good people and good things to bad people. Keep reminding yourself that good can come from any evil plan that the enemy planned to destroy you, God can even use our mistakes for our own good and to glorify him.  Genesis 38: 1 – 11 Tamar married Judah’s eldest son Er.  Er died had a young age and then Judah gave Tamar to the next in line brother Onan.  Tamar did not conceive a child since Onan practiced a form of contraception most like withdrawing before ejaculation, and so Tamar was childless again.  For a women in the Jewish community this was a shame it seemingly was a punishment from God.  Onan did not obey his father and did not follow the law to give Tamar a son that would inherit Er‘s name and claim  Er’s inheritance.  God punished Onan and he died.  Now Tamar had the right to the third son, Shelah of Judah, was too young  to father a child. Tamar waited since Judah said he will send for her when the boy is old enough. But Judah did not sent for Tamar.  She decide to take it upon herself to do advance planning, she dressed as a prostitute covering her face sat and waited for her father in-law, at the cities entrance – he took to her and they  had sex .  Judah left his (seal cord) and staff with her (that he thought was  prostitute) in the agreement that he will collect it later when he sent payment for services with a messenger.  She left though with his belonging and the messenger never found the prostitute. Tamar took off the prostitute close put on her widow garment and went home.  .

Leviate Law. This law was found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. If a man died, and his wife had not yet had a child by him, she could go to his brother and demand that he marry her and give her a child who would inherit the property of the dead husband.
‘Tamar put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.’      Genesis 38:12-19

Judah properbly had no desire to give his third son to Tamar after two sons died that had being with her.  He considered her as badluck. Later Judah learned that Tamar was pregnantand he accused her of being a whore.  Juda was a tribal head and therefor could past judgement on her.

And Judah said “Bring her out and let her be burned”.  Genesis 38:20-26.

Tamar has not completed her planning yet she sent back to Judah the seal cord and staff and said this belong to the father of my child.  Judah was now confronted with evidence of the event and realized she acted according to the Levite law and she was correct.


Tamar’s had twin  sons that she  called Perez and Zerah. Perez would be an ancestor of King David and alter the savior Jesus Christ. 

Thus with some unorthodox advance planning Tamar where able to collect the inheritance for her and her sons and above all a spiritual inheritance in the lineage Christ our Lord.

Now getting back to my advance planning  I first started completing the patient Values for Healthcare, my Living will as a directive to Physicians and Family Surrogates.  Very important in my case is the Medical power of Attorney that has to be completed in case something goes wrong in emergency or the surgery when removing a part of me.  My spouse now and I are not married we are domestic partners (my ex-husband) so it is ultimately important that I name him and then secondary my two eldest children.  I did not complete the out of Hospital do not resuscitate because I really do want to live you know

Monday, June 9, 2014

Delight of the female breasts


Delight  of the female boobs 

Oops no Boobs

So maybe you think it is all in vain the fact that a women’s body is important to her.   And faced with changes such as removing the or altering the general look of the breast is just nothing.  No it is actually very persona.  It is an intrigue part of who you become after 12 when your breast just starts blossoming.  I look at my daughters and they are about to die if their t-shirt or swim suit just show those little pointy dots.  For a good while when you enter puberty there are all the talks of who are wearing bras and who not.  What type of bra and as you get older you kind of grow into your new boops that is part of your new physical image. Later your boops become part of your romantic affiliation and lovemaking with your lover.

Song of Solomon 7:6-12

English Standard Version (ESV)
How beautiful and pleasant you are, O loved one, with all your delights![a]7 Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like its clusters.I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples,

  Some women go forth and use their physical beauty to advance their careers, fall in love and live happy ever after.  Of cause until the C come knocking on the door. Early in scripture we see that King David a man after the heart of God did not with hold himself from a young beauty. 
2 Samuel 11
New International Version (NIV)

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant

Asenath - Fear …struck

Asenath - Fear …struck

Asenath means 'gift of the sun' or 'gift of the sun-god'

 Many times I am fear struck about all the unknowns of what is to come; the only thing I can compare all the feeling with is a huge roller coaster ride.  Some days I stand strong in faith and other days I am like in doubt in fear and see a gasket with my spirit floating above saying my goodbyes.   To keep my mind busy I started reading tangling and researching to help my soul and mind catch up with the physical reality.  I looked for breast cancer in the bible and I did not find it then I analyze my own heart again and it is fear and doubt that I face.   I then read about Asenath and aristocratic Egyptian women daughter of the priest of On.  On was a name for Heliopolis also known as the religious centre of the Son God Ra.  Asenath must have being educated women that grew up in a total different religious culture than Joseph (Jewish-faith).  She was have moved in high social circles and being wise.  The king gave her as wife to Joseph; she must have had fear and many doubts for the unknown.  She had to leave her own religion and culture behind and face the unknown. Certainly there was a certain amount of fear and doubt in a similar way. 

Genesis 41:45:  And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaph'enath-pane'ah; and he gave him in marriage As'enath, the daughter of Poti'phera

Genesis 41:
50 Before the year of famine came, Joseph had two sons, whom As'enath, the daughter of Poti'phera priest of On, bore to him. 51 Joseph called the name of the first-born Manas'seh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." 52 The name of the second he called E'phraim, "For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction."
Asenath had at least two children, sons called Manasseh 'God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house', and Ephraim 'God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortunes'.Aenath name went down in Christian history since 

Why me? Eve asked

Why  ?  Eve asked?

At first Eve was called Ishah, 'woman'.
Later she became Eve, 'life-bearer'.
'So God created humankind in his image, In the image of God he created them;
Male and female he created them,God blessed them, and God said to them
'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.'
Read Genesis 1:1-31 and 2:1-4a
Eve was the first woman she was created and the creator created her perfectly into a perfect world .  Eve was the female ruler the Queen of the Garden of Eden created I the image of God.  Eve’s world was shattered because of disobedience.  Maybe I should be upset with Eve for destroying immortality and getting as through out of the Garden of Eden.  I am sure Eve many times asked herself the question Why? Why did she fail? Why did God allow her to fail? Why?  Yet God had a plan in it all and what seemed to be a fatal mistake for humanity became the story of salvation – life in Christ.    Maybe you failed like I did so clearly in my life so manyt times.  Yet God forgive and he does not down you or sentence you to death He has a plan for His glory with your life.  If Eve the mother of all mothers that knew God more intimately than any other women failed in her walk of God then certainly it could happen with you and me.  But have faith and be encouraged because he did not let go of Eve.

The American Cancer Society’s estimates for breast cancer in women in the United States for 2014 are:
  • About 232,570 new cases of invasive breast cancer
  • About 62,570 new cases of carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the breast will be found (CIS is non-invasive and is the earliest form of breast cancer).
  • About 40,000 deaths from breast cancer

The question that most frequently echoed I my head was “Why me?”  “Why did I get Cancer?” “Why not someone else?’  What did I do wrong that I am disciplined by God in this way?   So many questions and so few answers. ..Well if not me who then?  And this is not a wish that you wish on anyone not even your worst enemy.  So who then? Well I guess it is me.   Jesus is still my friend He is the one that takes your hand and walk it out with you. 
I Corithians 10: 12-13
12Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it

The answer to all the why is simply why not?