The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino

HOW MANY SPOONS DO YOU HAVE TODAY? The Spoon Theory, by Christine Miserandino, beautifully illustrates what it is like living with a chronic illness. Each day we are allotted only so many spoons and we must choose carefully how they are to be used. This is often why those with chronic illness refer to themselves as “Spoonies”.

http://www.butyoudontlooksick.com/category/the-spoon-theory/

The Spoon Theory written by Christine Miserandino

Please take a minute and follow this link: The Spoon Theory, and read this article!

I have never read/heard chronic illness better explained.

Living with Cancer A Practical Guide

Living with Cancer A Practical Guide pdf

View more ebooks on ebookbrowse.com

Whole Living's 50 Ways to Stand Up to Cancer

Open publication - Free publishing

Dinner Tonight...

**This is a great dinner for you "cancer" days!!!

Grilled cheese & tomato soup...

Ingredients:

Cheese (sliced, whatever you like) - enough for 1 sandwich per person
Bread (sliced, whatever you like) - 2 slices per person
Butter (enough to thinly cover each slice of bread)
Tomato soup (canned or homemade (recipe HERE)

Instructions:

Butter 1 side of each piece of bread.
Heat a skillet, over medium heat, until warm.
Place 1 slice of bread, butter down in skillet.  Top with cheese & another slice of bread, butter up.
Cook until cheese melts and bottom toasts.  Flip & repeat.
Cook soup according to can instructions or follow recipe above.

"I'm Gonna Love You Through It" - Martina McBride

Spaghetti with Turkey Meat Sauce

A healthy (and much lighter on your stomach) alternative to heavy (ie beef) meat sauce...


Makes 6 Servings

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey
1, 28-ounce can tomatoes (organic if you can afford them), cut up - **Try low sodium here**
1 cup finely chopped green pepper
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb spaghetti - **Try whole wheat pasta here**
non-stick cooking spray (preferably canola)

Preparation:

Spray a large skillet with non-stick spray coating. Preheat over med-high heat. Add turkey; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Drain fat.

Stir in tomatoes with their juice, green pepper, onion, garlic, oregano, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove cover; simmer for 15 minutes more. (For a creamier sauce, give sauce a whirl in a blender or food processor.) **Also try - adding 1 tbsp. of cream cheese at this point.**

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain well. Serve sauce over spaghetti with crusty, whole-grain bread.

Nutrition Content (all nutrition information is given for the recipe unaltered...ie without the information marked with an asterisk)

Per Serving:
calories: 330
total fat: 5g
saturated fat: 1.3g
carbohydrates: 42g
protein: 29g
cholesterol: 60mg
sodium: 280mg
dietary fiber: 2.7g

Dinner Tonight...

Tonight I am having "Lemon Mustard Salmon Salad" from The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen cookbook...a most awesome cookbook!  Check it out!

Click the recipe name for an excerpt from the book and the book title to buy from Amazon :c)

Column Post (101 Reasons #'s 1-6)...

Ok...so this column is just me bitching...c'est la vie!

Reasons Cancer Sucks...(in no particular order)....

1.) Cancer makes you too tired to walk the dog.
2.) Cancer makes places you didn't know could hurt, hurt!
3.) Cancer makes your house dirty (not really, but it can make you too tired to clean!).
4.) Cancer makes you lonely (usually when you tell people you have terminal cancer they freak), your friends don't want to come around...no one to talk to...Lonely!
5.) Cancer makes you too tired to do the things you want to (like visit the charity shops or take a picnic in the park).

last one for today...

6.) Cancer only gives you a limited amount of energy per day (woohoo 2 whole hours! *insert sarcasm here*)...

101 Reasons Cancer Sucks!

This will be an ongoing...post as they come-up blog column...

OK...this list could probably be 1,001 or even 1,000,001 Reasons Cancer Sucks...but I have decided on 101...I will post them as I think of them...

Cancer is a Bitch...or...

I wanted to post a quick note about a new column here on the blog...it's called "Cancer is a Bitch" and it will usually have a tag line or...(ex. Cancer is a Bitch...or I'd Rather be Having a Root Canal)...I got the idea from this book...Cancer is a Bitch: Or, I'd Rather be Having a Midlife Crisis.

Read the book BTW!  It's great!  Funny & sad all at once!

Anytime I am having a particularly bad/irritating/annoying "Cancer Day", there will be a "Cancer is a Bitch" post...

Book Review - When the Focus is on Care

I read really fast...so this one didn't take too long...When the Focus Is on Care: Palliative Care and Cancer (click the title for book info)

When I went looking for books about cancer and dying most of what I found was about surviving breast cancer.  There are not many resources out the for women with any other kind of cancer; even fewer for those of us actually dying of cancer.  This book is very useful for it's purpose (preparing for the end of life).


It helps you understand your rights when the focus of your treatment is no longer a cure.  Every terminal cancer patient must, at some point, come to terms with the fact that they are dying, there are things you must do before you die (legal stuff), and no one wants to die in pain!


Lots of legal suggestions, questions for your doctor, and stories of surviving caregivers, plus a large section for the family caregiver(s)...I give this one 4 out of 4 stars! 

One More...What I am Reading...

Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris Carr

Last one for now...I promise :c)  This one promises to be funny and a bit out there...I will let you know!

What I'm Reading

I just started this one this morning...When the Focus Is on Care: Palliative Care and Cancer (click the title for book info)