Stepping Stones For Survival

Imagine standing at the door of a beautiful hotel conference room. You are a breast cancer survivor, and an American Cancer Society volunteer pins a pink carnation on you. That is what happened to me.

I had the opportunity to attend the Kick-off Breakfast of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. The tables had white linen tablecloths and a centerpiece of pink flowers.

Many of us women wore various shades of pink. Some of the Making Strides teams wore their team Tee shirts.

One of the speakers was a male breast cancer survivor—a reminder that men can get breast cancer too.

I would like to thank the flagship sponsors for Tidewater Virginia: 7-11, Bon Secours Virginia, Dominion, Farm Fresh, Grove Church, Sun Trust, and Walmart.

The Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk will be in October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

If you would like to participate in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, go to the American Cancer Society Web site at http://www.cancer.org/Invovled/index . Check Making Strides and put in your zip code to find out about local events in your area.

You can also call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.

People often ask me how I hung onto hope in the midst of cancer surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. They also ask how they can hang onto hope in the midst of cancer. I tell them about the things that worked for me.

A CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

Those in a cancer support group are in all stages of recovery. Those who have been in remission ten, fifteen or twenty years provide encouragement and support. Because of them, we newcomers don’t feel alone or misunderstood in the midst of cancer.

FAITH

When we face a life-threatening disease, God can become our strength, our comforter, and our dearest friend if we let him. We can memorize Scriptures that bring us hope and cling to them. Church friends and activities can remain or become a part of our lives.

FRIENDS

After surgery and during cancer treatment, some of us can’t socialize as much as before. However, we can talk with friends on the phone, enjoy short visits, and go to lunch or dinner with them.

JOURNALING

We can journal our thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or rejection. We can write to heal on paper or at the computer.

LAUGHTER

“A cheerful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). Daily doses of this good medicine include watching comedies, reading joke books and asking family and friends to send us humorous cards.

MUSIC

Music calms the heart and soul. I like classical music, especially violin and piano and therefore, listened to it. Praise & worship music can be especially soothing and uplifting. It helps us keep a proper perspective and focus on God.

PROPER REST AND NUTRITION

We can sleep eight hours at night and feel better in the daytime. If we need a nap, we take it without guilt and shame. A balanced diet of protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, and grains helps more than we can imagine. Some of us do better without fried foods, shell fish, and pork, and so we avoid them.

 If anyone has any other suggestions for hanging onto hope in the midst of cancer, please feel free to comment.

 Copyright © by Yvonne Ortega July 30, 2010

Here is your chance to submit the name of a cancer patient for my Cancer Patient of the Year Contest. Tell me why you nominated the person and convince me that your person is the one to win the title on my blog. I will select the top three and then allow my readers to vote once for the candidate of their choice. This contest is in honor of cancer patients who are alive. At another time, I will do something similar in memory of those cancer patients who have passed away.

A Must for Caregivers

As a former pastor and volunteer hospital chaplain, Cecil Murphey had been around many cancer patients. As an author, he helped one woman write her cancer-survival story. However, when his wife got breast cancer, it was different. It became personal. He struggled to find a book that would help him as a caregiver. He found statistics, technical and medical information, and autobiographies of cancer survivors. Now that he is on the other side of his wife’s diagnosis and she is a ten-year cancer survivor, Cec Murphey has written the book, When Someone You Love Has Cancer: Comfort and Encouragement for Caregivers and Loved Ones. The chapters are short with beautiful illustrations by Michal Sparks that provide an atmosphere of peace and comfort. Each chapter ends in a brief prayer. Cec writes from his heart in a down-to-earth practical way. The appendix is entitled Practical Things You Can Do to Help Those Diagnosed with Cancer. The tips are divided into three sections: Before You Offer Help, What You Can Do Now, and Long-Term Caregiving. Cec does a wonderful job of encouraging family and friends of cancer patients. As a nine-year cancer survivor, I wish this book had been around when I went through cancer. It would have helped my parents, the rest of my family, and my friends. Not only should caregivers have this book, but also ministers, hospital and prison chaplains, hospice personnel, counselors, and medical oncology libraries.

It’s that time of year again. Relay for Life reminds me what a precious gift life is. At the Survivor Reception, tears moistened my eyes as an American Cancer Society volunteer handed me a white survivor T shirt and placed a white and purple survivor sash on me. These items reminded me that I’ve been cancer-free now for nine and a half years. Hurray. At the reception, I sat with a lady I know and her husband. They joined in the celebration because her husband is cancer-free too. We enjoyed a delicious dinner of chicken, coleslaw, baked beans, and cookies. Both my friend’s husband and I won door prizes. This added to the festivity as we got up to pick our door prizes from the long tables full of wrapped gifts. We had no idea what we had selected, but we were both pleased with our surprise gifts. He unwrapped his prize and found a large can of Virginia peanuts. I found a basket full of lotions and creams. After the reception, we lined up for the survivor lap. The excitement built as the music played, and the other people lined up on both sides of the track. I thought I would burst with joy as I carried the vertical banner for the survivor lap. As we survivors walked around the track, people on both sides of it clapped, cheered, waved different kinds of pom poms or flags, called us by name, and cried with us. The highlight of the evening occurred when the lights went out, and the luminaries flickered in the breeze. On one side of the track the word, “CURE,” lit up the darkness. I walked in silence across the field to capture a picture of that sign. Thank you, God, for the gift of life.

 Copyright © May 26, 2010 by Yvonne Ortega

Young at Heart

I had a great time when I spoke for the Young at Heart Breast Cancer Support Group on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. Joyce Harris, Ann Stansell, and Jo Weathers started that group in January 2010 for those in the Taylors area of Greenville, SC. These three women are a great team, and I enjoyed speaking to the group and meeting all the participants. Unfortunately several slipped out the door before I remembered to take the group picture. I guess I’ll have to speak there again and get a picture of the whole group.

 Copyright © April 15, 2010 by Yvonne Ortega

Yvone with the Uplift Cancer Support Group

On Monday, April 5, 2010 after the Beautiful Hat Society luncheon, I spoke for the Uplift Cancer Support Group in Greenville, SC.  What a great group of women. I met Frances Anderson and Jo Weathers with whom I’d been in contact before the speaking engagement. It takes special women to keep a cancer support group active. I enjoyed the privilege of speaking to my fellow cancer survivors. We have a special bond. We encourage and support each other because no one else understands like those of us who have been through the cancer journey.

 Copyright © April 14, 2010 by Yvonne Ortega

Shirl and Yvonne in the FCWC Bookstore

After six years, Shirley Corder and I met in person at the Florida Christian Writers Conference in March 2010. We recognized each other immediately. We have been members of an online nonfiction critique group since December 20, 2003. We are both cancer survivors and published authors. In the Acknowledgments of my book, Hope for the Journey through Cancer, I thanked Shirley Corder and three others from our online group. I mentioned they critiqued part of my project and prayed for a publisher. Now we pray for a publisher for Shirl’s two manuscripts on cancer. Shirl and I often talked about how wonderful it would be to meet in person. However, with Shirl in South Africa and me in Virginia, chances of that happening were slim. We thank God for the generosity of Cecil “Cec” Murphey who financed Shirl’s flight and conference expenses. Shirl speaks with a British accent, and I with an American one, but that didn’t stop us from talking to each other non-stop at the conference. We selected the same continuing class and many of the same workshops. We ate several meals together and compared notes about the sessions and our appointments with editors and authors. Shirl also met with agents at the conference. We discussed the books for sale in the bookstore and took lots of pictures. We laughed the hardest, when I dropped my name tag in Lake Wales. Of course, I had to take a picture of it floating in the water. Our time together in Florida flew by, and we hope to meet again at another writers conference some day.

Copyright © April 1, 2010 by Yvonne Ortega

I encourage you to celebrate Valentine’s Day. 

1. Remember that life and love are gifts. Celebrate them.
2. Look at a photo album of loved ones and reminisce about good times with them.
3. Eat a healthy snack of a red delicious apple, red grapes, or a persimmon.
4. Call or Skype family and friends to tell them you love them.
5. Send e-mail Valentine’s Day cards to loved ones and include yourself.
6. Take a nap before dinner to have more energy for your Valentine’s Day meal.
7. Journal about family and friends who have shown you love during the past year.
8. Play a CD of easy-listening love songs.
9. Wear a red blouse, sweater or Valentine’s Day socks or polish your nails red.
10. Take a walk with family or friends you love.

 Copyright © February 2010 by Yvonne Ortega

• Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide.
• About 473,000 cases of cervical cancer occur worldwide yearly.
• About 253,500 women worldwide die each year from cervical cancer.

1. For women age 21 or older, have an annual pap test (smear) which detects abnormal cells that can lead to cervical cancer.
2. For women age 30 or older, have the pap test and the HPV (Human Papillomavirus) test together annually. The HPV test detects the virus that causes cervical cancer.
3. Ask your doctor for the HPV vaccination for two of the types of HPV which is available for girls 11-12 years old and for girls and young women up to age 26.
4. Even with the HPV vaccination, women still need to go for annual screening.
5. Take the pledge to prevent cervical cancer sponsored by the Gynecologic Cancer Foundation at http://www.cervicalcancercampagin.org/
6. Sign up for a free annual reminder for your pap test and HPV test at the above Web site.
7. At www.thepearlofwisdom.us/ purchase the “Pearl of Wisdom” pin, the symbol of cervical cancer prevention.
8. At the site mentioned in #7, choose a free “Pearl of Wisdom” banner for your Web site, blog, Facebook, or MySpace page to raise cervical cancer awareness.
9. If you have cervical cancer or HPV, call The National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC) at 1-800-685-5531 and ask about the phone/e-mail pals program which will match you with a woman going through the same thing you are.
10. If you have questions or concerns about cervical cancer, HPV, or the HPV vaccination, submit them to “Ask a Doc at the same Web site already cited.

Copyright © January 2010 by Yvonne Ortega