Reading 1 Rom 13:8-10 Love one another as God Loves you.

Brothers and sisters:

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;

for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, You shall not commit adultery;

you shall not kill;

you shall not steal;

you shall not covet,

and whatever other commandment there may be,

are summed up in this saying, namely,

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no evil to the neighbor;

hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

KU Med - Heart Care Extraordinaire

This video represents the team that will be conducting my procedure on Friday, November 3rd.  I am blessed to be in their capable hands.

http://www.kansashealthsystem.com/heart-care/clinical-services/heart-rhythm-center

Actum in auditorium cum Deo tuo.

To Act with God as your audience.

Can you do that in everything you do?

Amen.

Atrial Flutter Journey

Bockwinkel and the Atrial Flutter Caper

THIS IS A CHRONOLOGY.  CURRENT ON TOP.  TO START AT THE BEGINNING SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM AND READ UP.  I hope this is informative and entertaining.

TIMELINE:  OCTOBER 16, 2017

Busy day...Chemo Doc visit.  Blood Labs EXCELLENT.  Cancer CLEAR.  Next visit in 6 months.


Cardio Visit...Echocardiogram done as "mapping" for imminent Atrial Ablation (aFib Flutter) procedure.  All went well...

What Does Echocardiography Show?

Echocardiography (echo) shows the size, structure, and movement of various parts of your heart. These parts include the heart valves, the septum (the wall separating the right and left heart chambers), and the walls of the heart chambers. Doppler ultrasound shows the movement of blood through your heart.
Your doctor may use echo to:

• Diagnose heart problems
• Guide or determine next steps for treatment
• Monitor changes and improvement
• Determine the need for more tests

Echo can detect many heart problems. Some might be minor and pose no risk to you. Others can be signs of serious heart disease or other heart conditions. Your doctor may use echo to learn about:

• The size of your heart. An enlarged heart might be the result of high blood pressure, leaky heart valves, or heart failure. Echo also can detect increased thickness of the ventricles (the heart's lower chambers). Increased thickness may be due to high blood pressure, heart valve disease, or congenital heart defects.
• Heart muscles that are weak and aren't pumping well. Damage from a heart attack may cause weak areas of heart muscle. Weakening also might mean that the area isn't getting enough blood supply, a sign of coronary heart disease.
• Heart valve problems. Echo can show whether any of your heart valves don't open normally or close tightly.
• Problems with your heart's structure. Echo can detect congenital heart defects, such as holes in the heart. Congenital heart defects are structural problems present at birth. Infants and children may have echo to detect these heart defects.
• Blood clots or tumors. If you've had a stroke, you may have echo to check for blood clots or tumors that could have caused the stroke.

TIMELINE:  OCTOBER 13, 2017

The journey to Catheter Atrial Ablation begins...

Began the meds that will slow the heart rate and thin the blood in prep for the Radiofrequency Ablation that will occur Friday, November 3rd and have a one day recovery with dismissal from hospital on Saturday, November 4th...by 1PM.

This is going to break my Friday happy hour celebration at Houlihan's.  Wait, that was broken years ago!  Sure miss those days and am happy to still be in touch with some of those, now, OLD folks!

Monday, October 16th, an echocardiogram procedure will be done.

What is an echocardiogram?

The heart is a two-stage electrical pump that circulates blood throughout the body. The anatomy includes four chambers and four valves. For the heart to function normally these structures need to be intact and the heart muscle needs to beat in a coordinated fashion, so that blood flows in and out of each chamber in the proper direction.

An echocardiogram (echo=sound + card=heart + gram=drawing) is an ultrasound test that can evaluate the structures of the heart, as well as the direction of blood flow within it. Technicians specially trained in echocardiography produce the images and videos, often using a special probe or transducer that is placed in various places on the chest wall, to view the heart from different directions. Cardiologists, or heart specialists, are trained to evaluate these images to assess heart function and provide a report of the results.The echocardiogram is just one of the many tests that can be done to evaluate heart anatomy and function.

Then there's... Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a medical procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, tumor or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from medium frequency alternating current (in the range of 350–500 kHz). RFA is generally conducted in the outpatient setting, using either local anesthetics or conscious sedation anesthesia. When it is delivered via catheter, it is called radiofrequency catheter ablation.

Two important advantages of radio frequency current (over previously used low frequency AC or pulses of DC) are that it does not directly stimulate nerves or heart muscle and therefore can often be used without the need for general anesthetic, and that it is very specific for treating the desired tissue without significant collateral damage.

Documented benefits have led to RFA becoming widely used during the 21st century. RFA procedures are performed under image guidance (such as X-ray screening, CT scan or ultrasound) by an interventional pain specialist (such as an anesthesiologist), interventional radiologist, otolaryngologists, a gastrointestinal or surgical endoscopist, or a cardiac electrophysiologist, a subspecialty of cardiologists.

