We have so much to be thankful for.
That might sound funny coming from someone with cancer. We have each other -- the greatest gift of all. We have our loved ones. Our doctors and their skills. We can still laugh when we should, and cry when we need to. And most important ... we're still here.
I wish all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving.
See you Monday.
4:30 PM ET | 11-21-2007 | permalink
Hi Leroy, Wow! I'm first. I must've just caught your post as it went up. My plan was to respond to our bodies' mysteries, your earlier message. I had an MRI this morning--after watching House--the episode where the magician swallows a metal key and it shreds his spleen during an MRI! I've had so many tests and surgery in the past 10 days--haven't found anything although my markers are going up--it's a mystery. Today I feel grateful for Anthony, (the fourth phlebotemist and 7th stick) who somehow divined the location of a vein that could transiently contain the giant contrast dye needle--and for the fact that I can cook Thanksgiving dinner--altho I've recently learned that some people who will remain nameless don't like my stuffing. I hope your friends and family picnic around your easy chair tomorrow if that makes you more comfortable. And I give thanks for you and your blog. Salee
Leroy,
I was surprised and delighted to see your post! I believe that in the end (and at other times, for that matter) there is only love. I hope you are surrounded by it.
Blessings.
AMEN to what you wrote, Mr. Sievers.
I wish a happy, safe, and, yes, Healthy Thanksgiving Holiday, to you and your family, Mr. Sievers, and to all who visit your blog. The names are becoming familiar each time I visit.
Thankful Ovarian Cancer Survivor,
Bobbie in Texas
Leroy,
I, too, was going to respond to your post about our body's mysteries--you sounded down. So I was pleasantly surprised to find your newest posting.
I guess it shows us that we all have our ups and downs in life. The bottom line though, is that we truly are blessed with our lives and our loved ones. Embrace it all.
Peace and Happy Thanksgiving.
Kathy
Hi Leroy, Laurie and All,
Leroy, You are so right, we do have a lot to be thankful for, and the most important are our families, friends and each other! As we all celebrate this holiday we know that we are surrounded by the love and support we get from each other and that gives us the strength to go on. And so to Everyone,
Have a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
God Bless!
Eileen Pruyne
Charlotte, NC
Me again...Do your utmost to have a good Thanksgiving.
My best to you and yours.
Happy Thanksgiving Leroy, Laurie and to this wonderful blog family.
Dear Leroy...I couldn't agree more...in the midst of it all we still have much to be thankful for...a Happy Thanksgiving to you and Laurie...enjoy the day...Fondly...Ann Pat Forde
Leroy- Despite all your inconveniences you still have your sense of humor and insight. These are the important aspects of your being, and they are strong and clear. Happy Thanksgiving- thank yourself for keeping up this blog. I think you have no idea how many people you affect. Not just people with cancer- people with all kind of problems. Thank you Leroy.
Dear Leroy - May G-d bless you and yours and may you all have a happy Thanksgiving. You are with those who love you and they are with you - that is what a holiday is all about. Take care and thank you for this wonderful blog.
Janice Goldberg White
Leroy ~ I agree with you. In spite of it all we do have so much to be thankful for tomorrow. I'll be with my children and grandchildren and, although I wonder how many more years I have to spend Thanksgiving with them, while I'm here I'm going to do my darndest to have a good time.
I start a new clinical trial on Wed. at Johns Hopkins. There are some wonderful doctors there (as you well know) and I'm putting my trust in them.
Hey, maybe I'll see you walking the halls..
Have a peaceful day, Leroy, and be thankful for all that wonderful food.
dear leroy ,laurie and to this wonderful blog family wish you a happy thanksgiving!!!!
Leroy, I am with you-grateful to still be here, even with all the hard stuff. Last thanksgiving weekend, I was waiting for my cat scan results( which led to the biopsy that confirmed I progressed to stage IV melanoma). I have had numerous blessings in the last year and in many ways have had good luck. Enjoy that overstuffed chair!
Mr. Sievers - you and your way with words are one of the things I'm most greatful for this Thanksiving. Bless you.
Leroy & Laurie - enjoy Thanksgiving in whatever way you celebrate and know that I am thankful this blog.
Make sure you get the wishbone:)!
And a most Happy Thanksgiving to you Leroy! Two years ago tonight, my sister was preparing for her ovarian cancer surgery. Six months ago today I was preparing for bilateral mastectomies following discovery of my new breast cancer. We will be giving thanks again tomorrow for the time we have together! Time is so precious and we truly appreciate it! My prayers for health and a happy thanksgiving for all!!
Hey Leroy,
I guess I forgot the check the blog today. Been sort of busy getting ready for tomorrow.
My sister got a little down today. She still can't take anything by mouth, and because she is feeling better it is harder for her this holiday season not be with us for dinner. Maybe that is what has been gnawing at me too, I am a tad more teary than usual.
