Yesterday I felt a pain on my right cheek. I though I had a toothache. That day I was scheduled to see my surgeon who performed modified neck surgery due to my papillary thyroid carcinoma. He noticed my swelling right away and said that I have an inflammation and possible infection on the salivary gland. He mentioned that was a side effect from my radioactive iodine (back in December 2010!) and dehydration.
What a surprise! I thought the swelling salivary gland could happen during the treatment or right after that, but I have it six months after the treatment. The pain is not bad but it get worse in the evening. My stamina also dropped due to the infection. The dryness in my mouth is horrible.
My doctor told me to have a warm small towel/cloth around my gland two or three time a day and get some sour or lemon candy. He put me on antibiotics for two weeks and hopefully the swelling along with the inflammation and infection will go away quickly.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
BALI - Things to do
1. Tanah Lot
2. Bedugul
3. Puri Besakih
4. Pertenin Spa
I have tried their body massage and facial package which is Rupiah 180,000 or less than 25 dollar. A lot of people who do not get regular massage or facial always get them in Bali because they are inexpensive. I am getting regular massages and facials and still think of their service at Pertenin is really exceptional. The staff is wonderful, the strokes are perfect and they use good quality of products. If you stay within Ubud area, they do pick up for minimum two persons.
http://www.pertenin.com/
5. Pasar Sukowati/Ubud
Both markets are close to each other, approximately ten minutes drive frome ach other. Sukowati or Sukawati is a huge market and is laways busy with locals and tourists. Most bus tourists will stop at Sukowati so it could be really crowded. The best time to go there is early morning.
The other market, Pasar Ubud, is my favorite because it is a bit smaller and less crowded than Sukowati. I usually stay in Monkey Forest Road in Ubud area so it is convenient to walk there. The market is across from the Ubud Palace and there are good restaurants close by such as Nomad, Bumbu Bali and Ibu Oka.
6. Seminyak shops
The shops at Seminyak are classy and could be pricey compared to the others in Kuta, Sanur and Ubud. They are really nice and unique and sometimes you could find good deals because many of them have small boxes or one rack on sale. If you prefer nice designs and good quality, this is the place for you. Sometimes I enjoy browsing the stores and enjoy their unique and beautiful displays. Many of the items are designed using local items.
7. Dirty Duck/Bebek Bengil
I used to live in Jakarta and we have a Dirty Duck restaurant there. While theirs is really good, the Dirty Duck in Bali is the original and the atmosphere of the restaurant is so special. Always ask for a lesehan or lounge. If you are lucky, you may enjoy your dinner with some natural sounds of the frogs from the ponds there. The only things that bother me is the light. Its is pretty dark in the evening so ideally you may want to come fro lunch or in the afternoon. Despite the dark lighting, I always end up going for dinner. They have been around fro years and they keep the quality up to the bar. Best food in Bali! The Russian pie is also a must to try!
8. Kudeta
Kudeta is a really nice lounge bar with an expensive restaurant. Expect to pay about 1 million Rupiah or 125 dollar for two persons. What I like to do is go there and enjoy sunset at their lounges facing the ocean. Their drinks and snacks are pretty reasonable. Kudeta is in Seminyak but it is pretty close to Kuta, Tuban, Legian and Sanur.
9. Rock Bar at Ayana Resort
10. Milano
Milano salon at Monkey forest Road, Ubud is a good palce if you need a simple hair creambath, manicure and pedicure. The prices are very reasonable and the staff are trained. You can not expect a high end spa service here but I ahve compared them to other more xpensive spas in Ubud and theirs are not bad at all. Manicure and pedicure is about 55,000 Rupiah or 7 dollar.
11. Kopi Pot
It is so nice to sit at Kopi Pot and to watch the world goes by at Jalan Legian, Kuta. Jalan Legian traffic is really bad so if you can avoid driving, that's a better chocie. However walking there is really nice, you could stop at the shops, cafes or even look up the the memorial fountain and memory wall for the bombing victims from 2003. So whenever I walk there I always enjoy having a cup of coffee and some Indonesian snack such the fried banana at Kopi Pot. The interior is Balinese and down to earth. It is so homy, you will feel like sitting at a friend's porch or backyard.
