Posted by: mikedishman | March 10, 2009

We are sailing again

TGIT – Thank God it’s today.

Today we were able to get the bearings in the hub, the hub on the trailer, the tires on the hubs; the boat lifted enough to remove the center board and to trailer our sailboat home. We also spent about $30 bucks to clean off several years of neglect at the carwash. It was liberating in so many ways, I can’t tell you.

There is more money to be spent but that will be dealt with as funds are available. We love this boat and sailed it weekend after weekend for years until we got involved in the Boy Scouts which we loved just as much. Those years were great but as in all things they too came to an end and/or they moved to a different place. But we still had the boat. It sat in storage and every year we paid the insurance, the storage fee and the taxes. Every year we contemplated if it should be sold or not.

Then one day the doctor came around the curtain and told me I had cancer, a bad cancer. I have to tell you my to-do list went through the roof that very moment. I had….. oh about a million projects started that were not finished (and in some cased not started) and the boat was one of those projects.

Of course for the longest time I couldn’t do anything because I was too sick, too tired… I just couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t! But today I could! I had the strength to jack up the boat, remove the wheels, replace the bearings, replace the wheels and help raise the boat enough to pull the center board. It felt great! That is a great day! A really great day!

I suspect that others with a list like mine might be bummed that there was so much to do and so much to spend. But not me, not today. Today is a great day, I am ecstatic that I was able to do what I did and that I had enough in me to get done what was needed. Tomorrow I will deal with tomorrow. And tomorrow will be a milestone too. I will be getting my chemo port removed. It’s a big deal, to me…a very big deal! After they pull it from my chest I plan to attend a rain barrel class. Life goes on, I go on. I will sail again. I am Mike again. I am again.

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Posted in Cancer, care giver, Esophageal Cancer, Support Group | Tags: , ,

Posted by: mikedishman | March 8, 2009

Extraordinary life

I live just like this now. Click here

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Posted by: mikedishman | March 5, 2009

The first online meeting was a success!

Our first online support group meeting was a success! The sound from using Skype was a little off but you can’t beat free and I am sure we will learn to work around it.

 

We discussed some ideas concerning the meeting format and then we got down to the real reason for the meeting, what’s going on in our lives at this moment.

 

I walked away from the meeting knowing that bringing a group together who are in a similar situation has the power to be helpful even in the worst of times. I have also come to understand that there are folks out there looking for a place of shelter to discuss the heavy load they are carrying. No one should carry this load alone and you don’t have to.

 

Ideally meeting face to face would be the best way and for those that live in the Kansas City area, this is possible.  My home is open until we have so many folks we need a building.  But there are going to be folks that just don’t have the strength to travel even across the street. Some are in areas too far to travel from, so Skype will be the tool for now that we will use to bring those that can’t travel into our meeting.

 

I can tell we will need to learn not to step on each other when we speak. Not being able to see each other has some disadvantages. But as we meet over and over I am sure we will develop an online etiquette, of sorts. Technology is wonderful but in most cases there is going to be some kind of learning curve.

 

We also discovered that headphones in some cases will be necessary to stop feedback noise. I have a setup that takes care of that but many won’t. A head set would probably work the best unless you have a webcam that does it all.

 

For those of you that thought about it but did not join us, please reconsider and join us next Wednesday at 7 PM CST. I will need you in my Skype contact list to add you to the meeting so once you have installed Skype click on “New Contact” and put in mike.dishman. If you would like to try a conversation one on one before the meeting you can type me a message when you add me as a contact and I will call you up when I see you are online.

 

So I am going to leave you with this:

Think about what you want to happen in your life. Try not to spend a moment thinking about what you don’t want to happen. Take any and all negative thoughts put them in a trash bag and set them out on the curb to be taken to the landfill and buried.

 

I am hoping you will have the best day ever,

Mike

 

  

 

    

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Posted by: mikedishman | March 4, 2009

I am getting very excited about tomorrow night

I am getting very excited about tomorrow night. Our first virtual cancer support group meeting is at 7 PM central time.

