My MPRI Experience

Treatment Seven – Thursday, July 31, 2008

Today started early (before 5 a.m.) since John wanted to leave for the YMCA by 5 a.m. this morning. I spent most of the last 18 hours in one of several nearby bathrooms. Enough said about that. My treatment today is at 3:30 p.m. I am hoping they will be on schedule. I have not been doing too much today. After the YMCA workout, we can back to Jill’s House and sat around in the kitchen for over an hour talking about our various health issues. You can tell you are old or have a health issue if 90% of your conversations revolve around body functions!  So, I guess if that is the case, I have arrived.

After breakfast, I came up to my room to check my email. I also have been searching the last couple days online for a GPS system. I thought that that would help me get around Bloomington (since I seem to be able to get lost in my room)! I found 2-3 places that had really cheap prices and per the web site I was looking at were rated very high and even were the featured shopping sites. Well, when I checked them out on other sites, I found out they were scam sites. Needless-to-say, I did not use that shopping site again. I sent them an email asking how they could give 5 stars to place that were rated below 1 on other sites (on a 0 to 10 scale).

Last night before supper, I talk to Zack one of our newest residents. He is a cute little 7 year old boy with brain cancer. Zack is from a small town in Kansas. He always is wearing a John Deere hat and a John Deere shirt. I talked to him about 30 minutes last night. I asked him if I could tell him a secret and he said yes. I told him that my brother-in-law worked for a John Deer dealership for about 20 years and had a big collection of John Deere equipment. Then, he asked if he could tell me a secret. I said yes. He said he also liked Caterpillars but not the crawling kinds. You could never guess what his favorite colors are – Green and Yellow! I am hoping to get a picture of Zack to post online. I am also hoping I can talk my brother-in-law out of one of his John Deere tractors.

My treatment today was scheduled for 3:30. I got there a little more than 30 minutes early. I was pleasantly surprised when they can out to get me at 3:15 p.m. I said things must be going pretty good today if you are ahead of schedule. She said to knock on wood. I got undressed and into the treatment room. I told them this was my lucky 7th treatment. So, after I got ballooned and strapped in, I was ready to go. Unfortunately, the proton beam was not. They told me the system was down so I had to be unstrapped. So, I unloaded in the restroom, got dressed, and when out to the restroom to drink another 16 ounces of water. About 45 minutes later, they came out for me again. This time the mission was accomplished. After I left though, I found out that the system went down again. John’s treatment was cancelled but another guy here (Tom) went over around 9 p.m. for his treatment.

When I got back to Jill’s House, I had a large supper (two hot dogs). I went back to my room but then decided to grab my Bible and go downstairs to read. I ran across Julio and Angelina who were cooking supper. They seem to never cook for less than 6. They cooked shrimp, noodles, fried vegetables, and fixed tomatoes and cucumbers. They invited me and several others to eat with them. Normally, I would not consider eating fried vegetables but they smelled so good. Anyway, I ended up eating with them (everything but the tomatoes and cucumbers). I told them I should have had my camera as my wife would never believe that I ate fried vegetables.

After we ate, Julio, Angelina, Randy, Lisa, Cody, and I went for a walk. That was a good way to end the evening. So, now I am back in my room snacking on my Sunsweet prunes. In a little bit, I am going to have to start packing for my trip home. I guess I will be going to the YMCA again tomorrow. Then, I am supposed to take Julio, Angelina, and John for a Sam’s run. I guess that is about it.

JOKE OF THE DAY!

A young blonde was on vacation in the depths of Louisiana. She wanted a pair of genuine alligator shoes in the worst way, but was very reluctant to pay the high prices the local vendors were asking.
After becoming very frustrated with the "no haggle" attitude of one of the shopkeepers, the blonde shouted, "Maybe I'll just go out and catch my own alligator so I can get a pair of shoes at a reasonable price!"
The shopkeeper said, "By all means, be my guest. Maybe you'll luck out and catch yourself a big one!" Determined, the blonde turned and headed for the swamps, set on catching herself an alligator.
Later in the day, the shopkeeper was driving home, when he spotted the young woman standing waist deep in the water, shotgun in hand. Just then, he saw a huge 9-foot alligator swimming quickly toward her. She took aim, killed the creature, and with a great deal of effort hauled it on to the swamp bank. Lying nearby were several more of the dead creatures. The shopkeeper watched in amazement. Just then the blonde flipped the alligator on its back, and frustrated, shouts out, "Darn it, this one isn't wearing any shoes either!"

