ANOTHER YEAR OF LIFE!!

ANOTHER YEAR OF LIFE is a fabulous thing to celebrate!  I stay rooted in my life while I reach for the stars!

This journey called life has certainly been a strange one for me during the last four years.  But here I am - swimming towards eternity while keeping the shore in sight.

Certainly I have learned that healing my soul supports my earthly home - this body of mine.  Despite the wandering vampire cells (may you soon all find the joy of apoptosis) my life is rich and vibrant, enriched by so many amazing experiences and relationships.  I am surrounded by so much love that has enabled me to grow and thrive through this adventure.

So this is a note of thanks to all who have followed my path, and provided so much support.  BEth and I will be walking in a "survivor walk" tonight as part of a "relay to fight cancer" this afternoon.  I am determined to give back as much as I can as appreciation for my tremendous good fortune in surviving this journey thus far.

Much love and affection to all - an enormous hug across cyberspace!

LIFE AS A TRIAL!!

Greetings dear readers!  Happy Spring!! (Those of us in New England do believe that spring will indeed come...)  Another month gone by - many trips to Boston MassGeneral Hospital for the clinical trial.  So I'm a happy lab rat!  I've had three infusions with this new chemo - a biologic accompanying the chemo directly to the cancer cells.   Mass General is a fantastic hospital and I feel hopeful with this new treatment to extend my life.  Every day is precious!

Science Daily published this information (:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111028115340.htm)  "Large numbers of Follate receptors typically indicate the most aggressive ovarian cancers, as well as a variety of other cancers such as breast, lung and kidney, [and now uterine cancer].
The combination, called EC145, delivers a Vinca alkaloid directly inside cancer cells, improving effectiveness while reducing side effects particularly in women [like me] who "overexpress" folate receptors. A similar approach of pairing the follate ligand, which is attracted to the receptor, with a drug that makes those receptors glow, enables physicians to see how many folate receptors are present and who would be the best candidates for this treatment."

So is that enough science for one day??  at any rate, the hope is that I can continue to receive this combined treatment as long as, or whenever the cancer recurs.  Ah the blessed Vinca - yet another plant based miracle for us.  I plan to plant lots of it in honor of this new treatment!!

Meanwhile, Beth and I continue to speak up for Marriage Equality when ever possible - and applaud those who continue to work on this for us all.   Luckily for Beth and me, Massachusetts allowed us to wed, and importantly, gain health coverage for Beth.  THE TIME FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS NOW!!!

Thanks for listening - your support gives me strength and hope!! xxx

Hit the Target!!!

Well, a month - had second treatment, with steroids and nausea drugs - all going fine!!  The biologic carries the chemo directly to the cancer cells - GO APOPTOSIS!!  Seems that if my bod continues to handle this new form of treatment well, I will be getting treatment until remission reappears.  Since it goes directly to the cancer, there are few effects on bone marrow or liver, etc.

Gene research is teaching us so much about cells and solutions to the cancer dilemma.  Our bodies have the capability to support resisting cancers - by enlisting the power of our genetic make up we can do search and destroy missions!!

I see this as the new sport - hitting those cancer cells bulls eyes - sending those vampire cells to their well deserved transition.

Meanwhile I make the transition to chronic cancer treatment - and live my life day by day!

After 3.5 years of this dance, I am getting used to the fancy footwork!!  The crisis is over, and it's the ongoing living with it that takes a bit of getting used to.   Time to move from cancer victim to cancer survivor!!  So, you little biologic warriors, carry that payload and do the deed!  You are my oaken stake - send it in!!  The combination of chemo, loing support, creative spirit, and meditation... More on this new treatment to come...  Sal

LAB RATS UNITE!

Hi faithful readers!  New adventure - clinical trial!  I'll be testing a new drug that carries chemo directly to my specific cancer cells.  Next week I'll be in Bean Town for four days for the first cycle of the trial - hotel paid by the trial!  I'll use the time to get back to my expressive arts work and to write write write.

