early detection and prevention

so i know this isn't the brightest post ever, but being an oncology nurse, i think it's important.  my in-laws asked me a while back how people first suspect they have cancer and what makes them go see a doctor.  so i thought i'd return to the fundamentals and post about the top 7 warning signs of cancer.  everyone should be mindful of these. often times, people don't seek treatment until the cancer has advanced.  so here they are in no particular order:

1. a sore that doesn't heal
2. a change in bowel or bladder habits
3. difficulty swallowing or chronic indigestion
4. unusual bleeding or discharge
5. a thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere
6. an obvious change in a wart or mole
7. a nagging cough or persistent hoarseness

also, here are some important things that are recommended by professionals that you can do to prevent  and lower your risk of cancer.  

1. if you smoke, stop.  if you don't, don't start.
2. avoid exposure to second-hand smoke.
3. know the 7 warning signs of cancer (above) and see your doctor asap if you observe any of them.
4. don't overeat, cut down on alcohol ingestion, and limit your intake of fatty foods.
5. exercise.
6. know your family's medical history.  know your risk.
7. wear sunscreen and avoid tanning beds or laying out in the sun.
8. do bse and get mammograms at appropriate ages.  
9. get a colonoscopy after age 50 and always get enough fiber at any age.
10. be aware of your risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals in your workplace.  always wear protective equipment.

weekend thoughts

• had a great weekend in ga visiting my grandparents.  lots of good food and hang-out time.
• when we got home, our dogs must have been mad we left them.  chaos ensued.  
• maya maneuvered out of her leash, on purpose, and lead us on another wild chase around town.  needless to say i was so not happy. 
• our dog max ate one of brandon's guitar picks last night...not sure why he would do this, but i guess it won't stay gone forever...
• great service at crossroads this morning; meet the holy spirit.  exciting stuff.
• my sunday at kidzone; 3rd-5th grade girls.  they're so sweet, and i'm really starting to feel comfortable and enjoy serving there.
• today has been a lazy, restful day.  nap, book, dog whisperer, hgtv, and tlc marathons :)
• going to work tonight.  trying to get motivated.
• looking forward to getting a lot of things done this week.  got a big to do list.  

have a great week!

happy b-day mom

today is my mom's birthday!  i honestly couldn't imagine a better mother, friend, or person than my mom.  i want to be like her.  she's always thinking of others and what she can do for them.   she's the best role model.  a wonderful wife.  she's fun, laid-back, and exudes an infectious joy.  she deserves all the best things in life.  seriously, she does.  she's awesome.

happy birthday mom!  i love you :)

books

okay, so i heard something today that really freaked me out.  i go to the university library to find a novel i have been wanting to read.  i figured why buy it if i can check it out?  i read online at the university web page that they had the book i wanted.  great, right?

i go in looking in the online catalog, and it says "electronic resource".  hmm.  so i go try to find a helpful library employee and politely ask her where i can find this book.  she proceeds to tell me that i can subscribe to a library online service, get a code, and check out this book online.  

at this point i am extremely confused.  where do i get the book?  she goes on to tell me i can't, but rather i read it online.  what?!  so you're telling me i cannot physically hold this book and read it?  i have to read it on a computer screen?  um apparently so.  this is crazy.  not right at all.  i am freaking out inside.  don't get me wrong, i love computers and technology.  my mac is well loved.  but common, read a book online?  i don't think so.  

you see, i love to read.  i love books.  i love the smell of books; old, worn ones with the spine coming off, and fresh-of-the-press brand new ones.  i love the smell of ink.  i love curling up in a comfy chair with a warm blanket, a cup of coffee, and a good book.  i take books everywhere.  i get lost in them.  you get the point; i LOVE them.  

i will be placing an amazon order shortly...:)

a love for thousands

with easter still fresh on my mind, this verse just jumped off the page at me while reading.  what a beautiful picture of His redeeming love for the world.  oh how unworthy i am of all He is.

the Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

-exodus 34.6

happy easter

happy easter!  He is no longer dead, but forever alive!  

Through death, He made this possible for the entire human race.  this is the greatest truth!

i read this today.  a quote by anne rice.  i couldn't have said it better.