To one and all, hold your family and friends dear to you. Tell someone you love them, give thanks for those who touched your lives. See you Monday.
Adding my thanks to you, Leroy and all the people on this site who express themselves so well - with knowledge, born of pain and love, born of experience.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Hi Leroy,
Thank you for the reminder to have an attitude of thankfulness, especially for those we love. It's easy to forget in the midst of all the preparations and business of the day.
I wish you and yours a Happy Thanksgiving, you will be in my thoughts tomorrow. Enjoy the time off from the blog.
Cheers Leroy,
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones, especially Laurie.
I am grateful for my husband who is always by my side and for my beloved daughter who is finding her way in this world (studying towards her graduate degree in clinical psychology).
I am grateful for my old cat Bo who is cranky but still loving and for my new cat, Bella, who we took in as a feral at seven months of age. She has come to trust me and is laying next to me as I send this.
What a wonderful world this is.
love and peace,
susan california
I am here with my family which I didn't think was possible in March! AND I feel good to boot! Leroy, get carried away with the moment today. I know I will. And to everyone "here" on this blog, I will think of each and everyone of you today as we all breath a collective sigh of Thanks. Even if it's for an hour, a day, an afternoon. Let's all be present for ourselves and our families. Thanks for being here for me, everyone.
Dear Leroy and Laurie,
You don't sound funny to me at all. I agree cancer has taught me to look closely at all I have to be thankful for. Enjoy your day. Your blog is on my gratitude list. Becca
And let me echo these great folks, *the early birds (who must have gotten up to get their Bird in the oven)- HAPPY THANKSGIVING ONE AND ALL!
Leroy you must be raring to go and enjoy your long weekend. May you sit proudly at the table with all your loved ones, and relish every moment. We shall miss you for the next few days and look forward to Monday and hearing of your progress.
Leroy,
So very well put. There is alot to be thankful for -- life, living, and loving.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Laurie, and all the good people on this blog.
With my sincere gratitude,
Lisa
Very true, Leroy. My husband is STILL here, just about 3 years post duodenal cancer diagnosis and Whipple. Many surgeries and chemo regimes since then, but he's still here and will be eating turkey and raising a glass. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Dear leroy,
To you, Laurie and everyone else on this blog, have a very healthy and happy thanksgiving!
Lianne
Dear Leroy and all posters,
I'm thankful for all of you and you willingness to share.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Kristin
Happy Thanksgiving, to you Leroy! I hope you find some comfort this weekend. Laugh a lot!
Kathy Bero
I WISH YOU A HAPPY THANKSGIVING LEROY.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Those who don't know me well look at me oddly when I say I feel blessed. Thank you to all of us, especially you, Leroy, who know why I feel this way. Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Ah yes, another "amen" to that...
Peggy
Leroy,
I want to thank you for making your blog honest and open to all who want to read and comment -- including those, like me, who have lost someone to cancer. I started coming to this site about a year ago, after my amazing, funny, brilliant, compassionate and strong son died of cancer. I was overcome with gratitude when I realized that it was OK to talk about our losses here. It helps. And surprisingly, it helps to be reminded of the ups and downs of cancer world, for it brings wonderful memories of great nurses and doctors and techs, hopes and triumphs, and a reminder that -- as you say -- life is worth living.
Love and thanks to everyone in this community. Viveca
I love Thanksgiving. It's a holiday that emphasizes the best in us - giving thanks, being grateful for what we have, and spending time with family and friends. Without all the hype and artificiality of Christmas.
I'm also so thankful for this blog and the internet in general! Think back to pre-internet days how much harder it was to connect to people.
Peace to everyone!
Leroy -- May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We do, indeed have so much to be thankful for.
Kindest regards,
Elaine
May we all find much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.
God bless!
Leroy:
The Light in me recognizes and honors the Light in you and in that recognition is our Oneness. Love, Don
Dear Leroy,
Thank-you for writing today.
It is a good day for everyone to remember what they are grateful for.
Have a fun day.
I am headed for an over stuffed chair just to digest and get sleepy after my meal. (:
Gobble-Gobble to all.
Love, Joyce
To Leroy, his family and friends, and all who love him: I am thankful for Leroy and the gift of his life to us all. Leroy, you opened your life by discarding a layer of privacy and enriched us all with that bravery. Thank you. And to all, it is a day of thanks. I have a friend who is not here this Thanksgiving in body but she is with me in spirit. Her touch is everywhere. Let's all measure our lives in love.
Yes, so much to be thankful for. Things don't have to be perfect to have gratitude.
I wish you and Laurie a very happy Thanksgiving!
Big Yam Hug,
Lori
Happy thanksgiving Leroy! Try to enjoy today and keep hanging in there. You are doing a great job.