My MPRI Experience

Treatment Six (of 44) – Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Today, I got up around 5 a.m. to my first workout trip to the YMCA. It was interesting but I survived the trip. I guess I will see how I feel tonight. It takes a very dedicated person to do this on a daily basis. I am not sure I have that much dedication. I guess we shall see. On the way to the YMCA, I was telling John about my friend Gary with the recurrent of cancer. We both agreed we had gotten the better deal on that one. One thing that I had forgotten to mention yesterday was that I called Gary last night and we talked for a half hour or so. Gary said they were going to cut a piece out of his large intestine and replace his esophagus with it. Gary said that he hoped they would wash it first.  I said I hope so to OR ELSE it might leave a bad taste in his mouth!!!

Linda called and told me there was a report on Today’s Show concerning the Proton Therapy Treatment at Loma Linda, California. I just reviewed it and it looked very good. I had heard this was happening yesterday but had forgotten about it. The link to the video is below.

Below is a Today Show video “Reporter documents cancer battle” shown on the July 30 Today Show. NBC correspondent George Lewis shares his video diary documenting his fight against prostate cancer: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25930361#25930361

My treatment is today at 3:30 p.m. and so I am just doing some computer work and then may try to catch up on reading last week’s newspapers and just chilling out for while. I will get my blog posted and will update it later if needed. Tonight is video night. John is going to start the movie and then go over for his treatment at 7:30 a.m. That is about it for now.

JOKE OF THE DAY!

I went to a restaurant with a sign that said they served breakfast at any time. So I ordered French toast during the Renaissance.

My MPRI Experience

Treatment Five (of 44) – Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Today was kind of an uneventful day. I gave Susan the couple things I had typed up for her. They mounted our community bulletin board in the Kitchen area while I was over at MPRI. One very unexpected surprise was a Starbucks Wine and Country Gift basket from one of my good friends (Steve and Victoria Hess). It had a couple Starbucks coffee cups, some cookies, one chocolate nut candy, a couple bags of coffee, a bag of tea, and a couple other items. This should provide a nice break from my regular routine.

Today, I went for my treatment about 2:45 p.m. for my 3:30 p.m. appointment. About 3:40, I was getting a little anxious. I went back to see how long it would be until my treatment. They said it would be about 5 p.m. So, I said I was going to “dump and reload”. So, I went to the restroom and then drank my 16 ounces of water. They took me back about 4:40 p.m. and the treatment when fine.

After my treatment, they told me to hang around so I could talk to the doctor. I guess everyone talks to the doctor every Tuesday. So, I got to chat with Allan Thornton, the Medical Director of MPRI. He explained all of the color photos they had in my file. He explained how the radiation worked and some possible side effects. He also explained that when I got home, I would get my PSA checked every four months and I was supposed to call that in to them. He also said no nuts from here out due to the possible damage to the colon / prostate wall. I also got all my treatments for last week and the next two weeks faxed to my disability group. I also called them to let them know I would try to have updates sent to them every two weeks.

I talked with John and plan on going to the YMCA with him tomorrow. He leaves at 5:30 a.m. I also made some fliers for our Jill’s House Movie night tomorrow at 7 P.M. where we will be watching Spiderman 3. I put these up on all our refrigerators in the kitchen. That is about it for now.

I got an email from Dean who I worked with in Wichita twenty some years ago about another guy, Gary, who I also worked with in Wichita who has a reoccurrence of cancer. Gary is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday, May 5 around 7 a.m. to have his esophagus repaired and his cancer removed. His esophagus is too rigid to work with so they will have to cut out a length of Gary's colon and completely replace the esophagus with it. So, please be praying for Gary.

JOKE OF THE DAY!


My grandfather is hard of hearing. He needs to read lips. I don’t mind him reading lips, but he uses one of those yellow highlighters.