12. Cooking class at Bumbu Bali
13. Uluwatu and Jimbaran
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
NEW YEAR 2011
Its new year and I am so excited. Not because we had the most fabulous new year's eve party but because I have been given the opportunity to enjoy life. Praise the Lord!
It has been two and half weeks after my radiation treatment. My thyroid cancer was the most common thyroid cancer with follicular variant. I guess it was because it metastasised to my lymph nodes.
Two days prior to my radiation I was given my thyrogen shots. This is relatively a new treatment and still debatable. I felt lucky that my endo prescribed this to me so I did not have to be off my synthroid medication at all. Not even a day!
The nurse told my husband to treat me to Dairy Queen for pain and suffering. Anyway the shots were not bad at all. I was sleepy all the time but that was okay.
On the day my radiation was scheduled we had to wait for more than one hour. They had to do the pregnancy test to make sure I was not pregnant. I was given three (not one or two) pills and they all repeatedly told me that I was given a high dose of 175. They said most thyroid cancer patients got 30 to 75 mcI dose., I had to stay away from other human being for the next five days.
Day 1 went well. However day 2 and day 3 was crazy. It was painful and scary. I could not slept and could not ate any solid food. I was so weak though I consumed a lot of juices.
Thankfully day 4 was better and things really got better afterwards.
I was made aware that I could have other side effects such as early menopause. Thanks to God I had my normal period. My stamina which has changed after my surgery has not changed a lot. They said I could expect to see changes after three weeks of radiation so I am excited. I would love to see my stamina getting better. Anyway I am not complaining and have committed to enjoy the new year with new point of view. Life is beautiful and everyday must be enjoyed to the fullest!
It has been two and half weeks after my radiation treatment. My thyroid cancer was the most common thyroid cancer with follicular variant. I guess it was because it metastasised to my lymph nodes.
Two days prior to my radiation I was given my thyrogen shots. This is relatively a new treatment and still debatable. I felt lucky that my endo prescribed this to me so I did not have to be off my synthroid medication at all. Not even a day!
The nurse told my husband to treat me to Dairy Queen for pain and suffering. Anyway the shots were not bad at all. I was sleepy all the time but that was okay.
On the day my radiation was scheduled we had to wait for more than one hour. They had to do the pregnancy test to make sure I was not pregnant. I was given three (not one or two) pills and they all repeatedly told me that I was given a high dose of 175. They said most thyroid cancer patients got 30 to 75 mcI dose., I had to stay away from other human being for the next five days.
Day 1 went well. However day 2 and day 3 was crazy. It was painful and scary. I could not slept and could not ate any solid food. I was so weak though I consumed a lot of juices.
Thankfully day 4 was better and things really got better afterwards.
I was made aware that I could have other side effects such as early menopause. Thanks to God I had my normal period. My stamina which has changed after my surgery has not changed a lot. They said I could expect to see changes after three weeks of radiation so I am excited. I would love to see my stamina getting better. Anyway I am not complaining and have committed to enjoy the new year with new point of view. Life is beautiful and everyday must be enjoyed to the fullest!
Monday, December 6, 2010
Easy Whole Wheat Bread
This is a super easy whole wheat bread recipe. I use a Breadman breadmaker machine but if you do not have a breadmaker, simply let it rise for two hours and then bake in a conventional oven for 30 minutes. for about 350F.
Ingredients:
2 tsp raw sugar (or brown sugar or honey)
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp vegetable oil
Put dry ingredients first in the bowl, then add water oil and yeast. It takes 4 hours to do this in the machine.
It smells good and its very healthy...no salt, no preservatives ans seriouslty it is tasty! Try it~
Ingredients:
2 tsp raw sugar (or brown sugar or honey)
1 tsp yeast
1 cup warm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp vegetable oil
Put dry ingredients first in the bowl, then add water oil and yeast. It takes 4 hours to do this in the machine.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Your home made rice milk
Part of my diet includes no dairy. I miss milk because I love having oatmeal or granola for my breakfast. I tried to reduce sodium intake so I decided to make my own rice milk.
I read years a go that rice milk is very healthy and in the old days in Asia, babies were fed with rice milk all the time. The home made rice milk is very easy and much cheaper compared to the rice milks in the stores.
It only takes less than two hours to prepare and you can do others while preparing it.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white rice (or brown rice if you prefer)
6 cups of bottled water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp non iodized salt
First, you washed the rice at least three times with lots of water. Rice was processed in different places therefore it is important to wash them thoroughly.
