#3.1) find a way to keep track of their collection and check on it (ask them if they’ve gotten anything new/are planning to) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

boomerhunter85 · 3 years

Text

Mini Dvd For Mac

For most Mac Mini users, they are struggled to find the way to play DVD on Mac Mini, we know Mac Mini doesn’t provide the DVD drive, you can’t play DVD on it directly. But Mac Mini allows you to connect an external DVD drive to it, then you can connect Mac Mini to Mac for playback. A DVD drive must need the DVD drive software, you just buy a DVD drive and connect it to Mac Mini by USB, it’s not enough, if you want to play DVD in Mac with Mac Mini, you also need to set the DVD drive, like the following shows:

Apple USB SuperDrive for Apple MacBook Air/ Pro/Mac Mini (MD564ZM/A) OUT OF STOCK. Type: Slim DVD Burner; Dimensions (H x W x D): 0.67' x 5.47' x 5.47' (H x W x D). 1-16 of 868 results for 'dvd player for mac mini' Amazon's Choice for dvd player for mac mini. SEA TECH 1 Archgon Aluminum External USB DVD+Rw, RW Super Drive for Apple-MacBook Air, Pro, iMac, Mini. 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,336. Get it as soon as Thu, Aug 27. FREE Shipping by Amazon.

1-16 of over 3,000 results for 'mini dvd adapter' INTPW USB C Hub, USB 3.1 Type-C to HDMI Adapter with 4K HDMI, 1080P VGA, USB 3.0, PD Pass-Through Charging, Dual Screens Display for Mac Pro and Other Laptops with Thunderbolt 3 Port Space Grey. 4.2 out of 5 stars 218. 99 $29.99 $29.99. Lowest price in 30 days. Shop for external cd dvd drive for mac at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Apple mac mini dvd burner free download - Express Burn Free CD and DVD Burner for Mac, Apple DVD Player Update, Disc Burner, and many more programs.

Basic Tool: DVD drive | Blu-ray player | Screen Devices

Setting up a DVD drive to Mac Mini

1. On the Mac Mini that has an optical drive, choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.

2. Click the Sharing icon in the System Preferences window.

3. Make sure you’ve entered a name that you can easily recognize in the Computer Name field.

4. Enable the checkbox for DVD or CD Sharing.

5. You can also restrict who has access to your optical drive by selecting 'Ask me before allowing others to use my DVD drive.'

Pros：You just need a DVD drive, you can watch video easily

Cons: If you buy DVD movie with protection, In that case you cannot directly play blu-ray on Mac Mini whether you have a Blu-ray player or not because the disc copyright protection. The best way to watch Blu-ray on Mac is to backup Blu-ray to Mac mini with a blu-ray ripper program.

Best Way to Play DVD on Mac Mini

Want to play any DVD movies on Mac Mini? Yes, you can try ByteCopy for Mac which is an excellent DVD Ripper, whatever you buy the DVD from store or online, this software can remove all the DVD copyright protection. At the same time, you can rip and convert DVD to digital video formats, like: MP4, MOV, AVI, etc. Why? because you can save the video to USB, then insert the USB to Mac Mini for video playback.

Have you got some other ideas? This DVD ripper not only can help you to enjoy DVD on Mac Mini, you can choose any devices for playing DVD, such as: iPad, iPhone, Games console, TV, etc. You don’t need the DVD disc any more, don’t worry about missing DVD movie due to the frail disc any more. This review will help you to know more information about this software.

Key Features you are interested in

Support DVD disc, DVD ISO, IFO image, DVD folder, Blu-ray disc, Blu-ray IFO image, Blu-ray folder

Convert BD/DVD to 200+ Multimedia Devices and Formats, such as: H.264, MP4. AVI, MKV, MOV, etc. Also you can experience the GPU accelaration.

Enjoy 4K video from DVD and Blu-ray with high video quality.

Get 3D Movie Creating Experience from Blu-ray and DVD

Backup BD/DVD without Quality Loss: Backup entire Blu-ray and DVD disc or Save a 100% M2TS/VOB movie without extras

Personalize Movie With Customized Adjustments: Abundant output parameters provided and Powerful video editing feature

Quick Guide: Convert DVD to Mac Mini

Mini Dvd Format

Step 1. Insert your DVD disc to Mac by a DVD drive, run this software, and click File and choose Load files button to import DVD videos directly from your disc. You can also load IFO image to it. This software will detect the DVD main titles automatically. You can choose the desired subtitles language at the bottom, also you can backup Blu-ray with forced subtitles.

Step 2. Click on the main title, then press Format button and choose the video you want, for example: You can choose Multi-track Video > Multi-track MP4 (*.mp4) video, this video formats can keep all the DVD multiple audio tracks and chapter markers. You also can choose other video formats, like: MKV, MOV, AVI video formats as the output video files.

Step 3. After all the choices are done, go back to the main interface and click Convert to start DVD to MP4 video conversion with chapter. Wait for a while, a brand new MP4 video will be finished.

In general, 2 ways are all good, If you DVD is not protected, you can choose way 1 to play DVD on Mac Mini, if your DVD is protected, you must need one DVD Ripper, also above DVD Ripper also can do many tasks for you. Hope you can enjoy DVD movies on Mac Mini happily.

