Offering hope to those on the path behind me

Tag: thrive (Page 3 of 3)

I Want Off This Merry-Go-Round

A day and a half went by. Even though I was still at home recovering from surgery, we had hope.until the phone rang

Until the phone rang Friday around lunch time. It was the surgeon. My stomach fell. you know that feeling when you are riding a roller coaster and your stomach drops. Yeah, that feeling.

It is never good when the actual doctor calls you on the phone. If everything is fine, the nurse calls and tells you “Your results look good, see you at your next appointment.” You can even hear the smile in the nurse’s voice. But when the doctor calls….that is completely different.

I heard him inhale deeply before he said “I’m afraid I have bad news. You have cancer.” My housekeeper, who just happened to be working that day, could see the color drain from my face. I sat down in the nearest chair and waited for the rest of it. “I would like you to come in this afternoon to discuss your options.” Continue reading

Is your Bucket(list) half empty or half full?

The other day I was flipping channels on TV and came across the movie “The Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I love that movie. It is a story of two very unlikely individuals that become friends while in the hospital.  Obviously there is a bucket list involved, but if you haven’t seen the movie I don’t want to give too much away.

Every time I my Bucketlistsee that movie, I think “I’m going to make a bucket list.” In the movie they have some pretty extreme items on their list. One of my extreme items is to fly on a private jet.

I believe that having goals to stretch us is a great thing. I have always thought of a bucket list as things that are a stretch, but not necessarily out of reach. For example, one item on my bucket list is to see the Ellen DeGeneres Show live. I spent every day watching that show when I was recovering from my hip surgery four years ago and she kept my spirits up. For me this isn’t unattainable, but it is a stretch. Continue reading

Thrive in Stage 5

I’m in Stage 5

One of the most common questions for someone who has cancer is “How are you feeling?” While people ask this question out of concern or curiosity, it is not a question that can be answered quickly or easily.  This is usually a 20 minute conversation at a minimum if you really want to know the truth.

The short answer to that question will usually depend on which stage someone is in related to their diagnosis. Most likely they are rolling their eyes on the inside and thinking to themselves “Did they really just ask me that question?”

A cancer patient goes thru the same stages that you may associate with grief. And if you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Let’s look at each of the stages and the answers that you may hear from your friend or colleague that has been diagnosed with cancer:

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