Skip to main content

Darwin and Bueller

Not only is today Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, it is also the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. There’s more interesting information about his life including and beyond the evolution theory today at one of my favorite Twitter follows www.twitter.com/capitalweather.

Separately, I received today my daily quote in my inbox from Charles Darwin. To clarify, the email was from the Sierra Club, the quote from Charles Darwin. :) It is:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.

This is an interesting quote, isn’t it? OK, get out of your “Let’s debate evolution vs. creation” mind set. I’m thinking about life here.

I’m not big on change. Having thyroid cancer has been a big change for me. I overheard my husband talking on the phone this week with someone who had obviously asked how the doctor’s appointment with Dr. Pun went. He responded, “Look, having cancer isn’t like breaking your arm or having food poisoning where you treat it, and it’s done. You have to see doctors the rest of your life for this.”

Now granted, I hope to be in the position that the “rest of your life” follow up bit is farther and farther between visits. But he’s right. Not only has it changed my life superficially with the lovely five-inch neck scar but also in the way I live my life, the way our family lives our collective lives.

It’s good to be strong. It’s good to be intelligent. I hope that I am a reasonable blend of both. I strive to be more adaptable to change moving forward, with or without cancer. Preferably without.

What does Ferris Bueller say? Haven’t I quoted him before? Geez…anyway:

“Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Comments

  1. dayton06February 13, 2009 at 1:26 PM

    Hey Charlcie! That Bueller quote has always been a favorite of mine as well. Glad to hear that you've replaced the "doctor you don't like." I think that being able to communicate with your doctor will do wonders for your mental health as well as kicking the cancer! Great family picture as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Curt McCormickFebruary 13, 2009 at 2:22 PM

    Hooray for Dr. Pun! Today's Maxim: This ain't no dress rehearal; life's too short for crappy doctors (or wine).

    My favorite Ferris Bueller comment?

    "The key to faking out the parents is the clammy hands. It's a good non-specific symptom; I'm a big believer in it. A lot of people will tell you that a good phony fever is a dead lock, but, uh... you get a nervous mother, you could wind up in a doctor's office. That's worse than school. You fake a stomach cramp, and when you're bent over, moaning and wailing, you lick your palms. It's a little childish and stupid, but then, so is high school."

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownFebruary 14, 2009 at 12:49 PM

    Curt, probably my second favorite Ferris quote from you!

    Chris bought me a T-shirt for Christmas that says "SAVE FERRIS" on it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Meg McCormickFebruary 20, 2009 at 12:43 PM

    Hi there, just catching up on some blog reading (while I should be working but oh well). Just wanted to tell you, I went over to Twitter to follow Capital Weather Gang and their name over there is just Capital Weather. Did you know Curt loves those guys too? So does our friend Marty.

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownFebruary 20, 2009 at 6:51 PM

    Yikes, you are right Meg about Twitter and the Capitol Weather Gang! I mixed it up with the Post URL. To clarify:

    http://twitter.com/capitalweather

    http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalweathergang/

    Many thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

More about batting a thousand...

Ah, I didn't really explain the "batting a thousand" reference in relationship to me when posting on the blog last night. Was still in a bit of a fog from the news I received from the ultrasound. A bit of history... Batting a thousand: 1. June 2008: ultrasound reveals suspicious nodules that should be biopsied. 2. July 2008: after biopsy confirms papillary carcinoma, neck ultrasound to look at lymph nodes finds suspicious lymph nodes. Post-surgery found out about the four positive lymph nodes, two of which were the size of small plums. 3. December 2008: Ultrasound post total thyroidectomy and neck dissection, small nodules found in the thyroid bed along with a suspicious lymph node. So in summary, every ultrasound I have had of my thyroid and neck this year has revealed something suspicious. Thus, I am batting 1,000 with the ultrasounds in 2008. Feeling rather bleh and crappy about it all today. It's Christmas...why do I have to deal with cancer again? Ugh.
11 comments
Read more

On my soapbox about "the best cancer to have"

Those of you who follow me on Twitter know I was on my soapbox this morning after reading yet another article about the dreaded subject of how thyroid cancer is "the best cancer to have." Think about that...the best cancer? Why would someone say that? In an attempt to make you feel better about having thyroid cancer, some health care profesionals try to convince those of us who have or have had thyroid cancer that it is "the best cancer to have" because it has a high survival rate. An aside here, that high survival rate applies to papillary carcinoma, one of the three types of thyroid cancer out there. Survival rates are lower for medullary carcinoma and anaplastic carcinoma, the other two types of thyroid cancer. Back on topic...OK, so tell us that papillary carcinoma has a high survival rate. Truly, that is good news. But because of this "best cancer to have" statement, and the fact that I was told my thyroidectomy would most likely be just an easy, ove...
13 comments
Read more

After a year, I'm still waiting....and waiting

Here I am back again at my blog talking about thyroid cancer again. I had my yearly appointment last week with Dr. Wartofsky. It was an interesting one. He had two students in the exam room with us. I didn't mind. He's one of the best thyroid cancer doctors in the world (I'm not kidding) so please, spread your knowledge to any who will listen. He could have easily said, gesturing to me, "This is exhibit A, a papillary carcinoma patient who has had multiple recurrences." I actually think he did that before I came in the room. I started the appointment with honesty: "Hey, I am really nervous because I have not gone a year between appointments since my recurrence." He understood. The students nodded. I showed the students my scars along with their accompanying stories. I have two scars: one large one about five inches long centered on my neck, lower half, and the other about three inches long on the upper right side of my neck. The longer one ...
2 comments
Read more