More from my site

“I have several video footages with my family moments taken by my new Mini DV. The question is how can I turn my videos from Mini DV into DVD, so that I can watch them on my big screen TV with the DVD player?”-Lisa

If you have got the same question, you are lucky to find solution in this article. Here I will share some useful tips on how to convert Mini DV to DVD on Mac. To do the conversion, I highly recommend you to use an easy-to-use iSkysoft DVD Creator for Mac (and iSkysoft DVD Creator for Windows version is also available).

This Mini DV to DVD converter supports converting any video format like MTS, AVI, MOV, MPEG, MP4 and more to DVD disc, so you can meet your diversified conversion demands. If you want to make your family video more attractive, you can use its built-in video editing tools to personalize the video by trimming, cropping, or adding effects. To make your own DVD collection, you can apply impressive menu template for your DVD from individual menu list. Just follow below step-by-step guide to start the conversion.

How to turn Mini DV video to DVD disc easily

Step 1: Download and install the converter Click above download link for the program. After you finish downloading the .dmg file, double click the file to open the installation window. Then follow the prompts to set up the converter. After that, drag the program icon to the “Applications” tab to save it on your Mac hard drive.

Step 2: Import Mini DV video to the converter Run the program, and click the “Create a New Project”. Then you will have three options to import Mini DV videos to the program.

1) Click the “+” button to open the folder where you have saved the video and select the file to import to the program.

2) Directly drag and drop the video to the converter, the video file will be loaded immediately.

3) Click the “Media Browser” button to open the built-in browser and find the video you want, then import it to the converter.

Mini Dvd Macbook Pro

Step 3: Edit your Mini DV video (Optional) Click on the video file, you will see an “Edit” button on the right of the video thumbnail. Just click the button to go to the editing interface. To make your family video more eye-catching, you can trim the part you do not want, or add video effects on it.

Step 4: Start the Mini DV to DVD conversion Now click the “Menu” button to show the menu templates, you can double click the menu you like and apply it to your DVD. When everything is OK, insert a blank DVD disc to your Mac and click the “Burn” button to open the dialog for output settings. Then check the “DVD Disc” and click the “Save” button to start the conversion.

Mini Dvd Adapter For Mac

When you’re done, you can enjoy your family moment on DVD player anytime you want. Just take a trial.

0 notes

dmozal-cancer-walk-in-50states · 6 years

Text

New Mexico and Colorado, 48 and 49th Relay States

Santa Fe, New Mexico - July 13, 2018

Our first stop for the weekend of Relay For Life was Santa Fe. I was told this is the land of enchantment and it certainly was for us (my husband was able to attend these Relays with me). We met a lot of wonderful people along the way and am happy to share their stories. I apologize for the huge delay. There have been a lot of things that have happened in my personal life that have caused major interruptions.

A very special thank you to the Residence Inn for giving us such a great deal on our stay. The location was great, the room very comfortable and the people helpful. I’d love to stay there again if we are ever lucky enough to visit again. https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/safnm-residence-inn-santa-fe/?scid=bb1a189a-fec3-4d19-a255-54ba596febe2

The very first person I met was Raven Anderson, Community Development Manager for New Mexico.

Me and Raven Anderson, Community Development Manager

Raven is a “super volunteer”, someone who devotes a LOT of energy and time to help not only raise funds but also help other people.

Raven’s story is amazing. She was disabled and in a wheelchair for 14 years and has only been out of the wheelchair and off a cane for about 3 years. Her goal was to walk in a Relay without assistance, which she did 2 years ago in Orlando. She was in community college at the time. She is a doctoral student now and has been writing her thesis on diversity. After everything she has been through in her life she promised herself that she wanted to make change in the world, impacting others as much as she possibly could. What amazed me even more is the fact that even though she was “disabled” she was doing things to help other people. Part of the promise she made to herself was that if she became healthy enough she would search for a job with American Cancer Society (ACS) so she could put all her energy and knowledge to good use.

Raven was looking on Cancer.org and saw a position in Albuquerque. She applied but received an email stating the position that had been open for 30 days, was filled. Two days later she received another email saying they were wrong and the position was still open, would she be interested. As you can see Raven not only accepted the position she is the epitome of Relay.

I found out about something I had never heard of….a virtual Relay. It’s called Relay for Life of Second Life and is Raven’s home Relay. She explained that you build an avatar, build a home, etc. There are too many things to explain here but Raven says it is like SIMMS on steroids. This is their 14th year and they have raised $3.1 million. It is a 24-hour virtual Relay and Raven walked with people in 2016 from 96 countries. Two years ago she walked the survivor’s lap and has walked with the most amazing people, young and old (90’s). They have their own special avatar’s such as unicorns and elves, etc. There was an event that raised funds for a Hope Lodge in Kenya. In 2018 the event raised over $200,000.

You can find out more info on Second Life at https://secondlife.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3haQ1sznNM This was the live stream of this year

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7dJZZeZ_YkLVsqy3XBNWA This is a collection of videos

Raven shows that nothing can stop her and that inspirational attitude spills over into everything she does including fundraising, supporting others fighting cancer, or fighting for their loved ones as caregivers. Cancer needs to be stopped and Raven is unstoppable in that fight!

Joyce Graves, from Gallup, NM, is a 3-time cancer survivor. In 1993 she had breast cancer. Her doctor performed a “segmental” surgical procedure. This is where he took about a ¼ of her breast. She has a great sense of humor as she said she has a perky 20-year old breast and an “old lady” breast. Joyce also went through chemo and radiation for this cancer.

