The Assertive Cancer Patient

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: The Menu and More

I sent out an e-mail yesterday to my nearest and dearest, asking them to volunteer to cook breakfasts and dinners for the three-day Cancer Bloggers Reunion.

These are great friends, so I got a few answers right away.

Michele, a member of my writers' group, volunteered for dinner on the 23rd. She's making a "lentil salad, cheese, bread, green salad kind of thing."

My friend Laurie, writer, editor, and massage therapist, volunteered to make veggie lasagna and salad for dinner on the 24th, which is Thursday.

Warren, computer guy and former disc jockey, volunteered to cook dinner on whatever day no one else takes. He wrote, "Let's see what other offers you get and I will fill in the holes." No word yet on what he's planning to make, but this guy is a good cook. I'm betting on something Asian. I guess he gets the 25th.

Update from Warren: He is making us an Indian (from India) meal. Yum.

Jennifer, who is a member of my writers' group, and who has a story about her mother's garden on my blog, is going to provide breakfast on the 23rd. She's making fruit salad, a spinach quiche (or two), and some croissants. "OK, I'm not actually going to bake the croissants, but I will bring some," she wrote.

Read: My Mother's Garden

And Monica, personal trainer and travel buddy, will be out of town during this week (bummer, because I wanted her to meet all the cancer bloggers), but she's going to bake us some cookies. Yum. She also makes a mean cake ...

Debutaunt said it was OK to ask her sweetie, who lives just south of Seattle, to cook breakfast for us all one morning. We have to check this guy out, after all, before me let him marry our Debby. She said something about breakfast tacos, which sounds good to me.

So the menu is shaping up. I figure we can eat lunches out. The meals at my house will be vegetarian--dairy and eggs, but no meat or fish. Hope everyone's OK with that. And we should have some fresh produce from my garden ... I just bought some tomato and pepper plants yesterday. Also an eggplant, but the Western kind. I need some Asian eggplants, but haven't found any at the nurseries yet.

Activities
Lisa wants to do a hike while she's here. I'm thinking maybe the Saturday after the reunion, the 26th, if that works for folks. No need to hurry home on my account.

I think Jacqueline is planning on bringing samples of her Rebel1in8 jewelry and also clothes from the Rhea Belle (say it out loud) line, so that she can do a trunk show one afternoon or evening.

Reminder
Those of you who haven't gotten the answers to those questions I e-mailed to you back to me yet, please try to do that this week. Thanks. Don't answer any questions you don't want to ... or that aren't relevant to you.

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.
The name "Cancer Bloggers Reunion" is also copyright @ Jeanne Sather, 2007, 2008.

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: Panel Discussion

I had a meeting with a couple of folks at Cancer Lifeline last week, and we've set the date for the one public event during the First Annual Cancer Bloggers Reunion in July.

It will be a panel discussion at Cancer Lifeline on Friday, July 25, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Those of you who are planning to come, watch for an e-mail from me asking for topics for discussion both at the public panel discussion and during our three days together. I'll also want some info about you, your cancer, and your blog, both to share among ourselves and for Cancer Lifeline.

For more about Cancer Lifeline

For more about the Cancer Bloggers Reunion

(Click on the link and scroll down.)

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: I Forgot Laurie

OK, call it chemo brain.

I invited Laurie to the Cancer Bloggers Reunion, and she let me know she was a "definite maybe," and then I forgot to include her in my role call of who was coming (or hoping to come).

So, my bad, as the kids say, but Laurie, who writes a blog I really like called Not Just About Cancer, is on the list.

Go to her blog to read a really interesting post about writing.

And another one about getting organized.

"There are piles everywhere and one room we can't even go into because there is so much junk," she writes. Laurie--I have to confess, I have a room like that too. It used to be my bedroom. But I WILL have it cleared out by the time of the Cancer Blogger Reunion. Heck, I have six months.

Read more: Laurie's blog

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: Topics for Discussion

Those of you who are coming to the Cancer Bloggers Reunion in July, please send in your topics for discussion.

Not that this is going to be a formal event with designated times for discussing certain topics--does that sound like me? No--but there are some issues that I know we all want to talk about.

