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About Vernonia's voice. (Vernonia, OR) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2009)
health and wellness july 2009 Breast Cancer Survivor Marie Botchie Celebrates Life ® At Cancer Treatment Centers of America ® Joins Fellow Five-Year Cancer Survivors in Tree-Planting Ceremony Marie Botchie returned to Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Midwestern Regional Medical Center (Midwestern) in suburban Chicago in May to celebrate her years as a metastatic breast cancer survivor. Botchie was joined by doctors, hospital administration and the clinical support team in a tree-planting ceremony in her honor. Five doves were released at the conclusion of the event to commemorate each year of her fighting survival. More than five years ago, Botchie, 44 of rural Rainier, Oregon, was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer that had metastasized to her lymph nodes and was trailing in her blood stream. After losing his father to cancer just two years earlier, Botchie’s husband Michael was determined to find advanced medical treatment options that would help his wife. He spent countless hours researching on the internet. “I was looking for someone who offered it all. I knew I wanted and needed more than conventional treatment. So when Michael told me what he’d read online about the integrative care and complementary therapies at CTCA, we set up an appointment right away,” Botchie said. Botchie’s treatment plan consisted of a customized ‘cocktail’ combination of various chemotherapy drugs delivered in fractionated doses every three weeks, eight weeks of radiation and then two final doses of chemo. Her treatment protocol also included nutritional and naturopathic support, mind-body therapy, physical therapy and acupuncture to help her fight the disease on all fronts, manage her treatment side effects and maintain quality of life. “Dr. Citrin sat down, explained my treatment options, provided me research information and gave me hope. He even gave us his pager number which he then answered within five minutes in the middle of the night, when we were in a bind, which astonished the physician treating me in the ER. I wish all health care professionals and institutions would care for their patients as well as CTCA cared for me,” she said. After being a cancer survivor for more than five years, Botchie’s advice to other patients is simple, “Make it the best thing that ever happened to you. You have a choice. Don’t be a victim to it. Every day is what you choose to make it, no matter what the circumstances,” she said. And to caregivers, she advises, “Allow others to help you. The burden is too much for one person!” Today, Botchie still travels more than 2,000 miles for her yearly checkups at CTCA. In honor of her 45 th birthday and five year celebration, she and Michael plan to enjoy the warm July weather on their new boat, spending a long weekend traveling the Columbia River. In addition to running a family business, the Botchie family also contributes to the community as volunteer firefighters and both Michael and Marie are Army Veterans. Botchie also enjoys scrapbooking and spending time with the many pets they’ve acquired through one form of rescue or another. Botchie remarks ‘how sweet it is’ that “there was never any doubt for me that I would be here to celebrate my fifth. I had worries and fears, but I practice every day to be the kind of person that I want to be.” ANONYMOUS DONOR In support of Vernonia’s Voice! 17 Better Parenting: Never Lie to Your Kids By Sonia Spackman A parenting trainer once said that perfect parenting is not a matter of keeping up with the Joneses, (whoever they are) or having perfectly groomed kids to show off to our relatives. Let’s be real, parenting kids is a demanding job. Why do you lie to your kids? Parents can make themselves into liars. “Susie, you have to eat your dinner before you get ice cream and cake.” “Yes you may go to the ball game on Saturday if all your chores are done.” If Susie gets cake and ice cream no matter the reason or John goes to the ball game and his chores are not done you were not telling the truth. This was false, they were lies and you became a liar. Once you say something you must impose it. Each time the behavior happens the consequences need to happen. How do I get off track? If we are real, we will admit that we make excuses for our efforts because we want to do as we please. Doing as we please in our families is what gets us off track. Hit and miss parenting produces hit and miss results with our kids. Why do humans need order and consistency? It brings us a sense of security. When parents are inconsistent a child doesn’t know what to expect because his surroundings are unpredictable and confusing. Imagine if you had a job where you could come in late and nothing happened but sometimes you were severely reprimanded? Imagine at this same job your boss ignored your work and then threatened you because your work wasn’t done when he wanted it? Young children think in terms of right or wrong- black or white. Children are concrete thinkers---they do not understand the gray areas very well and become bewildered or insecure when you don’t do what you say. Should I be a strict parent or an easy parent? Studies show that inconsistency in the home can be damaging to children because they can never feel secure in a world they do not understand. Inconsistent love and inconsistent consequences confuse the children. If a child is punished for a certain behavior every time, it makes sense to him. To get in trouble sometimes and get away with behavior other times is confusing. It would be easier for a child to adjust to a strict home, or to a parent who is easy than to go back and forth. Do not be too strict. How severe the consequence is, is less important than the CONSISTANT use of it. SAY WHAT YOU MEAN, MEAN WHAT YOU SAY AND DO EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY YOU WILL DO! How do I start? Remember when you start that it is “short term pain for long term gain.” Decide on a short list of behaviors you want to stop or start. If the kids are old enough have a family meeting and explain the behavior you want to stop or start and the rewards or consequences. Allow the kids to help in deciding the final list. Make sure that you pay attention to their behavior, by giving rewards or consequences each time. The rules have to stay the same even if you are having a bad day or a good day. Once you have consequences continued on page 23 For Goodness Sake... Promoting Health of the Mind, Body, Spirit and Community By Heather Lewis, LMT, CLT, NT Bridgette and I seldom go to the doctor. We believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. That is one of the reasons that I agreed to write this column to share with you what we have found to be of benefit. However, as I sit to write this month’s section, I am once again reminded that when needed, healthcare in this country is a luxury for many. The Vernonia Health Clinic Board has been working diligently to develop a new business plan in order to better serve this community. In the process of the review needed to complete this, a needs assessment review is being completed. We found that our town is facing the challenge of making affordable, accessible and essential healthcare available with 54+% of us under or uninsured. Any business would find it dif- ficult to continue if 54% of their clients could not pay in full for services they received. We are fortunate that the goal of Providence and The Health Board is not profit but quality healthcare. Yet in order to continue to provide Vernonia with the quality of care we deserve, we need to be seeking solutions to maintain fiscal viability. We are not alone. Last night I watched as The President talked with the country on healthcare reform. I learned that: 1.over 46 million people are without insurance in this country 2.Primary care physicians are underpaid and dif- ficult to recruit 3.The US is ranked number 27 in the world for quality of healthcare 4.Insurance rates have doubled in the last nine years 5.Employers have had to either cut benefits or increase employee contribution or discontinue health- care coverage completely 6.Everyone in the audience (AMA, Physicians, Patients, Insurance groups, Employers, Democrats, and Republicans) all agreed that some sort of health- care reform is needed. 7.There are vastly differing opinions of what that reform should look like. It was like they had taken the minutes from one of our Health Board meetings and read them aloud to the nation. There were also some rays of hope. Some clinics (The Mayo Clinic being an example) have found ways to cut costs and still provide quality of care. The Health Board recognized early on that we need to be seeking out clinics that are doing what we want successfully and determine if these operating plans will work here. Irregardless of which side of the issue you find your- self on, now is the time to make your voice heard. We need this issue to be thoroughly looked at from every vantage point in order to develop a feasible plan. The Health Board is currently seeking new board members to help with our local planning and restructure. If you feel called to be of service to your community in this capacity you may submit applica- tion in writing to Carolyn Keasey, 14426 Keasey Rd. Vernonia, OR 97064. On a national level both of our Senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, have been running ads and are seeking your input on what direction healthcare reform should be pursuing. It is a costly topic of conversation but one we can’t afford not to have and still maintain a standard of care we can be proud of. Please enter into the discussion. Here’s wishing you good health…