Hey Connie,

It's so good to hear from you!

I'm glad that you had such a great b-day! Going to an island sounds fantabulous!

I'm so sorry about your dad...It's so hard when there's sickness everywhere you look...You and I have a lot in common...My dad is very sick too, but not with cancer. But his condition is such that he is in a nursing home because he has seizures regularly and my mom cannot take care of him due to sickness as well. For a year or so, a few years back, I was taking care of him, but my health started to deteriorate and I couldn't do it. I feel a lot of guilt, but I feel better knowing that he is safe with 24-hour care. He lives close-by, so we visit him often and bring him over often. Illness is hard.

It's so strange what's happening these days. We also have a friend who has cancer. He is my age; 26. He has testicular cancer which has spread to almost all of his lymph nodes. He's going through chemo., radiation.

You said that you're feeling very tired in the mornings. I can relate. I have a lot of chest weakness, and I think that it causes a bit of apnea. I'm actually thinking of getting a bi-pap. Are you using one of these? They help A LOT, from what I've heard! You will feel less tired in the mornings and if you happen to find that you get headaches in the mornings too, this will get rid of those.

As for the muscle cramps/twitching, I get those too mainly in my hands and chest a bit. Have you ever looked into baclofen? I heard that it's very good for spasticity. Also, make sure that you're getting your electrolytes. Drinking a gatorade once a day might help a bit. I get a lot of cramping/spasming in my feet also and I find that a banana helps.

Try to eat lots of fat! I know that I say that all the time, but there's something about it that seems to help the nerves, talking from experience and what I've read. Coconut fat is good, as well as milk, butter and even animal fat. It'll keep your weight up and it seems that it slows the progression.

As for me, it turns out I don't need radiation, thank God! My oncologist said that my tumour was completely encapsulated, so I don't need. She also said that it was smaller than what my surgeon said. I'm relieved about that.

I'm still having problems with my hands, with stiffness/weakness and I've been having some heart issues for a long time, which have lately, become a bit worse, mainly in the form of 'skipping' 'too many' heart beats. I feel pretty confident that I have this other condition, which is genetic. I'm going to see my neurologist at the end of the month, and I'm going to asked to be tested for it. This other condition explains everything I've been experiencing for the last many years, including the thymoma to some degree. My mom has similar symptoms as do many others in the family. Mine are worse, which makes sense as it tends to get worse per generation.

I completely agree with you. It sucks to be sick, but so many others are sick too. We only see from our owns eyes, but we all share this 'individual' experience which is our commonality. In one, there are many, and many, there is one. It doesn't matter what anyone's going through; we've all felt vulnerable, scared, weak, sick, happy, sad- these feelings connect us and we can help eachother with them!

Talk to you soon, girl!
Nicky