Me and Joyce Graves

In November, 9 years later she went to Portland for a national summit for ACS and Relay For Life. Joyce had become involved with Relay on a national level in 2000. The speaker at the summit was a leukemia survivor. She spoke about a new drug she was on that had no side effects and she was in remission. Joyce thought that was wonderful and was excited for people fighting the disease.

In May the next year, Joyce’s husband was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Joyce called her staff partner to tell her and her friend reminded Joyce of the woman who spoke at the summit. That woman had the same type of cancer Joyce’s husband had. She said at that moment she knew her husband was going to be ok because of what she had learned at the summit.

Paul, Joyce’s husband, took 4 chemo pills a day with no side effects. He said he felt guilty taking the medication. Joyce asked him why. Paul said he knew what she went through when she fought her cancer and he knew what other people had gone through or were going through. He said he felt guilty that all he had to do was pop a pill and have no side effects. Joyce told Paul that this was the exciting progress that was being made in the fight against cancer and someday there would be a pill for breast cancer as well.

In August that same year Joyce went for her mammogram. As soon as the radiologist walked in the door Joyce said she knew she was in trouble. The radiologist said there was a suspicious area that needed to be investigated. Joyce thought the radiologist might say let’s just wait and watch it (which Joyce knew she didn’t want to do). Instead she was told that they needed to check it out right away.

It was breast cancer again and thankfully it had not metastasized. It was a brand-new site, caught very early, but found in the other breast. This time a lumpectomy was performed, and radiation was needed.

Three years later Joyce had Basal Cell skin cancer that was taken care of easily (compared to the other cancer’s Joyce had dealt with).

As for Relay, she has been involved since 2000 and really gives her all to the events. One year she was taking a coat to her husband across the track and she tripped over a tent stake. She broke both elbows, but as they were taking her to the ambulance Joyce was saying “I’ll be back”. It was a little more than she thought so she didn’t come back that night (one elbow required surgery with plates and screws) but she has been back every year to Relay. Her email address says it all - “bleeds purple” is part of her email address, which really does say it all!!!

Joyce has been on both sides of cancer as a survivor and caregiver. Her words of wisdom for dealing with cancer is, first to keep your sense of humor. Facing cancer is tough but your sense of humor can really help get you through the toughest times, Joyce explains. Joyce also says, if you have a spouse or significant other, family and/or friends that want to help, be sure to do your best to be a good communicator. If you are tired, don’t feel good, or don’t want to do something then make sure to tell them. This also means letting people know when you want them to help. She said be specific in what you need. Give them ideas on ways they can help you.

When Joyce speaks to women through the “Reach to recovery” program that ACS has she tells them that women are the strong ones in the family. We are the “doers” Joyce says, and now we need to be the ones that let others do for us. In a way it is easier for us because we get the action part of cancer – we have the surgery, we receive chemo and/or radiation, etc. The others feel helpless. So those cancer survivors need to let their loved ones help in any way possible. Joyce’s advice includes remembering that asking for help isn’t really as much for ourselves (the survivors dealing with cancer) as much as it is a gift to the caregivers and those who are having to watch the battle. Suggestions include cleaning the house, making meals, grocery shopping, etc. The other advice she gives is to keep loving people as much as possible.

Joyce really is the embodiment of Relay. She was on the training task force locally for 2 years before becoming a member of the training task force nationally. She said this year (2018) she gets to enjoy her local events. Joyce really does “bleed purple”.

Angela Luna is the event chair for the New Mexico Relay. She is also a survivor of thyroid cancer. Eleven years ago Angela was in the hospital for severe bronchitis and during an exam her doctor found a lump on the side of her throat. Angela didn’t think anything of it at first. She figured her lymph nodes were swollen due to the bronchitis. The next day her doctor came in and said he really felt she needed to get the lump checked out. He said it could be nothing but wanted her to get it checked.

Rachel Romero, Angela Luna, and me

Angela admits she didn’t take care of her health as well as she should have back then, so she put off getting the lump checked. Finally she said something to her primary doctor. She started getting tests to see what the issue might be. Angela asked her doctor what they were looking for and the nurse said it could be several things. Angela pressed and was told “well the worst it could be is cancer”. That is when Angela started getting nervous.

When the results came back Angela went and saw her doctor. She was told that it was indeed cancer. Angela was stunned. She had this doctor for quite a while and never expected to hear those words. She felt that having cancer was basically a death sentence.

The doctor told her that she was in good hands and that they would take care of her. Angela had a needle biopsy and other tests. She was sent to Dr. Shapiro for her cancer, a great doctor in her opinion. He gave her two options: She could have chemo and radiation to try to get rid of the cancer or he said they could just “cut it out”. Angela thought at first it would mean cutting out the cancer but she found out that they would remove the entire thyroid. Angela chose the surgery and to have an radioactive iodine to kill the rest of the thyroid cells.

Angela learned a lot about taking care of herself through her cancer experience. She is diabetic and wasn’t taking care of herself very well but because of cancer she is very serious about her health now. She lost 70lbs., has good levels for her sugar and cholesterol, and now she takes care of herself. It scared her into appreciating life.

If she had to tell someone the things she has learned it is to take care of yourself, don’t try and face cancer alone, and stay positive. She was pretty angry when she was first diagnosed.

She was involved with Relay in 2011 but life got in the way for a while. Through her classes and phi theta kappa her involvement with Relay was recharged. Her team raised $1,300 the first year which is rather high compared to most first year teams. In 2017 she and Judy were asked to be the event co-chair leads but she chose not to. This year (2018) she was asked to be an event lead and accepted with renewed commitment and appreciate as a survivor and community-minded leader.

