Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Power of Prayer

I know this post may not suit everyone, but it is my truth.  I had decided to post about my recent experience with cancer screening (or as i prefer to call it, prevention screening) as my mother passed early, age 61, from ovarian cancer, after struggling with it and with breast cancer before.
I was fortunate enough to meet with a genetic counselor and a doctor in the clinical genetics service of Memorial Sloan Kettering, or as they prefer, MSK.  I was advised to step up my screening and cautioned that breast MRIs sometimes give false positives.  In fact, after meeting with a breast surgeon at MSK, she said that 15% of cases are false negatives.  At that point, I began praying for one of those false negatives.  I got my prayer answered.  After the NJ radiologist said that I needed an MRI biopsy, the MSK doctors disagreed and said that my MRI was perfectly normal and that I need a follow up in 6 months.  Thank you!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Another crosspost from Deepak Chopra on battling depression

Our friend Deepak Chopra has been posting lately on facebook, and I am enthusiastic to share his thoughts on how to shake loose depression when anti-depression medication is just not enough.  Click through here.  He suggests getting enough sleep, balancing work time, downtime, relationship time, fun time and suggests regular meditation.  He also suggests exploring what is commonly called a limiting belief.  That means if you believe something to be true, like - I don't have the talent to do this, or - I will never have enough money to get out of debt, etc, that you should ask yourself "am I 100% positive that this is true?" and consider the possibility that there might be some wiggle room for change, or for another way of thinking or believing.  Namaste!

Friday, May 4, 2012

What Price Clarity

I knew that stepping up screening would bring its own set of challenges and information, and especially gray area.  I wish i meant that my mental capacity was increasing, or that my brain was growing in strength or power.  By gray area, I mean that with more information there is more to consider, more to look at, more choices, and less clarity, at least initially.

I have often found, working in the complications of corporate America, working as a therapist in private practice, and, of course, just being a human being, that clarity can be elusive.  In fact, I have become comfortable in the gray area, the not knowing, but the moving forward, at least with more information.  Usually, clarity comes eventually, in a way that is comfortable and definite.  It comes as a knowing.

I have had a season of screenings, which have resulted in the following:  1. clear ovaries, etc (or as Archie Bunker probably would have said, the crotchal area.)  2. Breast MRI found 3 spots, two left, one right that require biopsy (or as they said in My Big Fat Greek Wedding and my daughter Julia reminded, bibopsie).  3. Genetic counselor and MSK doctors recommend taking out those ovaries, etc and checking the tissue. 

This may bring more uncertainty, but I'll deal.