Catholics
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Red u'r really having a difficult time with all of this, I am so sorry u r facing so much. My prayers are going out to u.
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Bloodwork indicates that the itchiness is not an allergic reaction so I'll still receive treatment this Wednesday. Thank the Lord for small gifts! It's just another side effect so we have to treat the symptoms. I think I can officially call myself a "druggie". LOL. Thank you all for your continued prayers!
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Red that's good news for u.--Join the club of drugs--
Say yes to drugs.0 -
Better living through pharmaceuticals (AND prayer)!
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Sisters...
Heading out shortly for followup mammogram and MRI...fear is starting to overtake me....I hate feeling this way..
If I may ask for a short prayer from you, I would be most appreciative...
Praying for all of you nightly...
Tori
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prayers for you Tori & all God's children tonight.
May we all be blessed with peace this week.
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We have a new Pope-Francis !. Let us pray for him as we pray for each other, Amen Sheila
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Amen!
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Had my appointment with the surgeon and am now schedule for a ductile excision next Friday. He says most of the time it turns out to NOT be cancer so keeping my fingers crossed and praying.
Thanks so much,
Val
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Hi I'm wondering as a practicing Catholic and cancer patient do we still have to abstain from meat during lent?
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I abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, however the rules state that if you need to eat meat for health reasons, you can.
CATHOLIC LENTEN RULES FOR FASTING AND ABSTINENCE
Abstinence from meat is observed on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all the Fridays of Lent by all Catholics 14 years of age and older.
Fasting is observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age and older but not yet 59. Those bound by this rule may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted as necessary to maintain strength according to one's needs, but eating solid foods is not permitted.
(NOTE: Both fasting and abstinence apply only to those who will not be harmed in any manner by obedience to the dietary prescription. If you have low blood sugar, diabetes, or are taking treatments that require the intake of food or protein, you are fully absolved from any obligation to adhere to these rules0 -
God bless Pope Francis! I was somewhat surprised by the quickness of the decision. I expected it to be at least 3 or 4 days.
I find it interesting that there are different rules for Catholics in Canada vs. the USA. In Canada, we have only two days of fast and abstinence...Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and I believe the minimum age is 16 for both.
Our Catholic Women's League put on a Lenten retreat at our church last Saturday. We started the day with Mass, then had a talk on the subject of forgiveness by our Deacon. Then we had to write a letter of forgiveness...either asking for forgiveness or granting forgiveness. At the end of the day, we tore up the letter in shreds and buried it in the bottom of a pot of soil. We then planted seeds in the soil to symbolize new life growing out of our sadness and pain. I wrote my letter to cancer...forviging it for what it has done to me over the last couple of years. It was very therapeutic.
Welcome to our group Val.
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it is interesing that lenten practices vary around the world. I was intrigued by the your post,Michelle, so looked up the Canadian decree and found the following:
This is the CCCB's decree on the matter, submitted and accepted by Rome:
Quote:In accordance with the prescriptions of canon 1253, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops decrees that the days of fast and abstinence in Canada are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fridays are days of abstinence, but Catholics can substitute special acts of charity or piety on this day. 0 -
I am happy to find this thread and connect with others with similar beliefs!
I do have a question that I'm having a hard time getting answers to and am a bit embarrassed to ask here...
My husband and I have always practiced natural family planning (no birth control, condoms, etc. we used sympto-thermal charting and paid close attention to fertility signals). I know not all Catholics do but this is but it's something that we have always been very committed to. I'm just not sure how to do it now that cancer has been thrown in the mix. Obviously I don't want to get pregnant during chemo, and then I am supposed to be on Tamoxifen for 5-10 years, which I know can cause birth defects... I am 30 years old and we have wanted a second child for a long time but we struggle to conceive and maybe my fertility won't return after chemo anyway. My beliefs led me to choose not to do embryo preservation etc. But I guess my real question is... is anyone else facing a very prolonged period of abstinence? I don't know how to adapt the charting methods I learned to this situation, whether my fertility signals will be reliable, and I'm afraid I'll mess it all up so we have been abstinent since diagnosis and I am feeling so sad about it. I also feel very alone because I'm in a minority here of having BC so young plus being a young Catholic who practices NFP which I know is uncommon in the first place... I don't know anyone else in this kind of situation and just really hoping to connect with someone who might understand.
