Illinois City Rallying Around Man with NHL

It's never easy, having to battle cancer, but Kevin Huyser is facing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma for the third time now, and it's especially tough for him. Both he and his wife aren't working while he undergoes chemotherapy this time.

But his town and his neighbors are doing what they can for him. An optician at Sam's paid for his eye exam when she learned of his situation and helped to set up benefits for him soon after. The CEO of Culver's restaurant even showed up at one recently.

I hope you all will send your thoughts and prayers Kevin's way.

Fighting Cancer with Cookies

About 10 years ago, Laura Stachler's husband and daughter were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease, more or less back to back. It had to be devastating. To put her mind on something else -- and to give her family something they could keep down while undergoing chemo -- Susan put her skills as a caterer and baker to good use.

She developed a really good ginger snap recipe. "I had heard in passing that ginger is a stomach soother," Stachler said.

A decade later, husband and daughter have both recovered, and Susansnaps -- the company started by Stachler and named for both her sister, who died of cancer at age 28, and her daughter, who had been named for her aunt -- is a business that makes up to 10,000 cookies daily and ships nationwide.

It's true. You can order your own right here.

Good for them.

Cleaning for a Reason

Here's something I've just heard of for the first time. It's a group of house cleaning companies that will volunteer their services for women battling cancer and undergoing therapies that leaves them too wiped out to get their normal chores done.

How great is that?

It's called Cleaning for a Reason, and the group has more than 1,000 companies affiliated with it, and they've helped out 11,000 people fighting cancer! That's a great story, I think.

Chemo Fog is a Serious Bummer

Chemo fog aka chemo brain aka cognitive dysfunction aka post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment ...

Whatever you call it, it sucks. Chemo fog refers to the memory problems cancer survivors experience after chemotherapy treatments. Approximately 20-30% of chemo patients end up with chemo fog. According to Mayo Clinic, very little is understood about this bizarre condition. According to chemofog.net, scientists have attributed the following cognitive changes to chemo treatments:

• Word finding. You might find yourself reaching for the right word in conversation.
• Memory. You might experience short-term memory lapses, such as not remembering where you put your keys or what you were supposed to buy at the store.
• Multitasking. Many jobs require you to manage multiple tasks during the day. Multitasking is important at work as well as at home — for example, talking with your kids and making dinner at the same time. Chemotherapy may affect how well you’re able to perform multiple tasks at once.
• Learning. It might take longer to learn new things. For example, you might find you need to read paragraphs over a few times before you get the meaning.
• Processing speed. It might take you longer to do tasks that were once quick and easy for you.

If you are close to someone who is going through chemo, or recovering from treatments, be sensitive to this issue. They are most likely aware that something's not up to snuff, but for the time being, they are relatively helpless over it. Ginkgo biloba is a natural memory enhancer, and may be a useful dietary supplement for those suffering the dreaded chemo fog.

Intoducing Chemo Babe, the Larger Than Life Super Heroine Combating Villainous Cancer

Chemo Babe is not your ordinary cancer patient. She's bold. She's bald. She'll don a corset and whip to fulfull her identity as a malignancy-fighting super heroine! This larger than life persona belongs to a breast cancer patient who considers herself a social scientist, intrigued by the complex relationships cancer victims develop with their environments as they battle their disease. According to Chemo Babe's website,

I needed a symbol for my fight, and pink ribbons evoke images of playing dress up or wrapping gifts to me. They do not rev me up for another round of mortal combat.

So I created ChemoBabe, a persona who keeps me fighting. She has enough spunk and edge to get smacked down by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and stand back up ready to fight some more. A persona who the cancer could not touch. Somebody who could say that cancer is horrible and talk back bluntly to the euphemistic ways people skirt that horror in everyday conversations.

Chemo Babe is a regular blogger, sharing her fiery insights as she progresses on her journey. To learn more about her, click here.

Microchip Implants Cause Cancer in Pets

Yesterday, we learned that our canine pets are not immune to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and they too may someday have to struggle through the pains of chemotherapy. Today, I want to present some disturbing information regarding one particular cause of cancer in our pets: animal microchips.

Microchip implants were introduced in the 1980s and have become increasingly popular for pet tracking over the past few years. A recent report reviewed the research conducted on these microchips from 1990 to 2006, and the researchers found "in nearly all cases, researchers concluded that the microchips had induced the cancers."

