Posts tagged cancer

Scan Day Again

Jun04
2013 2 Comments

Written by Linda

This is kind of a redo from a post from last year. It’s time for me to go get scanned, something I need to do for the next few years since I had cancer two years ago. I only have to go every 6 months, and my last time was January. Normally I make my next appointment at the end of my previous appointment, but I didn’t do that last time, and I don’t have an appointment scheduled. I also have no idea how long it will take to get an appointment, and I am putting off calling to make one. I just hate going; it is really no big deal, it just takes a long time and involves lots of needles and iv’s, but really, compared with many of the other people in the cancer center, I am one of the easy ones. I thought maybe posting this again would inspire me to call to make an appointment.

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One of the aftermaths of having cancer is needing to get scanned regularly to be sure there is no reoccurrence.

I go to the Johns Hopkins Hospital:

They have crazy colored windows in the hospital.

This is a separate part of the hospital, the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center which is beautiful inside. But I get a little freaked out every time I see the signs that say “Cancer Center” because I really don’t feel like I ever had cancer.

But how can you not like a place that is painted purple?

So light and airy, and there are even trees. I have a card with a barcode on it, and I have to scan my card whenever I go to a new section of the center. When I first get there I scan my card and it prints out my schedule:

First I get weighed, blood pressure, temperature and pulse. Then a blood draw. The lab people are so good at their jobs, all they do all day is draw blood so they gets lots of practice. I can hardly feel it. They are pretty friendly too, if I try to make conversation, although it is usually really early in the morning, and I don’t talk much in the morning.

Next stop is hydration. I need two hours of saline fluid before my scans in order to help the contrast dye get through my kidneys more quickly. The dye isn’t good for kidneys, so the quicker it can get through, and the more diluted it is, the better. I get my iv here, and these people are really good at their jobs also. For me the worst part of the process is the iv, but the nurses who do mine are experts at it. I get a comfy chair that reclines, and a blanket.

Since it is only going to be in there for a few hours they do the iv in the bend of my arm, which is the easiest place to put an iv needle, but results in not being able to bend my arm the entire time it is in there. I once made the mistake of having them do the iv in my right arm, which was a big mistake since I am right handed and therefore couldn’t write or do much of anything for the next few hours.

Also at this time I have to wait for the results of my lab tests, because if my kidney function tests aren’t within the normal range they won’t do the contrast at all, and a CT scan without contrast isn’t really worth much at all. Luckily each time I have gone my kidney function tests were good.

This room I’m in is used for all kinds of iv stuff – people are getting chemo, platelets, and who knows what else. I am lucky that all I need is saline. I definitely get a new sense of perspective when I am in the cancer center and see the other patients. Some of them are incredibly sick, I won’t even go into what I see in there. There is no one dancing around singing “What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger”.

A nice gentleman sometimes comes around with a platter of snacks and fruit and offers me some, but I am not allowed to eat before the CT scan. I’m not sure if he is giving that stuff away, or if I would have to pay for it. My nurse checks in with me and keeps me informed about what is happening. One time it was really crowded there and there was no chair for me, so they stuck me out in the hall on a bench for a couple of hours with my iv pole. That wasn’t a good day for me. Luckily that only happened once.

While I am getting my saline, I watch stuff on my ipad, or read, or send emails. The hospital has good wifi.

Then it is off to get my CT scan. They leave the iv port in my arm, wrapped up in tape, because I need it for the CT scan contrast. In the waiting room a very friendly employee goes over paperwork with me. She comes to my seat, I don’t even have to get up to go to the desk. After the paperwork she asks me if I am comfortable and if she can get me anything. I always tell her I am fine, and she says if I need anything at all to just ask.

For some reason I am always freezing cold at this point, and she will bring me a blanket. There is a lot of waiting, things don’t seem to run on time here.

