Dana's Family Adventures: Pancreatic Cancer

13 April 2011

Pancreatic Cancer

My Dad called today. He hasn't been feeling well for a couple of months - really tired and doesn't feel like eating. He has lost 30 pounds in a month so finally went to the doctor. They found pancreatic cancer and have given him 6 months to live. I don't even know what to do at this point. I can't imagine my life without my Dad.

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My family - a cheat sheet

Me - Dana

Matt - my husband

Andi (Andrea) - daughter #1

Jimmy - Andi's husband

Brooke, Kaydence, Scarlett & Parker - my granddaughters from #1

Nick (Nicholas) - only son

Kelsey - Nick's wife

Owen - grandson from only

Reagan - granddaughter from only

Elizabeth - daughter #2

Cierra - daughter #3

Rylee - daughter #4

Isabella (Bella) - daughter #5

Uncle Judd - my younger brother

Nanny Jen - Judd's partner

Uncle Chad - my older brother

Aunt Melissa - Matt's sister

Uncle Greg - Melissa's husband

Morgan - Matt's brother

Grandma Gretchen - my Mom

Grandma & Grandpa - Matt's folks

Grandma Ruth - my stepmother

Quotes to Live By...

We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are. ~Marjorie Hinckley

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Don't compare your life with others; you have no idea what their journey is all about.

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If we wish away the moments, they will be gone. The things we have wanted to leave ... the mess, the noise, the obligations ... will be gone, but so will the children! This is true of every moment of life. IF we do see its joys, if we do not make the most of it, it will pass ... and so will its opportunities. ~Marjorie Hinckley

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However good or bad the situation is always remember it will change.

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I know it is hard for you young mothers to believe that almost before you can turn around the children will be gone and you will be alone with your husband. You had better be sure you are developing the kind of love and friendship that will be delightful and enduring. Let the children learn from your attitude that he is important. Encourage him. Be kind. It is a rough world, and he, like everyone else, is fighting to survive. Be cheerful. Don't be a whiner. ~ Marjorie Hinckley

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Make peace with your past so it won't mess up your present.

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Life is a school. You are here to learn and pass all your tests. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away ... the lessons you learn will last an eternity.

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The family is eternal. Love must be nurtured. It must be spoken. We must put away our pride, our haughtiness, our shyness, our misunderstandings, and with humility say, "I love you. Is there something I can do to help you?" You can never be completely happy under any other circumstances. ~ Marjorie Hinckley

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Burn the candles, use the special dishes and that perfect scrapbook paper. Do not save them for a special occassion.....Today is special.

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Be a Mother who is committed to loving her children into standing on higher ground than the environment surrounding them. Mothers are endowed with a love that is unlike any other love on the face of the earth. ~ Marjorie Hinckley

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No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

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Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the Devil says, .... "Oh Crap, she's up!"

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You are only what you are when no one is looking.

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Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. ~ Will Rogers

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I don't think it does any harm, just once in a while, to acknowledge that the whole country isn't in flames; and that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals. ~ Charles Kuralt

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If we could forget our troubles as easily as we forget our blessings how different things would be.

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Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for and relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling. ~Marjorie Hinckley

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Worship is an action word.

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"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get but if you work really hard and you are kind amazing things will happen." ~Conan O'Brien

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Home is a preperation for the rest of your life.

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One of the ablest women in this country, now the wife of a university president, was brought up in poverty. She recalls an occasion when, as a girl, she complained of her hardships to her mother. "See here," said the mother. 'I have given you life. That is probably all I will ever be able to give you. Now stop complaining and do something with it." Each of us has some things we could complain about, but what good would it do? Complaining seldom changes anything. ~Marjorie Hinckley

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Homemaking is making a home one of eternal progression.

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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle already.

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Try a little harder to be a little better. ~Gordon B. Hinckley