My MPRI Experience

Treatment Four (of 44) – Monday, July 28, 2008

Today, I left St. Louis about 8:45 a.m. for Bloomington. It was a pretty nice trip. I got back to Bloomington a little after 1 p.m. I chatted with a few folks before drinking my water for my 2:30 p.m. treatment. I unloaded my car and unpacked my stuff. Then, I headed over to MPRI. This time, I brought a dual Christian Worship CD with me for them to play while I was getting my treatments. That was pretty nice listening. I left the CDs there if others wanted to listen to them. I pray they get lots of use.

After my treatment, I came back to Jill’s House and picked up John and we headed to Smokin’ Jacks Rib Shack (http://www.smokinjacksribshack.com ). They feed the MPRI patients free every Monday evening. I had a half rack of ribs (which was huge) plus green beans and cold slaw. After that, I went back for desert. I had peach cobbler with a scoop of ice cream. Next Monday, I hope to remember to take my camera and get some pictures.

I brought a book back with me that I gave to Randy to give to Lisa. It was titled something like “When God Whispers to the Heart of a Women”. I hope she likes it. Now, I am just updating my blog and I may do a little reading tonight. Susan has given me a short list of things to do. I may work on those items tonight or may wait until the morning.

JOKE OF THE DAY!

I went to the psychiatrist, and he says "You're crazy " I tell him I want a second opinion. He says, ‘Okay, you're ugly too!" (Rodney Dangerfield) 74

My MPRI Experience

Day Five – Friday, July 25

I had my third treatment today at 9 a.m. CST and then I jumped in the car and drove home so there is not much to report today. My Monday appointment is at 2:30 P.M. CST so I can sleep in on Monday and drive back to Bloomington in time for my treatment and then off to Smokey Jack’s from the free Rib supper.

JOKE OF THE DAY!

A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. "Cold floors," he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, "Bad food." They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. "I quit," he says. "That’s not surprising," the elders say. "You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here

My MPRI Experience

Day Four - Thursday, July 24, 2008

Today, I am writing my entry from the kitchen area of Jill’s House. I had been down here talking with Randy and Lisa, and Sarah and Tom, and Ronnie, and Jim. I was enjoying it so much I decided to bring my laptop down so that I could be social. When I got back everyone but Jim had left. A few moved into our lounge area and are watching TV.

The big, good news today is that my disability was approved until August 18. I think the only thing they need to renew it is proof of treatment. So, that was great news. I have talked to the nurse’s staff and they are going to see what the disability group needs from them. So, I should be set.

Today was an interesting and busy day. I woke up around 6:30 a.m. and came down to the kitchen for breakfast. I had an apple and a few prunes. I think John was down here eating breakfast after his two hours at the YMCA. I think Randy was here too. Later, Sarah and her mom came down for breakfast. We chatted for a while and then I had to leave to get ready for my 9 a.m. treatment. I drain my water and then decided to setup the TVs in three of the rooms upstairs before I left. I got two of them setup but the third had the wrong remote and the cable connection was too short.

When I got to the clinic, they were running behind. They came out and asked if I could go to the bathroom and then drive my water again. I need to drive 16 ounces of water one hour before each treatment. I did that and then they came out 15 minutes later and told me that it would be 90 minutes before my treatment. They said I could come back at 1 p.m. if I preferred so I said that was ok.

After I got back to Jill’s House, John and I made a Wal-Mart and Sam’s run. At Sam’s I picked up some paper towels for Lisa and Randy. I gave Lisa my business card that says “Jesus Is LORD” on it and she said, “Oh, a Christian man!” I said I tried to be. I told them to call my cell if they needed anything else. I also was picking up some water for Tom.

When I got back to Jill’s house, Susan had lots of stuff for me to do. First, I fixed their suggestion box (it looks like a small wooden bird house). They needed a couple screws screwed in. It was funny. Susan asked if I was good with a screw driver and nails. I said no but I could do a screw driver with screws. After that, I helped put some pillows in pillow shams and put them in several different rooms.

Then, Bud, the chairman of Jill’s house board, said the fax was not working and asked if someone could check it out. I volunteered. When I looked at the fax, I noticed the paper did not feed right. When you fed it in, it just “dropped” down into the area where printer cartridge was. It looked like a large plastic piece was missing. However, if you could pop the front back, you could place the paper in front of a roller and close the lid and get one page to fax. Then, I had to figure out what you needed to do to send a fax. One person told me you needed to dial 8 or 9 and then 1 and then the number. That did not work. Then, Susan told me you needed to dial 81 and then 1 and then the number. That did not work either. I finally figured you just needed to dial 1 plus the number. So, I got the fax send in two separate pages.

My next assignment from Susan is to make a sign-up calendar sheet for each of the four kitchen areas. She also asked me to make a “Suggestion” label she could paste over the word contribution so we could have a Jill’s House suggestion box. I am not sure if I will get all that done before I leave tomorrow morning.

As I mentioned at the start of this entry, I am writing this down in the kitchen area. Lisa and Randy were eating dinner and Lisa asked me if I taught any Bible studies. I told her not lately but I would be open to leading a Bible study if anyone was interested. I said but someone would need to determine what they wanted to study. We could either do a topical study or study a book of the Bible. Then, I told Lisa what just came to me was the best Bible study would be one on suffering and each person could share how they deal with suffering in their life. Randy said that sounded like a great idea. So, I may start something like that next week.

I had also mentioned to Susan that I thought we should have some kind of newspaper or handout that told people about what was offered by the community like the Monday evening free meal at Smoking Jacks and the free YMCA membership. So, that is something I need to work on too. So, that is the gist of my day. I need to sign off since I need to decide what to pack to take home tomorrow and also to see if I can get any of my small tasks done before I leave.

One of the last things that happened tonight was that Tom locked himself out of his room. I told him I thought Susan was in their big board room meeting. So, Tom interrupted and has Susan unlock his door. He asked how this would be handled when no one was around. Susan said they had been talking about this. I told her that I would volunteer to be a floor monitor. Anyway, that is still to be determined.


JOKE OF THE DAY!

I bought a box of animal crackers and it said on it “Do not eat if seal is broken.” So I opened up the box, and sure enough…

Day Three - Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Day Three - Wednesday, July 23, 2008

I just completed my first treatment today at 8:30 a.m. today. I think I drank too much water which I will try not to do again tomorrow. In fact, I have my 16 ounces already measured out for tomorrow. After my treatment, I went to the head nurse’s station to verify my paperwork had been faxed into the disability center. They said they would check. I ended up in the waiting room for 20 minutes and then walked back to the nurse’s station again. They were just finishing up the faxing. When I got back to my room, I called the disability center to let them know all of my paperwork was in and to call me immediately if they needed anything else. Also, I got my appointment on Friday changed from 3:30 p.m. to 10 a.m. so I can get an early start back home.

I took some pictures at the MPRI center. I wanted to get some before and after photos. I also wanted to take some more photos but they said they needed to talk to Ed about what pictures could be posted online. They said they had some of their photos online. So, anyway, I hope to have some more pictures tomorrow. They also told me I could bring in some of my own music so I am planning on bringing in a few Christian CDs from home. What a cool, subtle way to witness to all the nurses and technicians.

It is still early – not quite noon yet. I am not sure what I will be doing the rest of the day but wanted to get my photos out online right away.

JOKE OF THE DAY!

It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me. “Is that a dog you got back there?” he asked. “It sure is,” I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, “What'd he do?”

Well, the last four hours went by quickly. Jill’s House is still in the process of setting a lot of things up. One thing they are working on is getting TVs setup in each room. They bought the TVs from a reconditioning place and some of them do not work. I told Susan, the Executive Director, that I was willing to help do whatever needed to be done around the residence. So, I have gotten several interesting assignments lately. My first assignment was to setup and checkout the TVs in four of the rooms so they are ready for the new folks coming in. After that, Susan wants me to check out all the TVs in the basement to see if they work. I have not got the details on that yet since each TV will need to be brought up from the basement to the first place and then plugged in and tested. We are also having some problems with the remotes on one specific brand of TV. So, that will give me something to do tomorrow.

Today, I checked out a problem with the computer keyboard and also helped move the world’s largest coke machine. That was interesting. I think we might have gotten it moved too if the tire on the 2-wheeler had not gone flat due to the weight.