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TIMELINE:  OCTOBER 12, 2017

Another Journey begins...

Cancer battle...pretty much "won".  Now...the heart wants some attention...for its Atrial Flutter.  My flutter...280+ heart rate.  Whoa...that's smokin...but not good.

So...Atrial Flutter remedy is as follows...
1.  Begin drugs to slow heart rate, and thin blood to prevent blood clots.
2.  Three weeks later...surgery...two days in hospital
3.  One week of observation after procedure then green light for everything goes.
4.  Six months of monitoring...and drugs tweaked or eliminated.
5.  Life is good.

What is Atrial Flutter?  Well...I am here to learn and share...

The Basics of Atrial Flutter

• Under normal circumstances, these impulses are generated by the heart's "natural pacemaker," the sinoatrial (SA) or sinus node, which is located in the right atrium.

• The impulse travels across the atria, generating a contraction.

• It pauses very briefly at the atrioventricular (AV) node, which is located in the upper part of the muscular wall between the two ventricles. This delay gives the blood time to move from the atria to the ventricles.

• The impulse then moves down and through the ventricles, generating the second ventricular contraction that pumps the blood out of the ventricles.

• These rapid contractions are slowed when they reach the AV node, but are still too fast (typically about 150 beats per minute, or every other atrial beat getting through the AV node to the ventricles).

• This type of rhythm is called tachycardia. Because atrial flutter comes from the atria, it is called a supraventricular (above the ventricles) tachycardia.

• Vital organs such as the heart muscle and brain may not get enough blood.

• This can cause them to fail.

• Congestive heart failure, heart attack, and stroke all can result.

Atrial flutter is an abnormality in the beating of the heart. Such abnormalities, whether in the rhythm or speed of the heartbeat, are known as arrhythmias.

The heart is a muscle that pumps the blood through the body.

The beating of the heart is controlled by electrical impulses.

Atrial flutter occurs when an abnormal conduction circuit develops inside the right atrium, allowing the atria to beat excessively fast, about 250-300 beats per minute.

The main danger of atrial flutter is that the heart does not pump blood very well when it is beating too fast.

Atrial flutter can come and go; it is then known as paroxysmal atrial flutter. An episode of atrial flutter usually lasts hours or days. Less often, atrial flutter is more or less permanent and is known as persistent atrial flutter.

With proper treatment, atrial flutter is rarely life threatening. Complications of atrial flutter can be devastating, but they usually can be prevented with treatment.

The Ground Rules of Christianity

Reading 1 Ex 20:1-17

In those days:
God delivered all these commandments:

"I, the LORD, am your God, 
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves 
in the shape of anything in the sky above 
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; 
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, 
inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness 
on the children of those who hate me, 
down to the third and fourth generation; 
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation 
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished 
him who takes his name in vain.

"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work, 
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, 
or your male or female slave, or your beast, 
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, 
the sea and all that is in them; 
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

"Honor your father and your mother, 
that you may have a long life in the land 
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

"You shall not kill.

"You shall not commit adultery.

"You shall not steal.

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, 
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, 
nor anything else that belongs to him."

Thus says the LORD:

If folks would do this...to each other...instead of what folks have been doing to each other...what a wonderful world this would be...

Is 58:9b-14

Thus says the LORD:
If you remove from your midst oppression,
false accusation and malicious speech;
If you bestow your bread on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then light shall rise for you in the darkness,
and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always
and give you plenty even on the parched land.
He will renew your strength,
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring whose water never fails.
The ancient ruins shall be rebuilt for your sake,
and the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
"Repairer of the breach," they shall call you,
"Restorer of ruined homesteads."

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD's holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice—
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Cancer of the Esophagus

Cancer of the Esophagus

My dear Aunt Mary, who has requested prayers for others from us over the years, now needs our prayers as she was diagnosed today, with cancer of the esophagus.  This coming week she meets with the tumor team to develop a course of action.

There simply is too much cancer going on folks...

May you be blessed for offering your thoughts and prayers and support for those that call out to you.   --  Amen.

RGB (aka "Bock")
Prayer Group

Esophageal cancer

Esophageal cancer is cancer that occurs in the esophagus — a long, hollow tube that runs from your throat to your stomach. Your esophagus carries food you swallow to your stomach to be digested.

Esophageal cancer usually begins in the cells that line the inside of the esophagus. Esophageal cancer can occur anywhere along the esophagus, but in people in the United States, it occurs most often in the lower portion of the esophagus. More men than women get esophageal cancer.

Esophageal cancer isn't common in the United States. In other areas of the world, such as Asia and parts of Africa, esophageal cancer is much more common.

