Well, it's been a few months since my last update. I went back to work after surgery. A little more exhausted but I made it through the end of the school year. Thankfully my mammogram and ultrasound were just cysts on both sides. I went back to my follow up with the urologist. He gave me news that I was not expecting. He told me that I need to have lung x-rays every three months this first year. He said there is a chance that kidney cancer will travel through your blood stream and go into your lungs. In my mind -- I am thinking he's being extra cautious. (which I appreciate!) I definitely want to catch things early. Then, I go home and hit Google.
Yeah - I know. Everyone just went "nooooo" but if you were in that position, you would want to know the numbers too. I only go to actual cancer sites. However, I was not ready for what I found. In my mind, I was expecting 20%. Or even as high as 30% of kidney cancer metastasis into your lungs. That would leave me 70% into the clear.Journey With Jen
Life is not a destination. It's the Journey. I invite you to come along with me.
Wednesday, June 11, 2025
One More Surgery
Friday, March 28, 2025
More Tests
Today has been one month since my kidney cancer surgery. I'm doing pretty good. My energy is still not there and if I do too much my cut muscle will hurt. My 12 staples going across my side has come out. Last Thursday was the first time I sneezed in a month. I thought that was so weird. But with the muscle getting cut and then being sewn together -- my diaphragm would not expand enough to let me sneeze. I would would start to sneeze, but when I tried to get the big breath, my sneeze stopped. Our bodies are weird aren't then?
Monday I start back to work. I'm doing half days this first week back to see how it goes. Doctor recommended 6-8 weeks off, but I'm trying to go back part time after 4 weeks. Since I get tired, I am sure that I'll be coming home and taking a nap with my ice pack when I get home. However, I am looking forward to seeing the kids and adults again. I get my daily amount of hugs from the kids at school because my boys at home are not huggers. 😂
While I was off, I went ahead and got my mammogram done. It has been 9 years since my last one. My mom's mother had breast cancer so it is in the family unfortunately. So, yes it was past due. I was of course was hoping for a thanks for getting it done - see you in another couple years. However, my medical stuff has not been that easy lately. And neither were these results. I have two spots - one in each breast. One is a 10mm and the other spot is 25mm mass. I have to go back in a couple weeks for ultrasound. I know a lot of people have to go back for more testing after a mammogram so I'm hoping those spots are nothing. But, two surgeries in 3 months now, I can't help but worry.Tuesday, March 18, 2025
We are what we eat
But what has changed from 1955 to the 1980's? And even more so today? Our diet. Things were made from scratch. Real ingredients. Then, we had 2 income families, so frozen dinners took off. Convivence food became a big part of our grocery stores. Now, fast food is a part of our culture. I work at a school. Those kids will eat pizza and chicken nuggets daily without thinking twice. Our diets have changed so much and it allows toxins into our bodies daily. Which will sooner or later will effect you. There is SO many fake foods out there. So many foods with cancer causing agents.
A friend of mine told me about an app called Yuka. It's a free app and you scan barcodes on items and it will list the good, bad, and ugly about the item. I will tell you that there were several things that I was eating regularly that had cancer causing ingredients. "Good for you" items. High fiber, low carb. All those key words. Ya'll -- its not real food. It's engineered stuff that your body doesn't know what to do with. There are some things that will come up "bad" or "poor" on the app. That's when you can click on the ingredients and make that decision for yourself. Sometimes it is just because the sodium is too high. But at least you have the power to look and make an educated decision.
Food has the power to heal. It also has the power to destroy your health. The average American diet eats 60% of their calories from processed foods. In the United States there are over 10,000 substances have found their way into our processed food. Either from the food itself or the packaging it comes in. Most of the chemical substances fall in the 2,500-3,000 range that are intentionally added to processed foods for color, shelf life, texture, and cost.
We will never be able to live a toxic free life here on Earth. We can only do our best. Lower some of our risks. Choose YOU! Your health is worth the effort. You are worth it! Taking prescription medications mess with your whole system. My husband was on over 10 medications several times a day just to live. He felt terrible all of the time. I'm not anti-prescriptions. Sometimes we have to have them. But, health starts with the foods that we eat. Just take a look at what you eat regularly. What choices can you need to change?
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Healing After Surgery
Wednesday was a week today since I left the hospital. Friday it will be two weeks since my surgery. I'm home and trying to get my strength back up. The doctor was not kidding when he said that it is a very painful surgery. But, I'm finally down to one pain pill a day. The one pill is usually in the evenings. It's one thing to have some pain or be uncomfortable during the day, but trying to sleep when your hurting is difficult. I still get tired easily. Yesterday I decided to make cookie dough and freeze it for Easter. Between the breaks that I had to take, the two hour task ended up most of the day. So, I can see why the doctors have told me not to rush back to work. My body is still healing and it's a slow process.
