Test Results

If you didn't know, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer just about 1 year ago.  She has gone through chemo and radiation treatments and so far things are looking positive.  Her lump was caught early, unlike my grandmother her mother, who almost 6 years ago died of breast cancer.  Since my mom got diagnosed, she also got tested for the BRCA gene.  She got confirmation that she is a carrier for the BRCA 2 gene.  Currently, in my family, my mom, my grandmother, my grandmother's twin sister, and my great grandmother all have had breast cancer.  My grandmother's younger sister also had and died of pancreatic cancer, which the BRCA 2 gene puts you at higher risk for.

Now that my mom got tested, my sisters and I had to decide if we were going to get tested.  At first, I was leaning totally against having the gene test.  After talking with my doctor, I decided that it would be better to find out if I had the gene, because with my family history, without getting tested, I would need to have increased testing to ensure that things were caught early just in case I was at higher risk and didn't know it. I got met with a genetic counselor right after Christmas and with my husband decided to have the test.  Just about a week ago, I found out that I tested positive for the gene.

I wasn't totally surprised at the results, but I was still in shock from actually seeing it on paper and having one of my worst fears confirmed.  Of course, the immediate recommendation was to have a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy.  I was told that I needed to meet with an oncologist and discuss my options.  If I decided not to have surgery, I need to have a mammogram and a MRI every 6 months alternating each time.  If I don't have the oophorectomy, I need to have a trans-vaginal ultrasound and a CA-125 blood test every 6 months.  Even though I don't have cancer, I left that appointment feeling like I had been given a a death sentence, especially if I didn't have surgery.  Not exactly a great feeling to have especially not actually having cancer. I thought that since my family tended to get cancer later in life, I have a decent amount of time to decide, but no, they just lucked out (if getting cancer at all can be considered lucky) and got cancer later in life.  The BRCA 2 gene tends to cause earlier cancers, something I did not expect to hear.

I am still trying to figure out where to go from here.  I have 3 small kids and a great husband.  I don't want to get cancer.  I don't want to go through the pain and suffering and even potentially die, but I also don't want to have surgery.  There are too many reasons to go into right now, and at some point I will probably write about it just to put it in words that I can actually read.  My New Year's goals go along with the changes that I want to make especially now that I have tested positive for the gene.

My diet needs to change and so do my exercise habits.  I have joined in with another twins mom's blog for a healthy challenge.  I am hoping that this challenge will help me make the changes that I need to make and hopefully make theme stick.

As well as changing my diet, I want to continue to try to use natural cleansers for my home and my body instead of using chemicals.  I want to start doing yoga like I have been wanting to.  I actually saw a book that I may get so that I can do yoga with the kids.  I also want to focus on doing things to reduce my stress. According to the book "Crazy Sexy Diet", reducing stress helps increase telomerase which helps with increasing the size of telomeres which intern helps prevent chronic disease (I hope I explained that right.  I should go back and double check).  One way to help reduce my stress is by creating.  I am hopeful that living the kind of life that I want to live will help me live a long happy healthy life! 

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday: How Do You Wish To Nourish Yourself?

It's Wednesday once again and time for Wishcasting Wednesday!  This week, Jamie at http://www.jamieridlerstudios.ca, asks:

"How Do You Wish To Nourish Yourself?"

I love Wednesday's and so look forward to the promts.  Every week, each question becomes something that is really important for me to ask myself.  This week, I can answer very literally and also from a more spiritual way.  I literally, want to nourish myself with foods that make me feel good and that are healthy for me.  After Halloween and also just in general, I tend to eat foods that taste good, but that don't have much value to it.  I know what and how I need to eat, I just need to do it!

From a spiritual perspective, I need to nourish myself by relaxing and doing things that I enjoy, but actually make sure that I take the time to enjoy the moment.  I love to be creative, but sometimes, I tend to not give myself enough time and then being creative become a chore and a hassle.  For example, I want to make a lot of Christmas gifts.  I know that I want to make things, but I need to make sure that I leave enough time and not try to do too much with the time that I have.  Being creative is no longer nourishing when I am stressed about the outcome.  I have joined in with creative everyday.com for creative every day month.  I am hoping that the month of November will be enjoyable for me to create, since I will hopefully do a little every day instead of trying to get it all down at once.  Creative every day month started yesterday, but I have been sick so I haven't started yet.  I am hoping to get to do something creative when the kids are in for their naps. 

I wish to nourish my body by eating what is good for me and actually enjoy it, and I wish to nourish my soul by being creative without stressing about the outcome!

Amy

Organization

I am in the process of meal planning for the next month.  Initially it felt overwhelming, but then I read the post of a twin mom friend and it didn't feel so overwhelming.  She is using a calendar white board that she got at Target.  I haven't gotten to Target yet, but I printed of some weekly calendar sheets from outlook and am using that as my planning for for now.  My goal is to get the white board so that it is up for all to see and will be in my sight when I am in the kitchen.  I am hoping that meal planning will save me both time and money and help me to eat healthy and follow through with my dietary goals for me and my family.

