Hey Monika!

[Guest guest]

Glad to hear from you. I'm still here but mostly in lurker mode.

Cancer no longer dominates my life either, but I'll always feel the

need to read this board. If I had to choose your time on this board

or raising $10,000, I'd choose the 10K. Actually, both would be

nice! ;-)

Drop in from time to time and let us know how y'all are doing.

Miracles happen!

Cliff H.

> It's been a while, hasn't it and I want you all to know that even

> though you haven't heard from me lately, I think about so many of

> you so often that not a day goes by where I am not relating

> someone's story on this board to someone that I meet. All of you

> helped me so tremendously over time since this disease krept its

way

> into my life that I think you will all remain a part of my

existence

> until I cease to exist. I've scanned through some of the posts and

> am so saddened by what some of you are going through and that some

> other old friends are " amiss " but I am overjoyed at the continued

> support that you all give to each other. Okay, enough of the

> emotional stuff ) On to how things have been.

>

> Bert is now officially a two year cancer free survivor ) ) )

> Latest scans, tests, and bloodwork show that he remains okie dokie

> (Thank you Lord and all the powers that be). He not only looks

> great but is doing even better. Has a cold at the moment but hey,

> that's truly small stuff compared to a stage III colon cancer

> diagnosis. His onc recently told him that from all signs, he is

> doing splendidly and we are on our way to the five year mark (God,

> please be willing). I don't think I'll ever stop wondering for the

> rest of my life. Anyway, we've been blessed with good medical

care,

> a fabulous oncologist, lots of prayers from friends like you, and a

> chance to continue living our lives as normally as possible, which

> is exactly what we intend to do.

>

> Mom's off in Europe!!!! Yup, she went again folks. Her lung cancer

> has remained stable and her quality of life is very, very good.

> Continues to be asymptomatic and her onc truly is amazed at her

love

> of life and her continued strength in battling this disease.

Quote,

> straight from the onc's mouth, " girl, you rock. " It will be three

> years in August since inoperable lung cancer diagnosis. To all you

> newbies, these two people are prime examples of why you should

> never, ever, ever give up. Please, please, please, cancer is not

> necessarily an immediate death sentence but a chance to get your

> priorities straight and fight with all you've got. Miracles happen

> every single day. Since my mother and my husband have both been

> diagnosed, several new drugs have come out...fortunately neither

one

> have had to use any of them, but it's a comfort to know that should

> things change, and I don't see any reason why they should, they are

> out there. If either my mom or husband had seen the doom and gloom

> that I did when their diagnosis came, maybe, just maybe, they

> wouldn't have been around to reap the rewards of the new drugs

> should they need them...but so far, so good, and for all of this, I

> am grateful.

>

> In my last post I told you all that I was participating in the

> American Cancer Society's ReLay for Life event. Well, I did and it

> was fantastic and very, very emotional. I had the overnight shift

> where I walked/jogged/ran continuously for 6 hours stopping only

for

> water and " duty calls " breaks. The entire course was lit with

> luminaries bearing the name of a survivor or someone who had lost

> their battle and seeing how many, many, many there were, kept even

> me going. I must admit though, I was quite sore and pooped after

my

> six hours. I was joined by members of other teams so I was not

> alone....we started at midnight and stopped at 6:00 a.m. My team's

> goal was to raise $3,000...we raised over $10,000!!!!!! Thanks to

> so many generous people, I was able to raise $1,500 of that $10,000

> and was one happy walker/jogger/runner during the entire event. I

> purchased a special luminary for all of you guys on this board as

> well as for folks on another board that I am also part of (and of

> course Bert and my mom and a few others that I know who have been

> touched by this disease) and each time I walked by the lanterns, it

> brought a smile to my face. They weren't easy to find, but I found

> them. God willing, I will do it again next year and the next and

> the next...until I can't do it no more.

>

> We finished the last room in the house last weekend. Now we will

> take a short break cause it's hotter than Hedes (is that how you

> spell it???) and then, on to the bathrooms. Oh joy, can't wait.

>

> , my son, received his BS in Psychology in May and Bert and

I

> are so proud of him. He was determined to get it...even if it did

> take longer than expected as he works full time as well...but his

> persistence paid off. I know where he gets it from )

>

> So that's about it. Now that I've brought you all up to date, I

> will try to stop by more often, but can't make any promises...still

> got a lot of things to catch up on and finish.

>

> God be with you all...as I'm sure he already is.

