July 14, 2010
Thanks be to God!
Thank you for the gift of life,
Thank you for the gift of presence,
Thank you for the gift of family,
Thank you for the gift of friendship,
Thank you for the gift of healing,
May I see You in every person that I will meet,
May I see You in every event of my life.
And may I show You Lord to others.
Amen!
Yesterday, I received this beautiful message and prayer from Lovell, a close friend, who has been and is continuously egging me on to appreciate life no matter how difficult it is sometimes, and I was teary-eyed reading it. It summarizes all the pains and the joys of my journey, a year of blessings and challenges! Yes, it is my first anniversary – at this same time last year, I was at the lowest ebb of my life, undergoing a surgical resection of my colon because of a malignant cyst which turned out to be a Stage 3 colon cancer. I was in denial for a while but finally accepted that God must have a greater purpose in my life to give me such a heavy burden. Imagine distancing yourself from a situation that you can’t control, and when you are caught with your defenses down, you look back and think of those times when life is simple and happiness means being healthy, having lots of loving friends at your side and a loving family to turn to and take care of you.
The last year has been an eye-opener for me. I discovered that I am strong despite everything, I discovered that the presence of family and loving friends help a lot in one’s healing. And putting your complete trust and faith in a loving God is the greatest thing you can do to help yourself get well. Chemotherapy is no joke, it saps your body of strength and the costly procedures add to your financial worries. I know, I know, they would always say, concentrate on getting well, sometimes though you can’t help but think, you are luckier than most people afflicted of the same illness because at least you have an option to see a specialist and do what is necessary for your healing.
Thank you! Thank God for giving me the strength to carry on, to endure the pain and not to whine, to count the blessings of having my family around, thank God for friends who never fail to give encouragement, thank you for the people whom I’ve touched in one way or another by sharing my plight with them.
Thank you! Thank God for my doctors, Dr. Samuel Ang, my surgical oncologist, the best doctor I’ve met, Dr. Priscilla Caguioa, my medical oncologist for being there during my chemotherapy sessions, Dr. Alvin dela Cruz, my cardiologist, a very supportive and caring doctor, Dr. Ditas Decena, my OB gynecologist who is also a friend, Dr. Jeff Jubilado, my urologist for being so encouraging, the nurses at Benavidez Cancer Institute- UST.
Thank you! Thank God for the gift of family – for having a loving and understanding hubby, for having thoughtful kids and brothers. I salute you all!
And for all those people who left some comments in my blogs, that they somehow found strength and inspiration by reading my journey towards healing, thank you.
divine…..
Not twice this day, Inch time foot gem ,. This day will not come again.. Each minute is worth a priceless gem. ZEN Master ” TAKUN ”
happiness breath to breath … happiness thread to bread … happiness eat to sleep… happiness ……………that occupies the being ,, a to z of creative enlightenment’……………….
mile to smile………………….
distance has no meaning, meaning is , how you cover it…………………………….. discover smile to cover mile…..…………….to milestone eternal……………………. happy journey……………………. bless you……………………
Child is playing in happiness dancing.… , running after butterflies ….. , chasing the birds……., mother wandering in amazement and dreaming about own childhood mirroring again through child as child now returning little exhausted to refill the stomach hugs the mother,ask for food. mother and child walking together , mother holding hand of child by one hand and in other hand carrying the food Tiffin towards a shade tree . Some people are making prayers ,child ask mother seeing people praying ,ask to whom they pray, mother replies,to cosmic intelligence for all the kindness bestowed on them.
Then child ask have you created me to pray to you?
mother is mum what to answer, get tears ………….child inquires again also about the tears thinking question may not have hurt ?
Mother composes and hold child in the lap and whispers in the
child’s ear and says when in the garden I feed you with food , you
also try with your small tiny hands to feed me ,please mom eat little ,how wonderful food you have cooked for me…still tears flowing…..
Adds “It is not the requirement of cosmic intelligence that we pray or of any parents.
prayers are like tiny hands of child wants cosmic intelligence to taste the wonderful cosmos that has created. but mom all different people refer through different names .does not get offended as I easily get angry if somebody do this to me. mom says wisdom comes through kindness. kindness is nature of cosmic intelligence and as child is happy mother is happy.
happiness is prayers and thanks to god…. .
