the healing touch?

I went to see a man who does healing touch with a girlfriend tonight. I am sure he received a great deal of healing from the parts he was touching, me… not so much. Just as I suspected, someone who prays on the weak as regulars, but mostly makes a living off one shot curious George’s like me.

We drove out to a house in Gatineau and walked right in and sat in the living room until we were seen. I went first into a room and lay on the table and the man (I can’t even remember his name?) just started putting his hands on my stomach, under my breasts and near my pelvis and meditated. (so much for buying me dinner first!)

He did this for about 4 minutes without word and then left the room, for an hour. For an hour!!! For the first 10 minutes I lay there and gazed out the window. The next 10 minutes I started to get irritated, and the next 10 minutes I wondered if I should be meditating, then the next 10 minutes I listened to him go to the bathroom and head to the basement to start up the washing machine. For the next 10 minutes I was irritated again, and then the last 10 minutes I just started text messaging people… did I not get it?

When he finally came back he was surprised that I had not fallen asleep. I resisted the urge to let him know I do that in my own home… for free, but I tried to keep an open mind: ) He then placed his hands in the same locations and told me there was a great deal of tension in my left breast… not my “chest” my “breast” and it was channeling down to the right side of my pelvis. (I guess he missed the giant cancerous sweet potato size mass (6"x6"x2") lying behind my right breast? Although I get why he's drawn... I've always thought the left one was cuter - perkier:) It was important that I realign it through the center of the body because the charkas run from my pelvis to breasts. (I seem to recall them running to my head, but okay?)

He then described to me that there was a charka in my labia, that’s the part between the vagina and anus that needs to be grounded. He actually used the words “labia”, “vagina”, “anus”, “breasts” and “nipple” (I haven’t told you that part yet) in the combined total of 9 minutes he was with me. Our session ended with him telling me to put my left hand on my left breast, making sure the nipple was in my palm, and my right hand on my pelvis for 10 minutes a day to realign and redirect my energy.

Where I come from we call that masturbation. It doesn’t happen every day, it does realign a few things, I didn’t need to pay you $30 bucks to tell me that… and I can do it in 4 minutes!

Coping with Cancer for $13 dollars please.

Today I went to my first cancer class, Coping with Cancer through the Cancer Clinic at the General; 2 hours and my parking ticket was $13 bucks! Thank god I consumed 9 timbits during the course, almost got my moneys worth. Three other people showed up to watch a power point presentation, “so you’ve got cancer” followed with a meditation video; original, innovative – thanks, do you validate parking?

I don’t know if I am going to like going to generalized cancer groups because it seems to me that other cancers are yucky! One lady had thyroid cancer and was looking bald, pasty and toothless. (well she may have been toothless before, but jeez cancers done nothing for her!) The other woman had throat cancer, was bi-polar and was itching for a smoke break. I learned something about myself sitting next to her; I’m not real receptive to people who a) gave themselves cancer and b) are continuing to give them selves cancer while sucking up services we all paid into. She was nice enough for the first half of the course, but then I think the voices in her head told her to quiet down for the rest of it.

During the meditation video when I was meditating, I made a shopping list for Friday and convinced myself that I really needed a massage. I drove back to the west-end was able to get a walk-in relaxation massage with hot stones at “The Spa”; nice! I started a yoga class yesterday that did help my sciatic nerve, but messed up my shoulder. The girl was rubbing my neck with oil and went a little over my hair line and stepped back with a “oh” and I had to explain to her that her furry fingers were a result of my hair falling out from chemo, and it was best to avoid my lid with sticky fingers. I’m on hair preserve.

The cat and I attempted a nap this afternoon, but the phone wouldn’t quit. The irritation on his little furry face is priceless, especially when he rounds on me like it’s my fault! So I had a 15min cat nap and then was off to learn how to give myself a needle. The nurse said I needed to pick a fat spot to poke, I offered up the booty but she said my belly was just fine – ouch! (note to self, lay off the baby cookies… I just said that with a mouth full of baby cookie!)

The needle was for Neupogen; (sounds like the name of some Asian dude) it’s a drug that will help me grow white blood cells faster. Apparently people with other types of cancer receiving chemo usually have their treatments about 3 weeks apart which gives their bone marrow enough time to grow enough white blood cells back before they knock them out with chemo again. When you have Hodgkin’s its common to have difficulty growing enough white cells back in time for the next round because they are 2 weeks apart. So 1 week after each chemo session I will have to inject myself daily for 5 days with Neupogen to get those cells a’multiplyin… like little white rabbits.

I teared up a little after I gave myself the shot in the nurse’s office (well after I got the balls to do it after three psyches.) Not because it hurt at all, it was because it was another little “real” moment. This is real, it’s really happening; people who are healthy don’t inject needles into their belly.

Thanks for coming out to Martini's for Hodgkin's

My thank you letter to all who came out to support & donate:

Oh what a night… I’ve left the bar many times without the things I came with, hats, shoes, boyfriends; but never my hair!

Big thanks to everyone that came out Thursday for Martini’s for Hodgkin’s at Bar 56. The evening was a huge success in raising funds for The Lymphoma Foundation of Canada in support of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma research.

My thanks to all my friends that donated gift baskets & gift certificates through their corporations in support of the event, I knew I could count on you guys to help! Congratulations to all those that won gift baskets and gift certificates. (Robyn I’m especially excited for you and your SAAB gift certificate, as a new mom you deserve it!)

I had a blast! It was a little hard for me to stop and chat with all of you for as long as I would have liked to, but just note I was so pleased that each and every one of you came out to support me and my event. And boy did I need it; it was tough parting with all that red hair… which has provided me with a fabulous opportunity to see all the silver roots that are underneath. Errr!

Actually it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be to cut off all my hair because I had all my friends cheering me on, and I was able to donate that ponytail to Locks of Love, and organization that makes wigs for kids going through the same deal.

One of the things I forgot to mention in my impromptu address to the crowd was why it was so important for me to host this event. Empathy. During my process of being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s leading up to treatment I have had to undergo some difficult procedures and surgeries, and each time the doctors would say to me “don’t worry you’re so lucky, you’re young, strong and healthy; you can endure this.” And I would/ am enduring, but I think about how horrible it would be for a 5 year old or a 75 year old to endure say something like my bone marrow collection (drill into the hip bone) and am just overwhelmed with empathy for others who may not be as young, strong, or healthy as I am, yet have to endure none the less; and so I needed to do something.

So together we were able to raise funds to help others endure Lymphoma and all its pleasantries, but if they’re really lucky they have great friends like I do who support them and that’s the most important help anyone can get.

Thanks again for coming out to show your support.
Tam

I want my Ms. Bigglesworth!

It seems perfectly reasonable to me that if you are losing your hair to chemo, than you should be blessed with hair loss all over. The gods should give you a break from bikini waxes and say “one hairless cat coming right up; this ones on us!” They did not, I’m still on kitty maintenance and I am one sour puss!

Second Chemo, hair is really falling out!