I'm a skeptic when it comes to most things involving cancer prevention or cancer cures. If it isn't backed by double blind scientific trials with a sufficiently large pool of participants, then I will take the conclusions with a grain of salt only.
In 2009 a study came out that pointed out high levels of Vitamin D as having something to do with better odds of surviving breast cancer. I appreciated the way that Dr. Susan Love described the study and its conclusions. The study points out, in a nutshell, that people with higher levels of Vitamin D in their bodies seem to be less likely to develop breast cancer and those who get breast cancer anyway are more likely to survive the disease. Dr. Love challenges that perhaps these people had higher levels of Vitamin D because they spend more time outside and maybe they are outside more because they are exercising more, so we can't conclusively claim that elevated Vitamin D levels alone are absolutely tied to cancer prevention. Maybe Vitamin D helps. Maybe it doesn't.
Then two things happened for me around the same time.
Thing one was that I went to my regular annual checkup with my oncologist. This man keeps up to date with all the breaking news concerning cancer. He is also not likely to grasp at the latest thing without significant evidence that it is meaningful, valid and relevant. When I showed up for the routine lab work that always comes before checkups, the nurse informed me that my doctor now tests all breast cancer patients for Vitamin D levels.
It turned out that my level was low. (My checkup went fine, by the way. I'm still living with NED - No Evidence of Disease.) I got a prescription for an obscene amount of Vitamin D - 20,000 International Units (IU) a week for six weeks - and afterwards followed instructions to take an over-the-counter 1,000 IU per day supplement. If my oncologist believes that bumping up my Vitamin D level will help prevent recurrence, then I'll stand up and take notice.
The second of the two things was an article published by Cure Today. Here is the online version of "The Vitamin D Difference."
This article fascinated me because it drew my attention to the possibility of low Vitamin D levels being a factor in why breast cancer is more deadly to people with dark skin. (I would say "African Americans" but really the issue transcends Americans altogether.)
Here is a powerful quote from the second page of the article:
“A question you really have to ask yourself is, ‘How are African-Americans like Norwegians?’ ” says cancer biologist and epidemiologist Gary Schwartz, PhD, because they have almost the same rate of death from one of the most common cancers in the world.
Schwartz, a researcher at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, says, “They don’t look a lot alike, and they’re not genetically alike,” but it turns out that members of both groups tend to have low levels of vitamin D in their blood.
Oh!
So Norwegians have low levels of Vitamin D because they don't get a lot of sunlight due to their location on the planet. And dark skinned people have low levels of Vitamin D because the pigmentation of their skin decreases the amount of Vitamin D their bodies create when exposed to sunlight.
Here are two more paragraphs from page four of the same article:
Recommendations for adequate vitamin D supplements depend somewhat on a person's lifestyle, skin color, age, and overall health. A light-skinned lifeguard in a bathing suit on a sunny summer day probably synthesizes as much as 20,000 or 30,000 units of vitamin D, says Giovannucci. People with very dark skin probably need about 10 times as much sun exposure to synthesize the same amount of vitamin D as people with very light skin—or may need more from supplements if they aren't getting that much sun exposure.
Obese people may need more vitamin D (because the vitamin is sequestered in fat), and so do people who can’t readily absorb nutrients from their gut into their bloodstream. Also, people need more supplementary vitamin D as they age, because their skin and kidneys gradually become less efficient at synthesizing vitamin D and converting it into its active form.
That last paragraph, in my opinion, hypothesizes that obese people tend to be more susceptible to getting cancer because their bodies store Vitamin D in their fat. Older people are at a higher risk for getting cancer because their bodies have gradually changed to where they produce less Vitamin D from the same amount of sunlight. That could explain why obesity and age are risk factors for getting breast cancer.
The article concludes by stating that it is difficult to get enough Vitamin D from diet alone, and that supplements may be necessary. My oncologist feels that supplements are necessary for me, and I'm in favor of doing what I can to reduce my risk of recurrence.
So, starting in 2009, I'm taking Vitamin D supplements daily.
Next - 80 Reflections Upon 2009 - Less Squeamish
Previous - 78 Reflections Upon 2009 - Exercise, Hair and Friends
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Saturday, January 02, 2010
78 Reflections Upon 2009 - Exercise, Hair and Friends
EXERCISE
When I switched jobs in 2009 from Company A to Company B, I went from a 9-story building to a 4-story building. My job at Company A had me attending meetings on other floors regularly, so it was common for me to walk up and down three stories of stairs at a time several times a day or week. By the end of my time there I was walking down all nine stories at the end of the day and beginning to walk up as many stories as I could in the mornings before I got too tired. It was great!
But Company B has a locked door on the third floor so I can't walk up the stairs in the morning. If I do I can't exit onto the floor where I work.