Rachel Romero is the staff partner with ACS. She has only been the staff partner for a year but has been involved with Relay For Life for several years. Her involvement started because of her experience with cancer in her family.

Rachel Romero and Angela Luna signing the Relay shirts

Rachel’s sister is 4 years younger and was diagnosed with acute lymphomas leukemia when Rachel was 6 and her sister was 2. Rachel said it was weird because no one in the family had leukemia before.

It all started when Rachel’s mom told her that her mom’s friend was going to take the kids home that day which was unusual. Rachel’s mom runs a daycare and when they were little she was putting blush on Monica when she noticed a lump. She ended up going to the hospital where Monica spent Halloween in the hospital as they were trying to figure out what was wrong with her. The doctors told Rachel’s mom that she needed to go to UNM Children’s hospital right away. Her mom called her dad and they met there. Her sister was diagnosed very quickly.

Rachel was so little and she remembers her sister being in and out of the hospital for about 6 months. She visited her a couple of times but she remembers that she came home with a catheter for her treatments.

Rachel said her sister is the bravest person she knows. She said that her sister is now a 21-year survivor. The whole family is closer and stronger because of it.

Her sister went to camp enchantment which is for cancer patients, enjoying a time when they don’t have to think about having cancer. Rachel and her brother went to Camp Superstar for siblings of cancer survivors. She said the camp helped her understand the mixture of emotions that comes from being a sibling of a survivor.

Rachel said that her sister has grown up and now doesn’t want her cancer to define her. She definitely wants to advocate for others but doesn’t feel the need to tell everyone she had cancer. Rachel said there are so many things that people don’t understand unless they’ve been in a survivor’s shoes.

She loves being a part of ACS and would love for this disease to be gone so no one has to go through what her sister and her family had to face.

Dolores Anaya-Gomez, is a 22-year ovarian cancer survivor and a very encouraging person. She had some back pain, so she decided to go to the doctor. The doctor sent her for an ultrasound. Dolores was asked how she found her issue. The question was surprising because she didn’t know what she had yet.

Dolores Anaya-Gomez and me

She had surgery where they found that she had ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer because it usually isn’t caught early. Dolores found that her back ache was bothering her enough to get checked. During her hysterectomy they found the ovarian cancer. Being so many years ago it was great that her doctor was careful enough to check the ovaries for cancer.

Dolores became involved in Relay about 3 years after her cancer diagnosis. She was invited by a friend to attend a Relay as a survivor. The next year another friend asked her to join a team (Mayor Delgato’s wife was the team captain) and she helped sell bags and raise money doing as much as she could to help the team. The following year she started a team of her own.

Dolores felt being a part of Relay was extremely important so she could help as many people as possible. Every year she helped a little bit more. At one point she was part of 8 teams; teams from her church, her grandchildren started the first kids team, she had a team with people from her class reunion, etc.

Dolores served as event chair for several years as well. She mentioned that Relay has changed since she first started participating, with events such as Making Strides Against Breast Cancer for example. This year’s Relay is back to a 24-hour event, which is longer than the last few years.

Dolores has a passion for helping others and raising money. She said she appreciates the fact that her employer matches what she raises most of the time.

Dolores says don’t ignore your body, go ahead and go get that exam. She knows it’s scary but there are many cancers that can be detected early, so listen to your body and pay attention, get any issues checked out. Most of all don’t give up! Keep searching, keep helping and have a good life.

Grace Vigil, is a breast cancer survivor of 17 years. Being in the medical field she knew the importance of breast exams.

She noticed a little dimpling in her breast but brushed it off. It wasn’t long before she went for her routine mammogram and they saw something that they wanted to check. Nothing could be felt in the breast, so they sent her for a needle biopsy which showed that she did have cancer.

Grace Vigil and me

At the time her daughter was turning 21 and the family had a trip to Vegas planned for the following month after the cancer detection.

When they got back from their celebration Grace had her surgery scheduled. She had a partial mastectomy with lymph node removal. Four of the lymph nodes were cancerous. Grace had been on the medical side of these types of diagnosis so as the patient it was a bit shocking. She had not anticipated the lymph nodes to be involved at all.

There is no breast cancer in Grace’s family, but her sister did pass away at 37 from gall bladder cancer. Her brother had lymphoma 14 years ago and her other brother was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. Heart and diabetes issues ran in the family until cancer popped its ugly head as well.

Grace worked for the surgeon who did her surgery. Then she went to the oncologist who happened to be her primary doctor before he became an oncologist. What a small world!

It was decided that Grace would need 6 weeks of chemotherapy. She said it felt like a long time. She got very sick during her treatments. At one point she needed an antibiotic because she had gotten so sick. The medication wasn’t cover by insurance, so she had to pay over $100 for less than a weeks’ worth of medication. She worked the whole time, answering phones during time dealing with cancer.

After getting through chemo Grace had radiation. Again, a small world because the radiologist was someone she knew. She didn’t have a lot of issues with this part of her treatment. Grace said she had a little sunburn, but they gave her cream that took care of the issue.

She found her diet was interesting because there were only certain things she felt she could eat. She drank lemonade from the health food store, Gatorade, and she ate Natillas (an Indian pudding) and mashed potatoes.

Grace said she can say she is truly blessed. She had a lot of support from her family and her church along with coworkers. In fact one of her coworkers shaved Grace’s head for her when she started losing her hair. This is a much more difficult, yet supportive act than some might understand.