Leroy,
Thank you for your inspiring words this morning. When my husband went for chemo yesterday the room was so full I couldn't sit with him.Everyone was trying to get it in so they could have one "normal" day. We are reminded today that despite all you all are going through that we do have somethings to be grateful for. Peace and love to you all.
Leroy,
Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you for the surprise holiday post. There is much to be thankful for.
I continue to pray for you and so many others. I hope you continue to heal and ultimately kick this thing.
Dear Leroy and Laurie,
Happy Thanksgiving to both of you and to the blog family members. Have a peaceful day with those you love around you. Keeping you all in my thoughts always! Jude
Hi Leroy, You are to the point...and so "you" when you write of your gratitude for love and being "still here." Hey I wonder if you remember a folk/country song called "I'm still here..." can't remember who sang it but the idea was there, same as yours. My husband has a CT scan coming up soon and is very depressed. I've told him about your column and hope he will read it sometime. My biggest appreciation is for folks, you included, who share their knowledge, extend their time and wisdom for the benefit of others. But I appreciate my husband is still here, and even his right to be grumpy. I'm going to an "alternative" thanksgiving dinner where people bring their guitars and whatever else they can thump and ping and make some joyful noises...will play something with you and all with cancer in mind, and for their caregivers. Hmmm that will take more than one song? :)
May you find peace today or may it find you. Your friends in Spokane, Sally and Tom
Dear Leroy,
I am very thankful for you. I have metastatic breast cancer and I read your blog every day. You writing is so eloquent, so exactly how I feel. You are an inspiration to me.
Thanks, Ellen
Leroy, Wishing you and your loved ones, the Happiest of Thanksgivings. Roxi
Happy Thanksgiving to all - we are here in Lincoln, Massachusetts with our 'blended' family. Was so happy to see your post, Leroy. Hope the weekend brings a little accelerated healing. All the best to your and Laurie and your extended clan of friends and family.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Leroy and Laurie - so much to be thankful for. Continue with your healing - hope you are sleeping better.
Mary
Dear Leroy and NPR friends,
Amen to all your comments today. May you all feel the love of family and friends today.
With a grateful heart, Charlotte in Temecula
Happy Thanksgiving, Leroy & Laurie. And many more.
May God Bless you All with love, family, friends, comfort and healing on this Thanksgiving Day.
Prayers and thoughts are with you all.
I too wish to join in and wish you, Leroy, Laurie and the entire blog family a very happy happy Thanksgiving!! Here's to next year's also.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, Leroy, and to everyone reading the blog.
Hope you all had a great holiday! This was my first Thanksgiving without Terry, so it was kind of strange.
Seeing all the nieces and nephews and their boyfriends/girlfriends and spending the afternoon and evening playing games with all of us together made me stop and think "these are the good old days."
In spite of the darkness, there really is so much to be thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving to all...yes we have much to be grateful for...I'm most thankful for my new friends...
Thank you Leroy for continuing to lift up our community...thinking of you and Laurie this holiday evening...
Hope your Thanksgiving was filled with the love of friends & family as was mine. It's the day after Thanksgiving, but my thanks is still strong for everyone who has stood by me & listened to me & allowed me to share what I was going through. As you have probably found as I did-- sharing not only helps others, but it helps yourself too. I have been very blessed & wish the same for you & all the bloggers here; as well as those who have not discovered your courage yet. Thanks for sharing & caring!
Tom May
You know Leroy & friends: yesterday as my husband and I enjoyed our 61st Thanksgiving together, a thought came into my head. This growing old process that we are both going through is not unlike the cancer that has hovered over and through my life for the past 25 yrs. Your words ran through my head as I realized that aging is very like having cancer. "Something" is waiting to get us in one way or another, not telling us when or how, but just nipping and picking at us year by year. We have no way of knowing when it will "get" us or how much time we have. But we are all in this together! We go on though, learning about each other, loving each other, and with the curiosity of a child, wanting to know what is going to happen next.
This Thanksgiving my husband and I settled for an oven stuffer chicken because a turkey is too heavy and too much for two people who have no one near to share it with. Old friends are gone, no children since we lost the one , but we go on together, enjoying the fact that we are still relatively healthy and most important - together - yet. We, like you Leroy, do not know what secrets are lurking inside our bodies. Never did and never will, yet
much to be grateful for and much to be fearful of.
Thank you for allowing me to reflect this Thanksgiving.
I'm so thankful that you're willing to share this blog with all of us - continuing your journalism in a way that I'm sure you never dreamed of when your career began. Now we pray for improvements in your health that even the doctors can't dream of. God bless you and yours, as you are a blessing to all your readers. See you Monday!