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Dear indenial,
I just wanted to say that I'm so proud of you for using NFP. I wish more people realized how easy/effective/moral it is. My husband and I also practiced it but I had to have a full hysterectomy when I had my mastectomy so I can't offer any words of advice. Perhaps if you go on NFP's website there's info or a phone number? Keeping you in my prayers.
- Penny0 -
Hi indenial,
I'm sorry this has struck you so young. I can tell you that truthfully the drugs do mess up your natural signals, I no longer receive any natural clues about what is going on. (I would also suppose having cancer has fairly eroded my trust in my knowledge of what's going on my body too). Congratulatons on your embrace of NFP. I used it for a long time. My husband is not Catholic, I am, so it was a decision influenced by me rather than joint conviction. I got a mirena after my youngest child. Regret that a lot and am gut-wise convinced that it tipped the scales towards BC. Though like everyone here there is no way I will ever know. I am older than you (45) and was 44 at dx. The last time I had a period was the day I started chemo. The CT regime obviously hit my oestregen hard. I am now on the tamoxifen and have no sign of fertility. The drugs can bring on real menopause or temporary fake menopause. As I'll be 50 when I finish tamoxifen I'm firmly hoping that I'll have had the real thing and won't still have to go through it.
I have asked my onc several times about the fertility and he always gives me the safest response that I am probably infertile, but that it is safer to use a barrier method. We did for a while but have dropped it and are using nothing because there is no sign that I am fertile. It is a risk though, so I'm not advocating this for anyone. I believe there is a blood test that can be done to check fertility and certainly intend to get this when I finish tamoxifen.
Re: abstaining from intimacy for a long time, this is yours and your husband's decision. I would say in my case that I have been very comforted by my continued sexual relationship with my husband. It does make me feel close to him and loved, I'm sure that's the case for him too. Obviously sex life took a hammering on bad chemo days but most of the time we retained the same level of intimacy.
There is a product on the market where you pee on little sticks daily and it warns you if you are likely to be ovulating. Used it years ago. I'm afraid I can't remember the name of it. I stopped using it because we wanted youngest child! I also have no idea whether the chemo would mess up any results it gives.
Best wishes to you, and to your husband. Whatever your decision about sexual intimacy, keep the love between you two going, it will help you both through this cancer journey. XXX
PS It's also occurred to me, one of my schoolfriends (now deceased) had congenital heart defects. She was sterilised before her marriage, for the medical reason that pregnancy would kill her and her child if she ever conceived. At the time she was the first unmarried woman in ireland to be sterilised, this was in the 1980's. Her family and she herself were very devout Catholics. To the best of my recollection they took advice from the church and the advice was that this was ok because of medical necessity. What I mean is, some of our church teaching is absolute, like murder is wrong no matter what. Other parts are man made rules, there to help us, such as observing Lent. As Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. Perhaps you could find a nice, kindly, sympathetic priest or Catholic counsellor to discuss your options with, because I'm thinking it is always just possible that because of your medical situation you may have church-approved options you don't know about. XXX
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Interesting link fitzdc. Every year at the beginning of Lent, they remind us about Ash Wednesday and Good Friday but Friday's being days of abstinence is never mentioned. It appears that the CCCB's practice is not being followed consistently within Canada.
Welcome indenial. I wish you luck with your treatments. Like feelingfeline, I had a Mirena for 2 years before my BC diagnosis. Not sure if it had anything to do with the BC as I am triple negative but you never know. I was diagnosed right before my 47th birthday, had no period for 14 months and then it returned in January at the age of 48. Everything I had read indicated that chemopause is permanent almost 100% of the time for women over 45. At my age I was really hoping it would be permanent but now it looks like I'll have to go through it all again. So much for statistics.
God bless you all.0 -
Happy Saint Patrick's day all.
Am in a bit of a hurry out but hopefully will log back in later and tell you about the drug trial which I have started on recently. For that reason I will not be having a drink this St Patrick's day plus a SE of the drug that I am taking.
Welcome Indenial
Take care all.
Frank0 -
Hi Frank,
Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours too. I am from just down the road in Wicklow. Best wishes on your trial.
Susanna
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Indenial -- Find a NFP counselor with whom to discuss your concerns. I am sure there are other couples who have had the same question as you thus I am sure there is an answer.
