The Laughing Buddha

This is me. LOL!!



Well, this is how I picture myself these days. Steroid bloat has added 20 pounds almost...well give or take 7-8 pounds on any given day -- and I have a moon face a Buddha belly. I am happy though, which is why I picked the "Happy Buddha" picture.


Sometimes I also feel like I look like Jabba the Hutt...when I am all zoned out and unable to form coherent thoughts...Al gets annoyed with me when I make that comparison. 

As you all keep posting on my pics on Facebook....I don't look bad...and certainly don't look FAT! But we all see ourselves through our own lens and sometimes I look in the mirror and see that beautiful warrior princess and others...not so much. I am entitled to a little self-deprecation from time to time. Humour me.

The truth is that depending on the type of chemo and the other drugs you are taking for your cancer treatment, you will OFTEN gain weight and bloat up. We are told that if we have no appetite, or if our taste changes so much that we find food unappealing, we are to eat anything that we can to get the calories in. Yes...even if it means a bag of chips or a dish of ice cream or a chocolate bar. Ideally, the fresh veggies and dip that I had last night would be the norm, but that is not always do-able. So for now, I eat what tastes. (Not necessarily tastes GOOD, but is palatable.)

As an example, I cannot drink diet Pepsi, or Fresca. (My faves) Plain water is off the books most days as it tastes like chemicals. Iced tea and lemonade are muted. Gingerale is okay most days. I have resorted to sparkling water with peach or I add lemon or lime. I buy fruit juice and dilute with water or club soda. Coffee is a crap shoot. Depending on the day, I can drink my usual Timmies with just a cream, or I go with a French Vanilla Cappuccino or a half black-half French Vanilla. I have taken up tea drinking --- but cannot have green tea or any product made thereof (drug interactions)-- so I have been experimenting. I cannot have pomegranate or passion fruit or some other tropical fruits, so herbal teas are tricky. :) PC's Chocolatey Chai is a good one that my friend Kim turned me onto. (Thanks Kim!!) I would NEVER in a million years have picked it off the shelf but I can taste chocolate (not usually a fave) and ginger -- so it is perfect.

I can still enjoy most pastas (Like Carm's lasagna), pizza and other savoury dishes, (like my friend Sandy's chicken paprikash) but some foods that I loved before...like BBQ hamburgers and chicken wings do not taste good. We'll see how the Superbowl chili tastes this afternoon. :) Chicken has limited flavour so I need to add sauce or seasonings. (Love Swiss Chalet still.) Bacon is still the bomb!!!!

Anyway....you often think of cancer patients as being lethargic and emaciated. There are lots of them. But many of us at the beginning of our journey are chubby little cherubs just trying to get the food in before we get to the other point where we can't eat as well.

I recently read a study that indicated that life expectancy for a person diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma is greatly increased if you are overweight at the time of diagnosis. It was, on average, 3 times longer than if you were underweight and about a third longer if you were at a healthy weight. Yippee...chalk one up for the chubbies! LOL!!!  Now realistically, I know that most people diagnosed with this disease are in their 70's or 80's and being underweight with a disease that eats away your bones, is not a good thing...so the numbers are way skewed...but it gives me hope...and I'll take it!!!