John asked me about going to the YMCA but he likes to go about 5 a.m. in the morning. I may do that need week after I get a lock, my swim suit, and some workout pants but don’t think I am going to do the 5 am. deal. Tomorrow, my second treatment is at 9 a.m. I have a couple other internet sites I want to check out. In the future, I plan on posting out some information concern some of the folks here – not the run of the mill prostate cancers but the folks with the real battles. I know there is a 17 year old girl with bone cancer, a six year old girl with brain cancer, and a middle aged lady with some very rare form of cancer.

I did have an interesting VA story today from one of the older guys. He said the government was giving disability benefits for veterans from Vietnam because of the agent orange deal. He said the disability was based on the number of diapers you used after you completed your treatment. He said if you used 6 or more, then you got 60% disability. If you used less, you got 10%. If you did not use any, then you did not get any disability. Sounds like a typical government program. Also, the VA does not cover Proton Therapy treatments.

My Bloomington Experience

Day Two - Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Today, I had my appointment at 10:15 a.m. I slept in this morning which was nice. I was woken up last night about midnight by what sounded like an explosion. But, it was just a thunderstorm. I got up and unplugged my laptop and iPod. I called the disability center after my treatment but had a problem with my room phone. I told MPRI that I needed to have all my paperwork faxed to my Disability Center today and that I would follow-up with them tomorrow. I told them I wanted copies of everything they faxed along with the date.

After that, Ron (my neighbor) and I drove to the YMCA and a Sports Complex. MPRI patients are supposed to get free access to both these places. So, I may be visiting the YMCA at some time in the future. I also found out that there is a local rib place in town that provides free meals to MPRI patients every Monday evening (Smokin' Jacks Rib Shack (812) 332-7427 www.smokinjacksribshack.com 505 W 17th St, Bloomington, IN 47404). I guess I missed that last night. John gave me a Yahoo discussion group (protoninfo) that also has some good local information. It mentioned volunteering at the Shalom Center downtown always needs people to help. My first proton radiation treatment is at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.

JOKE OF THE DAY! It took me a long time to find a good joke today so I hope you appreciate it.

Did you hear about the new Chinese cookbook? 101 ways to WOK your dog!

My Bloomington Experience

Day One - Monday, July 21, 2008

This has been a strange day. It is around 7:30 p.m. and I have a slight headache. I am not sure why. It might be that I did not get to sleep until after midnight and then woke up when Jeff got home at 4 a.m. I ended up leaving home for Bloomington before 5 a.m. It was a rough drive as I had a hard time staying awake. I am not sure if it was before of only four hours of sleep or because I did not have my normal morning coffee. So, I am planning on going to bed shortly.

Today, I talked to the doctor for about 15 minutes, in between about four pages he received. He just covered the potential side effects of the radiation and then had me sign the form indicating they had been covered with me. That was the extent of my appointment so I was free the rest of the day.

Some possible side effects he mentioned were:
1. Skin redness
2. Bladder Irritation
3. Sterilization (he mentioned this was a certainty)
4. Rectal Irritation / Bleeding
5. Urinary pain
6. Impotence
7. Incontinence
8. Bladder contraction
9. Colon irritation

As I was leaving, the front desk lady asked me when my next appointment was. I told her she should be telling me!  She looked and told me it was at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday. She said they were going to do a “dry” run. I told her that did not sound good! 

After that, I checked in at Jill’s House. That did not take long. I found out I have free access to the YMCA and a local sports complex. That may help pass some time if I decide to check them out. Anyway, I have decided one of the worst things I will have to deal with is what to do with all the time I have on my hands. Right now, it seems like I will have a few things to do tomorrow to keep me busy. But I will need to figure out / plan out my schedule. I did find Sam’s and Wal-Mart today.

There are 25 rooms in the Jill’s House residence. I think seven of the rooms are being used right now. It is a beautiful place with lots of nice people. But somehow, I feel this great sense of loneliness and the realization that there is a lot of human suffering going on in this place. I think the boredom adds another dimension to everyone’s suffering.

I meet a couple from Ohio today. The wife has a very rare form of cancer. She will be getting the 44 treatment deal too. One exciting thing is that the first resident of Jill’s House is leaving shortly. I think he finished his last treatment today.

