Evolution of Cancer - Disbelief

THE FIRST OF TWENTY-TWO POSTS REGARDING THE EVOLUTION OF CANCER.

I remember the spring day in March when I was first diagnosed...it is the day the world stood still. It is like having an out of body experiment. If you are like me you felt disbelief. Did the Doctor just say, "I have cancer"? He/She must have my charts switched with someone else's...it is a mistake and can not be me! The sad reality is...it is you...cancer has found a way into your life.

Individuals who never had cancer think in one diminsion...about how terrible it must be...they tend to focus soley on the physical aspects. In my fight...psycology was just as challenging if not more than the physical affects. Granted the two are connected...but my scars healed, hair grew back, and am no longer undergoing chemotherapy and yet I still bear the psycological affects of the days long past.

So how can you progress through the evoluction of cancer in a healthy and spiritual way? The answer is different for everyone. But the bottom line is to use this time to reflect. Do not rush to the finish line, thinking that when you are curred that all will be fine. Believe me you will not be fine. A lot of bagage i.e. feelings develope as you fight cancer. It is normal, but if you rush through using a defence mechanism of, "I am fine...everything is ok", then you will be pushing your feelings deeper and deeper into your sub-concience. This is what I did and believe me...years later it is difficult to sort it all out.

Another thing family and friends are very important at this time. Without them I would have not made it. Surround yourself with those you love and that love you. And the most important thing is pray. I believe in GOD! I know for a fact that I am here due to his divine intervention (I will share this story later). Regardless if you believe, or by what name you call him...pray. And allow/incourage others to pray. You need all the support you can get.

Disbelief was my first emotion fighting cancer. I was stunned and I knew that I would be on a long road to recovery. This thought is what brought me to my next emotion of fear.

What Does "Rate of Return" Mean to you?

Rate of Return...Crystal Ball?

When you hear people talk about stocks, mutuals, and the market they refer to the Rate Of Return (ROI) as a measure of performance. Do you know what it truley means? Or how it translates to your portfolio and thus your future retirement? Can ROI be used as a crystal ball and tell you what you are in store for?

ROI Defined

The simple definition is the ratio of money gained or lost on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. I think of ROI as a percentage that reflects profit/loss or dollar change in a portfolio over a defined period of time.

Breaking ROI Down

Let us imagine that you have 200,000 dollars in a balanced mutual fund(s) account and your Q4 statement says that you earned 12% for the year 2007. Is this good or bad? Many advisors would say this is great! That your mutual fund matched the growth of the S&P 500. Well lets break down the ROI number shall we. The return of 12% is not taking into account inflation. The inflation rate has been around 3% for several years and is a good number to use as a base value. However, I am conservative and like to use a 4% inflation rate.

Why include Inflation?

First, the definition of inflation. Inflation is measured as the growth of the money supply in an economy, without a commensurate increase in the supply of goods and services. This results in a rise in the general price level as measured against a standard level of purchasing power. In simple terms...its the explanation of why the price of milk in 1980 increased from 1.50 a gallon to 3.25 today. This perspective is important in terms to future dollars. In order to have an accurate picture of your finances you need to account for the rate of inflation...or the loss of purchasing power that todays dollars will have in the future.

Now lets return to our example, including inflation in your 12% ROI...12% subtract 4% equals 8% (I call this Rate of Real Return or RRR). This is not bad...or is it? To fully appreciate this we need to put this in terms of how long we have until planed retirement? Lets say that you have 20 years left till retirement...what will your 200,000 dollars grow to at an average 8% RRR?

Learn the Rule of 72

The rule of 72 states that if you take your RRR and divide it by 72. This number equals the estimated years it will take for your account to double. Lets apply this to our example portfolio: 8% RRR divided by 72 equals 9...9 divided by 20 (years till retirement) is 2.22 rounded to 2. This means that the 200,000 dollars portfolio will double twice at an 8% RRR. Or be valued at 800,000 real dollars at least the estimated purchasing power of your account in 2030 the retirment date for our example.