"...as we experience Easter week, we celebrate the crucifixion that changed the world.  we celebrate the resurrection that send Christ's apostles throughout the roman empire to declare the good news.  we celebrate one of the greatest love stories the world has ever known: that of a God who would come down here to live and breathe with us in a human body, who would experience human death for us, and then rise to remind us that He was, and is, both human and divine.  we celebrate the greatest inversion the world has ever recorded: that of the Maker dying on a roman cross.  

let us celebrate as well that throughout this troubled world in which we live, billions believe in the 2,000-year-old love story and in this great inversion -- and billions seek to trust the Maker to bring us to one another in love as He brings us to Himself."

an empty cross.  beautiful.

spring

so my mother in-law cathy made a list of all the things she loves about spring, and she asked what would be on our list?  

here's mine:

• warmer weather :) 
• open windows and screen doors
• walks with brandon and our dogs, maya and max
• basketball season is almost over...i like sports, but seriously, it's on like every single night
• owning my own house with a big yard.  i'm looking forward to learning how to garden.  cathy, you have a lot to teach me here :)
• sunny days and warm breezes
• rainy days, and the smell after it rains
• rebirth and renewal, a change to wipe the slate clean and start fresh
• spring cleaning.  i know it's weird i like to clean.  i especially like getting rid of things.
• grilling out.  now this is brandon's thing.  he's good at it.  i love to cook, but i'm afraid i'd blow something up if i tried to turn on the grill.  i need some lessons from my mom; she's good at it too
• green things; trees, plants, ect.
• easter - this sunday!  i love this day.  it's such a great and needed reminder of what He did for the world.  what love.  amazing!
• my birthday; less than 1 month away

spring.  i'm so glad it's here...:)

can't wait for may

so my hubby told me something recently that has me super excited.  wanna know what it is???

this.

05.06.08  can't wait.  he's been gone too long :)

monday night thoughts

• i usually am at work on monday nights, but not this one since i worked last night.  it's kind of nice, although there is nothing on tv.
• i absolutely love my job, but it is not an easy one.  oncology is tough.  i'm drained when i get home.  physically, mentally, emotionally.  
• it's hard to be new at something.  although i've been out of nursing school for a while, sometimes i still feel like it's all i can do to get everything done.  you'd think 12 hrs. is a long time. 
• i love exercising.  brandon and i went to the sports club tonight, and i realized how good you feel afterwards.  last week we didn't get to go, because it was such a busy week.
• my dad is in nicaragua this week.  i can't wait to see pics.
• the hubby is getting good at photoshop.  go check it out.
• brandon and i had such a great time with my mom this weekend.  i miss her insight, laughter, and encouragement.  she is all about building people up.  i want to be like her.
• it's so hard to find a pair of jeans that fit perfectly.  impossible really.
• how do you not let things bug you?  i'm trying to figure that one out...
• found a new website/magazine i love...the nest.
• i can't wait for my new glasses to come in.  i thought it best to upgrade from the ones i've had since...uh middle school.  yeah.
• our dogs are getting along so well!   
• brandon and i are going to spartanburg tomorrow to have dinner and hang out with david and lauren.  we're really looking forward to it.
• brandon and i had a date night tonight; gym, subway, starbucks :)
• i seriously have the best husband.  i couldn't ask for a better man to do life with.  he really is my best friend and i can't imagine life without him.
• God is doing so much in my life and my heart right now.  i'm growing a lot.  every day is an adventure and He teaches me something new each day.  i'm so thankful He's in control.
• easter is sunday!!

march.17

mom

today will be a great day.  why?

my grandparents are coming to look for a house here in the greenville area; they want to move here!  so excited.  and...my mom is coming to visit!  

it will be a great day, i can't wait :)

she's so pretty isn't she?

unleash

going to unleash at new spring tomorrow for the first time.  i'm pretty excited about it.  i'm sure God will have something to teach me.  no doubt.  

i'm also looking forward to spending the day with my hubby.  it should be fun.  :)

prayer request

as a nurse on an oncology unit, each time i go to work, i see a lot of people who have cancer.  some are newly diagnosed, some fighting, some who just want to live out their last days in peace and comfort.  the thing is, most of them are not extremely young.  most of them are over 35.

on our unit are now 2 young men; one 24 and the other 28.  let's call them the adam and ryan (not their real names).  

adam has been on our unit a long time trying to get ready for his bone marrow transplant.  he got it very recently.  before getting a transplant, all your blood counts have to be wiped out.  zip.  this means you are very vulnerable to any sort of infection.  he had to be transferred to the icu a couple of days ago.  outcome is uncertain.  if he can get through this though, he has a great chance to live.

just a few weeks ago, ryan, a 28 year old husband went to the doctor for what he thought was a cold that just wouldn't go away.  blood work-ups revealed aml (acute myelogenous leukemia).  his wife is 8 months pregnant with their first child.  he has been a missionary overseas and just recently was ordained.  such a nice guy.  he's getting ready to start chemotherapy.

they both have been heavy on my heart for the past week.  will you please pray for them and their families this week?