I thought it would be a good idea to try to end every day’s journal on a light note with a joke. That may be a very difficult goal but that will give me something to focus on each day for fun. I do not have a new joke so I will share an old one.

Forest Gump goes to heaven and meets St. Peter at the gate. St. Peter tells Forest that he needs to answer three questions before he can enter heaven. Forest says he did not think that was part of the deal but agrees to the test anyway.

So, St. Peters asks Forest, “What days of the week begin with the letter “T”?”

Forest says, “That is EASY! Today and Tomorrow!”

St. Peter has this strange look on his face and then tells Forest “That is not EXACTLY what I was looking for but I could see how you could come up with that answer, so I will accept that!”

So, St. Peter tells Forest the next question is much more difficult. Forest looks a little concern but is ready to try his best. St. Peter asks “Forest, how many seconds are there in a year?”

Forest needs to think about this so St. Peter give him a day to figure it out. The next day, Forest returns and is confident he has the right answer.
So, St. Peter asks again, “Forest, how many seconds are there in a year?”

Forest confidently replies, “Twelve!”

“Twelve!???” says, St. Peter. How in the WORLD did you come up with twelve?”

Forest says, “January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd, April 2nd, …”

St. Peter looks really frustrated now and then tells Forest “That is not EXACTLY what I was looking for but I could see how you could come up with that answer, so I will accept that!”

So, St. Peter says, “Now, I have the hardest question of all for you!”

Forest looks very concerned but asks St. Peter to tell him the final question.
St. Peter asks, “Forest, what is God’s first name?”

Forest gets the biggest grin on his face that he has ever had and tells St. Peter, “Oh, that is easy! God’s first name is Andy!”

St. Peter now really looks confused and asks Forest, what makes you think God’s first name is Andy???!!!”

Forest said I learned that from one of my Sunday School songs that goes

Andy walks with me

Andy talks with me

Andy ….

St. Peter is just speechless. But he opens heavens pearly gates to Forest and says

“RUN, FOREST, RUN!”

Well, I need to “run” now too! I have a meeting scheduled with ANDY!!! 

Good Night and God Bless!

Is There a Prostate Cancer Diet?

Is There a Prostate Cancer Diet?
WebMD expert and urologist Sheldon Marks, MD, shares his thought on how men can help prevent prostate cancer through nutrition.

WebMD Commentary
Reviewed by Paul O'Neill, MD

When you're being treated for cancer, it's more important than ever to eat right and get adequate nutrition -- but it can also be more difficult than ever to adhere to a balanced cancer diet. Your body is working overtime to fight the cancer, while it's also doing extra duty to repair healthy cells that may have been damaged as a side effect of treatments like chemotherapy and radiation. At the same time, many cancer treatments -- especially chemotherapy -- come with side effects that drain your strength and sap your appetite. So how can you make sure you're getting all the essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need to keep a balanced cancer diet?

1. Participate in regular exercise. Walking is best.
2. Limit your calorie intake. Excess calories are bad for cancer growth. Eat what you need to get to the next meal, not the usual American style of eating all you can as if you are never going to eat again.
3. Get sunshine daily. Darker-skinned people need more sunshine.
4. Don't follow these or any guidelines to excess. Moderation is the key.
5. Heart healthy is prostate healthy. Heart disease is still the No. 1 killer, even in men with prostate cancer.
6. Variety in the foods you eat is important. Increase the diversity.
7. Remember supplements are supplements. They are not intended to replace an intelligent diet; their purpose is to supplement an intelligent diet. Supplements are a poor alternative to eating foods that are high in the desired nutrients.
8. See a doctor regularly for early detection and preventative care. Be proactive rather than reactive.