Second, boil the rice with 4 cups of bottled water for about 20 minutes. Add vanilla and salt.
Third, let the rice sit still for about 40 - 50 minutes until it is completely cool.
Fourth, put the rice in the blender with the rest of water, I did it in two batches.
Fifth, strain the rice (now its like creamy puree) to a clean bowl. If you think it is still too creamy, feel free to add more water. I am happy with a thick milk and I do not put any honey or maple syrup. But if you wish, you could put some sweetener.
This milk is good to keep in the fridge for days.
Enjoy!
I read years a go that rice milk is very healthy and in the old days in Asia, babies were fed with rice milk all the time. The home made rice milk is very easy and much cheaper compared to the rice milks in the stores.
It only takes less than two hours to prepare and you can do others while preparing it.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white rice (or brown rice if you prefer)
6 cups of bottled water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp non iodized salt
First, you washed the rice at least three times with lots of water. Rice was processed in different places therefore it is important to wash them thoroughly.
Second, boil the rice with 4 cups of bottled water for about 20 minutes. Add vanilla and salt.
Third, let the rice sit still for about 40 - 50 minutes until it is completely cool.
Fourth, put the rice in the blender with the rest of water, I did it in two batches.
Fifth, strain the rice (now its like creamy puree) to a clean bowl. If you think it is still too creamy, feel free to add more water. I am happy with a thick milk and I do not put any honey or maple syrup. But if you wish, you could put some sweetener.
This milk is good to keep in the fridge for days.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
THYROID CANCER - The beginning and the few lessons I learnt
In October 26th, 2010 I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer which is Papillary Carcinoma. That was shocking because my symptoms were minimal such as short of breath and higher blood pressure. I just moved from a humid place to a dry and high elevated area so my GP thought those symptoms are normal.
Lesson number 1: when your body shows changes, that is the best alert you could get. Do not ignore the symptoms but make sure you get better significantly otherwise keep searching for the cause.
I thought severe pain, breast lump and severe weight lose were the only major cancer signals. How wrong I was.
Luckily I was chatting with a Nurse Practitioner who performed my pap smear and she said I have a nodule in my upper neck. Wow...My mother has a thyroid problem (not cancerous) and I thought you must watch for the gland in your lower neck only. Plus my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH (=thyroid blood work) has always been good. So I went for an ultrasound, another ultrasound and a biopsy. During the biopsy the doctor mentioned that he noticed the lump nodes are showing some similarity with the thyroid. I was so worried but I tried to be calm.
Two days later, the call confirmed that I have thyroid cancer. They kept saying to me that if you can choose a type of cancer, thyroid cancer is the one you picked. Hmmm....who would choose voluntarily to have cancer. However my specialist is not only smart but he has a heart. He did not mentioned it but assured me that this is curable and we just have to work hard to fight it.
Lesson number 2: Always check for lumps in your neck, breast and other areas of your body. Women tend to check their breast but ignore the neck and thyroid attack more women than man. 1 out of 3 Caucasian woman has thyroid problem. I am Asian but I get it too. I asked my endocrinologist about the correlation about TSH result and cancer. He said there are so many thyroid glands in our body that is the reason many people with cancer have normal or good TSH results. So no matter how good is your TSH, always check for lumps in your neck.
So my surgery was scheduled ten days after my diagnose and it lasted seven hours. They removed my thyroid gland in my neck side and 27 lymph nodes. 7 of the lymph nodes have cancer too.
After the surgery I needed to see an endocrinologist to monitor my thyroid and hormone. Hormone plays a vital role in a human body and it could affect other organs if it is not under control. My cancer is also pretty aggressive therefore he will help me to monitor the other thyroid
He mentioned most thyroid cancer was caused by radiation during childhood or genetic problem.
I could not think of any radiation because I never worked in a hospital, dental office or any radiation exposed places, but I remember my bedroom used to be next to a dental office which was a possible radiation exposures .
Lesson number 3: be aware of radiation exposure. Do not spend too much time in a dental office, refuse x-rays unless it is really necessary, if you must have x-ray in your dental exams, always cover your neck (they usually cover your chest but does not cover your neck).
