Last year after the Inauguration I began to suffer from severe gastrointestinal pain. It is meaningful that it started the day after the Inauguration of George W. Bush, not because of him winning the Presidency, but because I had spent the past 2 years working four jobs, including working as a cater-waiter. That January 21st, I was in charge of one of the buffets at the Michigan State Inaugural Ball. I had a hard time working the event. I had been having a harder and harder time working the jobs: my energy level was low, I had gained some weight, and it seemed as though the trays of food were heavier!
January 22nd, 2001, 6:20 AM, I was winging my way to Los Angeles to visit my friend Anna and her 3 month old baby Talitis for a week of sun and fun. On the plane, I had some discomfort in my abdomen, but I attributed the feeling to the stress of having to be at the airport so early and the excitement of seeing my friend again. The pain persisted for the next few days, but again I thought it was related to the distress little Talitis was feeling at having to digest milk; that I was having sympathy pains. The pains felt as though knives were passing through my intestines. I suffered in silence for the whole week, not wanting to ruin the good time that I was having with Anna and her darling son. By Friday, Anna realized how much pain I was in and practically forced me to go to the Emergency Room. The ER physicians ruled out any immediately life-threatening problems; there was no infection, but they encouraged me to visit my doctor when I returned to Washington, DC.
After returning home, the pains seemed to subside for a while, but it became increasingly harder to take deep breaths, and I had the sensation that my stomach was always full, even though I was eating hardly anything at all. I started visiting a primary care doctor and went for ultrasound tests where it was obvious that my ovaries were abnormally large. The doctor referred me to a gynecologist who also ordered another round of ultrasound, but I wasn't able to get an appointment until 2 weeks later. This was on a Wednesday. That Friday night, I had the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life. My stomach was distended and it felt as though my insides were being sliced with knives. I could hardly take a breath. I lay in bed panting. During the night as I stumbled down the hall to the bathroom, I fainted from the pain, hitting my head on the wall and jamming the fingers of one hand as I tried to catch myself from falling. Again, I suffered in silence through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, not wanting to alarm my grandmother and great-grandmother with whom I live, but knowing that once Monday rolled around, I would definitely be going to the gynecologist to report the events of the weekend. <p>
On Monday, I showed up at the gynecologist's office, and despite some rudeness on the part of the reception nurses for having arrived without an appointment, the gynecologist agreed that something serious was happening. He immediately sent me to the hospital for more tests. I had a battery of tests on Monday evening and Tuesday during the day. Tuesday evening, as I lay in the hospital room visiting with my friends Charles and Samantha, the gynecologist came in and asked my friends to wait outside for a minute. It was definitely cancer. My stomach was bloated from ascites: fluid in the abdomen that is often a symptom of ovarian cancer. There was actually cancer in both ovaries, as well as in the uterus. (Later the doctors told me that each cancer was primary, not related.) <p>
This is important information: I was very lucky to be diagnosed early. I can very well imagine that other women might have passed out and thought to themselves: "I don't have time to be sick. This too shall pass." As it is, I let myself suffer longer than I should have done. <p>
My Joy of Giving
by Miss Sydney Wadkins
To show I care, I gave my hair. When I heard our friend had cancer, I knew this could be the answer. Giving this gift gave me a lift. So if you dare, donate your hair!
"Becoming exceptional doesn't require a college education, a medical background, a six figure income, a vision quest or a three-month spiritual retreat. Exceptional cancer patients are people who simply share a heart-felt desire to do the most they can to improve the quality of their lives. And there is one other thing that sets them apart from the others they show up!
Exceptional cancer patients make time in their lives to seek the help they need to maximize their healing choices. Actually, it's easy to pick them out of a crowd. They're the ones who read the books, listen to the tapes, attend the educational seminars and search for cutting-edge information every chance possible. They also seem to focus not so much on extending survival but rather on enjoying life to the fullest whenever possible."
"If it can be definitively proven that brain states can effect how our body deals with day to day function, we should see changes in the approach people have to their lives and day to day affairs, not to mention how they deal with stressful situations. W e would also see a drastic change is the practice of clinical medicine.
Research in PNI is telling us that we must be increasingly accountable for our own health. Our own brain states affect our bodies' ability to fight disease. If we believe this to be true then the states of mind with which we go into potentially stressful situations have a direct effect on how our bodies response to stress."