The Debster, from Texas, sent me these topics today:

Maybe things like:

--how to not become your disease
--how to keep your sense of humor through your treatment
--how to help others with your blog

Cancer issues?
--what cancer patients really need (and it's not stuffed animals!)
--how to keep your caretaker sane

Back to Jeanne
I was thinking about having a session on technical issues with a blog, and inviting a friend of mine who is a blogger and also a Web master at one of the daily papers to help us problem-solve.

I was also thinking about making money with a blog as a good topic. My donate button has brought in some funds, for which I am very grateful.

Update on Who's Coming
Tina of DIY, Not Die is now on the "definite maybe" list. And Amorette has moved from the "definitely coming" list to the "definite maybe" list.

Support this blog:

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: Jacqueline (Rebel1in8) is Coming!

I am so excited! Jacqueline, the only one of you cancer bloggers that I've met face-to-face, is coming to the Cancer Bloggers Reunion in July.

I visited Jacqueline in New York over the Labor Day weekend, and she made me some fabulous clothes and earrings. I just got another pair of earrings from her in the mail on Friday, which I had ordered through her online store. I will try to put up a photo of these soon.

The turquoise earrings she made for me earlier have become my signature earrings--no one else in Seattle has a pair. The coral ones are very similar, the same length (to the shoulder), which works really well with short hair like mine--although my hair is getting longer. I have abandoned the buzz cut for now. And my hair is curling at the back--which is new. Chemo hair, I guess.

Jacqueline and me on Coney Island, Labor Day 2007.

I'm going to see Jacqueline again in New York in March, this time with Younger Son in tow. I asked him if he wanted to make a trip during his spring break, and he chose New York. We'll also stop off in Ohio to see one of my oldest friends, who is Younger Son's de facto godfather. And see Amorette as well, I hope.

Go to this link to see all my posts about Jacqueline and her great clothes and jewelry: Rebel Fashion.

To order clothing, contact: Jacqueline@rebel1in8.com.

The Roll Call
The Cancer Bloggers Reunion: The YESes: Jacqueline, Amorette, Teri, and Lisa.

The DEFINITE MAYBEs: Sara, Debs, and Carver.

Read more: Cancer Bloggers Reunion.

Support this blog:

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Better After Care for Cancer Survivors

I've been talking about this issue for quite a while, and while I was still in the talking stage, Carver went and did some research for me. Thank you, Carver. (Carver is also hoping to come to the Cancer Bloggers Reunion.)

See Carver's blog

Here's her report:

I did find quite a few. There are quite a few for survivors of childhood cancers and I included some of those but I also found some (far less) for adults cancers.

I was specifically looking for places with teams treating and diagnosing side effects, not the ones with an emphasis on counseling. There seems to be an overabundance of support-group, counseling-type clinics for cancer patients and far less in terms of clinics looking specifically at treating and managing side effects.

I'm not including any that only deal with psychological support. Frankly, when I was trying to get help for my "issues" the only thing that made me think I might need counseling was getting passed from one specialist to another that weren't talking to each other.

I'm not against counseling or therapy, but I do think it can be irritating when you have a specific physical issue, and each new doctor points out that sometimes cancer patients need counseling. I find it interesting that the only specialists who have not brought that up with me are my oncologists. They have a patient counselor who checks in with me and is great, but I mean when I was trying to figure out why I had so many physical problems after my groin dissection. Anyway, below are some clinics I found.

Cancer Survivor Project (provider list)

Yale has a project looking at survivor issues and this includes physician referral

Yale survivorship clinic

Seattle Cancer Care Survivor clinic

Long term survivor program (Baylor)

Roswell Park (childhood cancer survivors)

UCSF (another for survivors of childhood cancers)

Vanderbilt (specifically survivors of childhood cancers)

Reality Check(ups)

I've been having some pretty intense conversations by e-mail with several other bloggers, including Amorette and Lisa, about the need we cancer patients have for better AFTER CARE.

Because, for the rest of our lives, whether we are in on-going treatment, like me, or not, we are going to have health problems, issues, and questions that are related to our cancer. And too many doctors want to send us back to our primary care doctors, who really aren't qualified to figure out these kinds of problems.

