Cruising for the Cure

I am on the board of directors for  Cruising for the Cure, a classic wooden boat show to benefit pancreatic cancer research.

I don't know much about boats.  I know I like to take photographs of them.  I am not a boat geek like the other board members of CFTC.  Truth be told I get nauseous if I sit in the back seat of a car.  That has gotten worse after cancer, and even though I grew up 10 minutes away from a lake I only learned how to swim about 5 or 6 years ago.

I don't think I told the other board members about that...

I have been involved with this organization for 3 years now.  I love to go out and advocate in public.  I love to see where, in even a small way, I have made a difference.

The boat show came at a perfect time for me.  I have written extensively about my battle with depression.  If my friends haven't read this blog they don't know how hard it has been in the last couple of weeks.  I am not sure why that is, stress of everyday life.  Maybe because I started a second job to help pay the bills.  Either way it has been a rough few weeks.

We had a silent auction on Friday, and the boat show/parade was on Saturday.  Both days were picture perfect.  The last 2 years I didn't ride in the parade, I didn't have any dramamine, and I would rather not get sick in a classic wooden boat. This year I bought some in the hopes I would be able to ride.

And I did.

I was introduced to Suzie and Bob Davies who own the boat Tango.  Suzie is on the board of directors for a local cancer charity.  It was a good fit.

We cruised around all of Torch Lake in the parade.  It felt great to be outside in the sun, with the wind in my hair and the occasionally splash of water from the lake.

I understood why Jane Thie loved boats, and why she loved that lake.

If every cancer survivor could experience that feeling, that would be awesome.


A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable.  ~William Wordsworth


Mel is the producer/co~host of The Vic McCarty Show. Listen Live Monday~Friday 10am-noon eastern time on wmktthetalkstation.com

Check out my podcast The Cancer Warrior on Empoweradio.com Available on demand and also available on Itunes.
 

Steve Jobs Of Apple Had Cancer Last Year

Another guest blog.  Enjoy 

Apple CEO Steve Jobs is one of the most well known business personalities in recent times. Very few know, however, that he is a cancer patient.

Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2004. Called islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, this is a rare form of pancreatic cancer, which required Jobs to have a tumor removed from his pancreas. The process is called pancreaticoduodenectomy (or "Whipple procedure"), and it appeared that the tumor had been successfully removed. He was not required to have chemo or radiation.

Late in 2008, Bloomberg mistakenly published an obituary of Steve Jobs, with date and cause of death left blank. Though this was quickly corrected, this fueled intense speculation about his health. Then, in January, 2009, Jobs took a 6 month leave from work “on health concerns.” While he continued to implicitly deny questions about cancer, it has been known that he underwent a liver replacement surgery in April, 2009 in Memphis, TN. 

Ordinarily, a liver replacement requires patients to be on a waitlist until a donor is found. But Jobs’ private jet enabled him to get on two waitlists simultaneously, and he chose Memphis. Over 6000 liver transplants are performed in the US every year, but region 11 of the United Network for Organ Sharing, to which Memphis belongs, has a relatively shorter waiting period. 

A liver transplant operation is a lengthy process. It can take anywhere from between 5-6 hours to more than 10 hours in cases of complications. The transplant requires a large incision in the stomach (upper abdomen). The liver is removed after cutting a number of ligaments that hold it in place, as well as several ducts, arteries and veins.

While a new liver is being procured from a recently deceased donor, the blood from the liver is replaced with a very cold liquid. The new liver has to be placed in the empty liver cavity and tied to the severed ligaments, ducts and blood vessels. To prevent the body from rejecting the foreign organ, patients are often required to take immunosuppressive drugs throughout their lives.

The surgery is followed by a lengthy recovery process, but the survival rate is pretty high. Survival rate of 5 plus years is over 90 percent at good facilities. 

In Steve Jobs’  case, recovery was said to have been splendid. He was said to have completely recouped from the procedure. Medical experts say that if Jobs did this procedure, it means that even if his cancer had spread to the liver, it did not metastasize any further. That is because most hospitals will not perform a liver transplant on you if your cancer had already spread beyond the liver. 

Apple is perhaps one of the most widely known and generally liked companies of today. It has been led by Steve Jobs’ innovation and smart business sense. It is sad that somebody like Jobs has had to go through this at the pretty early age of 50. But, perhaps, even something as evil as cancer can produce some good results, probably in the form of a research endorsement from Jobs to discover better treatments for liver cancer.

About the guest blogger:


We've got everything you need to know about arthritis. But if there is a question unanswered, send us an email and we will answer your question to the best of our knowledge, or at least will give you the resources to help you reach your goal. We are a group of caregivers whose family members are suffering from arthritis. This condition is a very common disease and has caused much distress to their victims. Nearly 1 in 5 adults have some form of arthritis. That's 46 million Americans affected. Americans age 65 and over are most likely at risk, but two-thirds of the cases are under 65. Women are more at risk than men. Please help us spread the word for prevention.


matthewr.chan@yahoo.com

Mel is the producer/co-host of The Vic McCarty Show 10am-Noon Monday-Friday eastern standard time.  Listen live on wmktthetalkstation.com

Check out my podcast The Cancer Warrior available on demand now on Empoweradio.com