Nutritional Recommendations
The two diets known to be associated with longevity and reduced risks for prostate cancer are the traditional Japanese diet and a Southern Mediterranean diet. The Japanese diet is high in green tea, soy, vegetables, and fish, as well as low in calories and fat. The Mediterranean diet is high is fresh fruits and vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, red wine, olive oil, and fish. Both are low in red meat.
Specifically, you should incorporate these principles when reevaluating your daily diet:

1. Reduce animal fat in your diet. Studies show that excess fat, primarily red meat and high-fat dairy, stimulates prostate cancer to grow.
2. Avoid trans fatty acids, which are known to promote cancer growth. These are high in margarines, and fried and baked foods.
3. Increase your fresh fish intake, which is high in the very beneficial alpha omega-3 fatty acids. Ideally eat cold-water fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and trout, at least two to three times a week. The fish should be poached, baked, or grilled (not burned or charred). Avoid fried fish.
4. Significantly increase your fresh fruit, herb, and vegetable consumption daily. Powerful anticancer nutrients are being discovered regularly in colorful fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, leafy green vegetables, nuts, berries, and seeds.
5. Avoid high-calcium diets, which have been shown to stimulate prostate cancer growth.
6. Take a multivitamin with B complex and folic acid daily.
7. Avoid high-dose zinc supplements.
8. Increase your natural vitamin C consumption -- this includes citrus, berries, spinach, cantaloupe, sweet peppers, and mango.
9. Drink green tea several times each week.
10. Avoid excess preserved, pickled, or salted foods.
11. Eat red grapes, drink red grape juice, or red wine regularly.
12. Eat leafy dark-green vegetables frequently.
13. Cruciferous vegetables are cancer protective. These include cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.
14. Tomatoes and especially tomato products are very high in lycopene, a powerful anticancer substance. This includes pizza sauce, tomato paste, and ketchup.
15. Avoid flax seed oil. This can stimulate prostate cancer to grow. You can obtain the very healthy alpha omega-3 fatty acids you need through fresh fish and nuts.
16. Use olive oil, which is very healthy and rich in vitamin E and antioxidants. Avocado oil is also good. Avoid oils high in polyunsaturated fats such as corn, canola, or soybean.
17. Take vitamin E, 50 to 100 IU of gamma and d-alpha, only with the approval of your doctor. Some recent studies have raised concerns over serious risks with vitamin E intake. Natural sources include nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado oil, wheat germ, peas, and nonfat milk.
18. Selenium is a very powerful antioxidant and the backbone molecule of your body's immune system. Most studies support a daily selenium supplement of 200 micrograms a day. The benefits appear to be only for those who have low selenium levels, which is difficult and expensive to measure. Since it only costs about 7 cents a day and is not toxic at these levels, it is reasonable for all men to take selenium. Natural sources include Brazil nuts, fresh fish, grains, mushrooms, wheat germ, bran, whole-wheat bread, oats, and brown rice.

Final Good Bye To My Work Teammates

All,

I think I have finally dumped ALL of my work on you. (Janet would say it was a very, small dump!) You can let me know if I forgot something! 

I just wanted to let you know that even though I will be gone, I will not be out of touch. If you run into a situation where you need to contact me immediately, feel free to call my personal cell phone. I should be available most of the time unless they have me in a straight-jacket!!! 

If you do not need something immediately, you can email me at sjerven@swbell.net or post a note on my blog at http://kimsjerven.blogspot.com I should be around today until about 4 P.M. CST if you need something today.

I used to enjoy writing poetry 40 plus years ago. If you read the one below, you will know why I quit. I wanted to torture you all one last time!


Ode To The PART Team!!! 

It makes me sad to think about leaving!
But if I don’t I would be deceiving -
Myself into thinking all was well,
When I know… that will not sell.

So, it is time for me to depart
But let me say this from my heart,
You will be missed as time will tell,
Until I return, I pray all is well!


May God Bless You All – until we email again! 
Kim Sjerven

Last Good Byes At Work

Subject: On To Bloomington

To: PART Team Members
OTT Developer Contacts
IM Auto-Ticketing Project Members
Alarming and Data Linkage Project Members
OVO To HP Conversion Project Members
Clients / Friends
Old Friends

It’s official. On Monday, July 21, I travel to Bloomington, IN for my first Prostate Cancer treatment appointment. I will have two consulting sessions before starting the first of my 44 daily Proton Radiation treatments on Wednesday. I plan on being back in the office around September 29th. I will finish up the re-assignment of my PPM Projects and Requests and the notification of my clients of the re-assignment of these tasks. I will be working until around 4 P.M. CST on Friday in case you need to contact me with any questions or need to touch base with me before I leave.