As a nurse she finds that now when she relates to patients it is in an entirely different way. She has always had compassion for her patients but now she has an amazing amount of encouragement she shares as a survivor. She will tell her patients, I’ve had breast cancer too. I have survived and so will you.

She has many patients that have touched her through the years. There was one that is still a survivor even though she never had surgery or treatments. She followed holistic type of medicine and is still doing well today.

Grace said she is faithful about getting her mammograms now. Since her original diagnosis she had a walnut size lump in her left breast that was removed and was benign. She took tamoxifen for 4 years and another medication for one additional year. She is doing well with negative issues now.

She says 17 years survivor and working for 47 years in the field she has seen a lot. The one thing she wants people to know is that getting checkups is a safe thing to do. It is something that is within your control.

Cheryl Archuleta is a breast cancer survivor. Her journey started in 2007 when she had a mammogram. The doctor said there was something in the mammogram but said they would just watch it.

Cheryl and Joe Archuleta

One year later Cheryl went back for her mammogram and the spot was still there. The doctor set up a biopsy, which did come back with a cancer diagnosis. Cheryl then went to see a surgeon that performed a lumpectomy and they did MammoSite Radiation. This is where they cut the side of the breast and insert a balloon that has a radioactive liquid used to kill cancer cells. Cheryl then went to her oncologist to confirm the that everything was good for the next step. She then had 3 wires on the outside of the breast. This is where they would hook her up to have the radiation administered. Cheryl had 10 treatments, 13 minutes in the morning and 13 minutes in the afternoon for 5 days.

Cheryl felt very lucky because the cancer was extremely small and caught very early. She said she was barely considered stage 1.

There was a lot going on at the time that Cheryl was diagnosed, this was not her first encounter with cancer. Her husband, Joe, had prostate cancer and her mom had struggled with colon cancer. Cheryl knew cancer from both sides, as a caregiver and a survivor. Her mom lost her battle 13 years ago. Her husband had his prostate removed and he is now cancer free.

Cheryl had a scare in 2017, when the doctor thought he saw something. She had another biopsy, but thankfully it was not cancer.

Cheryl shared more about her mother’s battle with colon cancer. Originally when she was diagnosed the doctors said they got it all. Cheryl’s brother was in Las Vegas, so he wasn’t able to help with their mom during her diagnosis and surgery. However, once the doctors said they removed all the cancer, their mom moved to Vegas with Cheryl’s brother. About a year after her original diagnosis, their mom was in a lot of pain. The cancer had come back. Now, locally the doctor wouldn’t do radiation or chemo on Cheryl’s mom because she was in her mid 80’s but when the cancer came back while she was in Las Vegas, the doctors there were willing to be more aggressive in their treatments. Cheryl’s 85-year-old mother went through both. Cheryl was still working full time but managed to go monthly to see her mom during her treatments, from January through June, when her mom passed away. Her mom had several side effects from the treatments. It was tough watching her mom suffer and she understood the doctors concern with how the treatments would affect her mom.

Cheryl said cancer is a terrible disease and it is hard no matter what side of it you are on. She and her husband are both healthy now. With the support of family and friends they continue to appreciate life after cancer.

The Santa Fe event was very welcoming, encouraging and heartwarming. I was able to share my journey with the people who attended the event and they welcomed my husband and I with open arms. Not only that but they have a heart for each other as well as for raising money to destroy this dreadful disease.

A little rain can’t stop this Relay from happening in Santa Fe.

Supportive cancer survivors, walking in the survivor’s lap!

Such grace and beauty in the dancing. The stories told through dance was wonderful.

Even though it was sprinkling the smiles and peace that was felt from the music and movements was incredible.

My husband and I were so happy to have attended another wonderful event. The people and their stories were another example of encouragement, strength and perseverance in the face of difficult circumstances at times. The people I was able to talk to at this event had a great deal of longevity since their cancer diagnosis. I am always encouraged when I talk to survivors of 22, 17, 11 or even a few years. Or a 3-time survivor who is going strong. It shows that often cancer is treatable and beatable as we wait to find a cure!

Firestone, Colorado – July 15, 2018

Colorado, a mile high and hearts a mile wide! The people I met were kind and strong and resilient. It was such a hot day when we attended the Relay and yet I think I was the only one that look like I was going to melt. There was even someone dressed up as the Chick-fil-A mascot. No one complained, they ran the event with love and determination to raise money and support one another.

Chick-fil-A standing in the shade!

The starting line or finish line, cancer needs to be eradicated!

Sherri Everett was the guest speaker at the Carbon Valley event, she is a teacher, and an absolutely amazing women.

During her speech she told a story about Mr. Rogers and how he talked about how his mother helped him feel safe when he was afraid by saying “always look for the helpers in this world”. She tried to keep his story about helpers in her mind as she faced the scariest events of her life, cancer. She explained that she met a gentleman this past year that had gone through some of the same surgeries she had; removal of part of her stomach and intestines. Sherri said “you don’t realize how important that plumbing is until you no longer have it”.

Her sense of humor showed as she talked about this gentleman that had a stool transplant (he had a stool transplant from his wife to replace the good bacteria that was missing because of his surgeries). Yup, she said he had tons of jokes and an attitude that just made you laugh. He said things like “have you met my wife? She’s my number 2 girl.” Or “I used to think my wife gave me a lot of crap but now I know she does”.

