Staying One Step Ahead

"A stitch in time saves nine" is a common phrase known by the majority of people today. The idea of doing something simple now, rather than dealing with a bigger problem in the future applies to many situations. When it comes to your health, regular screenings can save you a world of trouble down the road. 

To all the women reading this, I have a request for you. I have a request that I hope you will take seriously. I have a request that I hope you will incorporate into your life and encourage women around you to follow suit. 

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You heard me. FEEL YOUR BOOBIES. EVERY MONTH! Regular self breast exams are very important to help detect cancer. While they are not 100% accurate(as many lumps are benign), they greatly assist in early detection. The National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. has a very informative section on their website(click on the link) that walks you through a self-exam, so be sure to check it out! Yearly mammograms and clinical examinations are also very important in detection as mammograms can pick up on cancer before you can even feel a lump. However, the self breast exam is still something that every woman needs to incorporate into her routine so as to catch lumps early. 

While breast cancer is not as prevantable as, say, lung cancer, it is a cancer that can be easily treated if caught early. Any cancer that goes undetected for a long period of time has a high chance of being terminal, so these self exams are very important especially if breast cancer runs in your family. So play it safe; feel yours boobies and stay one step ahead of cancer. 

-Ruth

P.S. Check out my Breast Cancer awareness quilt in my etsy shop!

Breast cancer wall hanging

Dear Breast Cancer Patient

Dear Breast Cancer Patient,

I have to admit that I feel like the world doesn't have a complete understanding of how bad this disease still can be. Thankfully, because of research and screenings many women can battle this disease and still have a long healthy life, but that isn't the case for everyone.

I was a new grad and I had yet to see a breast cancer diagnosis when I opened the chart, but I can remember you, my first breast cancer patient. You were a young women in your 30's and your disease was everywhere. You were in severe pain from bone mets and my heart broke for you. All you did was stand on your leg to go to the bathroom and it cracked in half because of disease eating away at your bones. It was there in your room as you cried out in pain that I, a new grad nurse, learned a new side of breast cancer, the side that is not often seen, the side that needs to be spoken about.

As I continued my inpatient journey I continued to meet you. Some of you were paralyzed and your life was forever changed due to your mets. Some of you had infection due to tumors. Some of you I met at the end of your battle as you took your last breaths on this earth. You have all impacted me.

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At this stage in my career I am walking with you as your chemo nurse. My eyes are opened more than ever to how horrible this disease can be. Breast cancer patient you are that 1 out of 8 women diagnosed with breast cancer. You have the cancer that is most commonly diagnosed in women. You unfortunately have been handed the disease that is the 2nd leading cause of death of women.

I've changed your dressings from your tumor that is bursting through your skin. I've comforted you as your pain is so severe because of the cancer eating away the skin on your chest. I remember that time when I had to send you to get a stat CT because we were afraid you had a pulmonary embolism, but in the end it was the sad news that the cancer had spread to your lungs and there was a large amount of fluid build up.  I'm seeing more sides of your disease every week, and they are ugly.

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Breast cancer patient, you amaze me. As you are crying in pain, hating the fact that you have to take oxy to keep your pain at bay, you still smile at me and say to me "my nursey". You sit with me and look at pictures of my niece and nephew and tell me about all the things your beautiful young kids are doing. You are my hero. I learn a whole new side of what love looks like from you and your husband. The look he has in his eyes is one of the deepest of love I have ever seen. The way you and he work as a team and know each other so well is incredible.

Breast cancer patient, don't lose your spunk. Keep wearing your crazy hats, keep rocking that G.I. Jane look, and don't you ever lose your ability to look at the bright side.  But know this, it is perfectly ok to have bad days. It is perfectly ok to be in a funk.  It is more than fine if you need to cry your eyes out during each chemo treatment. Know this, that through every good news I will rejoice with you, through every bad news I will cry with you, and throughout the days of my life, I will fight this battle alongside you and fight for a cure for this disease. Thank you for blessing my life breast cancer patient. Thank YOU for fighting with grace and passion. Thank you for being you.

Be brave. Be bold. Be beautiful.

With a grateful heart,

One of your nurses

Informational Resources:

1. Basic Facts of Breast Cancer

2. Cancer.org Facts and Figures

3.  Breast Cancer Symptoms

4. Breast Cancer Genetics

Happy, Healthy Tailgating!

Senior year at IU when we beat Purdue!

I'm a Hoosier. I was born in Indiana and went to Indiana University for college. This means I was raised to be a football fan and to love tailgating. Anyone who knows anything about Indiana knows that we, as a state, love football and basketball. There are two large Big Ten schools in Indiana: Purdue and Indiana. Naturally, because they are in the same state, they are fierce rivals.

Growing up you are either a Purdue fan or Indiana fan. Of course you have the occasional split household. We also have Notre Dame, which it seems that everyone in Indiana supports – even around the country, unless you are a Michigan fan (I however, am not included in that “everyone”) Finally, you CAN’T forget about the Colts (I’ll be fair and include northwest Indiana residents with the Bears).

