Attitude

When I first read this statement, I wanted to throw my computer across the room.

“Attitude creates reality.  How you view a situation can have an enormous impact on how you live.

“Some people see setbacks as absolute devastation, whereas others view them as opportunities. At the end of the day, the choice is really up to you.”

Edward T. Creagan, M.D. Mayo Clinic

pexels-photo-311391-hope
http://www.pexels.com

Into the Abyss

My daughter-in-law is 34.

She has stage 4 brain and lung cancer.

She has an eight-month old baby.

This is not a setback.  This is a nightmare.

The choice was not up to her.

Hanging on

I try all I know to keep my heart, head, mind and body strong so that I can help my son and his wife as they battle her cancer.

She received radiation for brain cancer.

Treatment for her lung cancer is still down the road.

In the meantime, there is their sweet baby.  We weaned her this weekend.  Her cries for her mother were pitiful.

This is absolute devastation.

A Random Encounter

This morning my son talked to a doctor at UAB who is a lung cancer patient.

His story was a beacon of hope for us.

He was initially diagnosed with cancer over 30 years ago when he was in medical school. He received treatment and lived a normal life for 30 years.

When his cancer reappeared, his current doctors reviewed his treatments from “back in the day”.

Those 30-year old treatments were from the dark ages of medicine compared to the advanced treatment methods today for cancer.

This doctor reassured my son that they were in a wonderful place for her treatment.

Such a difference from the day she was told that she had six months to a year to live!

What we do

We are proactive.  We are seeking a second opinion at another cancer institute.

We connect and reach out to others with expertise and experience with stage 4 cancer.

We pray. We believe in miracles.

We have a good attitude.  We choose life.

We never abandon hope.  We never give up.

24 thoughts on “Attitude”

  8. The first line of that quote is a smack in the face to me because it seems to falsely place blame.. But the expressed meaning of the whole quote, is something you and your family have embraced with the most positive means, in attitude and determination.. That will impact the reality of what comes each day, which we hope will be steps to her recovery
    I pray for that

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  11. Dear One, The words of Hope that come from a place of KNOWING are so much better than the platitudes from folks who have never walked, lived, and hoped in the deep valley of your present journey. All you can really absorb in your present circumstances is the beauty you find each day to nurture your soul. Lots of rest to keep the you nurtured. Then the Strength and Grace to be help, hope and LOVE to those you care about. No one else has ever walked exactly where you are walking. Know you are placed to be and do all that love can help you do. God bless and in my insufficiency all I can do is pray. xx

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  12. So often those who create these catchy little memes confuse platitudes with attitudes. I’ll trade your attitude for theirs any day. God bless and keep you in your continuing struggle.

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  14. I know everyone says these things but I work with a man (62 years old) who had stage 4 brain cancer and retinal cancer. He was given a 6 month prognosis. That was 4 years ago. He was treated at the Cleveland Clinic and the wonderful Roswell Cancer Institute right here in Buffalo, NY. It’s a fabulous/progressive institute if you are seeking further treatment or advice. As always we are praying for her and your family!! Tina

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  16. I hear you and I get you! It must be unbearable to watch your son, daughter in law, and granddaughter suffer and feel helpless to fix it. My heart goes out to all of you! I pray for a miracle!

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  17. I understand exactly what Dr Creagan meant. It is a pure truth – albeit an abbreviated and simplified one. (and therefore open to misinterpretation).

    As far as i can see you are being the perfect embodiment of what he said.

    You are choosing to view the current reality with an attitude that allows for Hope and can see a positive future possibility and are doing all the positive things you can do, thereby increasing the probabilities and maximising the possible positive outcomes of your future reality.

    You also had the choice (which you have largely rejected) of viewing the current reality with an attitude of despair and negativity and only seeing the negative outcomes which would limit the ways you could positively affect the future reality thereby lessening the probabilities of a positive outcome.

    What we think of what we see in our current reality WILL affect our future reality in a like manner.

    That is not exactly the same thing as saying if you think a thing will happen it will happen – you can’t wish your daughter-in-law back to perfect health for example, what you can do is make the best situation from this by choosing the best attitude to adopt for yourself and all those concerned, rather than sinking into negativity and hopelessness which would result in no good outcome for anyone.

    Stay Strong!

    love.

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  18. “Cancer happens to a community” and “WHAT’S YOUR WHY” were almost the first words I read 4 months ago on the Silver Pen blog in the initial period of my tests. Now with a final stage 4 diagnosis and half way through chemo I feel hope and find silver linings everyday as I wade through this as a single mum. The mental load is actually the worst bit for me but faith and many fabulous supporters get me through with practical and online help. All the best for you, your daughter in law and family. This journey is a tough one.

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