>

> Lots of hugs,

> Monika

[Guest guest]

Will do Cliff...I always read your posts when I was on this board

daily and I used to say to myself, gosh darn it, if he can do it, so

can my Bert. So far, so good. I think newbies and some " oldsters "

need folks like you and me and others, caregiver and patient alike,

as proof that you can fight this beast and not necessarily loose. I

know stories such as yours and others were my inspiration and

desperately needed. Be well, dear Cliff from one Lurker to

another )

Monika

> > It's been a while, hasn't it and I want you all to know that even

> > though you haven't heard from me lately, I think about so many of

> > you so often that not a day goes by where I am not relating

> > someone's story on this board to someone that I meet. All of you

> > helped me so tremendously over time since this disease krept its

> way

> > into my life that I think you will all remain a part of my

> existence

> > until I cease to exist. I've scanned through some of the posts

and

> > am so saddened by what some of you are going through and that

some

> > other old friends are " amiss " but I am overjoyed at the continued

> > support that you all give to each other. Okay, enough of the

> > emotional stuff ) On to how things have been.

> >

> > Bert is now officially a two year cancer free

survivor ) ) )

> > Latest scans, tests, and bloodwork show that he remains okie

dokie

> > (Thank you Lord and all the powers that be). He not only looks

> > great but is doing even better. Has a cold at the moment but

hey,

> > that's truly small stuff compared to a stage III colon cancer

> > diagnosis. His onc recently told him that from all signs, he is

> > doing splendidly and we are on our way to the five year mark

(God,

> > please be willing). I don't think I'll ever stop wondering for

the

> > rest of my life. Anyway, we've been blessed with good medical

> care,

> > a fabulous oncologist, lots of prayers from friends like you, and

a

> > chance to continue living our lives as normally as possible,

which

> > is exactly what we intend to do.

> >

> > Mom's off in Europe!!!! Yup, she went again folks. Her lung

cancer

> > has remained stable and her quality of life is very, very good.

> > Continues to be asymptomatic and her onc truly is amazed at her

> love

> > of life and her continued strength in battling this disease.

> Quote,

> > straight from the onc's mouth, " girl, you rock. " It will be

three

> > years in August since inoperable lung cancer diagnosis. To all

you

> > newbies, these two people are prime examples of why you should

> > never, ever, ever give up. Please, please, please, cancer is not

> > necessarily an immediate death sentence but a chance to get your

> > priorities straight and fight with all you've got. Miracles

happen

> > every single day. Since my mother and my husband have both been

> > diagnosed, several new drugs have come out...fortunately neither

> one

> > have had to use any of them, but it's a comfort to know that

should

> > things change, and I don't see any reason why they should, they

are

> > out there. If either my mom or husband had seen the doom and

gloom

> > that I did when their diagnosis came, maybe, just maybe, they

> > wouldn't have been around to reap the rewards of the new drugs

> > should they need them...but so far, so good, and for all of this,

I

> > am grateful.

> >

> > In my last post I told you all that I was participating in the

> > American Cancer Society's ReLay for Life event. Well, I did and

it

> > was fantastic and very, very emotional. I had the overnight

shift

> > where I walked/jogged/ran continuously for 6 hours stopping only

> for

> > water and " duty calls " breaks. The entire course was lit with

> > luminaries bearing the name of a survivor or someone who had lost

> > their battle and seeing how many, many, many there were, kept

even

> > me going. I must admit though, I was quite sore and pooped after

> my

> > six hours. I was joined by members of other teams so I was not

> > alone....we started at midnight and stopped at 6:00 a.m. My

team's

> > goal was to raise $3,000...we raised over $10,000!!!!!! Thanks

to

> > so many generous people, I was able to raise $1,500 of that

$10,000

> > and was one happy walker/jogger/runner during the entire event.

I

> > purchased a special luminary for all of you guys on this board as

> > well as for folks on another board that I am also part of (and of

> > course Bert and my mom and a few others that I know who have been

> > touched by this disease) and each time I walked by the lanterns,

it

> > brought a smile to my face. They weren't easy to find, but I

found

> > them. God willing, I will do it again next year and the next and

> > the next...until I can't do it no more.

> >

> > We finished the last room in the house last weekend. Now we will

> > take a short break cause it's hotter than Hedes (is that how you

> > spell it???) and then, on to the bathrooms. Oh joy, can't wait.

> >

> > , my son, received his BS in Psychology in May and Bert

and

> I

> > are so proud of him. He was determined to get it...even if it

did

> > take longer than expected as he works full time as well...but his

> > persistence paid off. I know where he gets it from )

> >

> > So that's about it. Now that I've brought you all up to date, I

> > will try to stop by more often, but can't make any

promises...still

> > got a lot of things to catch up on and finish.

> >

> > God be with you all...as I'm sure he already is.

> >

> > Lots of hugs,

> > Monika