Treatments and drugs

By Mayo Clinic Staff

What treatments you receive for esophageal cancer are based on the type of cells involved in your cancer, your cancer's stage, your overall health and your preferences for treatment.

Surgery

Surgery to remove the cancer can be used alone or in combination with other treatments. Operations used to treat esophageal cancer include:

• Surgery to remove very small tumors. If your cancer is very small, confined to the superficial layers of your esophagus and hasn't spread, your surgeon may recommend removing the cancer and margin of healthy tissue that surrounds it. Surgery for very early-stage cancers can be done using an endoscope passed down your throat and into your esophagus.
• Surgery to remove a portion of the esophagus (esophagectomy).During esophagectomy, your surgeon removes the portion of your esophagus that contains the tumor and nearby lymph nodes. The remaining esophagus is reconnected to your stomach. Usually this is done by pulling the stomach up to meet the remaining esophagus.
• Surgery to remove part of your esophagus and the upper portion of your stomach (esophagogastrectomy). During esophagogastrectomy, your surgeon removes part of your esophagus, nearby lymph nodes and the upper part of your stomach. The remainder of your stomach is then pulled up and reattached to your esophagus. If necessary, part of your colon is used to help join the two.

Esophageal cancer surgery carries a risk of serious complications, such as infection, bleeding and leakage from the area where the remaining esophagus is reattached.

Surgery to remove your esophagus can be performed as an open procedure using large incisions or with special surgical tools inserted through several small incisions in your skin (laparoscopically). How your surgery is performed depends on your situation and your surgeon's experience and preferences.

Treatments for complications

Treatments for esophageal obstruction and difficulty eating can include:

• Relieving esophageal obstruction. If your esophageal cancer has narrowed your esophagus, a surgeon may use an endoscope and special tools to place a metal tube (stent) to hold the esophagus open. Other options include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, laser therapy and photodynamic therapy.
• Providing nutrition. Your doctor may recommend a feeding tube if you're having trouble swallowing or if you're having esophagus surgery. A feeding tube allows nutrition to be delivered directly to your stomach or small intestine, giving your esophagus time to heal after cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is drug treatment that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs are typically used before (neoadjuvant) or after (adjuvant) surgery in people with esophageal cancer. Chemotherapy can also be combined with radiation therapy. In people with advanced cancer that has spread beyond the esophagus, chemotherapy may be used alone to help relieve signs and symptoms caused by the cancer.

The chemotherapy side effects that you experience depend on which chemotherapy drugs you receive.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy uses high-powered energy beams to kill cancer cells. Radiation can come from a machine outside your body that aims the beams at your cancer (external beam radiation). Or radiation can be placed inside your body near the cancer (brachytherapy).

Radiation therapy is most often combined with chemotherapy in people with esophageal cancer. It can be used before or after surgery. Radiation therapy is also used to relieve complications of advanced esophageal cancer, such as when a tumor grows large enough to stop food from passing to your stomach.

Side effects of radiation to the esophagus include sunburn-like skin reactions, painful or difficult swallowing, and accidental damage to nearby organs, such as the lungs and heart.

Combined chemotherapy and radiation

Combining chemotherapy and radiation therapy may enhance the effectiveness of each treatment. Combined chemotherapy and radiation may be the only treatment you receive, or combined therapy can be used before surgery. But combining chemotherapy and radiation treatments increases the likelihood and severity of side effects.

Prayer for Grant Bockwinkel

Dear Dad in heaven, it is not my time to join you until I have done as you, and hugged my grandchildren.  Please intercede with our heavenly host that He may “grant” this ambition.  By the will of God, we pray.  Amen.

Cancer Novena

I have posted this before...this time I post for specific reason...THIS ONE...

Mellissa Johnson:
It started on Wednesday, January  11, 2017 I was shaving my underarms with a dull razor. Usually its 3-4 swipes with the razor and done, no looking necessary. But today with a  dull blade I looked over the work. I realized my armpit was swollen; I poked and found a lump that was tender. I called my midwife and was able to get in to see her that day. She also found the lump and it was also visible as a lump on ultrasound. She got an appointment for me to see a radiologist for a mammogram and ultrasound the next morning. I was in, did the imaging and not only was a large lump found in the left armpit another was discovered on the left breast. They did a core biopsy that morning and on Saturday, January 14, 2017 I got the phone call that I did indeed have cancer. The official name for my specific breast cancer (who knew there were so many?!?) is Grade II score 7 invasive ductal carcinoma, HER2+ with metastatic carcinoma arising in the breast. Ya, quite the mouthful. Learning what this all means is the scariest thing in the world. Its pretty aggressive, but then again, so am I! I won't be a Breast Cancer Survivor, I will be a Breast Cancer Warrior and will utterly destroy this enemy.

Novena to St. Peregrine for CANCER

Powerful Prayers

Click here->  Powerful Prayers... 20 STRONG