Football. Saturdays and Sundays in the fall plans are centered on the great American pastime of football. Whether it is on the TV or actually at the game, flowing drinks and excessive food are staples of a football weekend. And this isn't just in Indiana.

So how do we, as health conscious people, still enjoy the wonderful world of football and tailgating? This is a blog devoted to being health conscious and still having fun during this wonderful thing we call football season! Follow, or at least keep in mind, the following tips and tricks as football season gets underway:

1. Eat healthy throughout the week. Making healthy food choices throughout the week is going to change your taste buds and influence what you crave. By eating healthy throughout the week, the "junk food" often served at football festivities will be less appealing.

2. Be conscious of what you are eating and plan ahead. A great alternative to cheap burgers and hot dogs is fish. You can also use a healthy veggie burger - black bean burgers are great alternatives. Take a night to make your own homemade veggie burgers or black bean burgers and freeze them. If you're choosing to go with the meat, make sure that you are getting grass fed beef with no hormones or antibiotics that is less than 10% fat content. Another thing that you can make ahead of time is the beef. If the beef is on sale, buy enough to make burger patties to freeze. Add onion and garlic to your burgers for flavor and health benefits. As far as hot dogs go, let's not get into the details of what goes into those cheap hot dogs. Applegate has a great option out there for all beef hot dogs that have hormone and antibiotic free meat. It isn't the best option, but is definitely a better option. The key when looking at any hot dog of any meat is to look for key words like uncured, antibiotic and hormone free, and grass fed. Be conscious of what you're buying.

3. Sweet potatoes are a power food and a great substitute for the other fried potatoes we often eat. You can make your own sweet potato fries by peeling, dicing them into strips, and using olive oil and things like garlic to add flavor. Toss them on the grill for a delicious side! 

4. Be aware of the beverages you are drinking. Look at the calories in the alcohol and realize that drinking too much doesn't just leave you feeling bad the next day. It also slows down the metabolism. Furthermore alcohol has a more calories than one may realize. Make sure you're staying hydrated and not drinking too much alcohol. At the very least, stay away from sugary drinks such as sports drinks and pop; they’re packed with sugar and calories. This is not the way to spend your calories and you definitely don't want that insulin spike.

5. Pinterest. It is a great resource for converting unhealthy recipes into healthy ones (there are also plenty of unhealthy ones on there too.

6. Don't be afraid to pack the veggies and fruit. It is apple season and they are a very portable fruit! Also, carrot and celery sticks travel well. You could also make veggie kabobs to grill. If you want to spice it up a bit, make fruit kabobs and grill them with some cinnamon!

7. Most importantly be aware of what you are putting in your mouth. Be conscious and deliberate. Remember that everything you consume either honors or dishonors our body.

Happy football season everyone! We'd love to see your favorite football fan pictures!

Self-Appreciation: Best Gift ANYONE Can Give

Today, as I was going through my daily ritual of reading the news as it comes through my news feed, I came across an article to which the subject matter really made me disturbed. This is a positive response of removal of a "new image" of Princess Merida, the beautiful red-headed young woman from Disney's movie Brave. Disney created a "Sexy Merida" for a coronation ceremony late last week to which caused some major grief, rightfully so.

'Brave' (Photo: Walt Disney Pictures)

"This one character may not do any damage to a girl's psychological development, per se," said Dr. Robyn Silverman. "But Merida joins a barrage of thin, sultry characters for girls, making her yet another facet of our sexed-up, thinned down messaging." 

As a human (I cannot just say one gender faces this more so than the other), as men and women alike, we are faced with so many body image perfectionist ideas to which we can majorly lose sight of what makes us unique. Everyone is shaped differently. Everyone is colored differently and not one person is like another. Comparison is unfair and how boring of a world this would be if you looked like every other person! BOOOOORRRINNGG!

Take a look at this campaign that Dove created a while back. It illustrates a good point: how we perceive ourselves is not always how others perceive us.

One step in health and wellness is shaping, molding, and being honest with our skewed perception of ourselves. It is embracing our flaws and imperfections as much as it is realizing what our needs are to feel good about ourselves inside and out. Health and wellness is full body endeavor to which takes an extreme amount of honesty, heart, perseverance, and dedication to embrace everything God made us to be. So what if we have large thighs, bags under our eyes or our rear end is "too big". This is what makes YOU uniquely you. Instead of looking negatively on what you don't like about yourself, why not say one thing positive about yourself?

Next time you are brushing your teeth and look up into the mirror to clean the excess toothpaste off your lips, try saying something you love about yourself in a positive fashion. This is not to be a vain attempt as much as it is to recognize qualities you possess that have a positive impact. If there is something you do not like about yourself, it is up to you on whether you want to change it. There are means to do so if that is your choice, but before you go changing yourself, appreciate who and what you are first.

I want to challenge each and everyone today to really find self-appreciation. To me, that is more important than trying to look and act like someone you are not. Appreciate who and what you are. There is only one you in this world. Be yourself. Allow it to be so! That is simply the best gift that anyone can give to themselves!

Catie Manning, Hair Stylist