Sherri said that she also had helpers at the infusion center provided by the nurses who asked how she was feeling, how her family was, and provided expert care.

Lastly she talked about her two co-workers, helpers that were the light in a very dark tunnel. They never gave up on Sherri. The came to see her (even if they got lost), sent text, and kept her spirits up even when she thought she’d rather be left alone. Her “blond comedy team” never stopped encouraging her and loving on her. She said they kept her from falling into the depths of despair.

Sherri said that we need to make sure we don’t ignore or push away the helpers. She said look for the helpers in your life. Give them the opportunity to be there for you.

Sherri explained more of her “depths of hell” story when I sat with her and her husband Jim. Sherri is a teacher. Her story started 4 years ago when she was diagnosed with breast cancer on the first day of summer vacation. She opted for a double mastectomy and had planned reconstruction. She now believes that reconstruction isn’t necessarily the way to go. She was 9 weeks out and after all the infections and issues she had, they had to pull the idea of reconstruction. She is still very angry about the reconstruction issues to this day, especially her concern that girls may believe that without breasts you aren’t feminine or beautiful.

Sherri had chemo that ultimately caused her loss of hair and the results are that her hair is the way it is now…not much chance of it growing more than where it is now (I think she is beautiful and I know her husband does too).

Sherri and Jim Everett

She had a lot of issues such as lymphedema and infections, so she was glad when that portion of her cancer journey seemed to be over.

Fast forward to last summer. Sherri’s belly seemed to be getting thicker and she chalked it up to weight gain, however her doctor wanted blood work to be certain. Sherri’s doctor wanted her to get a physical to make sure everything was ok. First Sherri’s liver enzymes were up. With each test her doctor said it was probably diet and exercise changes that were needed but she wanted another test, then another. Almost 3 years to the day the doctor called Jim and said she wanted both of them to come into the office.

The results were that Sherri had tumors all throughout her peritoneum (the serous membrane that forms the lining of the abdominal cavity). They decide to do a laparoscopy, fearing that Sherri had ovarian cancer. The oncologist came out and told Jim that Sherri had a year to live, as long as she had surgery. Jim said the doctor was crying at that point.

They found that Sherri had appendix cancer (her appendix were encased in a tumor) that secretes this gelatinous matter. Sherri didn’t really realize that she had issues but looking back she can see that she wasn’t feeling well but chalked it up to chemo, etc. She was winded or felt worn out whenever she tried going for walks or did too much in a day.

Her surgeon sent her to a team at CU Anschutz Medical Campus where, last May they had recruited a new surgeon from Pittsburg who performed the particular surgery she needed.

She said it is really hard not to google what is going with your type of cancer but for her, she found that she didn’t want to know about what the statistics say. Her journey is her journey and her statistic is her statistic. She doesn’t want to be compared to someone else because she isn’t them! Sherri said that she read a book called “Anticancer” that she really liked because the doctor who was diagnosed with a brain tumor said he wanted to be on the right side of the graph. We all do!

Sherri said they decided to do the surgery on September 15th. It is a very extensive surgery that takes a team of doctors approximately 14 hours to basically shopvac the gelatinous cancer out. However Sherri ended up with a fever labor day that ended up taking her to the hospital. It was discovered that Sherri was septic! It took so much planning for the type of surgery that Sherri needed, so she focused on getting as healthy as she could so the surgery could be performed as scheduled!

On September 15th they wheeled Sherri into surgery. She says she was calm. She felt that no matter the outcome it would be fine. She said if something happened she’d be asleep and if all went well she’d start the healing process.

Jim took over the explanations from here since Sherri was completely out of it. Since their day started at 7:30 a.m. Jim knew the day was going to be long. He saw the doctor at 9:30 that night. He also saw the residents as they wheeled Sherri down the hall. Jim says the surgeon looked pretty good but the residents looked wiped out. Part of what Sherri had during this special surgery was “hot chemo”. The procedure is called HIPEC or hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy and is performed with cytoreductive surgery (although Sherri calls it MOAS = Mother of all surgeries). They put chemo that was 109 degrees into Sherri’s abdomen and then had to rock her back and forth for an hour and a half to get the chemo into every nook and cranny. Sherri and Jim also said there are only about 1,000 cases of peritoneal cancer per year.

The doctor that performed Sherri’s surgery has done 500 of them. Originally Sherri and Jim were going to go to MD Anderson in Houston, but the hurricane stopped that travel idea. However after meeting her surgeon they knew that staying and having him perform the surgery made the most sense. They trusted him and his skill set, especially once they find out that MD Anderson was sending him their worst cases when he was in Pittsburgh.

Jim spent the whole month that Sherri was in the hospital in their camper in the parking lot. Jim would get up in the morning to make the 5:30 a.m. rounds, spending as much time as possible by her side.

Their sense of humor is amazing. They told a story about the day after surgery when one of the residents was telling Sherri their goals of the day. This was 24 hours after surgery and Sherri was still on a respirator. Jim was anxious when they said they planned to get her up to walk but Sherri responded to his concern with a very special “finger gesture” that makes them both laugh now. Sherri was strong and Jim could see she was in the fight with all her strength (and humor).

Sherri mentioned that Jim looked as bad as she did during those months. Often we forget that the family members struggle as they watch their loved ones fight this disease. They feel helpless and frustrated and angry and scared! They try not to show it and to keep the survivor on the path to recovery as best they can.

