With Breast Cancer, a Week is a Very Long Time*

Just home from a couple days in the hospital. I hate to admit it, but it was a very good thing for me. Almost 72 hours doing absolutely NOTHING but healing. Obviously my body needed it. I have a wound that, with traditional packing and closing, the doctor anticipates would take two months to heal. Instead, they have hooked me up with a Freedom Vac that should heal the wound in one-to-two weeks!

Our cat is more than a little freaked out! She sure missed me the past couple days. Now she's most curious about this little black shoulder pack that accompanies me everywhere. It purrs like a male cat in heat. The Freedom Vac is supposed to give you the freedom to carry on with life -- I'm not sure I'll be making a visit to the grocery store. If you didn't know it was the machine, you'd think I had uncontrolled flatulence! We sure won't be going to the movie theatre anytime soon, either.

The Freedom Vac is just slightly bigger than a portable DVD player and weighs about the same as a laptop computer (their website says 3 pounds, but I must have the older model). It's new and takes a little getting used to remembering to bring it everywhere with me. After we got home from the hospital this morning, my father asked, "What happens if you forget to take it with you?"

It's like that scene in the movie 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' when Toula is working at the travel agency with the headset on and Ian comes in to see her. (Click the link to watch the movie clip!)

*Today's blog title was inspired by Harold Wilson, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, who said "In politics, a week is a very long time." Courtesy of The Book of Origins by Trevor Homer.

No Wonder You're Tired All the Time!

"Women constitute 53% of the earth’s population. They perform two-thirds of the world’s work for which they earn 10% of the income. They own 1% of the property and they have 100% of the children. Given these statistics, women should hold the majority of the political power in the world. -– Helen Caldicott, M.D., pediatrician, anti-nuclear activist, author of If You Love This Planet

We don’t because we are too tired from looking after our families, jobs and homes." -- Lorna Vanderhaeghe

Lorna Vanderhaeghe, a researcher and journalist in nutritional medicine, offers a valuable website on women's health and nutrition, including free access to the online book, "An A-Z Woman's Guide to Vibrant Health." I highly recommend spending some time at her site. While much of her focus is on women's health, she does research and review topics of general interest and has a few vitamin/supplement formulations designed especially for men, too. Click here sign up to receive her free enewsletter.

Yeah, I know I said I wasn't going to blog about my battle with breast cancer. It has consumed my life; I guess I've changed my mind.

The Bystander Effect

The Bystander Effect is described in Wikipedia as “a psychological phenomenon in which someone is less likely to intervene in an emergency situation when others are present than when he or she is alone.”

In the parable of The Good Samaritan, two men bypassed the victim without offering any help. Psychologists coined The Bystander Effect in the 1960’s after the sexual assault and murder of Kitty Genovese in New York. Kitty’s assault and murder was witnessed by over 35 people, yet nobody intervened to stop the attack.

I’m a participant, not a bystander. I don’t necessarily gauge my reaction according to the people around me, I assess the situation and take action. I evaluate a situation and interpret whether it’s an emergency. In the next second, I ask myself if I have a responsibility to take action. Then I choose the most appropriate action.

Even in non-urgent situations, I exercise the same process. I ask myself, ‘What needs to be done? What responsibility do I have in getting it done? Then I take action so that the required results are achieved.’.

Sometimes doing nothing is the right action. But here’s the thing: if it’s also the easiest option to choose, then it’s probably not the right thing to do.

Maybe just knowing the Bystander Effect exists helps me not become one.

from CBC Sunday Report (May 13, 2007)

I am uninspired, my thoughts are scattered and unfocused, so today's post is courtesy of my sister, Christine Lee.