In light of this upsetting research, animal rights attorney Steven Wise is suing Merck & Co. over claims that its HomeAgain® pet microchip caused malignant tumors in pets. To read more about this case, click here.

Our Furry Friends Can Suffer From Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Too

I have to admit that I never associated non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with canines before today, but I recently learned that dogs suffer from NHL just like humans do. In fact, the veterinary community has a pretty sophisticated grasp on NHL symptoms, progression and treatment for pooches. For example, according to Powerscout, symptoms of NHL in dogs include:

• Generalized lymph node enlargement (swollen glands)
• Lethargy
• Weight loss & loss of appetite
• Increased drinking/urination
• Vomiting and/or diarrhoea
• Difficulty breathing
  

Diagnosis may be established after, "a thorough and full physical examination including, complete blood count, platelet count, biochemical profile, urinalysis & fine needle aspirate or excisional biopsy of the lymph node. Other tests may include chest and abdominal radiographs, abdominal ultrasound and ultrasound guided aspirates of the liver and spleen for cytologic evaluation, and bone marrow aspirate" (Powerscout).

Once the dog's cancer is identified, it is "staged," meaning the progression of the disease is determined. Then a treatment plan can be decided upon. Canines have many of the same treatment options as humans do, including chemotherapy.

Who knew that our furry friends risk the same battles with NHL as we do?

Brave Kid Battles NHL

Autin is only 14 years old. He's battling NHL, and losing his hair to chemo. But that's not stopping him from staying optimistic about recovery. His love of basketball seems to really be helping him pull through. I'm trying to get Lucy's nerve up to write this guy. Wish me luck and check out this video:

Michael Douglas tries chemo

Michael Douglas recently announced that he's trying chemo to treat his throat cancer. His cancer has developed to stage 4, which means it's advanced. He just completed his first week of an 8-week chemo program.

Michael was on David Letterman's "Late Show" to promote his up and coming movie, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," where he openly discussed his cancer. He says he expects the chance of recovery to be as high as 80%. Hearing about other people struggle with chemo, but remain optimistic, has been really theraputic for Lucy. Good luck Mikey!

Living with Chemo

So I haven't posted much about Lucy lately because, to be honest, she's not doing too well. She's been through a couple rounds of chemo over the past few months, and her hair is finally starting to go. She's very self-conscious about the changes in her appearance, and she's terrified of the idea of going to the mall to find hats, wigs, etc.

SO, as her big sis, I'm doing that work for her. Fall is quickly approaching, so hat season is upon us. I just ordered Luce these two rad hats:




Now I just need to find her some wigs, but that may have to come later because the idea of a wig still freaks Lucy out a little bit.

Lucy needs to eat!

Lucy's appetite has majorly gone away since her chemo began and the Doctors say it's important that she doesn't lose too much weight. They also gave me some tips for helping her eat.

First, they say she should try eating small amounts more frequently. And when she is eating, she should avoid drinking fluids because that can fill her up. (But they also said she should drink lots of fluids when she's not eating!)

When Lucy is hungry, the Doctors say she should go for super high-calorie and high-protein food. That means lots of butter, cheese, sugars, meats and avacodos, Lucy's favorite! Basically, I get to encourage her to pig out on a lot of foods that Mom says we should chill out on.

Sometimes Lucy gets nauseous at the smell of foods, but the Doctors say that's to be expected. They suggested experimenting with different foods and trying to figure out what sits well with Lucy's stomach during the treatments. Apparently it's natural for chemo patients to suddenly dislike foods that they use to love (like when I tried to make Lucy her beloved avacado omlette in bed). Well, hopefully I can find Luce a new fav meal!

Lucy's second dose of chemo

Well, this morning we got up and went to get Lucy some chemo. It was pretty much the same as last time, but it lasted a little longer. She's feeling sick now but she's resting (right next to me, actually), so hopefully when she wakes up we can go get some lunch.

She hasn't started to lose any hair yet, but she's still terrified of when that happens. I know she loves reading my blog and all your comments though, so let's try to keep her positive.

Thanks everyone!

Lucy's first chemo treatment

So today was Lucy’s first chemo treatment. I cried like a baby, of course, but she took it like a champ. She started to feel really sick this evening, but I’ve been keeping her spirits up with hilarious jokes and sexy dance moves. More news on her treatment soon.

In other news on non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, check out this video the bros over at LIVESTRONG did to explain the disease: