Stealing a Post

It's not often (okay, it's been never) that I've used my blog to round up support for a person facing difficult times. Now is the time. WhyMommy has allowed me (and you!) to re-post her post on inflammatory breast cancer. She has it. My extended family has also been touched...scratch that...ravaged by IBC. So drop WhyMommy a line at her blog Toddler Planet and feel free to five-finger discount her post. It's the right thing to do.

***

WhyMommy's Post on Inflammatory Breast Cancer

We hear a lot about breast cancer these days. One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetimes, and there are millions living with it in the U.S. today alone. But did you know that there is more than one type of breast cancer?

I didn’t. I thought that breast cancer was all the same. I figured that if I did my monthly breast self-exams, and found no lump, I’d be fine.

Oops. It turns out that you don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer. Six weeks ago, I went to my OB/GYN because my breast felt funny. It was red, hot, inflamed, and the skin looked…funny. But there was no lump, so I wasn’t worried. I should have been. After a round of antibiotics didn’t clear up the inflammation, my doctor sent me to a breast specialist and did a skin punch biopsy. That test showed that I have inflammatory breast cancer, a very aggressive cancer that can be deadly.

Inflammatory breast cancer is often misdiagnosed as mastitis because many doctors have never seen it before and consider it rare. “Rare” or not, there are over 100,000 women in the U.S. with this cancer right now; only half will survive five years. Please call your OB/GYN if you experience several of the following symptoms in your breast, or any unusual changes: redness, rapid increase in size of one breast, persistent itching of breast or nipple, thickening of breast tissue, stabbing pain, soreness, swelling under the arm, dimpling or ridging (for example, when you take your bra off, the bra marks stay – for a while), flattening or retracting of the nipple, or a texture that looks or feels like an orange (called peau d’orange). Ask if your GYN is familiar with inflammatory breast cancer, and tell her that you’re concerned and want to come in to rule it out.

There is more than one kind of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is the most aggressive form of breast cancer out there, and early detection is critical. It’s not usually detected by mammogram. It does not usually present with a lump. It may be overlooked with all of the changes that our breasts undergo during the years when we’re pregnant and/or nursing our little ones. It’s important not to miss this one.

Inflammatory breast cancer is detected by women and their doctors who notice a change in one of their breasts. If you notice a change, call your doctor today. Tell her about it. Tell her that you have a friend with this disease, and it’s trying to kill her. Now you know what I wish I had known before six weeks ago.

You don’t have to have a lump to have breast cancer.

Updates - The Worm Bin, The Compost Pile and The Ultimate Recycler

It's been quite some time since I've updated you on my husband's worm bin creation. You may remember that the design was a winner (recycled Tidy Cat litter tubs) but the result was a disaster. I am proud to announce that Green Husband's worm bin is now a success. He kept the design the same but this time went more slowly, being careful not to overload it and giving the worms plenty of time to do their work. I can attest that the bin is now teaming with worms. The second tub contains very rich worm muck and the final bin contains that crazy worm tea. Green Husband uses it to water our potted tomato plants.

Another success is his compost pile. As you can see our vegetable scraps and coffee grounds have composted to a nice, rich, dark dirt - again adding nutrients to our tomato plants.

And finally, The Ultimate Recycler. Several months ago Pip and his Granddaddy spent three hours in Granddaddy's workshop building a birdhouse. When we got it home and up, it was not long before a sparrow took residence and had babies.

Now they have flown the coop, so to speak, so it was time to clean out the nest for the next family. We found feathers from other birds, strips of blue tarp, some plastic wrappers, hay, grasses, and dryer lint.

Thank you, Green Husband, for providing me with so much content for Gift of Green! ; )

Un-Green Addictions - Please Help!

I have several addictions, shall I call them, that are quite un-green. Here are five of them in no particular order. I welcome suggestions or alternatives:

1) Addicted to Ziploc bags. For snacks. For clean diapers. For dirty diapers. For paperwork I don't want to get wet. For clothes that are already wet. I am addicted to Ziploc bags.

2) Television. Not me. My children. Or shall I say, I have *let them* become addicted to television. Can I make some excuses? My children, when they are in my home, do not watch television unless it is PBS Kids. Otherwise, they watch videos of television progams. When do they watch these shows? At 5:30 a.m. when they are up and I am basically not. During food preparation time (lunch and/or dinner). When they have had an extremely active day and want to chill out. I also happen to think that they do learn some important things from television. I know there are quite a number of you, like The Not Quite Crunchy Parent, who have some excellent reasons *why* children, especially those under two, shouldn't watch television. I don't want to start a debate - I am looking for ideas for television alternatives, especially when it comes to providing children with "down" time and/or some unsupervised play ideas for two children under three. (Although, just to show me up, my children are quietly drawing as I blog this.) I need more than, "Try books." or "How about coloring pages." I would like to know exactly how you utilize these methods; what's your story?