So I'm a guinea pig.  or a Lab Rat.  At least my cancer will contribute to the effort to seek new more effective treatments.  From what I understand, this new drug targets so called "receptors" enabling the chemo drugs to get through to the cancerous cells.  It is still an assault from outside (chemo poison) but hopefully for stage 4 folks like me, these kinds of drugs will send my cancer cells into apoptosis without too many side effects (happy crossing over, you destructive little buggers)!
Hope they don't make me wear rat ears - but whatever it takes!!  Still working on my insurance research... will keep you posted!  And RI is about to pass same sex marriage -at last!  Homophobia is a cancer that needs to be eradicated NOW!  And thank you President Obama- yes we do want to live in the land of the FREE!

VICTORY AND NEW BATTLES!

Dearest Loyal Readers!   The great news is that finally I have succeeded in reversing the denial of my insurance coverage for radiation.  It took me 15 months, countless phone calls, e mails, faxes, etc. to finally get Unicare to recognize that they need to pay the $107,000 for my treatment!

I am starting a campaign to enact legislation that will require hospitals to pre authorize with insurance companies for any treatment that costs more than $500.  As I have written in the past, Women & Infants always checked for me, but RI Hospital did not.  I think of patients who have limited formal education, limited literacy, limited English, or are too sick to pursue this grueling task.  Cancer patients don't need the added stress of fighting their insurance carrier!!

I said with each contact that if I didn't get satisfaction, I would go to the media.  I still plan to see if anyone if interested in the story even though I eventually succeeded.  In this time of fighting for a functional national health plan we need to put the insurance giants in their place - they are private profit making enterprises that earn their profits by collecting premiums and NOT paying for claims. 

So that's one burden out of the way.  Friday I travel to Boston for a CAT and a dr. visit to see if indeed the big C is still hanging out in my system.  Think SHRINK and REMISSION!!  Ta Ta for now...xx

Dog and CAT for the Holidays...

We are thrilled to welcome our new pup, Hubert the Hound, to the family at 59 Ivan St.  This beautiful Blue Tick Coon hound came through PAWS, a national pet adoption service.  Hubert had quite a hard journey - captured and put in a "high kill" shelter in Tennessee, saved by a rescue foster mother - neutered, fattened up, medicated; three days in a transport truck to RI, a week quarantine - finally Dec. 21 came to us!

Hubert is affectionate and needy.  He is a bit of a scaredy cat after all the transition, but is settling in and loving his bed and toys!

It's great to have "new life" in our house since we sent Frankie the Beagle to the great dog park in the sky in November.  We were just casually looking at adoption sites, and Hubert's wonderful face caught our eyes - it was love at first sight for us.

Glad to have this project and distraction - still working and feeling okay, but learned that my tumor marker blood numbers have gone up in the last three months - not a great sign - so will be back on the table for another CAT  scan next week.  So the adventure goes on!  Exciting new research reported in the NY times gives all of us hope!  We need to use our genetic codes to give the message that those big C cells need to go to their "reward"!!  Apoptosis rules!

And of course I continue to fight the insurance company Unicare that is refusing to pay for my radiation!  What a world - stage IV cancer, yet a refusal to pay! 

Wishing all the best of New Years - and for all of us, peace, hope and progress towards the cure!!

Cruising into the Dark, reaching for the Light!!

Greetings all - The Holiday madness has definitely taken over!  Of course, each new season, each new month, each new day - these are my miracles.  We spent last evening decorating our new little charlie brown tree - the traditional ornaments, the sparkle of the lights, the stockings, the Santa and Ms. Santa plus elf - these chochkas of the season reminds us of our childhood holidays!  (Any youngsters reading this wont get the reference - think fifties. Ah the "Fat er Knows Best"ness of those occasions!)

 We just watched a hokey Christmas show called "Christmas with the Fitzgeralds" about a totally dysfunctional (therefore normal) family dealing with multiple issues over the holidays" .  Neither Beth nor I had that kind of dysfunctional stuff so blatantly, but the pressure for "joy" and " merry"ness can be a bit overwhelming.  Nevertheless, I am embracing those themes I wish were the sense of the season - peace, love and hope - rather than "black Friday" and  the Christmas shopping extravaganza!

Just found out that Beth's cousins wife who survived breast cancer now has developed bone cancer - Need to reach out to her this week!  The support of others who have been through this adventure is so important to keep the emphasis on LIFE!!.    My holiday wish is for effective cancer treatment:  my resolution for 2013 is to devote time for cancer outreach.   C'mon, Santa - bring us a REAL gift!!

Go for another blood check this week - think shrink = I need for those marker numbers to go DOWN!!  Til the next post xxx