Helena Trent

In Darkness Born the Light - My Journey From Mutation To Transformation

  • Contact Helena
  • Calligraphy Giveaway
  • My Chemo Routine

Archives for November 2018

Listening to Joy

November 29, 2018 by Helena Trent 3 Comments

I had my monthly appointment with my oncologist this afternoon. He is very happy with the progress I am making. No changes to medication, just keep doing what’s working. They scheduled me for a CT Scan and a brain MRI on January 4, then a follow-up appointment on January 9. That should give us some definitive answers to how much progress I am making and if any changes to my treatment plan are needed. 

Meanwhile, I am feeling much better, making progress gradually, going for walks when the weather permits and doing some tai chi practice more regularly. My energy level is improving… slowly but surely.

I am learning to pace myself. It’s hard for me to sit around and do very little, yet I can’t argue with the results. The free time, the rest has done wonders for my body. I was tempted to get back on a schedule, but was told (very wisely) not to. When we put things on a schedule, we go through the day on auto pilot… do this then that… even if they are activities good for us like tai chi, meditation, walk, etc. Once it’s on the schedule, it’s a thing to do. It may make us feel very productive especially in the short term, but it keeps us from having to “listen” to life’s calling. That’s how I got into trouble before, I was the master at fitting everything in… to the point my body had to say no to me in a big way. Now that I don’t have a schedule, I have to check in with myself and see what I want to do moment to moment. Throughout the day, I would ask myself, “what would give me the deepest joy?” whatever comes to mind, I would go do that. I am practicing living with joy so my body says yes to life. Cancer may end up not only saving my life but teaching me how to live more fully and joyfully. 

Filed Under: Medical Update, Progress update

Freedom

November 17, 2018 by Helena Trent 5 Comments

I have had another decent week under my belt. I continue to improve and my energy level is more stable this week. I have gained a few pounds back after losing 20+ lbs since this ordeal started.  My calcium level was very low because of the cancer in my bones were leeching calcium into my blood. With radiation treatments and lots of supplements, my calcium is now normal for the first time in months. I even started driving this week! It felt great to be out on my own again. It has been a couple of months since I drove myself anywhere. I stopped driving because I was on opioids for pain and didn’t trust myself to drive. Brett was job hunting and had time to drive me to my doctors’ appointments, etc. otherwise I would stay home. He got a job offer in Canton, OH about 2 hours away starting in first week of December. I am very happy for him. It also means I need to work towards regaining my independence again.

Now that I am generally feeling better, I have been reading and learning a lot about cancer and healing. I started back on some gentle tai chi practice again along with meditation and healing visualization. I am just starting to get a sense of how powerful our mind could be in the healing process. 

My favorite quote this week:

Illness is often nothing more than a healthy response to an unhealthy situation.

– Healing From Within
mind

Want to know something interesting about the mind in Chinese? The word “mind” doesn’t exist! In Chinese, the concept of mind is represented by two characters “heart” and “spirit”. When the heart and spirit energy are aligned, the mind is quiet. When they are out of balance, then the mind is turbulent. I am learning to listen to my body with my heart and paying attention to how it affects my spirit. Every major set back in my life has caused me to learn and grow as a person, cancer is no different. I am grateful for the learning opportunity… life and death it may be. Nothing like having death as the motivation to live! Lol!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I have you all to be thankful for in my life. You gave me the strength to face life when I had none and started me on my healing journey.

Filed Under: Progress update

Onward and Upward

November 10, 2018 by Helena Trent 7 Comments

This week has been a better week overall. I still had quite a swing in my energy levels. Some days I got up and I felt really good, almost “normal” and other days I got up I needed to go back to bed! It’s a good thing that I don’t have a lot of plans these days or more precisely I have very flexible plans. I go with the flow, eat when I am hungry and sleep when I am tired. If it wasn’t for the stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis, it’s a really good life. lol!

Eating and sleeping is usually not how I deal with life’s problems, but in this case, I am happy to be flexible. 🙂 I have had an extremely busy and stressful year, taking some much needed rest is just what I needed for my body and soul.

busy

I have always loved languages and cultures. There is so much wisdom in words. In Chinese, the character for busy looks like this. There are two particles. On the left is the symbol for heart. On the right is the symbol for death. Busy literally means death of the heart. Before my cancer diagnosis, my calendar was filled to the max day and night everyday of the week. I didn’t seem to find a way to clear my schedule to have some time to myself. How quickly things could change! It’s all in perspective! 

Filed Under: Inspiration, Progress update

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Recent Posts

  • Thank You All
  • In Honor of Helena
  • The Time Has Come…
  • Journey’s End
  • New Toys

Recent Comments

  • Sudesh on Journey’s End
  • Huiling Song on Journey’s End
  • Rita on Journey’s End
  • Mary Ellen Turner on Journey’s End
  • Sandy on Journey’s End

Archives

  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2016

Categories

  • Conversations with Cancer
  • Family
  • Inspiration
  • Medical Appointments
  • Medical Update
  • Progress update
  • Wisdom Characters
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT