A friend of mine has a colleague who used to work in the cosmetic industry. She gave my friend some samples from PCA Skin (www.pcaskin.com) to pass on to me. She said they were very gentle products, made from many natural ingredients, and would be helpful for addressing some of the side effects of chemo therapy. This is an unsolicited product review of the samples she gave me, the creamy cleanser and the anti-redness serum.
Even before I started treatment, I used skin care products with as many natural ingredients as I could find. I've always had very sensitive skin and I also think that considering how many medications can now be administered by a patch and absorbed into your skin, I don't need to be applying chemicals to be absorbed into my skin. I also have a history of redness on my face, which was solved a few years ago when I gave up eating gluten (the purpose was to solve digestive issues, the improvement in my complexion was just an added bonus). Since starting treatment, I've experienced dry skin and over the last month or so, redness on my face.
The Creamy Cleanser: On the website, PCA describes this product as being very gentle and helpful in reducing redness. I found this to be true. It felt soothing on my face, lathered up nicely, and afterwards my face did appear less red. I would certainly recommend this product.
The Anti-redness Serum: I applied this product after washing my face and followed with my regular moisturizer as directed on the website. After a few minutes, my face began to feel like it was burning and became more red. I used the creamy cleanser to wash it off and felt much better. As stated above, I have very sensitive skin and that burning sensation is something I've experienced with many moisturizers and sun screens. This serum may be very effective for some people in reducing redness, but for someone with sensitive skin like me, I don't recommend it.
So there you go, my first unsolicited product review. Now send me more free stuff and I'll review it.
Update: After reading my review of their products, which I tweeted them, PCA was nice enough to send me a bottle of their Hydrating Serum. Now this stuff I really like. I applied it with my regular moisturizer and my face is extremely soft and smooth with no redness or irritation. Thank you PCA!
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Sunday, June 15, 2014
Freak Out!
There's lots of things to freak out about in general and even more when you have cancer. Before I was diagnosed, I used to freak out about every little noise when I was home alone. I was sure the burglars were going to break in at any moment. I've also self-diagnosed myself (with some help from WebMD) with just about every disease imaginable over the years. I mail all my bills at the post office so that no one will take them out of my mailbox and steal my identity. I go around the house unplugging things because I'm pretty sure that if you leave the toaster or your iPad unattended while plugged in, your house will burn down. My GPS is not set to my home address, so that no one can steal my car and then go straight to my house and rob me (see above about the burglars).
Now I have a whole new set of things to freak out about. Most people with cancer are familiar with "scanxiety", the anxiety one feels before a scan or test. My next scan is two weeks away and I'm already starting to feel anxious. The last few times I've been fine until the night before, but this time I'm nervous. I think my anxiety this time around is fueled by the fact that the last several scans have been so positive. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I have stomach cancer. The only symptoms I experienced before being diagnosed at stage IV were nausea and early satiation (feeling full after only a few bites of food). Those symptoms thankfully were resolved after two chemotherapy infusions. Occasionally, however, I have a day when I'm not hungry or don't eat very much and I freak out. I have to talk myself down by reminding myself that everyone has a day here or there when they don't feel hungry.
All this aside, with the help of medication, relaxation exercises, deep breathing, and not eating gluten, I'm the least depressed or anxious that I've been since I was a child. That seems weird considering my diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. I guess I'll freak out about how incongruent that seems.
Now I have a whole new set of things to freak out about. Most people with cancer are familiar with "scanxiety", the anxiety one feels before a scan or test. My next scan is two weeks away and I'm already starting to feel anxious. The last few times I've been fine until the night before, but this time I'm nervous. I think my anxiety this time around is fueled by the fact that the last several scans have been so positive. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop.
I have stomach cancer. The only symptoms I experienced before being diagnosed at stage IV were nausea and early satiation (feeling full after only a few bites of food). Those symptoms thankfully were resolved after two chemotherapy infusions. Occasionally, however, I have a day when I'm not hungry or don't eat very much and I freak out. I have to talk myself down by reminding myself that everyone has a day here or there when they don't feel hungry.
All this aside, with the help of medication, relaxation exercises, deep breathing, and not eating gluten, I'm the least depressed or anxious that I've been since I was a child. That seems weird considering my diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. I guess I'll freak out about how incongruent that seems.
Monday, June 2, 2014
The Pros and CONS of Cancer
If you know me, this post is going to completely blow my anonymity. But I'm pretty sure that even without this post, if you read this blog, you'll either ask right away if it's me or tell me I should totally meet the author, because her story is just like mine. And in case you missed my excited earlier post, I'm going to be on Stupid Cancer's podcast in July, which isn't going to help with the anonymity either.
When I was a teenager, I had to go to Boston Children's Hospital. I wore Converse sneakers because it was the early nineties, and like I said, I was a teenager. Both a doctor and an orderly commented something like, "Nice sneaks". My dad and I have often reminisced about this. So when at thirty five I was diagnosed with stomach cancer and the decision was made to go to Dana Farber, I thought, "Well I know how to get special attention at fancy Boston hospitals" and I wore Converse.
My friend who came with us to that first appointment caught on and we were talking about it in front of my sister, who said, "Well, I'll just wear my Cons on your treatment days" (she already has enough pairs to wear an appropriately different pair each day of Spirit Week at the school where she teaches). Another friend overheard all this and started a Facebook campaign so that on my first treatment day my homepage was flooded with people wearing Chucks. Within a few weeks, there were over 100 people wearing Converse sneakers for me on the days I had treatment or tests. Now, I think it's closer to 200. These include friends, family, my coworkers, my students, my camp counselor from when I was eight, people from church, and the friends and family of all those listed above. Complete strangers are wearing Chucks for me. People have posted pictures from South Africa, Costa Rica, Australia, Paris, London, Jerusalem, the press room of the White House as well as the State of the Union address, and the Great Wall of China. I've put many of these pictures into a book I made on Blurb. The week after I finished the book, my cousin posted a picture of her snorkeling in Hawaii with her Cons, so I had to start making another book.
On the day of my second treatment, my oncologist walked in and commented on my Chucks, "Orange today". So I explained my theory about getting special attention at fancy Boston hospitals. He replied, "Well its the first thing I noticed about you today and commented on, so it seems perfectly logical to me".
Sometimes it's overwhelming, all of this love and support, but I know I couldn't do this without them.
When I was a teenager, I had to go to Boston Children's Hospital. I wore Converse sneakers because it was the early nineties, and like I said, I was a teenager. Both a doctor and an orderly commented something like, "Nice sneaks". My dad and I have often reminisced about this. So when at thirty five I was diagnosed with stomach cancer and the decision was made to go to Dana Farber, I thought, "Well I know how to get special attention at fancy Boston hospitals" and I wore Converse.
My friend who came with us to that first appointment caught on and we were talking about it in front of my sister, who said, "Well, I'll just wear my Cons on your treatment days" (she already has enough pairs to wear an appropriately different pair each day of Spirit Week at the school where she teaches). Another friend overheard all this and started a Facebook campaign so that on my first treatment day my homepage was flooded with people wearing Chucks. Within a few weeks, there were over 100 people wearing Converse sneakers for me on the days I had treatment or tests. Now, I think it's closer to 200. These include friends, family, my coworkers, my students, my camp counselor from when I was eight, people from church, and the friends and family of all those listed above. Complete strangers are wearing Chucks for me. People have posted pictures from South Africa, Costa Rica, Australia, Paris, London, Jerusalem, the press room of the White House as well as the State of the Union address, and the Great Wall of China. I've put many of these pictures into a book I made on Blurb. The week after I finished the book, my cousin posted a picture of her snorkeling in Hawaii with her Cons, so I had to start making another book.
On the day of my second treatment, my oncologist walked in and commented on my Chucks, "Orange today". So I explained my theory about getting special attention at fancy Boston hospitals. He replied, "Well its the first thing I noticed about you today and commented on, so it seems perfectly logical to me".
Sometimes it's overwhelming, all of this love and support, but I know I couldn't do this without them.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Why me?!
From talking to and reading about other cancer patients and survivors, I know it's very common to ask, "Why me?" However, I think what many people are really asking is "How did I get cancer?", not, "Why?" This seems especially true for young adults. I mean, we're not supposed to have to worry about cancer for another thirty years, right?
"Was it something in the water? The soil?" "Did I not eat enough vegetables? Not exercise enough?" "Do I live too close to the power lines? Was it all those plastic water bottles?"
