It has been a long while since you've heard me talk about my friend Rev. Charlotte Dudley Cleghorn. Good news! She has completed her radiation treatments for breast cancer, and all seems to have gone very well. The nurses and doctors even gave her a certificate commending her for tolerating their "cold hands, hard tables, and busy schedules". I think it's sweet that they "graduated" her from treatment! Now, she and Betsy can prepare for a long-since planned trip to Taos, New Mexico. Charlotte writes:
I will take a week or so off to let the skin heal and then I will begin the five year regimen of an estrogen blocker. I will be taking Arimadex which is a newer drug. The major side effect is aching joints so I will pay attention to how that is and let my oncologist know when I see him at the end of June. Five years from June, I'll have completed the whole regimen. From now on I will have bi-yearly mammograms or MRI's, probably alternating because the left side tumor never showed up on the mammogram. The MRI will give a more in-depth view of the area....
My sense is that I am coming to the end of these postings. I will give an update at the end of June after I see the surgeon, the oncologist and the radiation oncologist for check-ups. I cannot tell you how incredible it has been for Betsy and for me to have this site and this way of being in touch with and you with us. Your prayers, your thoughts, your postings have sustained us both during this ordeal and words can hardly express how grateful we are. I have learned so much about the joy and necessity of being connected to others.
And the heavenly chorus sings, "Hallelujah! Glory to God for such joy!"
Meanwhile, my friend's mom, Gloria, has gone back into the hospital. She was having quite a bit of difficulty at home, and it turns out her sodium levels had plummeted. She is making some progress, but the concern is that there might be some cancer still in the kidney that has caused this latest problem. Please continue to pray for her.
Last week, I ran into a friend of mine who I primarily knew through her late husband. Marc's body finally just gave out from having MS, and he passed away a little over a year ago. Now his widow, Mo, is dealing with one stroke of bad luck after another(a fire, and a bad contractor)... while still coping with the loss of her soulmate. Pray for her, too.
Finally, two of my male friends, Frank and Jeff, each had heart attacks and were informed just how lucky there were to live to tell the tale. Frank, being himself and a member of the Mickee Faust Club, had called my cellphone because mine was the number he could remember while he was in the hospital to tell me what was happening. More importantly, he wanted me to know that he was upstaging our head rat, Terry, who was in recovery from the cochlear implant surgery! I haven't heard much more from Frank except that he has been told no more drinking and no more smoking. Jeff, who had broken his knee in a fall before the heart attack and was dehydrated and going into renal failure, is getting around with a little more ease. And Terry is finally starting to come out of her hazy painful state, but tires easily from having this foreign object in her head. For all of my friends, please offer prayers of support and good health... and no more hospital time.
Showing posts with label Charlotte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlotte. Show all posts
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Charlotte's Wisdom
You might think this is the name of a new children's book... but I realized that I haven't said much lately about the progress of my friend, Rev. Charlotte Dudley Cleghorn. She got great news that she would NOT need chemotherapy. In addition, she made the decision to delay the start of her radiation treatments for about a month. Had she stayed with the original plan, she'd begin this week... the same week in which she has said "Good-bye" to her formal career as a priest, specifically as the Director for the Centers of Christian Studies at All Souls Cathedral in Asheville. In her own words...
Today was my first day of "retirement" whatever that means! I walked to the library and back, about 2 miles (part of the exerise plan) and found myself wondering about the word "retirement." I have yet to look it up because it has been fun playing with the word. Retire makes me think of being tired again or taking the tire that already exists and retiring it so it lasts longer. It just seems like an odd word to use these days because everyone I know is busier than they were when they worked. I am going to try to avoid that trap, at least for a while. I am still working, but in the ways and in the time I choose.
The thing I do know is that I am relieved and grateful that I decided to wait a month before starting radiation. I can't imagine going from leaving my job and ending my work relationship with the Episcopal Church to my first radiation appointment. To have no time to process how huge this transition is would be to minimize its importance. I have been working in the Church since 1986 and almost 10 years before that in other full-time ministry so this is a huge change for me.
I think the best way to honor all that is to give myself time. My "work" for the next month is to let what is, be. And then, when it is time for radiation, I will truly be ready.
She is also modifying her diet, eliminating as much sugar as possible, as sugar seems to feed cancer. This has meant having to give up her favorite food group: ice cream.
I am aware of how different I feel without the sugar. I'm doing great with the fruit but have a ways to go with the veggies. A friend told me about a site called Care4Cancer which has lots of recipes if you are interested. Cooking has not been my forte up to this point but I am open to learning how to eat even better.
The worst part thus far is this green drink I am supposed to drink all day long that is really going to take some getting used to. I have to confess that I didn't drink it all today-plus, it gives my teeth a bit of a green tint! I guess like many things, I'll get used to it (or not!)
The good news is, I feel very well. A retired priest at All Souls said to me after the 7:45 AM service that when he looked at me presiding, he imagined me about 21. I told him that is about how I feel. My body definitely feels older but I am healing well, sleeping well, eating better, getting into a more regular walking rhythm, and enjoying life as it is, or at least trying to. Being present to the now is not easy for me to do. It is another practice. But, I am glad to have the opportunity to do just that.
Thanks for accompanying me on the journey. CDC
I thank God for her, and for her willingness and ability to share with us this incredible journey she's on. She is gifted as a teacher.
Today was my first day of "retirement" whatever that means! I walked to the library and back, about 2 miles (part of the exerise plan) and found myself wondering about the word "retirement." I have yet to look it up because it has been fun playing with the word. Retire makes me think of being tired again or taking the tire that already exists and retiring it so it lasts longer. It just seems like an odd word to use these days because everyone I know is busier than they were when they worked. I am going to try to avoid that trap, at least for a while. I am still working, but in the ways and in the time I choose.
