another day in Prague

Today was another wonderful day here in Prague or Praha. We went to breakfast with Tim and Luke where we met Stephanie. She is really sweet and we were able to spend the whole day with her. Breakfast was great but the waiters/ waitresses are not known for their friendliness. We experienced that this morning. Tips here are also optional and our option today was not to tip. The food was very good! Tim knew where all the good places to eat were.

We then went to the Prague castle. The church on the castle grounds is really the sight to see. Absolutely breathtaking and magnificent! It was hard to walk and try to take in all the details and beauty. I don't think the pictures can really capture the sights. Well worth seeing if ever in Prague.

From there we headed to Wallenstein gardens. This is actually the Senate gardens where the Czech Senate meets. I have come to find out that marijuana is legal here, and was just amazed to see people  actually  in the Senate gardens smoking pot. Just hard to comprehend for those of us  in America. :)

Again, learned something new today... there are all white peacocks and they LOVE attention. What a show he put on.

After a nap at Tim's we all headed back out to Pivovarsky... for dinner. ... Pivo means beer and the Czechs love their beer. See the pictures to see the "giraffe" being shared by a group of guys, pretty funny! To order water, which you have to pay for and it costs more than beer, you have to say "water, no gas". Meaning no carbonation.You also have to pay to use public restrooms.

I am getting more accustomed to mass public transportation. It seems everything is get on this, take it 2 stops and get off. You move in herds and you move fast! My calves are actually sore from all the hills and stairs. It's a work out everyday!

Although today was free museam day, everyone was too tired for more so we are all back at Tim's and everyone is asleep ( 11;30 pm) except for me.I am waiting for the laundry so I can go hang it on the porch to dry. Oh.. we are really spoiled at home :)
To see all the Prague pictures click here;
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?pid=33169880&id=44401295

Trip to Europe~ first stop.... Prague

Chris and I have been planning a  trip like this for many many years. Now,after 26 years we are able to do it!
Our whirlwind trip consists of 4 different countries and 6 different cities.
We spent a lot of time trying to carefully prepare using most of the advice from Rick Steves travel books.
So far, the books and advice have been great. We decided to take just one backpack each ( weighing no more than 20 lbs) so we never have to check in luggage. That has worked out very well with the exception that I did not consider the weight on my arm and chest so soon after my surgery and radiation. Chris has become the "pack mule" :)

Our first leg of the trip began at 9 pm with a straight through flight to London. All went well and I was kind of amused with the awkward positions hundreds of people can get into on a long crammed overnight flight. Also with how the flight attendants treat it like a giant day care. Ok... fasten seat belts, sit up straight, here are the rules,eat your dinner, shut the "blinds" here is a movie...go to bed!

We arrived safe and sound and tired! Now in London and on to the Czech airlines, again amused with all the English accents ( which I absolutely love) and the terrifying feeling the first time you are in a vehicle that drives on the wrong side of the road!

A short wait and on to another plane to Prague! Flight went fast and Tim was there waiting for us! It felt so good to finally hug him after nearly a year!

Ok, so out of the airport onto a bus and "CULTURE SHOCK"! There are a few differences here you notice right off the bat. #1 Many people do not use soap or deodorant. Combine that with the hottest day of the year so far, a bus crammed with people and no air... oh wow! This "practice" is from the communist  time period where those things were considered luxuries. Mostly it is the older generations that continue this practice.
People walk everywhere and you have to be pretty fast.Weight does not seem to be an issue here, they walk everything off! I have no idea how many miles we walked today, but we were gone 11 hours.Most of it on our feet!

Czech your etiquette- Question- why don't people on buses, subways, trams give up their seats for women, and older people?
Answer- you only give your seat up for the elderly,very young kids ( under 5), pregnant women or people with disabilities. Otherwise it is an insult.

Question, How much do you tip? Answer- 10 % is high and optional.If you tip 20%, they think you are weird. Our first dinner was left with a tip of 20 crown ( about one dollar).

Dogs are loved by all, very well behaved and allowed ANYWHERE! Yup, restaurants, buses, subways, all parks, anywhere. If you go out to eat and bring your dog, he gets water before you! Surprisingly, the parks and streets are clean as far as the dogs go.
Smoking, well, they have not caught on to how bad smoking is and it too is allowed everywhere.