I happen to know how I got cancer. I tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases your risk of stomach cancer to 80% and makes it especially more likely in younger adults. This is called Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer and the gene is CDH1. My paternal grandmother died of stomach cancer at age 45 and her father died of stomach cancer at a young age as well. This genetic mutation is very rare and only 1/3 of those suspected of having it test positive. For more information about CDH1you can visit http://www.nostomachforcancer.org or for more information about stomach cancer in general, including the story of someone else with Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer who was diagnosed at age 20, listen to http://www.stupidcancer.org/show/308/
My testing positive for this genetic mutation led to other family members being tested. My father tested positive and subsequently had his stomach removed preemptively. This is the recommendation because it's so difficult to catch stomach cancer at an early stage. Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer is especially hard to catch because it grows in the lining of your stomach, making it impossible to see on a PET or CT scan and very easy to miss even when biopsies are taken during an endoscopy. Three other relatives have also tested positive and are weighing their options and three more now need to be tested.
So that's my "How", which brings us to the "Why me?"
Since being diagnosed and finding out there was a genetic cause, I've struggled not only with concern for my family, but also with the "Why me". I've read about other families with a history of stomach cancer that is devastating. People write about having watched five or six family members succumb to this disease before the mutation was identified and testing became available. Although devastating for these families, their history put them on somebody's radar or increased their personal research, so when testing became available, they were ready. But in my family, only two cases of stomach cancer and the fact that my dad was alive and well never raised questions or concerns, even though I've seen multiple GI specialists in my life due to various digestive problems.
Now I would never wish that one or more of my family members would have been cursed with this disease even if it had led to an earlier diagnosis or preemptive surgery for me. (In my imagination, we have some long lost relatives, who I don't know and I don't care about, who contact us to let us know we're at risk and to go for testing.) But it still brings up, "Why me?" Why am I the one to have this disease? Why am I the reason we discovered as a family that we were at risk? Why didn't I have the opportunity for preventive surgery? Why didn't we question our history and talk to a geneticist two years ago? Why me?
Most people don't know how they got cancer. Although personally I think that the next few years will provide more and more people with a genetic explanation for their cancer, right now most folks are still left questioning power lines and water bottles. And as for the "why", maybe there is no answer.
"Was it something in the water? The soil?" "Did I not eat enough vegetables? Not exercise enough?" "Do I live too close to the power lines? Was it all those plastic water bottles?"
I happen to know how I got cancer. I tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases your risk of stomach cancer to 80% and makes it especially more likely in younger adults. This is called Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer and the gene is CDH1. My paternal grandmother died of stomach cancer at age 45 and her father died of stomach cancer at a young age as well. This genetic mutation is very rare and only 1/3 of those suspected of having it test positive. For more information about CDH1you can visit http://www.nostomachforcancer.org or for more information about stomach cancer in general, including the story of someone else with Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer who was diagnosed at age 20, listen to http://www.stupidcancer.org/show/308/
My testing positive for this genetic mutation led to other family members being tested. My father tested positive and subsequently had his stomach removed preemptively. This is the recommendation because it's so difficult to catch stomach cancer at an early stage. Hereditary Diffuse Gastric Cancer is especially hard to catch because it grows in the lining of your stomach, making it impossible to see on a PET or CT scan and very easy to miss even when biopsies are taken during an endoscopy. Three other relatives have also tested positive and are weighing their options and three more now need to be tested.
So that's my "How", which brings us to the "Why me?"
Since being diagnosed and finding out there was a genetic cause, I've struggled not only with concern for my family, but also with the "Why me". I've read about other families with a history of stomach cancer that is devastating. People write about having watched five or six family members succumb to this disease before the mutation was identified and testing became available. Although devastating for these families, their history put them on somebody's radar or increased their personal research, so when testing became available, they were ready. But in my family, only two cases of stomach cancer and the fact that my dad was alive and well never raised questions or concerns, even though I've seen multiple GI specialists in my life due to various digestive problems.
Now I would never wish that one or more of my family members would have been cursed with this disease even if it had led to an earlier diagnosis or preemptive surgery for me. (In my imagination, we have some long lost relatives, who I don't know and I don't care about, who contact us to let us know we're at risk and to go for testing.) But it still brings up, "Why me?" Why am I the one to have this disease? Why am I the reason we discovered as a family that we were at risk? Why didn't I have the opportunity for preventive surgery? Why didn't we question our history and talk to a geneticist two years ago? Why me?
Most people don't know how they got cancer. Although personally I think that the next few years will provide more and more people with a genetic explanation for their cancer, right now most folks are still left questioning power lines and water bottles. And as for the "why", maybe there is no answer.
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