Sherri and Jim talk about the pain management team and all that the nurses, residents, and doctors did to help her recover. It’s hard to believe listening to Sheri that she had only been recovering for about 10 months after such a massive surgery. She had an ileostomy so she had trouble getting nutrients. That was reversed December 1st, 2017. They removed 30 pounds of organs and she has lost a total of 70 pounds as of July 14. Because part of her stomach has been removed it is like a weight loss surgery. Sherri only eats a ¼ cup of food at a time, several times a day.

Sherri had to receive 6 months of chemo. It is the same chemo that is used for colon cancer. She would receive the chemo though a port for 46 hours every 2 weeks. When I met her she had finished her last chemo 3 weeks prior to the Relay!

I missed meeting Sherri and Jim’s three children (Jake, Scott???, and Grace). Their eyes light up as they talk about how wonderful their kids are. The boys were away at college and Grace was home when she went through her first bout with cancer. This time Grace is away at college and the boys are home. They’d rather their kids didn’t have to deal with cancer at all!

Grace was just about to start her senior year when Sherri was diagnosed breast cancer. She shaved her head (she had long hair at the time) when her mom and Dad shaved their hair off. When Grace started applying for college the essay on the common application was “name a time when you transitioned from childhood to adulthood” so Grace wrote about how she applied to colleges by herself because her parents were going through so much dealing with Sherri’s cancer. She told her parents that they could read her paper but they couldn’t edit it.

Sherri and Jim give me hope for the end to cancer. Their fight against this disease and for their life together is inspiring. Sherri mentioned that the doctor said that at her scan in July she had no significant changes so the cancer was at a standstill. The doctor told her to go home and live her life for the next 3 months when they would scan her again (in October).

Sherri said because cancer is something that invades your body it also can invade your mind. She wakes up in the morning and thinks…. “is today the day? I feel pretty good, so I don’t think so.” She then tries her absolute best to leave that thought alone and plan her day of living. Everyone who has faced cancer can let that fear creep in but Sherri has an amazing attitude. Jim and Sherri show what a family unit of strength, power, humor, and love looks like. Her appreciation of her family and friends is apparent as she lives her life to the fullest every day, as we wait for the cure to this terrible disease. Not only does she look for the helpers in this world, she IS one of the helpers in this world.

Another wonderful woman I met was Heather Sewczak, a 19-year melanoma survivor. Heather said that her cancer was detected when she was only 22 years old. It was the summer she got married and she said that she wore her scar as a badge of honor not for herself but to bring awareness to others that skin cancer is detectable, treatable, but also deadly if ignored. Because of her annual physical her doctor found her original cancer. Because it was on her shoulder she did not see that there was a questionable area on her skin that needed to be checked.

Me and Heather Sewczak

Heather continues to remind people that because the doctor recognized that something on her skin wasn’t right she was sent to a dermatologist that diagnosed and treated her melanoma, something that is often missed. She and her family are checked annually, and she reminds her family members, coworkers and friends to do the same. She says she is that obnoxious friend on Facebook that reminds people to get their examinations. Getting these checks, she believes have kept people healthy and safe.

Last year it was discovered that she had basal cell carcinoma, another type of skin cancer. As she said she is “resetting her clock” when it comes to cancer.

Melanoma diagnosis continue to rise each year. It is the most common skin cancer. There are many facts that people are not aware of so please do not take this type of cancer lightly.

https://www.cancer.org/cancer/melanoma-skin-cancer/about/key-statistics.html

Barb Bolander was diagnosed in July, 1998 with stage 2B breast cancer. Barb found her cancer herself. She made an appointment with her doctor he sent her for a mammogram, then a biopsy, and then surgery.

Barb Bolander in her “Disney Friends” ears, walking as a survivor but also a friend whose last name was Disney.

Barb had a lumpectomy but because the margins were not clear she ended up having a mastectomy. She chose not to have reconstruction surgery. She also had 8 chemotherapy treatments and 27 radiation treatments. Barb mentions that 20 years ago the treatments were so different from today (and it’s hard to remember 20 years ago), but progress is wonderful!

Barb believes that she has many gifts and angels in her life so as a way to give back she hosts/coordinates a support group in Longmont, Colorado.

The support group in Longmont has actually been going since the 70’s. Barb has been facilitating for about 15 years. She said it is a group that contacts through email, calls, etc. There are approximately 40 people on their list but 6-15 usually attend the monthly meetings. They have speakers that come talk to the group, such as oncologists, that share their knowledge and answer questions for the attendees.

She is also part of a movement on the ground stages called Roberta’s Legacy (http://robertaslegacy.org/contact/) which she was asked to participate in as a board member, but had to resign. She said she will continue to be part of this group as much as time allows.

Barb finds that giving back helps her to continue to appreciate the life she has been blessed with, especially after cancer. She said she wondered how she could celebrate 20 years cancer free and felt that being a part of this wonderful group was an impactful way to rejoice.

Barb’s husband, family and friends were a phenomenal support for her. She said she received a card almost every single day during her 6 months of treatments from her brother and sister-in-law, and many of her friends. Barb laughs when she says she doesn’t know where they got that many cards but she kept them on the table by her chair so she could look at them whenever she was having a down day. Barb said that those reminders of love, in card form, were what kept her spirits high and her focus on getting better.

Barb says that being in remission for 20 years is an amazing blessing. She Relays for a friend of hers who was diagnosed with a reoccurrence of breast cancer when Barb was diagnosed. Sadly her friend lost her battle. She was a coworker (they were both elementary school teachers) and dear friend. She walks on a team called Disney Friends because her friends last name was Disney.