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happy anniversary Mam Arlene
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Thanks Arthur!
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dear arlene, i was so touched and filled with hope when i read your blog. happy anniversary. i was just dx with rectal cancer, stage 3 last august 4,2010 and im from davao city. im undergoing imrt at medcal city right now and on xeloda. after that i’ll have my surgery with dr sammy ang. he seems to be a good doctor and symhatizes with his patient. that the reason why i transferred to his care.I,m only 45 yrs old, have 3 children, and ironically im also a doctor (an ob-gyn), so I’m really devastated with my sickness. I’m placing my hands and life to GOD and hope for strenght and more faith that i will be healed like you. natatakot ako…masakit ba yun OR. ayaw ko muna isipin, yun radiation at chemo muna ang iraraos ko. alam ko i will also be a survivor like you. i try not to worry about the financial side GOD will provide i know… he will not abndon me… right now im staying in quezon city away from my husband and children undergoing radiation. my husband has to work doubly hard… i know hindi ako nagkamali sa pagpili ng doctor ke dr ang. i was with another doctor before but i transferred because mukhang napakabait ni dr ang at balita ko magaling daw siya talaga. i will pray for you that you will be cancer free forever..my operation most probably will be on november at st lukes medical center.. thank you for giving me hope..
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Thanks Doc Dina,
Thank you for the prayers and thank you for leaving a note here. Yes, I’ve been documenting my journey to share it with other people who might find a little inspiration in knowing that cancer is not the end of one’s world.
Dr. Samuel Ang is simply the best. I had my surgery at the Chinese General Hospital where he is based but I understand that he also holds clinic at St. Luke’s and at Cardinal Santos Hospital. My medical oncologist is from UST and I had my six cycles of chemo at the UST Benavidez Cancer Institute.
Don’t be afraid of the operation, God will always hold and embrace you when you are there. You are having radiation? I didn’t undergo the procedure, instead, I also took Xeloda tablets for two weeks after every session of chemo. They used Oxaliplatin for my chemo. Yung post op, medyo matagal, mga 12 days ata ako sa hospital kasi I was not allowed any fluid intake for more than a week, not even water.
You are in good hands with Dr. Ang. I am going back to him this month for my check-up then will have colonoscopy by January next year. CEA testing is every three months.
Let’s us pray for each other and always remember the the more life throws at you, the more you become stronger in the process. I would love to share this blog with you, my own reflection before I underwent surgery. I hope you will find time to visit this site again and read it. https://arlene1956.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/gods-humorous-side/
Arlene
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dear arlene,
thank you for you’re kind words and inspiring message. God has already healed both of us. Sometimes i feel so down with the radiation and xeloda tabs. Wala talaga panglasa ang taste buds ko but i keep on eating because i dont want my immunity to go down. Neo-adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy is the newest form of treatment for colo-rectal cancer. They do IMRT for 25 days and at the same time gives you xeloda tabs. It lowers the stage and better daw yun pag OR para mas madali. Also your post-op chemo mga 4 months na lang daw. Most probably I’ll have my post-op chemo sa davao city na, mahirap din yun wala ang family mo di ba. Thanks talaga.. I’ll just visit your blog again for updates… Ingat
God bless you always,
Dina
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Hi Arlene..:D I’m a patient of Dr. ANg too..I’m 21 yrs old right now..2 yrs ago, I met with Dr. Ang since I had a pseudocyst near the head of my pancreas..:D Indeed, Dr. ANg did wonders in healing me..I find your blog useful since I am going to be celebrating my 2nd year anniversary of my operation tomorrow and I was looking in the web for pictures of him..I just wanted to ask permission from you if i could copy the pic u have of him..Thanks..it would really mean a lot to me..:D
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[…] at least you have an option to see a specialist and do what is necessary for your healing. It’s My First Anniversary (Celebrating Life) – July 15, […]
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[…] am quite speechless and so happy because the past two years have been full of blessings, health-wise. And I say, I could not ask for more except to utter a […]
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May you have many anniversaries to come. Peace and wholeness! ~Dennis
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Thank you so much Dennis!
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