Is this good or bad?

This depends on the individual...If you feel comfortable with a retirement account of 800k then you are doing great...if not, at least you have an additional 20 years to build your account to the appropriat levels. ROI may not be a crystal ball...but with applying proper applications like RRR or the Rule of 72 we can get pretty close.

Put your Bills on a Diet...in 5 Easy Steps

More Month at the End of the Money?

This happens more than we care to admitt. The neccisities of life...such as food, clothing, electricity, shelter, and transportation take a large chunck of our hard earned dollars. Then add our other expenses for entertainment, eating out, gifts, vacations, furniture, and the dreaded credit cards.

Make Money Work for you!

First and for most you need to sit down and create a budget...yes the dreaded "b" word. But it is imperative to do so. While you are working on your budget here are a few suggestions on how you can save over 8,800 dollars every year.

Savings are based on changes made in my personal budget...may not be the same for everyone.

1. Reduce eating out. We would go out to eat twice durring the work week and for every meal on the weekends. Each meal would cost an average of 30 dollars (for two) and by going out only on the weekends and for two meals (one on Saturday and the second on Sunday) we saved 120 dollars a week, 480 a month, or 5,760 dollars a year (estimated).

2. Gas prices are at all time highs, paying more every month for fuel than the car note. I have a two hour commute to and from work and susbequently use two tanks of gas every week. By useing my company sponsored van pool program I have been able to reduce this to one tank a week. I have been able to save 45 dollars a week, 180 dollars a month, and 2,160 dollars a year.

3. Take a look at your energy provider. I was able to save 50 dollars a month, or 600 dollars a year by just switching to a lower cost provider...with no contract! If you really want to save...you can adjust your thermostate to 77 degrees in the summar and reduce it to 72 degrees in the winter. This will reduce the amount of time that the A/C is working and thus reduce your power bill. I have adopted this strategy and found that we were able to save (on average) an additional 25 dollars per month, or 300 dollars a year. Combining the two cost saving approaches yields a savings of 900 dollars per year.

4. Review your bills. If you can...lump your services into one contract. This can help you get a bigger bang for your dollar. Examples would be to roll your house phone, cell phone, satelite or digital cable, and DSL together. Be careful, sometimes you will get products that you do not want or need but will be forced to take...for the sake of combining your services. For me I was unable to roll all of my services into one exactly because of this reason. But by combing my house phon and DSL I was able to save 5 dollars. Not a whole lot but I will take savings wherever I might find them. Estimated yearly, savings amount to 60 dollars.

5. Stop buying on credit. Pay cash, and you can, sometimes, negotiate a better price. Also, interest that we pay is outrages. Even if you get a "deal" with no interest you are still responsible for the principle. These purchases (that last three years) is what eats away at your hard earned dollars. The savings that could be obtained by switching from credit to cash is astronomical...I can not compute it.

It is amazing the little things that we can do to save. I would have never thought that I could save an additional 700 dollars per month or 8,800 dollars a year by just changing a few things...but I did, and you can to. But remember saving is the first part of the equation. It is what we do with our savings that will dictate how wealthy we will be. More on this later.

How to Show your Wife that you Love her...Everyday

Men...It seems that we are always wrong?

It baffles my mind on how we can do every thing right but at the end of the day be so wrong. Well, the truth of the matter is...we are always wrong (in the eyes of our wives). The sooner we accept it the better husbands we will be. The truth about marriage is give and take...just think about all the ballgames, golf outings, and the fishing trips. So it would not hurt for us to give back too the one we love, the mother of our children.

How to give back

I call this technique a One - Two Punch. First, you must tell her that you love her! We forget sometimes that these simple words are important for our wives to hear. Don't shake your head...it is a "Manly" thing to do. Once you have said, the "L" word prove it to her by your actions...this is the second step and completes the One - two punch.