Fashion.... hmmm what to say here. I am by no means into fashion at all. My typical attire is running clothes. But here, ANYTHING GOES and it really does.Wow, I have seen some crazy stuff. I would say overall, there is no particular fashion.

Beer and meat, that's about it and cheap, cheap, cheap!
 (ano)means no, and then shortened no, means yes. (ney) means no, Prosiem means please and, or excuse me unless you are at fault and then it is pardon.
yo means "ya" and chow is used for hello and good-bye.
Thank you is dekwee  and I am sure I have mis-spelled all of this. Not being able to understand the language or communicate is difficult, but we have Tim who does a pretty good job and orders our food for us :) By the end we were catching on and could order ourselves :) I think it would be a great experience to live somewhere you are immersed into a new culture and language. You learn quick! For now, as long as we don't speak, we blend right in.
-
You don't point or count on your fingers like we do. Ordering 2 of something would be your thumb and pointer finger, not your pointer and middle finger.

We have visited; Old Town Square,Wencesles Square met my pen pal Jirgina, went to Letna park and took a nap on the grass,Saw Vysehrad castle/ park. Had to have a sausage ( Kilbasa) and a beer. Wasn't fond of either, but... when  in Prague :)

For all the Prague pictures  from day one & two click here
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/photo.php?pid=33169880&id=44401295

Kids Day at Boot-Camp!!

On the last day of my Ladies Boot-Camp we had "Kids Day"!

Here they are getting ready to do speed and agility drills ( run fast back and forth across the lines sideways :)

Relay races, kids vs. Moms. It was close but the kids ran it in and won!

10 and 1's! Weights and push-ups. Everyone did them all! Cans of soup work great for their hand weights.Ab Work with partners!Lots of water breaks, it was really hot!Warming up with jump- ropes and jumping jacks It was a really fun morning, the kids were all awsome and as always the ladies were the best!!

Kids Day!!!

Teaching the 5k Learn to Run class

This was my first class to teach through the Parks and Rec. Dept. It was a great experience! The class had 10 women join, including my daughter-in-law and her mom! This opportunity has allowed me to meet and train some new people that all came to class excited about reaching their goal to run their very first 5k.
The race will be the Komen race for the Cure on June 12, I can't wait to hear how each one of them did!
I have several more classes I plan to teach with the City P & R. A few of the ladies have already asked about a 10k next!
Nikki and Chris finishing a 3 mile run on our last day of class...

Sun protection after radiation~

After receiving radiation to my rib, neck, chest, back and underarm, the challenge for summertime ( especially in Texas) becomes protection. I was told many times to be sure I kept those areas covered from the sun, wear plenty of sunscreen and do this for the rest of my life. I have begun teaching swimming lessons and needed something for protection that also allows me to move freely in the water.
I found a "rash guard" shirt, made by Lands End and thought I would give it a try. It has Screen UV rays with UPF 50+, is very comfortable and covers all the areas that have received radiation. If you are looking for something like this it is under the womens swim wear, then choose cover-ups. I bought one and then ordered a second one!

Our daughter-in-law Nikki graduated Summa Cumlaude with high honors from UTD today!!!!! We are so very proud of her and happy to have her in all our lives!

To see more pictures from the day visit our Family Blog~
http://corinthminichs.blogspot.com/

May 10th 2010 Monday 8:05 PM

Mother, Lois Minich, passed away Monday at 8:05 AZ time. She sailed away slowly from our sight while others saw her coming and cheered "her she comes" We already miss her. We will post arrangements as soon as they are made. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

DaveMinich

Mothers Day 2010

Had a wonderful mothers day! Chris and I ran a 5k this morning, followed by coffee with Matt and then off to the Ballpark in Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers with the Weeks and Minich Families..... as always, sooo much fun! Hope all of you loved your day as well :)

The ever changing life with cancer...

After a lot of consideration, talking with Chris and prayer, I decided to try Faslodex again.An injection given once a month. The hormone therapy appears to work well for me so together with my Onc. we decided it is important for me to remain on this therapy.
(Faslodex blocks the actions of estrogen in the body. Certain types of breast cancer require estrogen to grow).
 