3) The Buying of the Lunch. Not only is this a money-waster, but when I purchase my lunch from the cafeteria at work, whether it be from the hot food line or the salad bar, it comes in a single-use only plastic container. I can't help thinking as I toss the packaging I just purchased 15 minutes prior, "And so ends the life cycle of the food storage container." Waste. Reasons why I don't make my own lunch: sheer laziness and a rush out the door in the a.m. I am addicted to the buying of the lunch.

4) Kraft Singles: Not just Kraft singles, but several other foods that are not just "convenient" but in my mind have some kind of memory associated with them. Grilled cheese just tastes better with Kraft singles. Individually wrapped slices be damned. What's your "comfort" product?

and finally

5) McDonalds. There. I've said it. McDonalds, McDonalds, McDonalds. I have created my own monster. It's my fault. The children like the french fries and those G-d-forsaken toys from China. I need your help. Do you have a "special" (do you "think" I use the "emphasis" quotes "enough"?) treat for the kids when you're on the road that diverges a bit from your everyday fare?

Update: I have to share some link love immediately after seeing Mom Go Green's latest post. Prepare to be amazed.

Update to the Update: Is it Sailboats Made of Recycled Materials Week and I wasn't told about it? Look at this awesome offering from SusieJ.

Give My Regards to BlogHer

Tell her that I'll soon be there...just not this year.

Safe travels and fun times to all my readers heading to Chicago!

Your Gift of Green Writer,

Amy

10 Green Things You Can Do With Your Kids This Week

I. am. home. with. the. kids. For those of you who are SAHMs, you may begin laughing at me now. My daycare provider is on vacation, ergo, so am I. Although I am slightly inexperienced at this sort of thing (yes, that was Pip who streaked the playground today - wince, sorry all!), I am really enjoying this time at home with my children.

Here, so far, are 10 green things we have done since last Friday.

1) Draw with magic markers. "But on what?", you may ask. Or not. One of the benefits of working outside of the home is the reams and reams of paper sent to the office recycling bins. I say, turn that bad boy over and you've got some perfectly good paper for your budding artistes.

2) Visit the local nature center. This is kind of no-brainer, but you don't have to limit yourself to what is inside the nature center. Some centers have discovery backpacks or their equivalent that contain items such as magnifying glasses or crayons and paper for sketching. Use it on the trail or path to help guide your little explorers.

3) Turn over a log. Good night in the morning have you ever seen what's under a log? Warning: not for the bug-faint-of-heart. We found termites, beetles, prehistoric-sized worms, assorted larvae and other sources of protein. The kids were fascinated. Caution: logs can be heavy. My toe will testify to that.

4) Nature bingo. Create a 3 x 3 table as a word document and insert some clip art or cut out some pictures from a magazine instead. Then, armed with a clipboard and pencil, check off the items as you spot them. For those of you in region 7, here are my nine picks: box turtle, duckweed, ferns, tree stump, pine cone, salamander, toad, animal footprint, nut or seed.

5) Picnic in the Park: Doesn't have to involve wicker hampers. Sometimes an organic cheesestick or bag of pretzels will do. Just get down on the ground. Don't be shy. Anyone know of any eco-friendly picnic blankets? My white capris will thank you.

6) Get wet. Around these parts we have small parks with playground equipment that shoots water in random patterns. The water is recycled when it goes down the drain, coming right back up again. Sure beats filling up that kiddie pool.

7) Take a trip to the Farmer's Market/Natural Foods Store. Can I just write two words: free lunch. My kids can exist on samples alone, but the number of toothpicks they go through is counter-eco-conscious, so I do try to buy in "bulk".

8) Do a bit o' gardening. Unfortunately, due to the zone 7 drought conditions, this year's vegetable garden is limping along, not to recover. This does not prevent us from finding the two or three snow peas that have managed to beat the odds (only to be eaten by us) or to dig up all our planters and toss the dirt on the lawn. Okay, scratch that second idea...don't do that. Measly crop or bumper, there is just something about seeing your kid eat a pea straight from the vine.

9) Hit the yard sales. There is nothing more exhilarating than telling your children that they can have any. toy. they. want. At 1.00 a pop, who's counting? What better way to reduce (no packaging), recycle (their Groovy Girls fad, your treasure), and reuse (Need I mention the Dora backpack AGAIN?).

10) Eat a honkin' piece of watermelon. And chuck the rinds into the compost bin with wild abandon.