Health Headlines 8/25/06

FDA Approves Plan B OTC Status For Women Eighteen And Over ~> Click here.

Prostate Cancer: Major Genetic Risk Factor Found ~> Click here.

Identifying The Molecular Mechanisms Behind The Invasive Phenotype In Renal Cell Carcinoma ~> Click here.

Long-term Follow-up Of Androgen Deprivation In Combination With Radiotherapy Versus Radiotherapy Alone ~> Click here.

Rep. Slaughter Calls For New Legislation To Address Issues In Medicare Drug Benefit ~> Click here.

Key To New Treatment Of Depression: Ever-happy Mice May Hold Key ~> Click here.

Potential Biomarkers For Schizophrenia ~> Click here.

Women Encouraged To Learn Their Family Health History During Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month In September ~> Click here.

Scanbalt Clinical Research Network Project Focuses On Diabetes ~> Click here.

HIV Drug Could Be Used To Prevent Cervical Cancer, Say University Of Manchester Researchers ~> Click here.

Psoriasis Cure Now Launches “Back To School” Resources For Parents Of Children With Psoriasis ~> Click here.

Inflammation And Risk Of Venous Thrombosis ~> Click here.

Blood Clots Can Be Treated By Injections At Home ~> Click here.

FDA Approves “morning-after” Pill ~> Click here.

Virginian-Pilot Examines Uterine Fibroid Removal Methods ~> Click here.

One year ago today

I truly can't believe that so much has happened within a year. So many good days and bad ones have been lived through. So many tears have been shed and laughter ringing in the house. If ever my life felt like a roller coaster ride, it has been within these last two years of my life. On this day last year, Chris and I got the best news ever. He was cancer-free! To this day he has still maintained the cancer-free status even though the oncologist wanted him to take some chemotherapy as a maintainence program to ensure that the cancer didn't come back. In a way I wished that Chris hadn't taken that month of extra chemo because we wouldn't be waiting for the effects to wear off as we are today. But the past can't be changed, even with the strongest of wishes. So we're getting to the point where his short-term disability through work is nearing an end and he'll have to go back whether he's feeling completely up to it or not. I wish that he wouldn't have to be in so much pain everyday. He is getting better with each day that passes but there's still a lot of pain. I'm so proud of how he's getting up and doing things as though he was already back at work to get his body used to doing it. He's strying so hard to make things go a little bit better than what they are for us. I can't ask for more than that.

It's times like these that make me feel really depressed. I feel more worthless than anything because of the limitations that this type of arthritis has given me to work with over the past ten years. If I didn't have this arthritis, more than likely Chris and I would be able to get through this rough patch with ease because I'd be able to hold down a job and bring in more money than just waiting for my benefits every month. Believe me, I'm very, very greatful that I am at least getting those benefits every month. But I know that if I were able to work a job, I'd be bringing in a bit more than what I'm receiving. Quite honestly, if it weren't for our friends and my parents, I think we'd be living in our car for a while or with my mom and dad even though their house is smaller than ours by far. I just wish I could do more, I guess.

Today was a slow moving day. The minutes seemed to crawl by instead of going at their usual pace. I worked on a bit of my novel today as well as the second one that I have going. I sort of work both of them by going back and forth whenever my interest wanes in working on one. I'm surprised that I haven't mixed them up as of yet! The last few weeks I have had a thousand and one stories going through my mind but I can't seem to get them all down before they run back out. I catch what I can and go from there. I've been reading a lot lately as well. With all the stress and worry I have, I'm just looking to escape I guess. I was able to spend some fun times with my niece before she went back to school. It started here today so I'm thinking my niece and nephews will be tired of school before long. I have been trying to do some cleaning as well but it's taking a bit longer than I thought it would. I have candles lit for a few friends of mine who aren't well. Please keep my friend, "J", in your thoughts.

Love and blessings,
Kim

Health Headlines 8/16/06

Breast Cancer Treatment And Heart Risk ~> Click here.

Minnesota Attorney General Calls For Gradual Move Toward Universal Health Care ~> Click here.

Alzheimer's And Other Neurodegenerative Diseases Could Be Spotted Easier By Doctors, Using New Biomarkers ~> Click here.

Some Low-risk Prostate Cancer Patients Overtreated ~> Click here.

Programs Aimed At Curbing Violence Directed At Women, Children Moving Too Slowly, Report Says ~> Click here.

People With Depression Benefit More From Marriage Than Others ~> Click here.

Fight Against Breast Cancer Aided By Ancient War Paint ~> Click here.

New Study Provides A Clearer Picture Of Breast-Cancer Gene Mutations In American Women ~> Click here.

FDA Extends By 90 Days Review Of Breast Cancer Drug Herceptin ~> Click here.

Chemotherapy Complications Greater Than Previously Estimated ~> Click here.

Exercise Helps Sustain Mental Activity As We Age And May Prevent Dementia-like Illnesses ~> Click here.

Children's Leukemia Treatment Affected By Medication Errors ~> Click here.

Health Headlines 8/14/06

Boosting The ‘Good' Cholesterol, High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) ~> Click here.

Assistive Devices Make Independent Living Easier ~> Click here.

Tips For Handling Summer Heat For People With Diabetes ~> Click here.

How To Do An Effective Ten-minute Workout ~> Click here.

Different Gene-expression Predictors Of Breast Cancer Agree, UNC Study Shows ~> Click here.

Aggressive Reduction In Cholesterol Levels Can Reduce Risk For Stroke By 16 Percent ~> Click here.

New Research Points Toward Mechanism Of Age-onset Toxicity Of Alzheimer's Protein ~> Click here.

Arthritis Drug Helps Debilitating Inflammatory Disease ~> Click here.

Sunshine and sadness

Today was a fairly nice day. Not a whole lot going on because I really needed a day to just rest or play on the computer without worrying about things. My niece stayed with me last night. I'm glad she did because I really needed a distraction from some of the things that's been on my mind as of late. Chris went to get my mom from work yesterday, picking up my niece on his way back home. We did the usual girlie thing of chatting and laughing about stupid things. Since there is an extra computer in the house, we were both able to play on computers at the same time. It was kinda funny because we were just one room apart and yet we were using the instant messenger service to talk to each other for a bit! Lol, after doing that she brought out a movie for us to watch. She had seen it before but I hadn't. So we popped it into the dvd player. It was called The Hills Have Eyes. It wasn't very scary although there were several times when it was really suspenseful. Being raised on the likes of Friday the 13th and Halloween movies, I wasn't scared by the movie at all. But it was pretty gory. The way they ended the movie definitely left it wide open for sequels if they choose to do them. I wonder what movie she's going to have me watch the next time she stays! Lol, hopefully it will be another good one.

I haven't done much in the way of crafting stuff as of late. I don't know why I haven't paid much attention to the crochet or cross-stitch projects. I've just been really focusing my energies on reading and writing when I can. Even when I was staying at my mom's house for a couple of days last week to help Billy out a little bit, I wrote for about an hour each day. What is odd to me is the fact that I began working on a story I started nearly six years ago when Billy was going through a really bad time with his Lupus flaring up a lot. I had stopped working on it because it seemed that each time I did anything with it, Billy went back into the hospital. And yet last Monday, I started working on it again. So far, so good. We'll see what happens with it. My niece read what I had written last night and told me I needed to keep working on it. She also said she was going to steal my poetry and get it published in a book. Lol, I love her to death but I think she's biased when it comes to liking my works. We'll see what the future holds. I'm not sure that people want to read a book of poetry nowadays anyway. As far as my reading goal goes, I'm still stuck with book #35. I just can't seem to get into the story. I don't know why either. I've almost given up reading it three times now but I know that I will feel as though I hadn't really given it a chance if I don't keep reading. So we'll see what happens. I'm off to do some more emails and maybe play a bit before I feel the need to write some more. Take care!

Love and blessings,
Kim

Health Headlines 8/12/06

Early Exposure To Synthetic Estrogen Puts "DES Daughters" At Higher Risk For Breast Cancer ~> Click here.

Automated External Defibrillators Are Frequently Recalled ~> Click here.

Medscape Clinical Review Supports Effectiveness And Safety Of New Non-Drug Blood Pressure Treatment Option ~> Click here.

Infiltration Of Renal Cell Carcinoma Primary Tumors By Mononuclear Cells Portends A Poor Prognosis ~> Click here.

Failure Of "scout Cells" May Lead To Cancer In Transplant Patients ~> Click here.

Advantages In Assessing Human Cancer Cell-induced Angiogenesis In Vivo Shown By Zebrafish ~> Click here.

The Possible Links Between Nutrition And Oral Cancer In Smokers ~> Click here.

Hello again

So much has happened in the past few weeks that I've barely had time to just sit and write down my thoughts let alone do my blog post. In July my brother, Billy, went into the hospital. At first it was for congestive heart failure but soon discovered that his kidneys weren't functioning as they should have been. He underwent dialysis and it seemed that things would be getting better. That was until his kidneys decided they didn't want to filter the toxins out of his system as they're supposed to be doing. Therefore he's had to have a semi-permanent port put into his chest so that he can still have dialysis three times a week. Thankfully he's home now and is doing the dialysis on an outpatient basis. His lungs and everything is fine. We're just now focusing on his kidneys. The kidney doctors are waiting a couple more weeks to see if his kidneys will start to function properly and to let his immune system beef itself up before they attempt a biopsy on his kidneys to see what's going on. I'm not completely sure if he will make it through something like the biopsy but we'll just keep praying and staying strong in our faith.

Chris went to my rheumy yesterday to see what we can do about the pain and swelling in his hands. The rheumy was a bit troubled because sometimes the treatment of Lymphomas and a few other types of cancers can bring out an underlying condition such as Lupus or certain types of arthritis. So our first step was to get some xrays, bloodwork and a bone density scan done to see where we stand. The results will probably be in sometime in the next few days. The doctor also gave him a low dose anti-inflammatory to see if it would help him with some of the pain and swelling or stiffness. That way he can see if he's feeling up to going back to work on Monday or not. When we get the test results back, we'll have a clearer picture of what we're up against and we can plan accordingly. If this medicine he's taking works and he feels up to trying it, Chris is going to go back to work on Monday. But if he's still not feeling well enough to even try, the rheumy will let him take off the time until the next appointment Chris has with the rheumy. I'll admit that it was very odd to be on the other side of examination room.

As for me, I'm doing as well as can be expected. I'm still doing my stretches and taking walks around the house for 5 minutes instead of doing it outside with the way the weather's been. It's been too muggy and humid for me to really breathe when I'm outside. But I still get that small bit of exercise in. Because I have to take blood thinners and my blood pressure medication, there's a very limited amount of medications I can take for my arthritis. For now I'm going to be on Salsalate to try and ease the arthritis portion. I have a prescription strength cream for the psorasis spots so I'm hoping that I won't have to do anything drastic. Unfortunately I will have to relearn how to go through the day with the stiffness and pain that I had a long time ago. I had really hoped that I could stay on my Enbrel because it was really making a difference. My psorasis went away and there were some days when I felt like I could do anything. Now I'm back to square one. But it's just a new beginning point. At least that's what I'm telling myself to keep me going through the days and through the pain. I'll be doing my regular postings for awhile unless something else comes up that keeps me away from the computer. Hope all of you are doing well out there.

Love and blessings,
Kim

Health Headlines 8/11/06

COX-2 Inhibitors Were Broadly Prescribed To Reduce Gastrointestinal Toxicity Prior To The Market Withdrawals ~> Click here.

Majority Of U.S. Women Unaware Of Cervical, Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations, Survey Says ~> Click here.

Low-fat Vegan Diet Rivals Oral Diabetes Medications In Federally Funded Study ~> Click here.

Insulin Pathway Component Explains Insulin Resistance, Age-associated Metabolic Syndrome ~> Click here.

FDA Grants Priority Review To VELCADE(R) (Bortezomib) For Injection For Treatment Of Relapsed Mantle Cell Lymphoma ~> Click here.

Focus Surgery, Inc. Receives FDA Approval For A Phase III Clinical Study Using HIFU With The Sonablate(R) 500 For The Treatment Of Prostate Cancer ~> Click here.

Alzheimer's Medication Shows Promise In Treating Nerve Agent And Pesticide Poisoning ~> Click here.

Hunt For DNA Amplified In Cancers Uncovers Important Target Gene ~> Click here.

Experimental RNA-based Drug Kills Prostate Cancer Cells Effectively And Safely ~> Click here.

Cancer Spreads From Dog To Dog ~> Click here.

The Stiffness Continues...

Indeed it does. I'm trying to stay focused on being positive but it's getting harder to do that with each day that passes. I'm also trying not to dwell on a few things and yet I don't know how to fix them other than to write them out and get other people's opinions. In the past few months, I have had a lot of old friends come back into my life. I have genuinely missed having contact with these people because I love them dearly. Yet, as I'm not holding things about myself back anymore, I think I'm losing some of them. Yeah, I know that because I don't have children or a job, my life is pretty steady in the boring department. My disease makes things difficult when trying to get together as well because I never know what I'm going to feel like the next day until I wake up. What bothers me the most is the fact that a few of these people have told me that no matter what, they would always be my friends. Yet it seems that now they're in a rush to not talk to me. It hurts because even though I'm not able to do a lot, I still try and email once every so often or send little things just because it's easier to copy/paste than to type a lot out at times. I know it sounds childish to be upset by something like that, but I do feel upset. I give all of myself to each of my friends even though there are times when I'm stretched too far and forget to leave a little bit for myself. But that's because I believe everyone deserves to have a loyal, faithful and loving friend. It just makes me sad because there are a few I thought felt the same about me that apparently don't now.

At any rate, I'm going to try not to dwell on that. I know it will just make me sad. With the amount of pain I'm feeling today, I don't really need anything else to make me depressed. My brother, Billy, is still in the hospital. They're not sure why his kidneys aren't working as well as they should and also suspect some problem with his bladder. I'm not sure when he's going to get out of the hospital but I hope it's soon. I know all too well just how boring it can be! My other brother, Andy, has been busy doing his wrestling thing. Seems like every time I'm asleep or doing something, he calls me. Without long distance, I don't get to call him back often. I miss hanging out with him and his girlfriend, Tami. Hopefully they will be able to come up here soon to hang out for a bit. My great grandmother was basically given some medication to help fight whatever infection she has and made comfortable. I'm not sure that she's going to be around for much longer, to be very honest. I do know that she's 97 years old and hasn't been in good health for a while. Being made comfortable is probably the only thing the doctors could do for her at this time. *sighs* I just don't know what to do or think anymore.

I'm happy that I'm still making headway on my goal for reading books this year. I still think I set the goal a little too high but I'm still reading until the very last minute of this year. Fortunately I'm re-reading all the books I love so it won't be too hard to get wrapped within a story and read for hours on end. It also helps to fuel my writing muse so that I am more apt to write than to push my stories off to the side. One of my stories is really coming along while the one I thought I'd finish first is just sitting on the back burner. Not literally, but you know what I mean. Lol, the other thing that gets to me is the fact that I get the most of my story ideas when I'm just about to fall asleep. It never fails to happen. I'll write until I start to fall asleep with pen in hand and then put my stuff away. Once my head gets near that pillow, I get the opening lines of stories or plot ideas will linger. Sometimes the ideas turn into my dreams. They are so vivid that I swear I can taste the food before me or feel the cold metal of the silverware. When I wake up, I can sometimes write down the dreams and they turn into stories themselves. So who knows what will happen with them? I surely don't but I'm going to ride the wave of them because that's what is in my blood to do - write.

Today I'm going to do a little bit of dishes that I'm able to do and probably read or write some more. I don't feel as though I will be up to doing any more than that. Of course I still have to do my stretches. I do believe that it's getting to be a regular habit to do either the stretches or the 5 minute walks every other day and then rest on Sundays. I'm making progress, that's the good thing. I sincerely hope that every one of my friends know that I do love them and I keep them in my thoughts always. I may not be able to write emails or letters and send them off. But I do care and I miss each and every one of you. I hope everyone has a good day. Stay cool as possible.

Love and blessings,
Kim

Health Headlines 8/1/06

Alzheimer's Drug Therapy May Be Stopped Too Soon To Benefit Slow Responders ~> Click here.

Mississippi Files Medicaid Fraud Lawsuit Against Eli Lilly Over Marketing For Off-Label Prescriptions ~> Click here.

New Molecular Approach To Early Cancer Detection Developed By Scientists ~> Click here.

Anemic Children With Cancer Benefit From Erythropoietin ~> Click here.

Flick Of A Protein Switches Immune Response ~> Click here.

Honey Helps Problem Wounds ~> Click here.

Researchers Uncover How Prostate Cancer Cells Defy Death ~> Click here.

Skin Cancer Rare -- But More Deadly -- In People With Darker Skin ~> Click here.

Takeda And BioNumerik Announce Results Of Tavocept(TM) Phase III Trials Focused On Neuropathy Indication ~> Click here.

Gene Discovery May Shed Light On Kidney Diseases; Second Gene Found For Alagille Syndrome May Have Broader Role ~> Click here.

FDA Approves Duetact(TM) (pioglitazone HCl And Glimepiride) For The Treatment Of Type 2 Diabetes ~> Click here.

Carefully Mixed Radiation Cocktail Reduces Breast Cancer Treatment's Collateral Damage To Skin ~> Click here.