A few things that you can do to "show" her love is as follows:

Romantic Date - Take her to a special place that has special meaning for the both of you.
Stay the weekend in a neighboring town - I recommend lodging in a Bed & Breakfast.
Help out with keeping the house clean, on a daily basis. It is amazing the results you will obtain.
Buy her thoughtful gifts, or make her something from your heart.
Send her roses...even when you are not in trouble.

One last thing, remember men are always wrong. So when you are helping your wife around the house, buying her something nice, or sending her flowers and she tells you, "this is nice but it is wrong", just smile and say, "I LOVE YOU"!

Cancer Removes all Masks

The Masks we Wear

Every one has flaws and do not want them discovered. Worse yet we would hate to be real with someone and then be rejected. This fear, to be ourselves is what allows the creation of our very own mask. This mask is built just for us…with one objective, to protect us from pain and heartache. Seems like a bargain, we can be popular and protect our feelings...right? For awhile...then you begin to forget what is real and what is pretend.

In Walks Cancer

With each treatment, chemotherapy has an opportunity to zap one's strength. It eventualy becomes difficult to do the little things in life. Durring this stage it is easy to be discouraged. Now, just imagine that you wake up one morning...look into the mirror and realize that you are looking at a stranger. What is real? What is pretend? Talk about an identity crisis. All strength is gone and the only choice available is to remove the mask and take stock of who we are. This is exactly what happened to me…my worst fear.

Living Life with Confidence...and without a Mask

Cancer survivors tend to take stock of what is around us. We appreciate the things that we have previously taken for granted. Such as a walks in the park, the warmth of the sun, a cool midnight breeze, conversations with loved ones, and a good joke. This aspect of cancer allowed me the opportunity to re-connect. To re-learn about who I am and what I am about. I wish I did not have to go through cancer to regain this part of my life but I am glad that I did. Cancer taught me to take advantage of every opportunity even if you have to turn a negative into a positive.

Just imagine what doors are open to you when you overcome cancer. Keep fighting the good fight.

Cancer...Difficult for Family and Friends

Cancer is Cancerous, to all who care about you

Life happens if we like it or not. This is especially true when life throws an obstacle our way; an obstacle called cancer. This could be happening to you or a loved one. In either case it is not a pleasant experience.

Believe me when I say, "cancer is harder on loved ones". Because it is...think about it. The burden of fighting the disease falls upon the patient, and the loved one feels helpless. Only the patient receives treatment...and only the patient can fight. So what can you, a love one do to help? How can you help them feel better? The answer is nothing. Why? Because no matter what a loved one does, it never feels like enough. This is a natural emotion...feeling small compared to a huge life threatening disease like cancer.

With this being said, you need to realize that small acts of kindness go a long way in the eyes of a cancer patient. Just because you feel helpless does not mean that you are. In fact you have the capability to save their life. Just being by their side, talking, visiting, preparing meals, and praying for them turns a potential bad day to a better one. That, my friend, is power. Power only you, a loved one, has. Sure you will still battle your inner emotions...the feeling like you are not doing enough, but just remember you hold the keys that help fuel the, "I-Can-cer-Vive" attitude. In my opinion, that is the difference between life and death. Below is a list of activities that will make a difference in your loved ones life.

• Provide an escape. Cancer patients have many battles, such as Chemo, life altering surgeries, and the emotional roller coaster that goes along with cancer. Provide an escape away from all of this. It does not have to cost an arm and a leg. An escape could be a beautiful picnic at the park or going to see a movie. Just remember to talk to the Doctor before you take them anywhere...their bodies have a harder time fighting infections, and an outing could be dangerous. However, if you focus on their interests you can provide them an escape from reality for several minutes and hopefully a couple of hours.
• Provide cooking, cleaning, babysitting assistance... etc. In essence help them with their everyday chores, mostly the ones they dislike and especially the ones that are physically challenging.
• Listen! Be a sound board. Do not feel that you have to say anything special...sometimes words are not needed, just ears. Remind them that you are here for them and that will never change.
• Pray...form payer groups. Prayer is a team sport, so invite everyone!

Remember your job is to make their life easier. Whatever that entails is fair game. And do not ever underestimate your power to heal.