Friday, December 28, 2018

1 in 8 is 12.5%. That is a high population for a potentially fatal disease.

In dogs it is even higher at almost 17%. However, the rate of non malignant tumors is much higher in dogs at almost 48%. So for half of that 17% it is remove and no ongoing treatment.

BTW - I do not know for certain, but I am assuming a non-malignant tumor is a non spreading cancer, whereas a benign tumor is non cancerous??? Ella had benign and non malignant tumors in her mammary glands before her first litter. I had them all removed and she has had no issues since. But because of the non malignant tumor she was seen by a vet every 3 months for 15 months for a palpation. Am I correct in my thinking?

A tumor can be malignant (cancer) or non-malignant (non-cancer). Benign also means not-cancer.

I am not sure why there was the extra monitoring in Ella tho I imagine her mammary glands were pretty important. Or, maybe in dogs if there are benign tumors there is a higher risk to have a malignant tumor thrown in? I don't know.

In people, even benign tumors can grow and cause problems so sometimes an area is watched even if the tumor was removed. Also, every new tumor is treated as if it might be cancer until proven otherwise

48% chance of non-malignant tumor! Yech!

Well, poop! A pound was re-found. S'ok... not like I was really being diligent the past few days.

Ann, I'm sure you already know that anger is one of the stages of grief. In my mind the anger stage is a very healing stage and really paves the way for reconciling one's feelings of loss and sorrow. I am happy to see you are still willing to feel the feelz. Feeling the Feelz is one of my areas of need. I quite adept at living in Ostrichlandia. The Land of Emotional Reality and I have a much more tenuous relationship. You inspire me to be better.

My shrink session yesterday was spent mostly talking about domestic issues: my concerns about Ron's ongoing health issues, his lack of energy, his return to pre diagnosis eating and rest behaviors, etc... and accepting my role as a suggester vs. a mandator. I can't force him to go to bed. I can't insist he eat as I would like him to eat. I need to accept that to him an iceberg lettuce wedge smothered in bacon and blue cheese dressing constitutes a salad. Guess I just gotta... and call it a day! I am determined to NOT NAG. I really want to focus on the positive changes and encourage those. I think the rest will fall into place eventually. I have learned that a leopard really can't change his spots, but he can certainly change the attitude with which he presents them to himself and the world!

We will pick up the trailer today. I am nervous to drive it home. I feel a little silly about that. I have to drive it through a gusty wind area and also across a bridge that spans the inlet to Suisun Bay. I'm sure I will be fine, but I will err on the side of caution and drive with care. It is exciting though! I am happy to start this new chapter in trailering adventures.

I have a training session today, too. Looking forward to that. My regular chiropractor is out this week and I saw his fill in. The fill in is a very nice man and is my chiropractor's chiropractor. I was telling the fill in how I thought I hurt my wrist and I demonstrated the exercise to him. He grinned and said, "You're a beast!" I really liked that! Talk about an ego boost! I still don't think of myself in those terms. I still see the "fatman". It is good to get outside feedback.

I am taking all suggestions on what types of food to take along on our first trailer trip. We have a microwave, a stove top and a little oven. I'm not sure how much cooking I really want to do, but all suggestions are welcome. This is new territory for me. I'm more of the "Yay, we're on vacation. I get to eat whatever is available and sounds good." type of traveler, which is not the best way for someone who is trying to recover from obesity. I am glad to have this opportunity to prove to myself I can travel and be in control of my food destiny!

Devon, I'd forgotten all about your new trailer! I completely relate to your combo fear / excitement response to brand-new challenges.

My trailer travel food choices (for myself, although I have no idea how these would appeal to you) might include:

GOOD protein shakes
GREAT coffee (and whatever makes your coffee most palatable)
Delicious-tasting waters
Honeycrisp apples
Some good pears
Delicious full-fat cheeses
Avocados
Seed crackers
Charcuterie and a nice charcuterie board
Greek yogurt
Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
A food scale (hey, I'm the MFP enthusiast, remember?) -- to be sure I'm not pigging out

Excellent ideas! Thank you so much!