Leroy - once again you "hit it right on target"....so, so thankful for a wonderful day, our family, and for me being on the other side of a year long journey!!!
I'm so glad that it "sounds" like you're getting better every day - and hope that you, Laurie and your family have a wonderful and peaceful holiday weekend.....
Last year this time, I was just dreaming of a shower because of drains following b/c surgery - yesterday, I was so thankful to soak in a hot bath and remember that time. Also, cooking thanksgiving dinner was something I really missed last year - and yesterday, we had a great meal and wonderful time together! Like someone else said - we all find out "It's all about the love"...and we can be so thankful for the love we all have and the love we can always give!
Peace and love to everyone on the blog!
A very thanksful breast cancer survivor!
Dear Mr. Seivers,
I have learned from an extenuating case of Vietnam related PTSD that if you can 'see' your illness and objecify it, and understand it impasively, then you an overcome it by out-thinking it. I am a psychologist of sorts by now of training, and by degree, and I have overcome my illness by means of a lot of therapy, a lot of soul searching, a credible level of professional skepticism rearding 'expert' opinion, and beleiving that anything is posssible in the sense of personal orientation. I also believe in Prayer. In other words, if you are expecting the worst, it will happen, and if you are expecting the best, then that will happen. What I am convinced of also is that our Brains are so powerfull that, as that five pounds of intra-mass of a massive neural cell 'gland' on top of our shoulders controls every function in our bodies, it too has the ability to heal all systems of the body, no matter what the illness or condition, and that is the secret of health that is hidden and is the not revealed of first suspicion. In other words our minds are much more powerfull than we tend to beleive. One thing I am thouroughly convinced of also is that 'The Lord' created something of such ability of our own particular place in evolution that our cerebral cortex is able to do much more than pehaps historically biased preteccessant statistics may suspect. Maybe we do all contain the innate ability to cure our selves of anything! How about PTSD? How about Cancer? Miracles do happen; but why? Have you ever really thought seriousy that God actually wants you to suffer? I don't think he does. What I think he ever really wanted for us is to Love Him and expect that he tends us in so many ways that we rarely can give enough thanks for all our many blessings. That is my thought for Thanksgiving. I will pray for you and you may expect, not merely hope, for a miracle. It is more logical than expecting a failure. God did not play dice with the Universe, right? The Lord is able to create a miracle for you. Ask and you shall recieve, knock and it shall be opened for you. Happy Thanksgiving.
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! My mom, dad and sister worked SO hard. But I'm not going to be able to make dinner tomorrow for my 18 folks who would otherwise not have a proper TG. Sigh. Have been caring for a neighbor kitty and got badly, badly scraped and punctured. ER on night before Thanksgiving. Race back to ER Thanksgiving night.
Kuddos to all Emory folks, who may keep me from getting nasty stuff.
And I hope YOU did not spend such a lovely night in an ER, nice and kind as they can be.
hi leroy, thanks for sharing your story, my wife Bella enjoyed having me read your experiences while she was fighting her own cancer, you are an inspiration for many as was my beautiful wife, sadly i lost her in aug. , it seems to be getting harder to cope now especialy this time of year. god bless you all
Leroy, I wish you, and everyone else, a happy holiday every day.
Why limit special days to holidays? I've always wondered about that, and now, having survived longer than I was supposed to :), I wonder more. It does make for a more or less constant level of celebration, but there's a touch of holiday every day. We can always kick it up a notch for special days--like when we get a line removed, or our child's birthday, or a good scan, or an anniversary.
Unfortunately, most celebrations require money; fortunately, I'm still working full-time, and I'm going to take advantage of that.
And my wonderful husband lets me go with it :) (Well, until I'm getting a bit out of control with the spending--but I can do all of the hugging and visiting I want! :)
Happy holidays, Leroy and all!
love,
Wendy
, have had a computer meltdown. My Holiday was great, hope yours was too. I have somehow aggravated an old Football injury, so my shoulder just doesn't want to work right. After all the ordeal with my cancer, a shoulder injury from 40 years ago has to add to the mix. Oh, the humanity!!! Have a wonderful weekend.. Stan
Many thanks to you Leroy for posting, and the great community you've created. Hope you have a wonderful, restful holiday!
fight" or "war" talking about our struggles with cancer even the oncologist will say we are winning the fight or loosing the fight we will try something else been their done it Leroy
A Ted Koppel documentary focuses on his friend Leroy Sievers' "My Cancer" blog and the response it evokes.
A journalist for more than 25 years, Leroy Sievers worked at CBS News, the Discovery Channel, and ABC News, where he was the executive producer of Nightline. He wrote this blog daily until his death in August.
Download Leroy Sievers' radio commentaries and exclusive audio segments in the My Cancer podcast.
If you'd like to write to the My Cancer staff privately, please use our e-mail form.
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