Then I go back to the radiology wing, and another person untapes the iv, and changes it to a different kind of iv, because the iv for the saline is different than the iv for the CT contrast. Then I get two giant cups of water to drink. I’m practically floating by now with all of the fluid in my body.

I get my scans, which hardly take any time at all, first without contrast, then with contrast, then the contrast iv comes out, they wait 5 minutes for the contrast to get to all of my parts and do another scan. When they inject the contrast it burns a little, but the worst part is feeling like I’ve peed in my pants. When they first told me this would happen I didn’t believe them, but it’s true, I guess it happens to everyone. It just feels that way, I don’t actually pee in my pants.

So the iv is finally out, and I can eat. By now I’ve been there for 4 or 5 hours and I am starving. I bring my own food, because the little shop they have there has really bad choices of food. I can sit in this lobby and eat.

Then I wait. And wait. And wait. I have so much fluid in me and I need to go to the bathroom about every 10 minutes. Eventually they call my name and I go into the doctor’s office. I always see the doctor’s assistant, and sometimes I actually see the doctor himself. He is a great oncologist who specializes in kidney cancer, and I am one of his most boring cases, luckily for me. He is also a really good lucking guy, which makes the day better. They tell me that my scans show no sign of cancer, and I am still NED – no evidence of disease.

When I leave I normally stop on the way home for lunch, because I am hungry and because I can’t make it all the way home without stopping to use a restroom. It takes a while for all of the fluid to get out of me. The last time I went I checked out a vegan restaurant in Baltimore that I had never been to.

This whole process from beginning to end takes about 8 hours, including travel time and lunch.

So it really isn’t that bad, I just hate doing it, and I am not worried about the cancer coming back, so sometimes I think I just don’t need to go anymore. But I know that is medically unsound, and I really need to just to do it. Maybe I’ll call today for an appointment.

Posted in Health - Tagged ct scans, kidney

Vegan Ramblings

May30
2012 8 Comments

Written by Linda

So being a vegan is “weird”. It is, I know it is, and that’s fine with me. I’ve never really been normal, although I do try. Let’s face it, anything outside of the norm is weird, and although there is a very broad spectrum of eating habits, veganism is close to the end of the bell curve (not as close to the end as breatharianism!) I really admire people who have been vegan since the 70s or 80s, it wasn’t easy to be vegan then because of the lack of readily available items like almond milk, and to the lack of resources that we can now get on the internet. I tried a vegan diet about 10 years ago, but gave it up. I thought it was too hard, especially when I was eating out.

Eating out has become easier, but even in a major metropolitan area like Washington DC, it is not all smooth sailing. There are a few totally vegan restaurants, maybe 5 that I know of, and there are a bunch that actually know what a vegan is and can accomodate a diner who doesn’t eat animal products. But they seem to sneak animal products in the strangest of places, for example, I went to Cava today for lunch, and their regular pita is vegan, however their mini pitas are not. Huh? Sometimes veggie burgers have egg whites, and pizza crust has parmesan cheese. You just never really know what is in there.

Which brings us to – how many questions do you ask? I suppose I could ask about every single item, but frankly I don’t. When I go to Elevation Burger to get a vegan burger, I don’t ask if the bun is vegan. It is difficult to find vegan hamburger buns, so chances are it is not vegan, but I don’t ask. If I knew for sure that it wasn’t vegan, I wouldn’t eat it, but if I don’t know, well, then it’s possible that it is vegan. I know that is not a good way of looking at things at all, that I am in denial just like every meat eater is in denial about the fact that the steak on their plate actually came from a real cow.

Which brings us to – I wish there was a name for a person who eats a plant based diet but isn’t a vegan. Veganism is so much more than a diet, it is a lifestyle, a culture. I switched to a plant based diet for health reasons, and I did not throw away silk blouses, or my leather couches. I would not buy leather couches again, but I do eat things with honey and wear makeup with carmine, and eat sugar that has probably been decolorized with bone char. I am opposed to any kind of animal abuse, particularly factory farming and animal testing. There really isn’t a name for what I am, so I say I eat a plant based diet, or I call myself a vegan which is easier.