I thought about some of those, but did not even think about cheeses or charcuterie! That is a good idea. My only challenge there is that I can eat a lot.

Funny you should mention coffee. That was extremely high on my priority list. However, my idea of great coffee and Ron's are somewhat different. I am not a Kuerig fan. I like my specific French Roast and being a creature of habit and taste I wanted to get a small coffee maker. Instead we got a Keurig so Ron could have his decaf pods. I am going to try the pods, but I think I am going bring some grinds along and be ready to do pour overs, if I am not fond of the pod coffee.

Yogurt - I was planning on prepping my 4 to 5 pre made yogurt and berries and putting them in the fridge.

I have to also think about Ron and his eating/food needs. We'll have to have a chat about what to bring.

Driving home was much easier than I anticipated. towing technology has come so far it wasn't that different from driving the van without the trailer.

I would totally bring pour over supplies, too. Totally worth the space.

(I think pod things taste weird.)

You can buy filters (little paper ones, they're so cute!) or a refillable filter/pod for the Kuerig so you can use your own coffee and forego the plastic taste.

Wasn't fatman once a password of yours? You need to incorporate "I'm a beast" into your daily routine.

When we have used RV's (just twice) I found that I did best if the fridge was mostly stocked with my usual daily go-to's. No need to re-create the wheel and those friendly familiars provided solid VSG structure

With the first RV trip in particular, I had grandiose ideas of what meals I would create. But, as RV newbies, figuring out the general logistics of RV life was a time consuming. So, then I didn't feel like creating a fancy meal that required a lot of clean up, too. (Clean up in RV sucks)

Eventually, I found that I was happiest if meal prep (and clean up) was super simple. I was also happiest if most meals were good for me rather than the "yay, we're on vacation" kind of meal that would set off a cycle of trying to resist 2nd's and 3rds, then succumbing, then self-recrimination.

Once, I did some sort of roast in the oven which was fabulous in scent and taste. Otherwise, what comes to mind are simple soups, taco meat, a quick stir fry with pre-cut veggie's....

I had Costco frozen pre-cooked shrimp in the freezer that was versatile -- frozen chicken breasts could be used, too. DH really was happiest if he could throw burgers/hot dogs on a grill.

No matter what, we were quickly overwhelmed with leftovers.

For "special" it was nice to have cheeses/charcuterie as Ann suggested. My special was peanut butter.

OMG NO COSTCO SIZED SNACKS IN THE RV! Just saying ;)

I'm really kind of excited for you....it was the RV vacation in Alaska that taught me I could change my travel food patterns.

Oh, you have a good memory! Yes, I had a password of Fatman1 at school. It came from my self deprecating joke about refusing to wear a safety vest on yard duty. I would jokingly say, "I'm not wearing that florescent yellow vest. Any sniper on the hill would think, 'Pick off that fat man in the vest. He's a teacher and an easy target!'" Truth is I was afraid the vest wouldn't fit around me.

I like the idea of old standbys in the trailer to eat. I will just have to make sure I bring along enough protein forward choices.

I am mostly thinking that we will want breakfast, lunch and a few snacks for the trailer. There are some favorite restaurants that we enjoy in Palm Desert and the surrounding cities. (It is sort of one long metropolitan strip that blends from one city to the next seamlessly.) So, my hope is to make dinner one night, eat out twice. The remaining night there is a possibility of going to a party. We shall see if that pans out.

NO COSTCO SIZED FOOD ANYTHING in the trailer that is a given.

I am excited, too. Having it at home now has made it all very real and heightened my enthusiasm for Glamping.

I'm so excited for you having the trailer! It will be interesting to see what Ron requests. Is there some chance that he will try to only include mostly healthy foods because of the smaller storage and use it as an opportunity to seize control?

Regardless, I know you have some great adventures ahead of you!