07 February 2018
NOV 17
I recently read online advice (more like opinion) stating that during chemotherapy, cancer survivors should do their best to stay away from violent television, action movies and using militaristic metaphors in describing their treatment. This column continued on to encourage (women, mostly) to do their best to surround themselves with soft pretty things and eschew anything hard, loud or tough.
I can’t say I totally disagree but it left me puzzled. I enjoy watching MMA/UFC matches, my parents loved the action flicks of the late 1980s (I still enjoy the campier ones like Conan the Barbarian) and some of my favorite non-RPG video games are pretty violent.
I thought back to the winter of 2010 when I was going through chemo. For the SGT’s birthday, I surprised him with a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. While I was too weak most days to do much beyond sit on the couch, my brain was begging for entertainment and distraction. Watching him play was just what I craved.
I was really angry with my cancer diagnosis. I did my best to hide that anger most days, but I could feel how seethingly mad I was on the inside. It didn’t help that so many people (incorrectly) assume that anger helps cancer grow.
Something happened while I was watching him play. I felt like my anger was slowly dissipating with every firefight he won. I became really invested in the plotline and watching him play through.
It was strange, a video game series that I normally didn’t care for was allowing a cathartic release to happen. It was letting me feel my anger, accept it and let go. That was something yoga never helped me do! It sounds so silly but a video game let me find the strength to keep soldiering on.
And now, almost three years since I finished chemo, I’m learning that not every cancer fighting guru’s word is law. I’m not the type of person who feels comfortable in a room lit with candles, filled with yoga mats and has whale music playing over the speakers. Lots of people are and that’s awesome…for them. For me? I prefer a dark paneled room with a crackling fire, a decanter full of scotch and a great fight on the screen.
NOV 14
It’s been snowing this week in Minneapolis! Since the weather outside is frightful, here are some delightful indoor things to check out.
- I need to get back into Zentangling. I’ve enjoyed doing it before and the Mindful Drawer’s blog is reminding me just why I like it.
- The New York Times summarizes why it seems like everyone has cancer:“The rhetoric about the war on cancer implies that with enough money and determination, science might reduce cancer mortality as dramatically as it has with other leading killers—one more notch in medicine’s belt. But what, then, would we die from? Heart disease and cancer are primarily diseases of aging. Fewer people succumbing to one means more people living long enough to die from the other.”
- How irresistibly cute is Grace’s Favours tutorial for a little teddy bear in an Altoids tin? I’m imagining a tiny Survival Organs lymph node in an itsy bitsy hospital bed.
Have you found anything cool online? Share with me in the comments!
NOV 12
I posted this on Instagram on Saturday but I’m letting you all have it! Feel free to Pin on Pinterest or email out.
NOV 07
It’s supposed to snow this weekend and it’s Movember! The most moustache’d time of the year.
- Previous interviewee Tanya made this illustrated version of Dolly Parton’s Jolene.
- Have you heard of Mr. Ballsy? This guy is pushing a giant fake testicle across the USA. Pretty ballsy! (NSFW warning: There’s a photo of two topless girls wearing body paint. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!)
- To refresh your memory, here’s my interview with Johnny, a testicular cancer survivor. And here’s the custom set of testicles I made for him:
- If you want to know more about testicular cancer and why more young men need to know about it, here’s the American Cancer Society’s page on it.
- I’ve got your fake balls covered in the Survival Organs store!
NOV 03
Today’s hangout is a little different. Kristen is the stitchy brains behind Hey Paul! Studio. She’s also a social worker by day. Watch her talk about working with the HIV+ population, how she unwinds by stitching and her Kansas City Drink ‘n’ Stitch events. She also has a blog and you can purchase her items from her shop.
OCT 31
Happy Halloween! It’s going to be a brisk 46F here in Minnesota so I doubt I’ll be able to see anyone’s costume. Here’s one of my favorites from childhood:
I’m the one dressed as a ninja. With pink shoe laces. I’m pretty sure I also have my hair in pigtails under the hood.
Here are some cool links from around the internet that’ll keep you away from the candy bowl.
- When you have a chronic condition, there’s a lot of wondering if you’ll ever get better, or be “normal.” What’s the end game? How many drugs can you take until you don’t need drugs anymore? Is an accurate summary of life with chronic migraines. I’ve got a list of my sure fire ways to deal with an impending headache.
- Nancy is baring it all and showing what breast cancer actually looks like. (Hint: it’s not supermodels in hand bras.)
- I am really excited about a special and secret commission I’m working on. I’ll give you a small treat: I’ll be using Abby Glassenberg’s Liam the Doll pattern.
Do you have any Fab Friday Finds to share?
OCT 27
Tonight, October 27th, 2014 at 8pm Eastern you can hear me live on Stupid Cancer Radio!
I’ll be chatting with Matthew and Annie about the healing effects of art and craft on chemo brain. The short version is: pick up a pencil, bust out the guitar or crochet your life away. It doesn’t matter what you do, if you make something your brain will feel better. And who doesn’t want to feel better?
Tune in tonight at Stupid Cancer Radio or listen tomorrow in the archives. Either way, you won’t want to miss it.
OCT 24
- Halloween is almost here! If you’ve got cardboard boxes lying around, try dressing up as a post box.
- I have no real desire to live in a tiny house but I do hope a (good and kind) witch lives in this house in Hungary.
- The Sri Lankan Frogmouth is a very disapproving bird. I think he’s cute.
- Tune in on Monday, October 27th at 8pm Eastern to Stupid Cancer’s radio show. Their survivor spotlight will be on me! I’ll be talking about the healing effects of art & craft on the traumatized brain.
OCT 20
I’m adding on to a list I previously wrote, “How to be a Better Stick”.
- Ask for a hot pack placed on your arm. The heat allows your veins to dilate and it’s easier for the phlebotomist to feel. Also, it feels nice since hospitals and doctors offices are freezing.
- If you’re allowed, drink a ton of water. The more hydrated you are, the better the odds of finding a good vein.
- Keep breathing. It hurts but holding your breath makes it hurt worse. I’m speaking from personal experience on that one.
- Lastly, if they still can’t find a vein for a blood draw or for an IV ask for a specialist! Most hospitals have a vascular specialist who has a portable ultrasound machine to help them find one that does work. At the very least, this specialist also has numbing gel that he or she can inject and take away the pain temporarily. It doesn’t make you difficult or a wimp to ask. You’re not a pincushion and you don’t need to be treated like one.
Need something to squeeze? I highly suggest one of my tiny organs. They fit in the palm of your hand and can take a lot!
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