The Power of Positivity

Holding my breath, waiting for the news...

Did we win this battle yet? Are the treatments working? All I can do is sit here and hope that the answer to both these questions is yes.

The doctor comes in and gives my father the results from his recent PET scan. The cancer has not shrunk, but it looks as if it has not spread anymore. Ok we will take that news, not spreading is positive! So, what are the next steps? More chemo and then another PET scan next month to see what the next plan of attack is.

All we can do is stay positive and HOPE that this battle will soon be a victory!

I have to say sometimes in life we are thrown curve balls; whether it be cancer, a loss of a job, a break-up, etc. It is up to us to decide whether we let these curve balls knock us down, or we decide to just hit one out of the park. It's okay to feel pain and to get upset, but no matter what it is, it's truly up to us as individuals to pick ourselves up and continue to LIVE. Learn from those experiences, gain strength from those experiences and LIVE! Remember you only have one chance at it!

Announcing my "Share Hope" Contest

A Piece from my Fall Collection could be named in honor of your loved one's story!

We just launched “Share Hope”; a contest that encourages cancer patients, cancer survivors, or friends and family, to share personal cancer stories and words of hope by submitting audio, video, or an essay at HopesSong.org. The grand prize winner will have a piece of apparel in my Fall line named after him/her, or their loved one, and feature that individual’s words of hope on the hang tag.

To enter you must create a user name and register as a member at HopesSong.org. You may upload video/audio entries, blog or post essays on the message board. All entries must be received by June 11, 2010 and include a photo of the person you wish to be honored.

Voting for finalists will begin on June 14th and participants will receive an email with information on the voting process and how your friends and family can vote for your entry. Three finalists will be announced on July 1st and they will be featured on the HopesSong.org homepage. Each finalist will receive a gift certificate to be used at www.HopesSong.com. The grand prize winner will be selected by a panel of judges and have a piece of apparel named after them or their loved one, which will be announced at the launch of my Fall line.

Every piece that I design for the Hopes Song clothing line has a cancer story behind it. So I hope the ‘Share Hope’ contest will encourage people to tell their stories, because people find strength in others’ stories and it will all result in one person being honored by having a beautiful piece of clothing named for him/her, or their loved one.

Join our fight at http://www.hopessong.org/ and shop for hope at http://www.hopessong.com/

Flights for Hope was a Success!

Thanks to all the individuals and sponsoring companies that donated to this event to make this such a successful event.  I am overwhelmed by the support of not just friends, but strangers who showed up to this event.  We really reached a wide variety of people and it seemed everyone was enjoying themselves with plenty of wine and food all in honor of a great cause. 

I always say if you can touch one person’s life…though they may not remember what you said, except for how you made them feel then its all worth it.  I think we did that!!  We have continued in the “Hope”, the “hope” to win this battle………….

Nutrition Advice from the National Cancer Institute

Diet is often an overlooked subject for cancer patients, but eating the right nutritional foods for strength and energy is just as important as taking the proper medication.

Cancer diets involve eating the correct amounts of protein and calories as well as drinking the right amount of water to keep the ailing body replenished and energized.  The body needs plenty of nourishment when it is going through chemotherapy or when the patient is taking cancer-related medications.

Eating Guidelines from the National Cancer Institute

 

The following suggestions from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) may be helpful if you have difficulty eating or a loss of appetite even when you are feeling well with cancer:

• Eat small, frequent meals (every one to two hours).
• Eat high-protein and high-calorie foods (including snacks).

• Avoid food that can cause nausea and eat things that are enticing, do not drink liquids with your meals.
• Try to eat when you are feeling the best, no matter what time of day.
• Use meal substitutes, such as high-calorie, high-protein drinks, when you do not feel like eating.
• Try to increase your appetite through light exercise or appetite stimulants including a glass of wine or beer, if allowed.
• Add extra calories and protein to food using foods such as butter, skim milk powder, honey, or brown sugar.
• Take your medications with high-calorie fluids.
• Eat foods at room temperature.
• Avoid spicy foods or foods with strong odors.

Keeping Hope Alive with Cord Blood

I am expecting and I have officially decided to bank my baby's cord blood and here are some reasons why and what others should know:

Your baby's cord blood is a rich source of stem cells, the building blocks of our blood and immune system. Cord blood transplants can currently treat over 70 diseases and new purposes for it are constantly being discovered. Currently, to take advantage of emerging regenerative medicine applications, one's own cells are needed for treatment. On top of this your baby's cord blood has the potential to save a family members life, a family member that may even have cancer.

Banking cord blood is an investment and a precautionary measure that you hope can help you if needed but one that you also hope you never have to use. With all the continued research they are finding other diseases that stem cells can aid. I think this step is an important one, especially because of my family's health history with cancer.

My father is currently in the heart of his battle with a very rare form of cancer, melanoma of the esophagus. There has only been approximately 250 other cases ever reported and it is a silent cancer. Most people do not know they have it until it's in its later stages. Who knows, maybe he will be a match and my baby's cord blood will be able to help him. All I know is that by banking cord blood I'm keeping hope alive.

Finding Hope and Keeping the Faith

Each day Cancer takes a life…….Sometimes you wonder why we cant just figure this disease out.  Why does it consistently “linger”  and sometimes kill.  I lost my Uncle on Monday from Cancer.  Cancer snuck back into his life and didn’t give him more then a month to live.  He left behind 3 children, 4 grandchildren, and a loving wife.  As my Aunt said, I just prayed for him to  have comfort and her prayers were answered.  He can now feel no pain, but peace.  This story seems unfortunately too common  these days.  This battle is ongoing.  It’s a battle we have to continue to face head on and a battle we can only “HOPE” and continue to have faith that we will one day be able to defeat.

Never Giving Up Hope

After watching a movie tonight I was inspired to write this post.  The movie ended in such a positive light with the line,“The one thing I can walk away with is Hope”.   Such a strong message, because truly that’s all we can ever have.  Once you lose Hope, you lose everything.  Believe me there are times where you question what you believe, you question your strength,  you question Hope.  And when times get tough we have to find it within ourselves to fight and to never give up.  We only get one chance to live this life, so try to take in every moment life offers.  Its what we choose to do with this gift.  We are all tested daily, that’s for sure……But I think we all forget how precious life truly is.  My only advice tonight is to just never give up hope and LIVE!!