Attached is a document with some information concerning prostate cancer health for those of you who might be interested. For the men receiving this email, I would encourage you to find out what your PSA is, if you do not know it. This is one of the main indicators that doctors use to predict / detect the initial stages of prostate cancer.

I ran across an interesting saying recently that I want to share with you.

Yesterday is HIStory,

Tomorrow is a mystery,

Today is all we have!

(So, I pray you will make the most of it!)


God Bless You!

P.S. Please, feel free to pass this email along to others who may be
interested in my “disappearance”. I plan on posting health / misc
updates to my personal blog. See the URL below.

Kim

On To Bloomington

All,

I received my new PSA report back from my blood test and it was 2.65 (not below 2.5), so it is on to Bloomington for me for my 11 a.m. EST appointment on Monday, July 21st.

God Bless!

Kim

Health Update

All,

Below is an email that I just sent out to my work contacts concerning my health status. I am encouraged that God is answering my main prayer in that He would allow me to impact the lives of those folks I come in contact with. Per the email below, you will see that I have started down another path and am excited to see where this will lead.

God Bless!

Kim

All,

Most of you know that I am currently scheduled to start my prostate cancer treatment plan this coming Monday, 7-21, in Bloomington, IN. Some of you may know that when I had my gold seed implant a couple weeks ago in Indianapolis, I had asked the urologist if my prostate was still dramatically enlarged. He said no, it was 27 cms/ccc (not sure of the measurements they use) and that up to 30 was considered within the normal range. The local urologist who did my initial biopsy had commented that my prostate was about twice the normal size. I called my local urologist yesterday morning to get the specific size. They told me it had been 41.7 cms/ccs. I calculated that this was a 35% reduction in the size of my prostate since my biopsy. I asked my urologist contact if there was any medical explanation for that. She said no.

I have had a lot of folks praying for me, so I have started down the path to verify nothing has changed as far as the health of my prostate before I commit to these 44 proton radiation treatments. Yesterday, I scheduled an appointment with my primary physician to have a blood test to see what my PSA level is. I completed that this morning at 8 a.m.

I should know the results by tomorrow afternoon. I asked for a history of my PSA reading but they did not have any more info than I already knew. On 12-4, my PSA was 2.5 ng/ml and on 1-26 my PSA was 3.1 ng/ml.

So, if my PSA test results show a dramatic reduction (at least less than 2.5), then I may postpone my treatments and schedule another prostate biopsy to verify the cancer is still there.

The bottom line here is that there is a possibility that I may still be working on Monday. That depends on my PSA results. I will let you know. I was going to re-assign all my current PPM projects and tasks yesterday but have put that on hold until I get my PSA results.

Just wanted to let you all know.

Thanks!

Kim

The Story Unfolds

Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2008 9:37 PM
Subject: My BLOG

All,

I just put my first update out on my new blog (http://kimsjerven.blogspot.com ). I thought this might be a good way to communicate updates to folks who have not indicated they wanted to be on my regular email update but still would like to occasionally check in to see what is happening with me. I will still plan on sending out regular updates to those on my regular distribution list (those in the To area of this email). I thought I might try out this blogging think as another option especially for some folks at work who might be interested.

Feel free to pass this email onto anyone who you might feel is interested.

God Bless!

Kim


From: Kim Sjerven [mailto:sjerven@swbell.net]
Subject: First Appointment Scheduled

All,

I just wanted to let you know I just got a call from MPRI and my first appointment is scheduled for Monday, 7-21 at 11 a..m. I will have two days of consultation and then start my Proton Radiation treatments on Wednesday. For those of you who have provided me with prayer requests, I would appreciate any updates you have.

God Bless!

Kim

The Journey Begins

July 11th, 2008

I received a call from MPRI(Midwest Proton Radioatheraphy Institute)today and my first appointment is scheduled for Monday, 7-21 at 11 a..m. I will have two days of consultation and then start my Proton Radiation treatments on Wednesday. I will spend about 10 weeks in Bloomington, IN for my 44 Proton Radiation Treatments. My treatments will be five days a week, Monday through Friday.

For those of you who have provided me with prayer requests, I would appreciate any updates you have.

God Bless!

Kim Sjerven