Company B has a parking garage, though, and on the mornings when I arrive 15-20 minutes early and don't have work that needs an early start, I will spend the first part of the day walking around the parking garage. We have security guards who patrol the garage regularly, and it's on a side of town where I feel safe, so I'm aware of my surroundings but not especially nervous when I walk in the parking garage.
As a result of my early morning walks, I'm beginning to learn that gloves on a cold day are a smart thing to wear, as are hats. I have debated with myself whether carrying a peppermint mocha from Starbucks while walking counts as exercise or not, and decided the second time I did it that it does.
The parking garage and office building have a pleasant view of downtown Austin, with lots of trees between us and the buildings downtown. The other morning the city was enshrouded in fog from Town Lake (now called Ladybird Lake) to the north side of town. The south side where I was, however, had clear skies. So I walked along the top level of the parking garage and saw this thick, beautiful mist caressing the city. It made me feel good to be alive.
That gratitude about life never leaves me. Nor does the gratitude over having eyebrows, eye lashes, and hair.
HAIR
In 2009 I had my hair cut short again. In 2007 and 2008 short hair reminded me of the strength I gained after surviving breast cancer. I kept it short then to honor that ferocity and determination to live. In 2008/2009 I felt like I had reached a certain level of healing from the trauma that accompanied cancer and its aftermath. I grew my hair back to its layers and shoulder length, which felt long to me. Having long hair once again was symbolic to me as I no longer needed it short to prove to the world that I was strong.
Then in the fall of 2009 I got tired of the long hair and wanted it short again. The length of hair lost all connection with cancer. I just liked the ease of care and the perception I'd developed of short hair looking professional. It was another step along the path of healing, actually, that I could view my hair length as something entirely wrapped up in personal preference and with no lingering connections to anything cancer-related.
After going far too long between cuts, I just had it trimmed yesterday back to the short and sassy style. Ah, freedom!
FRIENDS
In 2009 I made a point to reconnect with some of my friends I don't ordinarily see. Life is too short to have regrets over never seeing people who are important to you, so I've been reaching out as schedules allow, and initiating lunches and get togethers. A certain richness of life has returned as I've been a part of creating new happy memories with people I care about. It's fun. It's emotionally healthy. It's a practice I plan on continuing in 2010.
Next - 79 Reflections Upon 2009 - Vitamin D
Previous - 77 Reflections Upon 2009 - Locked Out
When I switched jobs in 2009 from Company A to Company B, I went from a 9-story building to a 4-story building. My job at Company A had me attending meetings on other floors regularly, so it was common for me to walk up and down three stories of stairs at a time several times a day or week. By the end of my time there I was walking down all nine stories at the end of the day and beginning to walk up as many stories as I could in the mornings before I got too tired. It was great!
But Company B has a locked door on the third floor so I can't walk up the stairs in the morning. If I do I can't exit onto the floor where I work.
Company B has a parking garage, though, and on the mornings when I arrive 15-20 minutes early and don't have work that needs an early start, I will spend the first part of the day walking around the parking garage. We have security guards who patrol the garage regularly, and it's on a side of town where I feel safe, so I'm aware of my surroundings but not especially nervous when I walk in the parking garage.
As a result of my early morning walks, I'm beginning to learn that gloves on a cold day are a smart thing to wear, as are hats. I have debated with myself whether carrying a peppermint mocha from Starbucks while walking counts as exercise or not, and decided the second time I did it that it does.
The parking garage and office building have a pleasant view of downtown Austin, with lots of trees between us and the buildings downtown. The other morning the city was enshrouded in fog from Town Lake (now called Ladybird Lake) to the north side of town. The south side where I was, however, had clear skies. So I walked along the top level of the parking garage and saw this thick, beautiful mist caressing the city. It made me feel good to be alive.
That gratitude about life never leaves me. Nor does the gratitude over having eyebrows, eye lashes, and hair.
HAIR
In 2009 I had my hair cut short again. In 2007 and 2008 short hair reminded me of the strength I gained after surviving breast cancer. I kept it short then to honor that ferocity and determination to live. In 2008/2009 I felt like I had reached a certain level of healing from the trauma that accompanied cancer and its aftermath. I grew my hair back to its layers and shoulder length, which felt long to me. Having long hair once again was symbolic to me as I no longer needed it short to prove to the world that I was strong.
Then in the fall of 2009 I got tired of the long hair and wanted it short again. The length of hair lost all connection with cancer. I just liked the ease of care and the perception I'd developed of short hair looking professional. It was another step along the path of healing, actually, that I could view my hair length as something entirely wrapped up in personal preference and with no lingering connections to anything cancer-related.
After going far too long between cuts, I just had it trimmed yesterday back to the short and sassy style. Ah, freedom!
