My Loved One Has Cancer

Decreasing Pesticide Use in Your Food

Along the same lines as my last post, here's a great little chart that ranks produce for pesticide content. Apparently, you can lower your pesticide exposure by buying 90% organic for the 12 worst on the list! The attached chart has the worst 12 and the best 12 and is a great reference.

Using Less Toxic Products

After my husband's cancer surgery I really went through not only our food choices, but our product choices as well. Here's a great site I thought would be helpful that guides you through choosing and using less toxic products.

Resource Site for Cancer Caregivers

Great news, the My Loved One Has Cancer web site has launched.

As part of my own journey as a caregiving spouse, I have assembled a wealth of information that has helped me and will help other partners and spouses of cancer patients.

The site includes articles, worksheets, how-to’s, resource links and discussion groups -- all developed specifically for spouses and partners ....so you can support your loved one, and yourself, through the cancer journey.

Stop by and let me know what you think!

Stress Around Tests

Every time we go in for a test, there’s a lot of trepidation around it.

We’re going in for tests next week and I just need to keep focused on the positive, to be grateful that we have them available to us. I heard a great quote about defining fear….

False
Expectations
Appearing
Real

It’s funny because I don’t feel negative about the tests, but I guess there’s always that fear in the background that we all just have to deal with. I find that the best thing for me right now is just lots of exercise and keeping myself busy.

How do you deal with test expectations?

Defining a new "normal"

I often felt very alone during the cancer journey. For several years my life was about learning about cancer, going to doctor’s appointments, taking care of my husband after surgery and during radiation, meeting with nutritionists and holistic practioners. I was always looking for the new thing, the one thing that would cure this and allow us to get back to "normal".

What I’ve discovered in this journey is that now there is just a “new normal”. I used to take both of our healthy bodies for granted. During treatments, I was happy when he wasn’t physically ill, but just able to sleep. It was definitely a new normal.

Even now, one year after radiation was completed, he is not physically the same person. And that’s OK. It’s a journey, and we have learned to celebrate the level of health that he enjoys today.

I would love to hear about your journey through cancer with a loved one….or any requests for topics you’d like to see covered on this site.