Teresa
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Just heard from the oncologist. She doesn't like my reactions to
the current chemo and says I'll start the new drug tdm1 at my next
appt, after a baseline MRI. Only by the Grace of God will this tdm1
get accomplished. Still have to deal with the hospital's
bureaucracy and insurance company. I still need prayers that this
will work, and with no allergic reactions and no adverse side
effects.
I felt so sick today that I actually felt hopeless.
Thank God for His Faithfulness.0 -
Red I'm so sorry this is happening to u and u feel so bad--(((PRAYERS)))
Welcome indenial, but so sorry u'r here and being so young. As was said it sounds like a good idea to talk to a concerllor (sp) or a priest and I'm sure they wil have answers for u.
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Prayers for you,Red!
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Hi Redwolf,
I am so sorry that you are having things hard right now. The old saying about night being darkest just before dawn has truth in it. God will be with you always, even when it seems hardest to see him. Thinking of you and praying for you. With love, Susanna
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Dear all,
I was at my night class in web design last night when I was approached by a fellow student. She knew from teabreak conversations that I had been through BC, that my darling MIL had recently died from colon cancer and that a dear friend of mine has just been diagnosed with a BC recurrence, stage IV. She gave me a prayer which she said had been very helpful to members of her family esp during her own Father's illness. God has many ways of healing us, including, as he did for my MIL, calling her home to be in his presence forever. Anyway it is a beautiful prayer and it is definitely made to be shared so here it is:
Mary Malone Prayer for Healing
Heavenly Father I call on you right now in a special way. It is through your power that I was created. Every breath I take every morning and every moment of every hour I live in your power.
Father I ask you now to touch me with that same power. If you created me from nothing you can recreate me. Fill me with the healing power of your spirit. Cast out anything that shouldn’t be in me. Mend what is broken. Root out damaged cells. Open any blocked arteries and rebuild any damaged areas. Remove any inflammation and cleanse any infection. Let the warmth of your healing love pass through my body to make new any unhealthy areas so that my body will function the way you created it to function.
Father restore me to full health in mind and body so that I may serve you for the rest of my life, I ask this through Christ our Lord.
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Susannah I love that prayer---thank u for sharing.
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Thank you for sharing that prayer, feelingfeline. I have copied/saved it and sent it to my husband as well.
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Hello All, been on a break
new monikers abound, glad you've come.Susanna, what a wonderful prayer!. I transferred by C&P to the prayer thread, it won't be lost as the pages turn
You can access the Prayer Archives thread and the Intentions thread by the links in the header above. Conversely, you can come back here by the links in the headers of the other two threads. One of my brainstorms of traveling links one night and being frustrated on having to take so many steps to move between threads. Once you link to either, then hit "last" page to see your post Indenial, good luck with what you seek. Let us know if you find a good counselor. Don't be afraid to even send an email to the Vatican. You might be in a small percentage of women with the same problem, but it's a huge question. So, it should have a huge answer. Someone somewhere has answered this or can guide you and thus us all.
Penny, Praying
To all have been thinking of the Divine Mercy Novena for Easter. The DM novena starts on Good Friday and ends on Easter. The novena is on page 3 & 4 in the archives. We did it last year.
Shall we do the intentions list or just an a few encompassing intentions. The last novena had 60+ intentions, it took about 20-30 minutes to say novena and intentions. The DM novena can include just the daily prayer or the "chaplet"-- instructions are on page 4 archives after the ninth day prayer. It's beautiful to include each person's individual intention, but can be daunting for some b/c of time, condition, chemo, sx's, etc. So, if you can give me your input, it would be greatly appreciated.
Reposted directions and novena history from archives.
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a relatively recent but very popular devotion revealed by Our Lord to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun. On Good Friday 1937, Christ appeared to Saint Maria Faustina and asked her to recite this chaplet for nine days, starting on Good Friday and ending on the Octave of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Sunday), now known as Divine Mercy Sunday.
The chaplet is most often recited during those nine days, but it can be prayed at any time of the year, and Saint Maria Faustina recited it almost unceasingly. A standard rosary can be used to recite the chaplet .
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Scan tomorrow 4:20pm! God is good!
- Penny0 -
Penny,praying for great results!
-Kathy0