FRIENDS
In 2009 I made a point to reconnect with some of my friends I don't ordinarily see. Life is too short to have regrets over never seeing people who are important to you, so I've been reaching out as schedules allow, and initiating lunches and get togethers. A certain richness of life has returned as I've been a part of creating new happy memories with people I care about. It's fun. It's emotionally healthy. It's a practice I plan on continuing in 2010.
Next - 79 Reflections Upon 2009 - Vitamin D
Previous - 77 Reflections Upon 2009 - Locked Out
77 Reflections Upon 2009 - Locked Out
We had a surreal event one evening during the "warm but non-unbearably hot" part of the year. (I live in Texas. We don't have a change of seasons so much as we have the "hot" and "not so hot" times of the year.)
Kelric surprised us one evening by asking to go on a walk after dinner. He's three, but once in a while still enjoys a ride in the stroller. This was one of those evenings, and since I'm always interested in increasing my exercise level in pleasant ways and since I get to walk a lot less since my son was born, I was all for the after-dinner walk.
We ended our walk at the neighborhood playground. We arrived just in time for Kelric to play with T., a little boy about the same age who lives in our neighborhood and whose parents with whom we've always enjoyed talking. The big boys and little boys focused on playing with T.'s basketball, and we moms chatted off to the side.
When we finally parted ways and went home, our next door neighbors were sitting outside on their front porch. Before we could attempt to enter our home they informed us that the power was out. Nobody knew why, but there was no electricity on our side of the street. Houses across the street had power, but our side was out and so was part of another street we could see.
The power outage was a big problem for our family because we had brought only our garage door opener with us for household access. With the power turned off, we could not open our own garage door.
We could have called my mom and asked her to come over and bring a house key, but we had recently installed bolts high up on each exterior door. All of the bolts were engaged, so an unlocked door wouldn't help with both front door and back door bolts in place. We were stuck!
We couldn't drive anywhere because we didn't have any keys for the vehicles with us. We didn't even have a cell phone with us.
We were still puzzling about how to spend our evening when the other family walked up from the playground/park and started to walk home. I told them about our situation and they invited us to their house to hang out while we waited.
That was exciting, as these were people we wanted to get to know better but didn't want to seem too pushy about becoming better friends. They live on the street behind us, and as we approached their home we saw that the power was out on their street, too, but only to their house. The house on the left of their house had power. The house on the right did not. So weird! And funny, in a strange way.
The mom made tea, and the little boys played together as we all clustered on the front porch enjoying tea and time together. After a little while the power came back on, and we visited for a bit more before heading home to a late bedtime for Kelric.
I loved how an inconvenience like a power outage led to a pleasant evening sharing interesting conversation with nice people while our children played.
That was Lockout #1 for 2009.
Lockout #2 came when I misplaced my desk key at work.
It was the end of the work day. I was ready to go home and I had my purse locked in the overhead bin of my cubicle. I searched and searched for the little key that should have been in my pocket, but I could not find it anywhere. It wasn't in my jacket pocket. It wasn't on the floor. Most people had already gone home for the day.
I went to my boss who, fortunately, was working late.
"I'm ready to go home but my purse is locked in my desk," I explained. "My car keys are in my purse." He looked at me. "I can't go home."
My boss paused a beat and then smiled. "Sweet!" he said. "You have to stay at work forever!"
He was teasing and I was able to laugh at myself. Then he set about finding the key to the closet that held the keybox with spare keys to all the desks and filing cabinets. By the time he located the right key and walked to my cube, a co-worker had already popped the lock with a crowbar. Airtight security, those desks... No wonder my boss instructed me to take my company laptop home each night rather than leaving it in the office!
So I got my keys, thanked both men, and went home.
Sometime later when I laundered those pants, the key appeared in the laundry basket. How it had remained hidden while I dug through my pants pockets for a dozen times that day, I don't know.
Lockout #3 happened a short time later to my husband. His truck keys fell out of his pocket or off of his beltloop while at the grocery store. He called me at work for a ride home. He had already purchased the groceries before the noticed that his keys were gone, so he had cold stuff in the bag and needed to get home.
That incident wasn't quite so funny, but it wasn't too traumatic. I had the second set of truck keys in my purse so I left work early, met him at the grocery store, and gave him my set of keys. He left word with the service desk just in case anybody found the keys and turned them in. Amazingly enough, somebody did! We got a message the next day that the keys had been found. Guy picked up the original set of keys and things went back to normal.
I returned the lost-and-found kindness later in the year when I found a woman's ring in the grocery store's parking lot. It looked well worn which I took to mean it was much loved. I took the extra time to turn in the ring at the service desk. I have no idea what happened to the ring after I did that, but it felt good to give the ring's owner a chance at getting it back again.