Through this struggle I have met several folks in the same situation I am in. I have also met their caregivers. It is a toss up which is harder, being the one with the cancer or the one taking care of the person with cancer. No one should walk this path alone, no one.

When you’re sick of being sick (for nearly a year) there were times I thought I would never recover….. And the same went for my caregiver. Hey but I did!

Even though I was sure it wasn’t possible I am back to feeling great, maybe better than I can ever remember. And I want to show those that are still struggling there is going to be a day that hopefully they will feel great too.

Sure none of us are going to live forever, at least in this form. But until then we can offer each other support and share things that work and things that didn’t. Give each other a hand. That is simply the right thing to do.

I am going to try and get Joan O’Keefe, a registered dietitian, to Skype in as a guest speaker to one of our meetings. She has really helped me. I am going to try and find a trainer who understands the needs of cancer patients to call in and give us advice on exercise. At one point I could hardly get out of bed but was told get up go exercise and I would feel better and have more energy.  I did and I do! One of our members is in the insurance business and knows a lot about insurance and cancer. I am sure among the others in the support group there are many more resources that could be helpful to us collectively as a group.

I must be honest; so far I only have a couple of folks that have contacted me through Skype to be added to the group. That leaves at least twenty open seats if you are interested. I know this whole virtual thing is kind of different, but so was the airplane, electricity and the computer at one time. This could not only be good, it could be great!

I am looking forward to having you join. Load Skype, look me up under contacts  mike.dishman, I live in Olathe. I hope to hear from you tomorrow night.

In any case, may you have the best day ever,

Mike

 

 

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Posted by: mikedishman | March 4, 2009

I am grateful for my Port but but it’s time to go!

Have you ever been asked if you have an implant? I have always said no without giving it a thought….. That is until not too long ago. Then one day that question was asked of me among some routine health question and it all of a sudden dawned on me…… I did.

 

Almost immediately after my diagnosis I had what they call a “Purple Power Port” implanted in my chest. I was told I would be very grateful for it and I certainly was.

 

Throughout the course of cancer treatments and all the blood samples, your veins can be destroyed. The benefit of the port is they just push a needle through your chest into the port and the drug goes directly into a large central vein to your heart and they can draw your blood sample from the same place with just one stick.

 

I can’t count how many times I have had the need to access my port for a blood supply or to deliver chemo. I can gratefully report all of my veins are OK, and I am ever so thankful!

      

I accepted that thought process for what I think was a very reasonable amount of time but now I believe, thinking like that is counter productive to my recovery. I told my doctors that the port has begun to represent or remind me that the cancer might return and I can no longer allow that thought in. I must believe to my core I no longer have cancer.  I am eating foods that cancer hates, I am exercising my body almost every day and I am meditating every day, sometimes twice a day. It is just no longer beneficial to my recovery to have any doubt that I can beat this…….and they agreed.

  

March 10 is the date I am going to get my port removed, another milestone in the right direction.

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Posted in Cancer, care giver, Esophageal Cancer | Tags: , ,

Posted by: mikedishman | February 28, 2009

Next Wensday Night 7 PM Central Time

Let me start by saying I am not a writer nor am I an expert on cancer. I’m just a guy who had cancer who wants to reach out and offer a hand and an ear just like they were offered to me.

The idea to start a support group came from my fantastic surgeon Dr Al-Kasspooles  who practices at the University of Kansas Medical Center (go KU!).  During my last quarterly checkup with him and my equally great oncologist Dr. Baranda (also from KU) I reaffirmed to both doctors that I would like them to give out my name and number to any of their patients who wanted to speak to someone that had gone through the course of treatments.

Dr. Al-Kasspooles then asked me if I had considered starting a support group. I hadn’t, but on the way home I kept considering the idea and the more I thought about it, the stronger I had the urge to do so.

I thought back on how Dr. Baranda gave me the name of one of her patients who I reached out to for solace. It helped so much. That person gave me the hope and strength I needed at the time to take on the treatment. That’s why I gave out my name, to pay it forward.