Though only a small amount of thyroid cancer patients got it from bad diet, it is important to have a good and healthy diet. Too much fish with mercury exposure is not good. Some food such as soy is not good for thyroid health. If you have a good diet, somehow it will prevent the cancer to grow. In my case, the doctor think my relatively good diet and exercise has helped to fight the cancer which probably has been in my neck for more than ten years.
Lesson number 4: Good diet and exercise are very important. I also believe being positive and happy is equally important. Since my move I have been sad many times because I miss my family and friend...and my old life style in Jakarta and this sad episode has not been beneficial to my health.
Well God is so good, He is good all the time. I am counting my blessings and put my trust in the Lord for a complete healing through the doctors, medication and His healing power. I do hope my experience could somehow help others not to get cancer.
Lesson number 1: when your body shows changes, that is the best alert you could get. Do not ignore the symptoms but make sure you get better significantly otherwise keep searching for the cause.
I thought severe pain, breast lump and severe weight lose were the only major cancer signals. How wrong I was.
Luckily I was chatting with a Nurse Practitioner who performed my pap smear and she said I have a nodule in my upper neck. Wow...My mother has a thyroid problem (not cancerous) and I thought you must watch for the gland in your lower neck only. Plus my Thyroid Stimulating Hormone or TSH (=thyroid blood work) has always been good. So I went for an ultrasound, another ultrasound and a biopsy. During the biopsy the doctor mentioned that he noticed the lump nodes are showing some similarity with the thyroid. I was so worried but I tried to be calm.
Two days later, the call confirmed that I have thyroid cancer. They kept saying to me that if you can choose a type of cancer, thyroid cancer is the one you picked. Hmmm....who would choose voluntarily to have cancer. However my specialist is not only smart but he has a heart. He did not mentioned it but assured me that this is curable and we just have to work hard to fight it.
Lesson number 2: Always check for lumps in your neck, breast and other areas of your body. Women tend to check their breast but ignore the neck and thyroid attack more women than man. 1 out of 3 Caucasian woman has thyroid problem. I am Asian but I get it too. I asked my endocrinologist about the correlation about TSH result and cancer. He said there are so many thyroid glands in our body that is the reason many people with cancer have normal or good TSH results. So no matter how good is your TSH, always check for lumps in your neck.
So my surgery was scheduled ten days after my diagnose and it lasted seven hours. They removed my thyroid gland in my neck side and 27 lymph nodes. 7 of the lymph nodes have cancer too.
After the surgery I needed to see an endocrinologist to monitor my thyroid and hormone. Hormone plays a vital role in a human body and it could affect other organs if it is not under control. My cancer is also pretty aggressive therefore he will help me to monitor the other thyroid
He mentioned most thyroid cancer was caused by radiation during childhood or genetic problem.
I could not think of any radiation because I never worked in a hospital, dental office or any radiation exposed places, but I remember my bedroom used to be next to a dental office which was a possible radiation exposures .
Lesson number 3: be aware of radiation exposure. Do not spend too much time in a dental office, refuse x-rays unless it is really necessary, if you must have x-ray in your dental exams, always cover your neck (they usually cover your chest but does not cover your neck).
Though only a small amount of thyroid cancer patients got it from bad diet, it is important to have a good and healthy diet. Too much fish with mercury exposure is not good. Some food such as soy is not good for thyroid health. If you have a good diet, somehow it will prevent the cancer to grow. In my case, the doctor think my relatively good diet and exercise has helped to fight the cancer which probably has been in my neck for more than ten years.
Lesson number 4: Good diet and exercise are very important. I also believe being positive and happy is equally important. Since my move I have been sad many times because I miss my family and friend...and my old life style in Jakarta and this sad episode has not been beneficial to my health.
Well God is so good, He is good all the time. I am counting my blessings and put my trust in the Lord for a complete healing through the doctors, medication and His healing power. I do hope my experience could somehow help others not to get cancer.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Oatmeal raisin cookie
Today I want to share my otameal raisin cookie recipe. It's pretty healthy and you can always substitute the white sugar with raw unrefined sugar.
Ingredients:
2 cups quick oatmeal
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup raisin
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Mix all dry inredients in a large bowl.
3. Melt the butter and mix with dry inredients. Add beaten eggs and vanilla.
4. Place into ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. This makes 42 to 50 cookies depending on how small or large they are.
They are delicious and healthy so you dont feel gulty having lots of them :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)