I tried this medication previously and had too many side effects. The alternative drug ( Arimidex) also caused many side effects, so... I decided to try this one again. So far, i am tolerating it ok. More dizziness, some headaches & nausea and hot flashes are the main side effects. All at a level I can tolerate at this point.

My doctor see's patients at the center I go to only once a week. Last week, I learned he will no longer see patients there and I will need to either see a different Onc. or drive quite a bit further to continue with him.

Most of you know how difficult finding a doctor you like and trust is, especially in situations as serious as cancer. This choice is still hard due to the amount of time the drive combined with the wait and actual visit will take, but at this point the relationship we have built over the past 3 years is an important part of this equation. So...I will drive and wait :)





 
 

This & That

Time is just flying by lately and I thought it would be much more fun to write about something more interesting than treatments.Sometimes I think it is easy to forget, that fighting cancer is just a part of your life, not all of it.One which no-one chooses but many of us have to live with day to day. With that said, here are some of the more enjoyable parts of my life to share.

Chris and I have received our passports and are looking forward to traveling to Europe for the first time! We will visit Tim in Prague and then spend some time in Great Britain. We have been busy trying to plan the trip out. It is quite time consuming and so difficult to pick what to do and where to go.Thankful for Rick Steves' travel books!
Speaking of Tim, he has decided to move back home in July and we are looking forward to all of us being together again.

Over Spring Break  we all decided it was time for a family camping trip. That is exactly what we did! Four crazy days at the lake camping. We started in shorts and left in 6 inches of snow! What a fun time we had playing sport toss,LOTS of Uno, making smores and beautiful walks in the snow.

Today began a new session of classes I am teaching and thoroughly enjoying! I teach a Ladies Boot camp and a 5k Learn to Run group as well as some personal training. It is so fun to be a part of  these groups and peoples lives, seeing the wonderful changes in their lives. One of the ladies tonight asked me " so when do we get that runners high"? :)

Everything is budding and blooming outdoors! I have planted some tulips, that are beautiful and  my garden is complete with herbs and veggies! The garden has always been organic, but this year we have decided to use all organic for the yard as well. Using fertilizer that smells like a chicken coop and nematodes for bug control. So far we have very green weeds and a garden that is doing ok. Not sure we know what we are doing, but we are learning.

Chris and I are thrilled to be running again and the last few runs have been fantastic! We are making it a priority to run 3 times a week ( plus what I do with my groups). I truly believe that running has played such a huge role in how fast I am recovering from surgery and radiation. You go into the treatments, etc. stronger and recover much faster. Even if all you can do is walk it helps!

This concludes a little of "this and that". Sometimes I just think about how happy I am and how much I am simply enjoying life right now :) God is so good to  me.

In memory of our brother Jim Minich. He went to heaven 3 years ago today after a very courages battle with leukemia. We love and miss you Jim!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1059138368672

Getting back out there!

 

After what seems like a very long time, Chris and I started back on our running schedule last night! Our evening runs are 4 miles. It was not easy nor did it look pretty ( nothing like the marathon runners we were just 4 months ago:) .  But after Surgery, 25 more radiation treatments and several new medications we are so thrilled and thankful to be back out there once again! News of what is next for the two of us coming soon.... it will be exciting!

Cancer Update from Johns-Hopkins: Bottled water in your car is very dangerous!

Sheryl Crow's oncologist told her: women should not drink bottled water that has been left in a car. The heat reacts with the chemicals in the plastic of the bottle which releases dioxin into the water. Dioxin is a toxin increasingly found in breast cancer tissue. So please be careful and do not drink bottled water that has been left in a car.... Pass this on to all the women in your life.

This information is the kind we need to know that just might save
us!Use a stainless steel canteen or a glass bottle instead of plastic!

This information is also being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center

No plastic containers in microwave.

No water bottles in freezer

No plastic wrap in microwave.

A dioxin chemical causes cancer, especially breast cancer.

Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard.

He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.

He said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using
plastic containers.

This especially applies to foods that contain fat.

He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastic releases
dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.
Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex
or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and
soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else.

Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper.

It's just safer to use tempered glass, CorningWare, etc.
He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved
away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saranwrap, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food.