As I have mentioned before, I switched to a plant based diet right after I was diagnosed with cancer. If I had changed my diet without the diagnosis, just out of the blue, I would have gotten some not so great feedback. But given the illness, people are more lenient. I do sometimes get asked, “Are you still doing that vegan thing?” My friends are the most supportive people in the world, whenever we go out to eat they make sure there is something on the menu that I can eat. There are very few places where I can find nothing, and even if I end up eating french fries and iceburg lettuce, it’s ok, because I’m out with friends and that is the fun part. Last week three friends took me out to lunch for my birthday and I picked the restaurant, which was Thai. I thought it was very generous of them to agree to Thai, not knowing if they really like Thai although they said they did, but they went above and beyond. They all ordered vegan items so that we could share. I asked them, “What are you doing?” and they said they like eggplant, and tofu, and vegetables. Seriously? So we shared and it was amazing.

It’s difficult going over to someone’s house for a dinner party, or other type of gathering. It’s not polite for me to say, “Is there anything there I can eat?” so I always ask if there is something I can bring, hoping they will say yes. I want to bring food, first because then I know there will be something for me to eat, and second, I want to share vegan food with other people so they can see that vegan food is good, and varied, and easy to make at home. The majority of hosts and hostesses are concerned about my dietary restrictions, some not at all. I like the people that are somewhere in the middle, because if they are too concerned I feel guilty; I don’t like to show up and have them say, in front of 50 people, “Linda, you can eat this, and this and this.” I know they are trying to be helpful, but still. Then there are the people who aren’t concerned at all as to whether there will be something for me, and yes, that kind of stings a little. I don’t expect them to do so much, but maybe a green salad might be nice? So that is why I like the middle of the road hosts, who might make me a little something that everyone else would enjoy too (ie; salad or rice) but also think it is ok for me to bring a dish or two.

I love going out with my vegan friends. I didn’t know anyone who was vegan until a few months ago when I joined a couple of meetup groups. Now I can say I have a group of vegan friends. And not only do we share the same dietary lifestyle, we also share other common interests. I’m not sure if this is true of all vegans as a whole, but the ones in my circle of friends seem to be liberal, atheist, pacifist, feminist, environmentalist, pro-choice, pro gay marriage and really smart. (Smarter than me, I don’t know what I am doing there!) But maybe if you are one of those things, you are all of them. I guess no one is a pro-life feminist.

Going out with vegan friends is easy. We go to vegan restaurants, or restaurants that we know cater to vegans. We can order whatever we want and we don’t seem weird. Actually none of these people are weird, not to me anyway. They are just regular people, either concerned about their health and living a long life, or compassionate about life on earth. Otherwise, regular. We are regular to each other, perhaps weird to the rest of the world. One day weird will be the new normal.

Posted in Vegan - Tagged family, food, friends, vegan

Harvard Study

Mar20
2012 2 Comments

Written by Linda

Harvard seems like a pretty reputable institution. This week they came out with the results of a study that “proved” that eating red meat will increase your chance of dying, and eating processed red meat (i.e.; hot dogs) even more so.

But then there are the naysayers, those who say the study is flawed. How exactly could one do an unflawed study on this subject? Take 120,000 ten year old children, tell 60,000 of them that they can’t eat red meat for the next 40 years, tell the other 60,000 to eat lots of red meat for the next 40 years, and check back with them when they are 50. See how many have died. I don’t think that would work.

This study followed 120,000 subjects, who were all health care professionals, for 24 years and they sent in their food reports every four years. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast yesterday let alone four years ago. I suppose they were supposed to be keeping good notes all along, but how do we know they were? Well, they are health care professionals, so maybe we can assume they kept precise records.

Over the course of those 24 years, 24,000 subjects died. More red meat eaters died than non red meat eaters.