Now, I admit I am an extravert. I don’t know why but I have been that way all my life. And I am an open book, so to speak, much to my wife’s dismay at times. I think that’s how we learn… by communicating. People have been rolling their eyes at me for years and it hasn’t changed a thing. It may have even encouraged me to some point. It’s my perception that my extroverted personality is more an exception, especially in men. No matter man or woman, people are more often private when handed a diagnosis like cancer and may not feel comfortable talking one on one with a stranger.

That’s when I started thinking of a support group where one could call in might open all kinds of doors for all kinds of folks. It could offer anonymity of sorts for some and a way for others to attend that otherwise couldn’t due to health and/or distance.

This group is also open to caregivers and people who know someone with cancer that have questions.

I haven’t posted for a few days because once I committed to this plan I realized I needed to work out a few things. With the help of my son and wife we goofed around with the Skype features adding contacts and hosting a group call so that I could give good instructions on how to join us via Skype. I think I have that figured out.

I don’t know if you are familiar with “www.skype.com”. It is a VOIP “voice over internet protocol service”. The program is free and easy to load on a computer. Once it is installed the person can call anyone who has Skype loaded “Skype to Skype” for free. The person needs an Internet connection and a microphone, which is not expensive. For those who have a web cam and a microphone they can see and talk to each other. It is very cool! I do this with my grandchildren.

The program also has the ability to host a conference call with as many as 25 callers. You can’t do video with more than one caller, though.

If you’re interested in trying it, you need to load Skype from www.skype.com. Then you will need click on “Add a contact” and search “mike.dishman”. Under the profile, I live in Olathe KS. Then click on “add contact”. If there is an area to jot a note please indicate something about the support group. I in turn will accept you and that’s all it takes.

I am starting to learn that cancer survivors have their ups and downs as time goes by. None of us are always up, but I don’t think any of us are always down either. By meeting in a group regularly we could basically take turns supporting each other when we are up.

I am thinking of a regular Wednesday night meeting at 7 PM central time for about an hour. I have some experience hosting meetings and thought I would take the lead for a little while but would like to let the group evolve where each member could take a turn if they felt up to it. Once the member has Skype loaded it is easy for anyone of us to host a call. This also would pave the way for the group to continue as folks come and go for whatever reason.

If you are online Wednesday night and you have Skype up, I will call everyone  in a group call. When you answer we should all be on the call and the meeting will start. Those that want to talk will be welcome to and those that just want to listen are welcome to do that too.

Please bear with me as we work through any start up issues.

Mike

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Posted by: mikedishman | February 20, 2009

You get what you give

My name is Mike Dishman. I was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer July of 2007. Since then I have had chemo, radiation, surgery, and then chemo again.

During the surgery they removed 2/3rds of my esophagus and 1/3rd of my stomach. What was left of my stomach was reshaped into a tube and reconnected to what was left of my esophagus.

What caused the cancer? I am not sure but at this point it doesn’t matter, I got it and I have got to deal with it.

How do I feel now…Great! It took some time and effort but things are good and I want to pay it back forward. Many people helped me along the way and the only way to repay their kindness, effort and expertise is to do my best to try and help others that are faced with cancer.

I do not have the expertise to give advice but I will share my story and I will listen to yours. I hope you will find this of value to you.  

I have also decided to start a Kansas City Cancer support group. Everyone and anyone are invited to join. This is the beginning of that support group.

You may notice that the theme of my blog is the Fleur De Lys. I am a Boy Scout. I have been a Boy Scout from the time I was 11 years old and I will always be a Boy Scout. However I have not always been pure of heart. My sister once described me as a Boy Scout in a leather jacket. That is probable the best description of me.

If you are interested in joining this support group please contact me. If you don’t live in the Kansas City area but you still want to join I am sure we can use Skype to bring you to the meeting. If you are in the area and you want to attend in person let me know so I can figure out if we will meet in my home or I need to find a building. I do know of a building where we could meet.

Why am I doing this? Because I believe you get what you give. It is as simple as that.

Mike

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Posted in Cancer, Esophageal Cancer, Support Group

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