Janie Hug is a two-time cancer survivor. During a routine exam the doctor found something that she felt warranted an ultrasound. It was found that Janie had kidney cancer, so she underwent surgery. The cancer was completely contained within the kidney so after the kidney was removed no other treatments were needed.

Me and Janie Hug

Janie went in for a scan and a checkup every year. At her 5-year mark she had her scan and was called back to the doctors because they saw something in the lower lobe of her left lung. Because they were actually looking at her kidney the radiologist couldn’t see the questionable area on her lung very well. How wonderful that the radiologist looked so thoroughly at the scan, otherwise the second cancer might have been missed. She had another scan focusing on the lung area, which they could see the cancer.

Janie went to a surgeon to see what was needed but she didn’t like the first one. She called her primary doctor and asked for the name of another surgeon. She met the second surgeon and she really liked him.

The first surgeon wanted to do a much more radical surgery which Janie didn’t agree with. The second surgeon agreed with Janie, saying that since they couldn’t see cancer in specific areas they shouldn’t just be radically removed unnecessarily.

Janie had 4 rounds of chemotherapy. It was suggested that she also have radiation to the brain since lung cancer can affect that area of the body. At first Janie said no but after thinking about it she did agree. She had 10 radiation treatments for prophylactic purposes. Because she spoke with the radiologist for the treatments she felt the decision to have a lower dose of radiation as a preventative measure was much better than having higher doses if there was an occurrence of cancer.

Even though she knew it was a possibility Janie was sad to lose her hair again. Once she was done with her treatments though she was happy to move on with her life again! She went and visited her kids, met her friends in Reno to celebrate her 70th birthday, and this year she’s going to meet her friends in Las Vegas.

Janie loves Relay! She has been on both sides of cancer. Her last caregiving experience was in 2014 when her sister had small cell carcinoma in both lungs. The doctors missed the cancer, stating that the issue was COPD. Janie’s sister was never scanned to see if there was anything else going on, she only had x-rays which will not catch some types of cancer. Janie said her sisters’ last 6 months was very difficult. It was very hard to watch her sister suffer.

Janie has known many people that have had cancer. In fact she lost 3 neighbors in the last 2 years; ages 57, 69, and 74. The neighbor next to her has also had 2 bouts with cancer and chemotherapy.

Janie does what she can to help raise money for the end to cancer, and to raise hope for others. Her last name is very fitting, she is like a loving HUG.

I met two very special women involved with Firestone’s Carbon Valley Relay For Life event who work for American Cancer Society, although I bet if you ask them they will say it is much more than a job. At least that is how it felt to me.

Amanda Seier, Senior Manager, Community Development at American Cancer Society became interested in the fight against cancer about 15 years ago when she was working at a YMCA camp in Michigan. She was motivated by the children she worked with at the World Oncology Camp, that was in partnership with American Cancer Society, bringing children from 13 different countries to camp during their cancer journey so they could “just be a kid”. Amanda said these children were amazing and touched her deeply.

Me and Amanda Seier, Senior Manager, Community Development at American Cancer Society

Amanda said that when she moved to Colorado in 2003 she wanted to continue to support ACS so she became a volunteer on the planning committee and a team captain for the Weld County Relay For Life event in Greeley, Colorado.

She moved to Denver in 2011 and started working for ACS full time. She says “Now my motivation is thanks to the dozens of survivors and those who have passed from cancer that I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting throughout my journey with ACS.”

Caleb and Amanda, one is drawing a picture and the other is signing the Relay for Life Shirts

As a mom I also understand when Amanda said she also wants her son, Caleb, “to grow up in a world with less cancer”. She is working to help that happen!

The other person I had the privilege to meet was Marissa Jones, Community Development Manager for the Carbon Valley Relay For Life event, as well as Relays throughout the Denver area.

At the time this event was held Marissa had only been with ACS as a staff partner for 10 months, but she explained that her connection to the mission of ACS has been much longer.

Me and Marissa Jones, Community Development Manager

Her relationship with Relay For Life began her freshman year in high school when it was first introduced to her school. That same year her mother was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.

She and her family went through a very difficult time as Marissa’s mom lost her cancer battle the following year. Marissa said that “Relay for Life gave my family a place to turn to find hope and a community in the midst of a very difficult time for us”. She and her family continued to participate in Relay for years in memory of this important and loved woman. She also said that “Relay For Life has and always will be very near and dear to my heart”.

She loves her job because, as staff partner, she gets to experience the joy of participating in all different types of Relays all over the Denver area. The passion and commitment that Marissa feels is explained when she says “I continue to see and hear so many wonderful stories of hope from individuals on all different types of cancer journeys. Relay helped me when all felt lost and I now use that as my motivation to do all I can to help even one person who may be going through the same type of experience I did”.

Both Marissa’s and Amanda’s drive and hope for a world with less cancer comes from their life experiences and hope for a world that will someday be cancer free.

Every person my husband and I met at Firestone’s Carbon Valley Relay had that same desire. Either as a survivor, caregiver or having been on both sides of cancer, each person wants others to know that there is life after cancer. Even if a family member or friend has lost their battle with this terrible disease, there memory and the love that others feel for them continues, which mean they live on. Cancer can take a lot of things away but it can’t touch the memory and love we have for one another.

#amercancancersociety #relayforlife cancer newmexico colorado

0 notes