a name

while reading in exodus today, i came across a name of God that i haven't ever noticed before...

the Presence

how awesome is that?  God was reminding the israelites that He was, is, and will be present, even in the hard times they were facing in the desert.  i want to start each day acknowledging that He is near and present in me and will continue to be forever.  

i love it how no matter how many times or how often i read the Bible, there's always something new for Him to teach me.  i want to always be His student.  i can't get enough.

max

today brandon and i were meeting my godparents, mike and vickie, in travelers rest for a late lunch.  they were down visiting the area for the afternoon, and it was great to see them.  we were a little early, so brandon drove by the greenville humane society...just to look at the cute animals.  we got our siberian husky, maya (she's awesome), from the spartanburg humane society last december.

about an hour later when we met mike and vickie, we had a new member of the family - a 2 year old golden retriever/lab mix named max.  all pets at the humane society are $85, which is very reasonable.  max's cage was marked $20.  yes, you heard me correctly.  his family moved away and couldn't take him with them, so he ended up there.  the volunteer said he had been there a long time (3 weeks)...and we knew what that meant if no one adopted him soon...:(

so we adopted him :)

he is an incredibly sweet dog.  energetic, but gentle, doesn't bark,  and he's house trained.  we gave him a bath and  he met maya, and although it took a little while, we think they've hit it off.  they are both in the living room sleeping on the floor.  we'll have to see how it goes though. 

i guess i never knew i was a dog person until now.  the girl who said she'd never have an inside pet now has 2 dogs.  so everyone, meet max!

yum

i'm excited.  why?  

because i love coffee, and i'm drinking my favorite -  panera hazelnut, black...oh snap.

ps - seriously, are we in chicago today?  greenville - the windy city?

rainstorm

we had a rainstorm earlier.  thunder, lightening, wind.  power and noise.  i loved it.

it's easy to forget about one of the biggest ways God shows us his might, creativity, beauty and wonder.  busyness can cloud our vision, making us too rushed to see what's right in front of us every day.  nature.  His creation.

a rainstorm couldn't be a more perfect example.  

He's teaching me to slow down and notice; to find amazement in the unexpected and overlooked.  rejoice in the gift of creation.  no one but the Creator could have imagined anything so perfect.  

just around the corner...

it started when i took our dog maya out this morning.  it was a fragrance, an ambiance, a feeling.  spring is near, and today was really the first glimpse of it here in greenville, sc.  i noticed a bright yellow daffodil blooming at the end of my driveway.  green in nature is slowly returning.  while running errands at noon, i didn't even need a jacket.  even when the wind blows, it's not cold.  as of right now, it's 70 degrees.  ahhh...:)

i'm the kind of person who likes it to be cool during football season and the holidays (sept. - dec.).  after that, i'm ready for the warmth of spring and summer.

if you're anywhere near greenville today, i'm sure you've noticed what an absolutely beautiful day it is.  go on, go outside and enjoy it.  i think it's God's way of reminding me that winter is only a season.  i'm sure it will get cool again before staying warm, but just around the corner is a spring full of life and rebirth.

the weekend

fri.

-brandon and i went on a double date fri. night.  got to hang out with my oldest and closest friend rachel and her detective husband tyler
-rachel and i have been friends since 3rd grade.  when we're together it's like we were never apart.  you can never replace a friend like her.  don't loose touch with people like that.  good friends are rare; few and far between.  
-we ate at olive garden (yum) and saw the movie, vantage point.  it was different, but i liked it because it was a thinker.  it was a great time.
-got to spend the night with my parents.  it was good to be back for a night.

sat.

-my parents and brandon and i went to the flea market at the fair grounds sat. morning in waynesville, nc.  they had some awesome biscuits and gravy.  good, homemade, white gravy.

-got a cool, antique window (our house was built in 1952) and a brand new suede recliner for $40...yes.  you heard me correctly.

-visited an antique store and came home with a kitchen bowl and a white art deco vase.

-we had lunch with my grandparents (oma and opa) at the tap room at the waynesville country club.  very good food and even better company.

-sat. evening was spent unloading our car and then with brandon's family.  cathy, the mac-n-cheese was awesome.

sun.

-the service at crossroads was great this morning.  steve brought a great message about having a kingdom heart for others.  worship was also amazing.  

-brandon did a great job on electric.

-we ran errands most of the day, although i did manage to get in a work-out at the gym.

it was a super-busy weekend, but great all the same.  since i work nights at the hospital, i rarely have to work weekends anymore.  i look forward to, and treasure weekends spent with brandon.  we've been married for almost 8 months now, and it just keeps on getter better and better  :) 

yay for weekends!  and marriage!