Cover food with a paper towel instead.

This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in Your life.

Today is a gift, embrace it

Healing & Helping Hands

I am quite happy to say that the burns are finally healing and I am feeling much better! I was able to get a cream that helped with the pain and healing. It worked quite well and very fast. I now have a tan ( and peeling skin, yuck) in the most ridiculous of areas! My energy is also much better,but still have a ways to go.I have run a few times, but am not yet back to a regular routine.

Things got kind of rough there for a while and I feel so very fortunate to have had so many friends that brought us dinners and offered help. Each and every dinner was a blessing as that time of day is difficult from fatigue. So.. thank you everyone!

As I write this, my next blessing is Maria, who is here now! We decided to get some help with keeping up with cleaning the house. She is as sweet as can be and this allows me to handle teaching and training my clients and keep up with everything else.
For me, being able to teach, exercise and continue my "normal" day to day life is a vital part of staying well. These few things that may seem small have been a huge help!

With that said... it is time to pay bills, do the dishes and laundry! Have a wonderful Day!

More backyard pictures~ the Azaleas in full bloom!

chemo or not??

Today I saw my Onc. and spent quite a bit of time discussing what to do from here for my treatment.This is a difficult decision for me.When this was a new cancer and a rough 6 months was ahead, to aggressively treat it I could wrap my head around that, there was an end end in sight. One filled with hope. Because this cancer has metastasized, there is with that the knowledge that it is incurable BUT treatable, with only God knowing the answers.
So we, myself, Chris and my team of doctors/nurses try to make the best choices we can with the knowledge we have at this time.
Both of my doctors took a look at the burns today from the radiation and gave me some medicine that will help with the healing and a numbing agent in it to help with the pain.
What we know is the hormone therapy has worked well for me so I will continue on the Lupron injections. I was on Arimidex and taken off it the past 2 weeks due to headaches, severe pain in my hands and my BP being high. All have gone away since stopping it. So... I will once again be getting another drug, Faslodex, by injections. I stopped it once before because of side effects and I guess I will have to decide which side effects I can live with.Prayers are needed here :)
So, back off Arimidex and back on Faslodex.
The Tykerb, when it was raised to 5 pills a day started to cause a lot of stomach pain and problems, which I have had these past few days. Dr. A told me to go back to 4 again.
One of the hardest decisions was whether to begin chemo or not. At this time we have decided not to. I will continue the hormone treatments and my scans/labs to monitor closely.
My recent labs came back with my tumor markers down and in normal range again! Chris and I will continue to pray about these decisions and seek the Lord.

Spring Time Pictures From Our Back Yard~

This too shall pass~

A while back when I was beginning my radiation treatment I wrote about the similarities between training for a marathon and going through cancer treatments.
http://elayneminich.blogspot.com/2010/03/in-trainingagain.html

Well, now a few months and 25 treatments later I am facing the hard part of this "training". In particular;
you have to get up each day and push through physically weather you feel like it or not
you have to get used to pain and learn how to ignore it

The pain from the burns is much worse than the previous times I have had radiation. In particular, under my arm. My energy levels are so low that when I do feel ok, I want to do everything. That , however does not last long. Taking all these medications is also a struggle and knowing what the right thing to do and take make for very difficult decisions.

I know I have to get through this part and "this too shall pass". Thanks for listening & for your thoughts & prayers.
By the way,I would take training for and running a marathon over this any day!

Radiation is over!!

Today was my 25th and final treatment!I am so glad it is over. I am burned, very fatigued and simply ready to begin healing.This was the 3rd time I have had to have radiation and I pray the last.
I have decided to get some help for a while. Today, my friends daughter came over for a few hours and was a huge help getting the house cleaned up with me.
I plan to begin having someone help with cleaning the house for a while so I can concentrate on resting, healing, continuing to teach my classes and take care of my garden and all the other home responsibilities.
We have many great friends that have been bringing us dinners which have been delicious and very much appreciated.
As of now my cold/flu is getting better but still don't feel so great.The doctor said it will be a few weeks for my skin to start healing and at least a month before the fatigue gets better.
It looks like it will be a little longer, but I look forward to feeling better and getting my running shoes back on!