We honor a Princess who has passed.
On May 21, 2012 our world lost another Princess. Erika S. Holmes lost her life to brain cancer but will remain a focus point in all the lives she has touched. Erika was survived by her husband Jeff Holmes and two little boys, Seth Alexander and Kendrick Colin. Though we have said our goodbyes here, we know that she has returned to Heaven to be with the other Angels. She will be missed greatly. Please take a moment and share her story today! God Bless and thank you for following our journey!
"Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one
undertakes and continues the journey." Alex Noble
Hello and welcome to Cancer Never Sleeps. This is more of a motto that my wife and I have experienced in the last year battling cancer. My wife Erika was diagnosed in May 2010 with a Stage 3 Anaplastic Astroctyoma Tumor that has stopped us in our tracks. Testing positive for cancer, the tumor was known to be aggressive, and today over a year later, Erika is still taking two chemotherapy drugs to prolong her life. Life has never been the same but we keep moving foward. We often refer the battle with cancer as our journey. It's more of an undertaking that you deal with when your living each day with something that may take your life anytime. Life becomes sweeter, you love others more and appreciate things more than you ever had before.
Jeff Holmes |
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Living Life With Cancer.
The effects of cancer not only directly effects the patient, but the entire family. Each day can be a challenge to learn from. Having two little boys at home, our lives really took a turn from normal. We were a family that often liked to eat out, see a movie once a week, and took vacations as often as we could afford.
Some of the challenges I am faced with on a daily basis is something so simple, yet noone really ever thinks about it unless you happen to need it. Companion restrooms in public places. Though it is great that the restrooms are all wheelchair friendly, being that my wife is female and I am male brings a new challenge as to how I am able to let her go in public places. Never before have I thought of such a simple thing, but it really makes a difference as to where I go with her. Luckly, in my case, I have family who can care after her for a short period of time while I do our shopping.
Another simple thing we often miss is enjoying a meal at a local place. Unless they are able to offer single locked restrooms, we often find it hard to visit these places. Each day we try to spend as much time be active at home, sometimes it may just be playing a board game or reading a book to keep our minds active!
Some of the challenges I am faced with on a daily basis is something so simple, yet noone really ever thinks about it unless you happen to need it. Companion restrooms in public places. Though it is great that the restrooms are all wheelchair friendly, being that my wife is female and I am male brings a new challenge as to how I am able to let her go in public places. Never before have I thought of such a simple thing, but it really makes a difference as to where I go with her. Luckly, in my case, I have family who can care after her for a short period of time while I do our shopping.
Another simple thing we often miss is enjoying a meal at a local place. Unless they are able to offer single locked restrooms, we often find it hard to visit these places. Each day we try to spend as much time be active at home, sometimes it may just be playing a board game or reading a book to keep our minds active!
Cancer Treatment Centers of America
For almost 30 years, CTCA has been on the leading edge of cancer treatment with
this personalized, whole-person care model. With cancer hospitals in suburban Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa, and suburban Phoenix, CTCA continues to expand its
accessibility to patients. Our cancer experts provide a full range of treatment
options—including options for advanced stage cancers and complex cases—all under
one roof.
Erika and I went to Chicago to visit the CTCA and see if we could have another opinion added to the past several. They agreed that the continued treatment of TEMODAR® (tem-o-dar) was our only lead for prolonging or improving life. Since taking six weeks of radiation therapy was completed in the begining steps last July we were informed that the dose of radiation had helped stop the growth for a short time. The tumor actually begin to shrink according to the Doctors at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. The great experience we felt while visiting the CTCA was amazing. They go beyond their sources to make you feel welcomed and inform you the best they can with what your facing. We met with about thirty Doctors while visiting the CTCA in Chicago and were able to get a better idea of how to care for your body when it's up against cancer. You can visit the Cancer Treatment Centers of America on their website www.cancercenter.com and check out the many options they can help with!
this personalized, whole-person care model. With cancer hospitals in suburban Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa, and suburban Phoenix, CTCA continues to expand its
accessibility to patients. Our cancer experts provide a full range of treatment
options—including options for advanced stage cancers and complex cases—all under
one roof.
Erika and I went to Chicago to visit the CTCA and see if we could have another opinion added to the past several. They agreed that the continued treatment of TEMODAR® (tem-o-dar) was our only lead for prolonging or improving life. Since taking six weeks of radiation therapy was completed in the begining steps last July we were informed that the dose of radiation had helped stop the growth for a short time. The tumor actually begin to shrink according to the Doctors at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana. The great experience we felt while visiting the CTCA was amazing. They go beyond their sources to make you feel welcomed and inform you the best they can with what your facing. We met with about thirty Doctors while visiting the CTCA in Chicago and were able to get a better idea of how to care for your body when it's up against cancer. You can visit the Cancer Treatment Centers of America on their website www.cancercenter.com and check out the many options they can help with!
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota
After seeing many different Doctors at the Mayo Clinic it became very clear that every new Doctor we seen had the same conclusion and felt we were approaching the condition best as we could. It was important to us to level out every option we could in hopes that someone could do something to better our odds of life. Nonetheless, we continued our journey and remained in the best positive state of mind and knew in our hearts that we had to be strong and push on.
The Mayo Clinic was great, very big with about everything you could imagine under one great big roof! We stayed for a few nights as we met a dozen or more Doctors over the course of a few hours each day. We then would retreat to the grand hotel across from the Clinic. To our suprise there was a mall underground throughtout Rochester. We took a little time and explored the many passage ways throughout the mall. For more information about the Mayo Clinic please visit www.mayoclinic.org/rochester.
The Mayo Clinic was great, very big with about everything you could imagine under one great big roof! We stayed for a few nights as we met a dozen or more Doctors over the course of a few hours each day. We then would retreat to the grand hotel across from the Clinic. To our suprise there was a mall underground throughtout Rochester. We took a little time and explored the many passage ways throughout the mall. For more information about the Mayo Clinic please visit www.mayoclinic.org/rochester.