The actual numbers are a 13% increase in the rate of death if you eat one daily serving of red meat (the size of a deck of cards, which is about the size of a regular hamburger), and a 20% increase if you eat one daily serving of processed red meat (which is two slices of bacon or one hot dog).

This makes total sense to me, and to those of us who don’t eat red meat. We’ve known for quite some time that meat is not a healthy food and should not be eaten often.

However, the meat industry did not like Harvard’s study:

The findings were challenged by Dr Carrie Ruxton from the Meat Advisory Panel (MAP), an expert body funded by the meat industry.

She said: ‘This US study looked at associations between high intakes of red meat and risk of mortality, finding a positive association between the two. However, the study was observational, not controlled, and so cannot be used to determine cause and effect.

‘The authors’ conclusion that swapping a portion of red meat for poultry or fish each week may lower mortality risk was based only on a theoretical model. This conflicts with evidence from controlled trials.’

Dr Ruxton pointed out that meat and meat products were significant sources of essential nutrients such as iron, zinc, selenium, B vitamins and vitamin D.

Yes, and we can’t get our essential nutrients anywhere else?

I recently found out about a wonderful website, nutritionfacts.org, written by Dr. Michael Greger. He has so much information on his website, and lots of videos. These videos are actually very interesting, not like sitting through organic chemistry in high school. Here is his take on the Harvard study. And check out his 2 minute video about red meat and mortality, which was published over a year ago.

There will always be people who don’t believe the studies, particularly those people who stand to lose financially, and they can put any spin they want on these studies. What will it take to get people to change?

Posted in Nutrition - Tagged beef, cardiovascular disease, diet, health, red meat

Scan Day

Mar08
2012 14 Comments

Written by Linda

One of the aftermaths of having cancer is needing to get scanned regularly to be sure there is no reoccurrence. I had my first scans in December and I went back today for my second round.

I go to the Johns Hopkins Hospital:

They have crazy colored windows in the hospital.

But how can you not like a place that is painted purple?

Next stop is hydration. I need two hours of saline fluid before my scans in order to help the contrast dye get through my kidneys more quickly. The dye isn’t good for kidneys, so the quicker it can get through, and the more diluted it is, the better. I get my iv here, and these people are really good at their jobs also. For me the worst part of the process is the iv, but the nurse who did mine was an expert and again, I hardly felt anything.

This room is used for all kinds of iv stuff – people are getting chemo, platelets, and who knows what else. I was lucky that all I needed was saline. I definitely get a new sense of perspective when I am in the cancer center and see the other patients.

A nice gentleman came around with a platter of snacks and fruit and offered me some, but I am not allowed to eat before the CT scan. I’m not sure if he was giving that stuff away, or if I would have had to pay for it. My nurse kept checking in with me and keeping me informed about what was happening and that she was in touch with the doctor to be sure I got the right amount of saline.

Then it is off to get my CT scan. They leave the iv port in my arm, taped up, because I need it for the CT scan contrast. In the waiting room a very friendly employee goes over paperwork with me. She comes to my seat, I don’t even have to get up to go to the desk. After the paperwork she asks me if I am comfortable and if she can get me anything. I tell her I am fine, and she says if I need anything at all to just ask.

Then I go back to the radiology wing, and another person changes my iv around, and gives me two giant cups of water to drink. I get my scans, which hardly take any time at all, first without contrast, then with contrast, then the contrast iv comes out, they wait 5 minutes for the contrast to get to all of my parts and do another scan. That is it.

Finally I can eat. It is now 12:05PM and I have been there since 7:15am, I am starving. I had brought a thermos of coffee and some snacks, and I sit in the lobby for a few minutes and have my breakfast.

