Positive energy requested
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Not sure how to post a picture on this forum. Message me on my facebook page, Melinda LaVenture Aldrian, and I’ll send it to you. Or use my email address: melinda.aldrian@gmail.com
It is incredibly inspirational. I have had several people who have experience with angel orbs contact me about the image.
I hope this is ok on this board. I don’t want to get in trouble using my email or fb contact.thanks for your prayers for positive results. mri of brain today as well as ct of chest. tomorrow is ct of abdomen and pelvis. results on wednesday.
Melinda A,…..if you ever find a way to share that picture of your husband in prayer, I’d love to see it also. It sure would be inspiration to me…and I’m sure to others as well. Praying here for good results on the scan for your husband on MOnday.
Juiie T.
Melinda,
Just wanted to send prayers your way for absolutely great scans for your husband tomorrow! I will be thinking of you two. I would love to see that picture ….it sounds amazing! Take care and God Bless!
Melinda B.Hello CC Warriors! Thank you so much for your support and positive energy and thoughts….oh and for crossing everything possible on a body to bring good JUJU.
Lainy…great idea to just be forthright when talking with others. I’m sure that friends who offer help with word retrieval are put more at ease knowing that it’s ok to just say the word that you were struggling to find. John’s doctor is working hard to find the correct meds to regain chemical balance in the brain after surgery and chemo. We had an adjustment yesterday and today was the first “great day” in a long time. Hoping it’s not just a placebo effect, but I’ll even take that and hope it continues.
Hercules…What encouraging words knowing that you are 9 years out from a resection. As far as the cannabis, John got good results from Marinol (synthetic mj) and his surgeon suggested that he try the real deal for appetite and pain. We went to a clinic and spoke to the folks there but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. I think John’s being an ex Jesuit, may need a bit more persuading. I appreciate your suggestion tho and am keeping an open mind.
Julie T…You are absolutely right in that not being able to keep a thought or process as well as before. That is what really bothers John as well. Based on all of your comments, we had a great talk while walking around the gardens at City of Hope yesterday where we attended Ash Wednesday mass. You’re right that whatever is going to be his new normal does not diminish the person that he is. It is what it is.
Marion…thank you so much for your words of support. You’re right…surgery and chemo is such an invasion on your body and we just have to accept that each day is a gift and we are blessed to wake up each day and give thanks for all that we have been given.
Gavin…thanks for your well wishes from Scotland. You are always so supportive and I appreciate your contributing your crossed digits and positive thoughts as well.
John and I prayed and meditated at a labyrinth last Thursday and again today. I took pictures of him as he meditated and there was a beam of light enveloping him as he prayed. No doubt, he was inspired by this image and given hope. I wish I could share it with you… It is an incredible picture.
Will let you know how his scan goes on Monday…results with oncologist on Wednesday, then meeting with his surgeon on March 2 to review results. I love his surgeon. He wants to stay closely involved for at least three years he said. what a blessing.
thank you all
Melinda AHi Melinda,
You got it, loads and loads of positive thoughts coming your way from over here! And of course I am keeping my fingers crossed for the best possible news from the scan as well. Please stay strong and you know that we are all here for you.
Hugs,
Gavin
Melinda….your husband and you, the ever so devoted advocate, have been through so much. We need to remember that everything this disease brings along is difficult to digest, literally, as the digestive system is undergoing huge changes as well. The surgery is a huge invasion on the human body. That and the recovery plus chemotherapy treatments…..well, it is tough. Hang in there. I hope and wish for all things to turn around for you both, real soon.
Hugs,
MarionMelinda,
As for the chemo brain, I had it pretty bad during and several months after chemo. Not being able to retrieve words bothered me most of the time, but sometimes, I would not be able to complete a thought, which really bothered me more. That has gotten much better the last several months (chemo was over August 27th last year) though it hasn’t gone away, and it may not completely go away. It’s the new me….and I’ve come to accept it as who I am now. I’m still the educated, sharp woman I always was, but the chemo brain is no different than having some chronic illness. It doesn’t diminish you. Words always came easily to me, so at first it was upsetting, but when I let that go, I’ve been fine since. If it never goes away, I’m okay with that.
John is so much more than his use of words and I’m sure his psychologist has brought that up. Sometimes, something like “art therapy” helps a lot…..to express yourself through paintings or pottery, or glasswork, etc.
. It really is best if you just tell people that the chemo has messed up some of the thought processes (they may not understand the term, chemo brain) and it’s perfectly fine to say the word that you’re obviously trying to say. I really felt better when someone did that instead of struggling for the word that wasn’t going to come to me. Lainy is 100% right on that one.
As for the anxiety before or between scans, I really noticed it last November for the first scan AFTER the chemo ended. It was like my crutch was gone…not that there’s any proof that the chemo will stop the CC. I noticed about three weeks before the scan, that my anxiety level was worse than usual, and I was easily moved to tears over any little thing. Even after that scan, things didn’t feel right, and I had a tough time through the holidays even though I’d gotten good news. I think it was just the thought, “what if” this is the last Christmas. Once Christmas is over, I have to say that my mood and anxiety were both better and I’m doing fine again. I now have three weeks to go before another scan and IF the anxiety starts to build, I will try using an Atavan, for short term anxiety relief, OR, I will go see my oncology psychologist to help me get through those several weeks if needed….maybe both. I started seeing a psychologist once every week or so during chemo, which helped some. She did help me with some coping skills and directing me toward more healthy thoughts.
I must also tell you that I am also a heart patient (100% blockage of right , rear coronary artery/heart attack in March of 2002) and a diabetes patient. I think talking to my psychologist was probably the best thing I could have done to alleviate some of the stress, but I’m not so concerned with what the stress is doing to the cardiac and diabetes issues. For a short term basis, it isn’t going to hurt a lot (short term being a year IMO). I
Other than that…..I wish your husband well for his next scan….prayers are sent to him from me and others. Julie T.Melinda, welcome to this site, I am not able to advise you on chemo brain, I have had a 60% liver resection and the stress of the first few scans, that was nine years ago , I was not as well informed as you, and at the point you are I had not yet found this site. The first year I remained hopefully uninformed, come 10 months I did some research and was very disappointed with the numbers that I found. My doctors at that time, in my case, advised against chemo. I experienced appetite problems, sleep cycle problems, and some stress as a scan neared. Pain medication constipated me right after I came home, I used cannabis for pain, for appetite, and as an added bonus it helped me sleep and it helped me not think about the stressful things. If you have a hobby, cannabis helps you get lost in what you are doing, lowering stress even more. Stay busy, if you have a dog, walk him or play with him or her, be positive, seek happiness anyway you can, go to a museum or a show, stay busy and seek relaxing atmospheres and surroundings. I see you are in California so medical cannabis shouldn’t be a problem. Some preliminary studies show cannabis may have positive effects in slowing or stopping the advance of cholangiocarcinoma . However you deal with it, I wish you the best. There are many on this site with experience with chemo, good luck, Pat
Dear Melinda A, I am sending you prayers, good wishes for the best, and crossing every thing I own, oh and good JUJU for the upcoming scan. I totally understand the brain fog! I have been getting treated for ulcerative colitis with infusions that cause the same thing. In the beginning it really was irritating but now I have just adjusted to it. I advised my friends and family of 2 things that help. Keep dialog short (hard to wrap head around a long story) and when I fumble for a word please just fill me in. It really works. They don’t even suggest anymore, they just say the word and I give a warm thank you.
As for the depression, it hit me a year ago…3 years after T passed. At first I didn’t realize it as I never was ever before. Went to my Gastro G-d and couldn’t even describe the potty talk without crying. I can’t take big/heavy meds so he put me on 10g of Lexapro. It has made such a difference in my life. He recognized it where no one else had! It just takes the edge off. One night I told my daughter I watched a very sad movie and my eyes got moist but no crying and she answered me, “So, now you want me to call Dr. Mahajani and tell him to decrease the 10g?” We both laughed so hard. But, you might mention it to whom ever you both are seeing.Hi all. I could use some positive thoughts and energy for the coming days as we head into our 6 month scan next Monday. My husband was diagnosed in April, 2014, had 55% resected in May, and then followed with 6 months of gem/cis. At his three month scan, they were unable to use a contrast as his creatinine level was off due to dehydration, but what they did see looked clear.
While John is not that apprehensive about the scan in particular, he has been plagued with incredible “foggy brain” since his chemo that has let to a dark depression. We are seeing both a counselor for individual therapy every 10 days as well as a psychiatrist every month to get the meds right so that the chemical imbalance in his brain might be righted.
I know that stress is so bad for the body and as a diabetic and heart patient, I worry about the toll the constant stress is taking on his body. I have posted before about our worries with chemo brain and how long it takes before it fades away. His oncologist says that sometimes it never goes away. I guess I just needed to vent and ask for your thoughts and prayers for a) good results on his upcoming scan, and b) some relief from the anxiety and depression that he is suffering from on a daily basis.
Thank you so much for your work here in supporting cancer patients and their families. I appreciate you all so very much and wish you well as well.
Melinda A
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