The thing I do know is that I am relieved and grateful that I decided to wait a month before starting radiation. I can't imagine going from leaving my job and ending my work relationship with the Episcopal Church to my first radiation appointment. To have no time to process how huge this transition is would be to minimize its importance. I have been working in the Church since 1986 and almost 10 years before that in other full-time ministry so this is a huge change for me.
I think the best way to honor all that is to give myself time. My "work" for the next month is to let what is, be. And then, when it is time for radiation, I will truly be ready.
She is also modifying her diet, eliminating as much sugar as possible, as sugar seems to feed cancer. This has meant having to give up her favorite food group: ice cream.
I am aware of how different I feel without the sugar. I'm doing great with the fruit but have a ways to go with the veggies. A friend told me about a site called Care4Cancer which has lots of recipes if you are interested. Cooking has not been my forte up to this point but I am open to learning how to eat even better.
The worst part thus far is this green drink I am supposed to drink all day long that is really going to take some getting used to. I have to confess that I didn't drink it all today-plus, it gives my teeth a bit of a green tint! I guess like many things, I'll get used to it (or not!)
The good news is, I feel very well. A retired priest at All Souls said to me after the 7:45 AM service that when he looked at me presiding, he imagined me about 21. I told him that is about how I feel. My body definitely feels older but I am healing well, sleeping well, eating better, getting into a more regular walking rhythm, and enjoying life as it is, or at least trying to. Being present to the now is not easy for me to do. It is another practice. But, I am glad to have the opportunity to do just that.
Thanks for accompanying me on the journey. CDC
I thank God for her, and for her willingness and ability to share with us this incredible journey she's on. She is gifted as a teacher.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
A Charlotte Progress Report
Good news! Charlotte had the second surgery and the margins are now clear. On to the next step toward wellness. Here's her report, and please continue to keep her in your prayers.
I saw Dr. Owens today, the radiation oncologist and we continued the conversation about treatment. When we saw her before Christmas, I did not know that I had bi-lateral cancer but she had assured me then, that if that were the case, she could do the treatments. She doesn't seem to think I will chemo either so we're 2 for 3 around that issue at the moment! I will see her on the 5th, the same day I see Dr. Medina and she will get me set up for the radiation procedures that will come sooner than later.
My blood pressure was higher than normal while in the office which was not a surprise but lets me know that I am not finding this process to be unstressful. I guess one of the pluses of this has been a greater awareness of what my body is doing and letting it be rather than telling myself that I am fine.(There is that word again!)
I am also on the verge of retiring and that reality is becoming more real as the interview process goes on for my successor. As I began to delete messages I have sent since 2005 when I started this work, it began to dawn on me that I was really doing this-I was really leaving my work at the Centers for Christian Studies and moving into the unknown. It feels good and also sad. I have so enjoyed working with the staff at All Souls so the leaving is bittersweet. But, it is right and the right time.
I learned an important thing last Saturday as I walked the Labyrinth during a Lenten Quiet Day we offered through the Centers. I found that when I looked ahead at the path before me, I became anxious and scared but when I put my eyes back down on the path and took one step at a time, I knew that all was well. Everything that happens on the labyrinth is a metaphor for life so it was a very important message to me both about my process with the cancer and with retirement and with everything else! In AA, we always talk about one step at a time and Saturday I knew the truth of that deep in my bones.
I am aware that there are some of you reading these journal entries who are going through medical issues of your own and I send you love and prayers in your journey. Being "sick" changes the way one looks at things, and certainly how one looks at life. At least it is doing that to me. I hope that there is goodness for you all as well as you deal with what is before you.
Love to you all. CDC
I saw Dr. Owens today, the radiation oncologist and we continued the conversation about treatment. When we saw her before Christmas, I did not know that I had bi-lateral cancer but she had assured me then, that if that were the case, she could do the treatments. She doesn't seem to think I will chemo either so we're 2 for 3 around that issue at the moment! I will see her on the 5th, the same day I see Dr. Medina and she will get me set up for the radiation procedures that will come sooner than later.
My blood pressure was higher than normal while in the office which was not a surprise but lets me know that I am not finding this process to be unstressful. I guess one of the pluses of this has been a greater awareness of what my body is doing and letting it be rather than telling myself that I am fine.(There is that word again!)
I am also on the verge of retiring and that reality is becoming more real as the interview process goes on for my successor. As I began to delete messages I have sent since 2005 when I started this work, it began to dawn on me that I was really doing this-I was really leaving my work at the Centers for Christian Studies and moving into the unknown. It feels good and also sad. I have so enjoyed working with the staff at All Souls so the leaving is bittersweet. But, it is right and the right time.
I learned an important thing last Saturday as I walked the Labyrinth during a Lenten Quiet Day we offered through the Centers. I found that when I looked ahead at the path before me, I became anxious and scared but when I put my eyes back down on the path and took one step at a time, I knew that all was well. Everything that happens on the labyrinth is a metaphor for life so it was a very important message to me both about my process with the cancer and with retirement and with everything else! In AA, we always talk about one step at a time and Saturday I knew the truth of that deep in my bones.
I am aware that there are some of you reading these journal entries who are going through medical issues of your own and I send you love and prayers in your journey. Being "sick" changes the way one looks at things, and certainly how one looks at life. At least it is doing that to me. I hope that there is goodness for you all as well as you deal with what is before you.
Love to you all. CDC
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