And I found a purse left behind at a fast food restaurant in 2009. I gave it to the staff in case the owner came back for it.
I think back to how wonderful it felt to have our truck keys returned. With all the rotten things you read about in the papers and online articles, it's nice to know that kindness still exists and gets practiced in our society.
Kelric surprised us one evening by asking to go on a walk after dinner. He's three, but once in a while still enjoys a ride in the stroller. This was one of those evenings, and since I'm always interested in increasing my exercise level in pleasant ways and since I get to walk a lot less since my son was born, I was all for the after-dinner walk.
We ended our walk at the neighborhood playground. We arrived just in time for Kelric to play with T., a little boy about the same age who lives in our neighborhood and whose parents with whom we've always enjoyed talking. The big boys and little boys focused on playing with T.'s basketball, and we moms chatted off to the side.
When we finally parted ways and went home, our next door neighbors were sitting outside on their front porch. Before we could attempt to enter our home they informed us that the power was out. Nobody knew why, but there was no electricity on our side of the street. Houses across the street had power, but our side was out and so was part of another street we could see.
The power outage was a big problem for our family because we had brought only our garage door opener with us for household access. With the power turned off, we could not open our own garage door.
We could have called my mom and asked her to come over and bring a house key, but we had recently installed bolts high up on each exterior door. All of the bolts were engaged, so an unlocked door wouldn't help with both front door and back door bolts in place. We were stuck!
We couldn't drive anywhere because we didn't have any keys for the vehicles with us. We didn't even have a cell phone with us.
We were still puzzling about how to spend our evening when the other family walked up from the playground/park and started to walk home. I told them about our situation and they invited us to their house to hang out while we waited.
That was exciting, as these were people we wanted to get to know better but didn't want to seem too pushy about becoming better friends. They live on the street behind us, and as we approached their home we saw that the power was out on their street, too, but only to their house. The house on the left of their house had power. The house on the right did not. So weird! And funny, in a strange way.
The mom made tea, and the little boys played together as we all clustered on the front porch enjoying tea and time together. After a little while the power came back on, and we visited for a bit more before heading home to a late bedtime for Kelric.
I loved how an inconvenience like a power outage led to a pleasant evening sharing interesting conversation with nice people while our children played.
That was Lockout #1 for 2009.
Lockout #2 came when I misplaced my desk key at work.
It was the end of the work day. I was ready to go home and I had my purse locked in the overhead bin of my cubicle. I searched and searched for the little key that should have been in my pocket, but I could not find it anywhere. It wasn't in my jacket pocket. It wasn't on the floor. Most people had already gone home for the day.
I went to my boss who, fortunately, was working late.
"I'm ready to go home but my purse is locked in my desk," I explained. "My car keys are in my purse." He looked at me. "I can't go home."
My boss paused a beat and then smiled. "Sweet!" he said. "You have to stay at work forever!"
He was teasing and I was able to laugh at myself. Then he set about finding the key to the closet that held the keybox with spare keys to all the desks and filing cabinets. By the time he located the right key and walked to my cube, a co-worker had already popped the lock with a crowbar. Airtight security, those desks... No wonder my boss instructed me to take my company laptop home each night rather than leaving it in the office!
So I got my keys, thanked both men, and went home.
Sometime later when I laundered those pants, the key appeared in the laundry basket. How it had remained hidden while I dug through my pants pockets for a dozen times that day, I don't know.
Lockout #3 happened a short time later to my husband. His truck keys fell out of his pocket or off of his beltloop while at the grocery store. He called me at work for a ride home. He had already purchased the groceries before the noticed that his keys were gone, so he had cold stuff in the bag and needed to get home.
That incident wasn't quite so funny, but it wasn't too traumatic. I had the second set of truck keys in my purse so I left work early, met him at the grocery store, and gave him my set of keys. He left word with the service desk just in case anybody found the keys and turned them in. Amazingly enough, somebody did! We got a message the next day that the keys had been found. Guy picked up the original set of keys and things went back to normal.
I returned the lost-and-found kindness later in the year when I found a woman's ring in the grocery store's parking lot. It looked well worn which I took to mean it was much loved. I took the extra time to turn in the ring at the service desk. I have no idea what happened to the ring after I did that, but it felt good to give the ring's owner a chance at getting it back again.
And I found a purse left behind at a fast food restaurant in 2009. I gave it to the staff in case the owner came back for it.
I think back to how wonderful it felt to have our truck keys returned. With all the rotten things you read about in the papers and online articles, it's nice to know that kindness still exists and gets practiced in our society.
Next - 78 Reflections Upon 2009 - Exercise, Hair and Friends
Previous - 76 Reflections Upon 2009 - Employment
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