I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Christmas Eve we were the happy recipients of Carolers- who braved our treacherous steps to come into our house to sing and be offered Wassail treats. Christmas coincided with the ebbing of the  more acute chemo side effects- which meant we spent Christmas day playing, & being  happy- even getting out for a long walk in the sun with friends and their dogs.  The holiday inspired time away from the computer, but on the 23rd we took an important step in my treatment plan, so I thought an update would be good.

If you have ever laid in a field with a friend and watched a dark summer sky looking for shooting stars, you have probably had the experience of turning you head and just missing one.  The sky is so vast it is impossible to see it all at once.  This Cancer-ing process is like that- much more vast than can be looked at straight on.

I have been thinking of the different doctors as each having a piece of the sky, and that if I can assemble a team with different perspectives I can work on helping my body change states using a Bigger Piece of Sky.  On December 23rd we traveled to Portland to add two such sky bits.  Dr. Alderdice, a  Naturopathic Oncologist, and Dr. Fruehoff, a Naturopath and expert practitioner of TCM. (Traditional Chinese Medicine)

What it all boils down to is that the complementary medicine they provide will help the Allopathic treatments work better, and support the rest of my body to be less harmed.  It also means a much more active roll for me in the healing process. I have actions to take at intervals seven times a day- from drinking TCM swamp tea, to doing specific exercises.  Dr. Alderdice even gave me a bedtime.  As I ride through the three week Chemo Snake treatment cycles I will be actively doing something everyday to help my body to wholeness.  I am grateful that the Allopathic Doctors at Compass Oncology are open, even eager to work with complementary practitioners. Because they have seen people have better outcomes when they do.

P.S. Thanks to everyone for the Humor Ideas- We are looking forward to lots of laughing. I will make a Page to list them all in one place when I have time.

My Team – So Far