Then I wait. And wait. And wait. I had so much fluid in me and I really needed the bathroom, but I was afraid I would miss my name being called. Eventually I gave in and went to the restroom. Finally at 1:15 my name was called, and I went into the doctor’s office. It turns out that the physician’s assistant that I usually see has left the hospital and there is a new one. This new PA was so bubbly and friendly and she laughed the whole time. She said my scans showed no sign of cancer, I am still NED – no evidence of disease. I assume she is more subdued when she is working with patients who are sick. I hope so anyway.

She told me that she was with the radiologist when he checked my scans. This is what she told me:

“The radiologist said that these scans must have come from a very tiny person. I asked him how he can tell that from the scans and he said there is no fat.”

Well, that isn’t true, there is plenty of fat, especially around the abdomen which is where parts of my scans were taken. She said compared to most people who get scanned there, the fat is negligible. So apparently on a CT scan, I am tiny. That made me feel good. I didn’t even know that fat shows up on a CT scan.

I never actually saw my doctor – I didn’t really need to see him, but I like to see him because he is a very good looking guy, and also very nice. Then I scheduled my next visit, went to the restroom a few more times, and left. By then it was almost 2:00pm. It’s a long day, but all in all it’s not so bad. I brought my new iPad and watched and listened to videos from my new school, and some YouTube cooking videos. Also caught up on some email and blogs. The people at the center are very caring and friendly, and it is always a relief to be pronounced NED. And hopefully things will stay that way.

Posted in Health - Tagged kidney

My Grocery Budget

Feb29
2012 4 Comments

Written by Linda

Well, I don’t really have a budget. But I was curious to see how much I spend on groceries so I printed out some Quicken reports. There has definitely been a change in my shopping habits and purchases since the cancer diagnosis, and since switching to the plant based diet.

Most of my money goes here:

Here are some figures for my purchases at Whole Foods:

January 2012: $283
December 2011: $465 (Princess Lemon was home for winter break)
November 2011: $313
October 2011: $98 (I wasn’t feeling well this month)
September 2011: $281
August 2011: $404 (Just started the vegan diet, so I got carried away)

I also shop at these places:

And very rarely because I hate this place:

Here are my figures for these places combined:

January 2012: $118
December 2011: $400 (Princess Lemon was home for winter break)
November 2011: $224
October 2011: $292
September 2011: $114
August 2011: $278

Keep in mind that I buy some expensive items at Whole Foods – supplements, protein powders, flax seed, etc. I buy 90% organic, and I also try to buy as local as possible, which many times is not possible, like for bananas, or in the winter mostly everything. I buy minimal amounts of processed foods, mainly almond milk, tofu, crackers and occasionally cookies, pretzels, vegan cheese, canned tomatoes and beans, condiments, and pasta. And I don’t buy meat, chicken, fish, eggs or dairy.

I go to the store often so that I can always have fresh produce, and therefore I eat it before it spoils so there is little waste. I visit Whole Foods 4 – 5 times per month and the other stores 4 – 6 times per month. I do try to do a menu plan, loosely anyway, so that I know what to buy, but my grocery list is about the same all the time.

These figures are just what I spend on my own food, not anything for my family, except in December when Princess Lemon was home and was grocery shopping a lot. Mr. Lemon and Prince Lemon do their own thing.

According to a USDA report from 2009, a woman my age spends between $181 and $269 per month on groceries depending on whether they are thrifty or liberal. I am obviously beyond liberal. It seems that my grocery budget is quite large, but I love my food, I love to try new recipes, I love to cook, and I love to have lots of stuff in the freezer for days when I have no time to cook.

Pre-vegan I was spending about $400 per month on non Whole Foods grocery stores, and about $200 per month at Whole Foods. Those figures include all of the chicken, fish, dairy and eggs that I don’t eat anymore. I have to say $600 per month is a lot! So by cutting out the animal products I am definitely spending less at the grocery store.

The next reports I’ll be looking at are for dining out. I don’t eat out much, but I’m curious to see what those reports look like.

Posted in Food - Tagged groceries, shopping, vegan

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