Lisa has been struggling with this with her left foot, which has been going numb on her. After weeks of phone calls and e-mails to her various doctors, it sounds like she finally has an answer. Maybe not the one she was hoping to get, but an answer.

Here's her post:

A Dose of Reality

Oh, and it looks like Lisa will be joining us for the Cancer Bloggers Reunion. She's from California. We also have women coming from Texas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, and Ohio, and maybe one or two more states.

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: Carver Is Also a Maybe

So the acceptances for the Cancer Bloggers Reunion are flowing in. I'm having a little trouble keeping track (chemo brain, you know), but I think I've heard back from everyone I invited except Jacqueline, my all-time favorite clothing designer.

I went out to brunch today in a one-of-a-kind T-shirt that Jac. made for me--how cool is that? And my earrings, which are quickly becoming my signature earrings, because no one else in Seattle has a pair of these, either.

But I digress. What I really wanted to say is that Carver is also a maybe for the event (as we all are, really, subject to health status and finances--well, except for me, since I'm the host).

Go to Carver's blog to see some beautiful photos from her New Year's Day walk--what a great way to start the year!

See Carver's blog

So, if I haven't forgetten anyone, the women who are definitely coming to the reunion are Teri, The Cheeky Librarian, and Amorette. Lisa, The tale of my left foot, is coming if she can get the time off.

The definite maybes include Debutaunt, Sara, and Carver.

With me, that makes seven. It's going to be one big sleepover!

I'm going to start planning some afternoon "see Seattle" activities, so let me know what you are most interested in seeing: I've got the Pike Place Market, the International District, and a ferry ride through Puget Sound on my short list, but I'm open to other suggestions.

This is my town and I like to show it off.

The Space Needle for the views?

Amusement park rides at Seattle Center? (I like the ferris wheel and the bumper cars. The last time I rode in the bumper cars, with a group of friends, of course, I laughed hysterically the whole time until the ride came to an abrupt stop and we all sat there, looking a little silly, adrenalin pumping, wanting to keep bashing each other. It's so primative.)

I'm also going to start putting together a list of topics that people want to talk about, so let me know your preferences there as well.

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

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And Debutaunt, Another Definite Maybe

I realize that everyone who is coming to the Cancer Bloggers Reunion is a "definite maybe," even me, the host, depending on how things go with our health and with the rest of our lives--my life doesn't begin and end with cancer, after all ....

But a couple of the women who accepted wanted me to put them down as "definite maybes," and that's fine.

In addition to Sara, we know have Debutaunt, who you may remember was the winner of the How LOW WILL Komen Go? contest back in October.

So Debs gets to drive my Corvair while she's in Seattle. No worries for either of us: the car is fully insured. And I put the first dent in it, just to get that out of the way. There's something too intimidating about a pristine car. The dent has been fixed, of course.

Go to Debs' blog for a great flower image. I love it, even though it is pink.

Debutaunt

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.

Cancer Bloggers Reunion: And Sara Is a Definite Maybe

Sara, one of the first cancer bloggers I got to know when I started my blog a year ago, is a "definite maybe" for the Cancer Bloggers Reunion in July.

So, with Amorette, Lisa, and Teresa (plus me), we are up to five. I'm expecting to hear back from a couple more people. I think the perfect number for this reunion would be eight.

Large enough that everyone will have a friend, I guess. Large enough to have spirited debates and differences of opinion. Large enough to have cliques--wait, that's junior high!

I'm hoping Sara will bring some of her indescribably delicious brownies to the reunion.

I'm going to choose some of my favorite cancer movies for optional late-night viewing. My favorite cancer movie ever, although I haven't found the time (or emotional energy) to write the review yet, is "After the Wedding."

I started watching that one without realizing it is a cancer movie, and then I watched it straight through, twice, back to back. By the end, I felt like I was speaking Danish, and had this longing to visit that country. (One of Ken Follett's novels, "Hornet Flight," is also set in Denmark during WWII, and I had just recently read that as well.)

See Sara's blog.

@ Jeanne Sather 2008.