Talking Frankly about Living with Advanced Cancer

for some reason Dr. Sood sounds so familiar .....is driving me crazy now trying to figure out why???? and my memory is not what it used to be !!!! lol I listen to Enya a lot when I need to relax I have been monitoring my blood pressure because out of the blue it has dropped into the basement and occasionally goes high (another problem for another day ) I only bring it up because when the readings get high I sit and try to calm myself but left to think is not good for me my mind wonders and then I worry. So I listen to music and that seems to help the most.
I also come here for some peace of mind and a place to put some of my worries. The feeling of family here helps so much.
Thanks for the hugs

Up all night is not a new thing for me. It's the time your brain goes to thoughts and places you don't want to go to while you're putting on that brave front for everyone else. I'm very fortunate to have a great friend who has been there and also sleeps very little at night. Friends, I think, are afraid to truly face what our diagnosis means. In my case, even a couple of the kids are still trying to convince themselves it's like a bad case of flu or something. Then of course the other kids get angry because of that. You can't change people's perception of what we go through, but just decide how much denial you can accept in your circle of friends. You'll exhaust yourself trying to make them understand or change their minds. Hang in there!

Dear Allison:
I am watching and thinking of you as a 10 year lung cancer survivor.
I encourage you to check out Mayo Clinic Dr Amit Sood, on line and read his Mindfulness and Resiliency articles or books and if you can listen to his powerful words of meditation.
I have learned the power of learning how to relax my mind, body, spirit and nervous system through his program and It has been remarkable as I have strived to beat the 17% chance of living after lung cancer diagnosis and surgery.

I live with this paced breathing program that is now on on my phone and it helps calm me accept life as I must live it
one moment and one day st a time.
You are in thoughts and prayers.
I am sending you kind cyber hugs.
lung cancer mentor
linda

Hello @margaretrivers, Wish you luck with everything. Hope you can do your PET-Scan today and everything goes just fine. Radiation was very effective, in two of my cancers. My body is a cancer-loving one so it is always looking for more challenges to keep on this adventure going on. Just keep calm & positive about this stage of your life. Remember the good in your life, the last laughters ”real ones” and enjoy them again. Love yourself and try to find positive aspects in every ”happening”. Even in the worse hour, if you look around there are so many beautiful things to enjoy. I do this when I feel deep down in the shit hole, sorry for the language, but I have been fighting cancer for the last 23 years and for the past 3 years I have been diagnosen with spread cancer stage 4. When I am in the deepest I look around me and a bird singing, a child’s laughter or a smile makes me feel alive. Have a nice day and good luck.

@margaretrivers Here are general instructions: https://radiology.ucsf.edu/patient-care/prepare/pet-ct

That makes it harder. There was some good advice up thread a bit. I really hope you get your PET scan and radiation. Sounds as if you need more info about the PET scan.

Oh, Honey, I'm sad you don't eat. When I was on the chemo everything tasted like metal. But good luck with the PET scan. I'll be thinking of you. gp

No, I wasn't told how to manage diet to achieve lower bs except what I've been doing already; diabetic diet. but most foods taste bad to me.I've lost so much weight, dr, said eat whatrever I can

Hi, sorry about your recent changes in your tumor. I have had 2 PET scans, and they said nothing by mouth from midnight the night before, and my blood sugars were below 100 by the morning of the scan. If your levels are erratic, they should schedule you first thing in the morning. Ask your doc, but I would think your levels would be alright. And the PET is so important for diagnosis. Good luck and keep fighting. gp

I don't know the answer, just know that PET scans show uptake of glucose where tumours are active. You wouldn't want anything to give you a false result. Were you told how to manage your diet to achieve this? Good luck with the scan and the radiation. Once again, I don't know about radiation for pancreatic cancer but see radiation as an important tool for managing cancer. Best wishes.