Once I get set on meal planning it will be on to other areas of organization that I need to work on.  I really need to get my laundry under control.  Every time that I think I am in control, it gets totally out of control yet again.  I really need to make sure that I wash the diapers daily.  the most I ever go is a day and a half, but I think that it is better all around to do it every morning.  It may seem like a hassle, but I am so happy that I have been cloth diapering for the last year and a half.  It is one thing that I have wanted to do with my kids that I have been able to follow through with unlike my birth plan, breast feeding, limiting tv time (this is something that I drastically have to change). 

The other area is maintaining a clean and organized house.  I get started, but then I just can't maintain.  It is important for me to maintain an orgainized and clean house because once it gets away from me I find it so difficult to get it back.  If I can get this in shape, I will hopefully have more time for my hobbies and to introduce the kids into more arts and crafts, especially now that they are older.  I just finished my latest apron swap and even though it was pretty last minute finishing up, I really didn't get the same anxiety or stress taht I usually get when I am doing something last minute.  I was really happy, overall, with how it came out.  Ii just wasn't too thrilled with the rest of my package.  Yet again, oraganization would have dramatically helped with this.

Here's to being more organized and less stressed!

Amy

Changing One's Lifestyle

So, if you have been reading, you know that I am having some difficulty with my diet and other aspects of change in my life.  I am trying to make some pretty big lifestyle changes that I think will benefit both me and my family.  Again, if you have been reading you know my mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.  We found out today, that it is an invasive, semi-aggressive cancer.  For me, this makes me concerned for her, concerned for me and my sisters and concerned for my niece and my daughter.  As of now, 3 generations in a direct line have had breast cancer, this includes my great grandmother, my grandmother and her twin sister, and now my mom.  There are also a number of other health issues that make me want to start changing my lifestyle now, while I am in my late 30's vs waiting for something to happen and then start making the changes.  The biggest lifestyle changes are: diet, exercise, organization, and attempting to limit my stress.

Diet:

With regards to my diet, I am attempting to move more towards a plant based diet with some raw foods added in.  I think that eating a more vegan diet will help my overall health and also since I seem not to tolerate dairy well, I think it will specifically help my digestion.  I have been making a green smoothie for breakfast every day this week and have to say that since I have been doing that, I no longer have the daily headache that I was having for more than a week.  Now, that just might be a coincidence since I was recovering form a monstrous cold/flu and was definitely dealing with sinus issues, but I haven't had a headaches since at least Monday, if not before that.  Either way, I am no longer starting my day off with the carb loaded breakfast that I was used to.  I think just starting off my day with something good and healthy is the right way to start any changes.  I am still having some set backs, but given how I was eating before, I am finding that I am overall heating a more healthy diet, and I think I owe it all to starting my day off right!

Exercise:

I don't really have much to say on this yet.  The winter here in the Boston area has been terrible.  If we had had so much snow, I would have bundled the 3 kids up and taken them for walks, but there is just too much snow, and I am sure that the side walks would never fit a double wide stroller.  And, having 3 kids with the oldest not quite 3, certainly makes exercising in the home that much more difficult.  Since we are nearing the end of February, I am looking forward to the spring thaw.  I can't wait to be able to get out with the kids and just walk.  Maybe this will even be the year that I start running (wouldn't that be a nice goal to complete?).  Now that the kids are older (right now they are 2 and almost 3), I'd like to maybe start taking them into the local hiking trails and going for mini hikes with them.  I am going to try to set aside time to exercise in the house and see if I can include the kids in that process!

Organization:

Just a quick little note on organization.  Right now, things are a little chaotic with changing schedules.  We had cleaned up nicely for the twins' birthday party, then Tom and I got sick and the house was left a little more than it should have been.  Now it's time to get back on track and keep it that way.  This goal will ultimately help with the other goals that I want to work on.

Stress Relief:

This is, in large part, something that I really want to make a priority.  Again, eating right, exercising, and being organized are all going to play a major role in this goal.  I want to keep making sure that I find time for my hobbies.  I think that in general, people don't take enough time to actually do the things that they enjoy.  for me, this is doing something crafty.  That means, while I am sitting watching tv, (or even better turn the tv off and do a project) I pull out some knitting, sewing, scrapbooking etc and work on completing the project at hand.  I also want to actually start meditating and doing yoga.  I just need to make time for this practice.  I also want to make sure that I take time to spend alone time with my husband to ensure that our relationship stays strong.

Conclusion:
These are just some of the goals that I have in my head.  I would also like to learn more about diet and nutrition.  I am enjoying reading people blogs and finding out what are good resources to have to make the dietary changes that I want to make.  I am so looking forward to meeting these goals and starting to make new ones.  For now, though, I am working towards making changes that I can maintain in the long run!

Amy