Tag: cancer

Are we too clean?

Consider this hypothesis: Asthma, autism, cancer, arthritis, obesity and MS could be on the rise not only because of improved diagnosis, but also these illnesses seem to correlate with the rise of anti-parasitic and anti-bacterial living.

Apparently, dirt is part of the delicate balance of healthy living. While this shift in disease occurs on the physical plane, what about "dis-ease" on the emotional plane? Are depression, anxiety and stress more prevalent nowadays because we drive ourselves crazy with too pure idealizations and perfectionism?

You are not a moaner or a groaner, no way, not you.

You pride yourself on being compassionate, understanding of other people's difficulties, and tolerate life's various frustrations well. So it's totally in character for you to pretty much ignore your spouse's annoying behaviors, occasional pettiness and habitual criticalness.

So when you get that sinus infection that just won’t go away, or that painful ulcer, the doctor asks you, "Any unusual stressful situations in your life?"

When the big "C" (cancer) entered our world, it forced my husband and I to get our priorities in order pretty darn fast. Funny how a ticking time bomb will do that to you just when you thought you had it all.

Very little discussion was given to how we were going to make the best use of our time while we still had it. All we knew was that we were determined to squeeze out as much living as we could into each and every single day that would be gifted to us.

In our third and final installment we are going to discuss the simple changes to your sexual routine that can help after prostate surgery. These techniques can be used with or without the use of medications for erectile dysfunction.

One of the most important things to remember is that after prostate surgery, your husband’s subsequent sexual difficulties can originate from physical or psychological issues, or a combination of the two. Many males feel less of a man after surgery and there is a period where he may wonder if his pride and joy (his penis) is ever going to perform again.

You don’t often see joy used in the same sentence as death. But when my husband Bruce was diagnosed with an aggressive stage 4 cancer, my family had to confront his impending death and in the process we found ways to surround him with friends, children, grandchildren, laughter, memories, love, and yes, joy.

When Bruce decided to stop treatment, he transitioned from being someone who was sick and fighting for time to someone who was dying and fighting for the things that made him happy: family, traveling, chocolate, wine. By accepting he was dying we were all able to focus our energies on achieving the peaceful end-of-life experience that he wanted.

I have seven adopted kids. Our family is a hodge-podge of culture, diversity, and challenge. Sometimes, I’m close to pulling my hair out, but if I’m honest, I love it.

One thing I don’t love, however. Cancer.

I work as a hospice chaplain and grief counselor. I interact with cancer in some way almost every day. Then one day, things got personal.

During a routine dental cleaning, our hygienist noticed a small abnormality in our 15 year-old son's palate. The dentist got involved, and then a periodontist. Less than a week later, we were in the oral surgeon's office having multiple biopsies.