I had my PCP appointment yesterday. What really surprised me was the many questions the nurse asked me about my mental state. I love how they are looking at the whole body, not just the physical. So I was curious and looked it up. Most studies show about 1 in 3 people diagnosed with cancer experience anxiety, depression, or other emotional distress. I get that. Watching my dad die of colon cancer is still in the back of my mind when I get tested for something. I will probably always have that anxiety that comes with cancer. Now that my body has had one cancer tumor, it has become even more real to me. That's why I'm digging into more books and research articles to help prevent having cancer again.Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Figuring Out Why
So many times we just take what doctors tell us without questioning. Or, when we do question, we just accept their answer as gold. While, I really don't believe that doctors would intentionally lead us astray. However, I am the best advocate for my kids and myself. I've always just had to read books, articles, find doctors, and push, push, push for my kids and my husband. This time - it's all about me.
I am just trying to figure out how some one in the mid-forties gets a cancer that doesn't usually hit some one until their sixties or seventies. I don't fit any of the kidney cancer criteria. Is there any connection to my other diagnosis? What the heck is going on in my gut area??Wednesday, February 19, 2025
Food for Thought
Back in March, when I first went to the doctor, my goal was just to start taking care of me. I went and got bloodwork. Found out that I was diabetic and went to the dietitian appointment that happens when your diagnosed. Protein, protein, protein is of course what is pushed. I did it and just felt terrible. I stayed the course for a while thinking my body would adjust. Then, like I always do when I want to figure out something - I went to the library and checked out several books on diabetes. I found only two books that went a different direction. They suggested that a plant based diet regulates blood sugar better. That your body can digest it so much easier that you don't get the spikes in sugar levels.
Now, don't get me wrong -- vegan I will never be. But incorporating a few more vegetarian type meals, that I can do. So I decided that for breakfast and lunch - it would be less meat. Which meant that I had to intentionally meal prep. No more just packing left overs up for lunch the next day. Greek Yogurt, homemade marinara pasta (Brami Protein Pasta) with a side salad, eggs and roasted potatoes for lunch, vegetable fried rice. My favorite is a small loaded baked potato with a side salad. Fresh fruit throughout the day. Intentionally taking care of myself with real food one baby step at a time. Then, my dinner was kids meal size of what ever I'm cooking for everyone. But guess what -- it worked! In less than a year, my A1C dropped from a 9.5 to a 6.2! That's in the pre-diabetic range. I got to lower my medication!
Another thing I did last year as I was changing my diet. I said to good bye to my sweet tea. Of course with a 9.5 AIC, I really had to! 😄 I started drinking green tea. Okay - I agree...the flavor of green tea really has a lot to be desired when your coming from a McAlister's sweet tea. However, I did like the bottled Lipton Citrus Green Tea. So I went to Amazon and looked up Green Tea and there were so many flavors. I weeded out the artificially flavored green teas. I ended up ordering some citrus, strawberry, and blueberry green teas which I rotate throughout the week. (Harney & Son's Blueberry Green Tea is my favorite!) Why switch from black tea to green tea? The health benefits! Green tea has antioxidants that reduces blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation. A 2020 study also suggested that green tea is linked with lower chance of cognitive impairment in middle-aged and older adults like Alzheimer's disease. Green tea has also been linked to lower risk of ovarian and lung cancer. So each day before work, I fill up my 40 oz Stanley filled with ice water and my 30 oz BruMate filled with iced green tea.Monday, February 10, 2025
Down the Rabbit Hole
Thinking about what's coming ahead does tend to make me nervous. The unknowns. The what ifs. All of the pieces that have to come together. Insurance...time off...recovery time...It really was SO much easier when I was on the other side of the hospital bed. I have always been the one on in the waiting chair beside the bed. It was always my job to worry about all of that and figure out how to pay the bills. Now, I have to worry about that AND be in the hospital bed. I keep praying for God to work out all of the details. For His hands to be in everything -- All of the details. I can then let it go...for a while. But the worry comes creeping back in.
The mind keeps going down every rabbit hole. I have an EKG and heart scans coming up before surgery. What if they find something? The first CT scan I went in for was supposed to confirm a hernia. Instead she called me and told me I needed to come in that day. She then literally handed me a post-it note full of things to talk about because she didn't want to miss anything. I don't know if I could do another post-it note full of bad news. Honestly, it wouldn't even have to be a list on a post-it.Yet here I am. Thanking God every night for the past 10 years or so does not change the place I am in right now. I am still the person that got a list of things wrongs with her in October. I am still the person that was told she has cancer right before Thanksgiving. And to be honest -- it has not changed me thanking God for our health every night either. I am so thankful that God let the doctors find it while it's small and has not spread. Praise God!
But here I am -- I am nervous for all of the details to work out. Bills, insurance, and so many days off. So much is out of my hands. And the things I do have control over - I'm scared I messed them up. When my mind goes down that rabbit hole, my stomach ends up in knots. So I pray. What else can I do? I stress and I worry. At times I can make myself sick. I know those moments didn't accomplish anything. But the mind still goes there. So I pray. He has brought me this far. I wish I could just leave it at His feet and not go back there again. But my mind will come back to those thoughts and worries. Though the good stuff, bad stuff, and all the in-betweens - I pray.