Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma in the News

From Bremen, Indiana: The whole town got together for their annual basketball benefit activity, and gave the proceeds to Jon Hershberger and his family to cover medical expenses. Mr. Hershberger was diagnosed with ACC last July. http://www.thepilotnews.com/content/benefit-raises-over-26k-local-family-0

All the best goes to Jon and his family.

Special day for the Cheeky1

All day long, dear husband was texting me that he "had a secret". Drove me nuts (which made it all the better for his enjoyment, and is, of course, why he kept doing it.) Finally, he showed up at work, surprising me with roses, and telling me that all would be revealed in due time (yeah, he sometimes talks like that.) We went out to the car, drove over to the credit union, and he gave me a note to read: Cheeky has her papers. Whoopee! The Scion's car title came in, meaning we have her all to ourselves after 3 years of payments! Yes, we celebrated. I have only had 2 new cars in my lifetime, and don't remember the first one's pay-off date (we had toddlers, it might have happened during Desert Storm, who knows), but this one is for the books. Considering I have been paying off annual MRI and CT checkup co-pay fees, and another surgery tossed in there, paying this baby off is a big accomplishment.
P.S.: the significance of red roses is because red and gold are Iron Man's colors. And when I get in my car, I feel like I am putting on my Iron Man suit. I promise that I drive responsibly, however, as Driving With The Top Down is playing through the speakers.
P.P.S: note to my adult kids: yes, finding out how to get my radio to spell out Cheeky Librarian each time I turn the car on DOES define me as a geek.

Chasing protein

Thanks to Nutiva, today I tried Chia seeds for the first time, mixing them into a dish of raw cabbage with hemp and sunflower seeds. I had heard that Chia seeds, in addition to making hairy pets, are actually a nutritious food. Evidently they are big with raw-food folks, since most of the recipes I have located do not involve cooking at all. Since I no longer deal with slimy-textured foods very well, I figure I can eat the chia gel (made by soaking some seeds in water for a short time) only by mixing with crunchy things. Tonight's dinner had about 34 grams of protein in it, so if I can handle mixing the seeds in my food, I can go a long way towards the 1 gram of protein per 2 pounds of body weight that's recommended. If anyone has been trying these seeds in food, please let me know your favorite recipes.
By the way, if you are interested in using these or other ingredients in your recipes, you can now use Google to search recipes and ingredients: http://www.google.com/landing/recipes/.

Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma in the news

My deepest condolences to the family of 30 year-young Julie O'Rourke, who died on Friday after fighting this awful disease for 3 years: http://yourlifemoments.ca/sitepages/obituary.asp?oid=477949 . The family requests that donations be given to the London (ON) Health Sciences Centre Foundation (Head & Neck Oncology) http://www.lhsf.ca/.

Gerald Babao of Charlotte, NC, who was diagnosed with ACC in 2008, talks about training for a sprint triathlon in this article http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/07/2120295/tri-a-new-workout.html.

And Peter Tork, about the most famous ACC-wearer that I have identified in my hunts for fellow ACC-wearers, is joining up with the remaining members of The Monkees and going on a 45th Anniversary world tour, 2 years after his diagnosis and treatment:  http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/41954791/ns/today-entertainment/.

Happy Birthday to me! Thanks for being my present!

To all of my family, friends, fellow cancer treatment travelers, colleagues - including my healthcare providers, readers, and folks that might have just met this blog: thank you for being my present. It is wonderful having a birthday when there have been times in my recent lifetime that I thought I might have celebrated my last one. You make the day brighter, and add life to my days. All in all, I am one very lucky Cheeky Librarian! Here's to a great year ahead for all of us. May we have the most fun possible while still casting a shadow.

Welcome Boing Boing readers!

Boing Boing just posted the story on the boxes (turns out, there were three winners): http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/02/boing-boing-boxes-fi.html

Welcome to all the new readers to my humble blog.