Mariner Society Service

[Two@Sea]

...On the way home, I passed a See's Candies shop, turned around and had great fun selecting exactly the pieces I wanted placed into the box. Believe it or not, despite growing up with the stuff, it was the first time ever having it hand-packed. I finished them all in 2 days, too! :)

 

Two days? What took you so long? ;)

 

(Apparently, you haven't had as much practice as I have. I could do an entire box in under a day with one hand tied behind my back. :))

[peaches from georgia]

So sorry to read of your health problem and will be wishing you the best, of course. Your attitude is amazing. I know you are aware that the whole board is praying for successful treatment and many cruises ahead in good health.

[Cruising-along]

I am so very, very sorry to hear of your diagnosis. Like others have said, I'm speechless.

 

Your wonderful attitude will go a long way in helping you get through this, try to remember that. And I agree, bulking up is a good thing. Enjoy those chocolates and anything else you feel like having!

 

Sending prayers and hugs your way.

[cruz chic]

Two days? What took you so long? ;)

 

(Apparently, you haven't had as much practice as I have. I could do an entire box in under a day with one hand tied behind my back. :))

Glad I'm the only one that scarfs them down:D. I'm happy I can only get them occasionally is the US. You can't get them in Canada.

[Zyzygy]

I join with so many others in wishing you the best in the midst of your diagnosis.

 

I'm one of those people, a sucker I guess, who appreciates the embarkation lunch in the MDR, the Mariners' Brunch, and even my lowly two-star pin. We have a stack of tiles in our family room that we use as coasters.

 

I also noticed on our last cruise that we were consistently seated by a window in the MDR during AYWD. Who knows what mysteries the maitre d' has in his computer, but I like to think that our Mariner status appeared alongside our cabin information, and that he seated us at such lovely tables because of that.

 

Prayers and best wishes.

[DutchByAssociation]

Ironin, you'll definitely be in my thoughts. Keep a positive outlook as many believe diagnosis can be turned around and/or slowed down with something as simple as a positive outlook.

[cruisingdames]

So terribly sorry to hear about your prognosis. There are no words to describe how I feel. Such a tragedy. Please continue to be positive, and post as many people will be thinking of you. We will keep you and your family in our prayers. We don't post much, basically read, but your post has indeed caught our attention.

 

Brad and Veronica.

[COLLEYBERRY]

Sending my Best Wishes Ironin, as you can see you are a valued contributor to CC and I look forward to your future posts.:)

Sincerely Colleen

[startwin]

Ironin, I am so sorry to hear of your diagnosis, and admire your spirit and big heart. Most recently I thoroughly enjoyed cruising along with you when you sailed the Zuiderdam through the Panama on it's repositioning cruise, hanging onto every word and photo, as we are doing this same cruise next April.

 

My own experiences with HAL have been positive and after I wrote to them after one cruise to share some disappointing experiences, they were very gracious and I felt they really listened. One of the reasons HAL is my favourite cruise line.

 

Stay strong, and my heart and prayers go out to you.

[ironin]

Ironin,

Bill and I are so sorry to hear of your diagnosis...we'll keep you in our prayers.

 

We've had good responses from HAL in the past - Bill sent an email after our last cruise (Eurodam, Canada/New England last September - with you!), with a couple of small problems, but also some good words about the crew. He received an extremely nice letter back, with a copy of their book of art on the ships! My thought is that it's always nice to let people know when they've done well...sometimes it might be the only good words they'll hear! :)

 

Laura

 

Hi Laura! Overlooked your post earlier - I do remember meeting you and Bill at the Cruise Critic get-together you arranged. That sailing was wonderful, especially the Tamarind and a PG server named Joel. We think he'd fit in well at any top-flight restaurant on land. BTW, notice that we also did the Zuiderdam repositioning Panama Canal cruise, although at different times. Did you stop in Veracruz on that sailing?

 

Again, many thanks to everyone who has dropped in to express their good wishes. (Looks like I may need to start a new thread to get it back on-topic - not that I'm complaining or anything! :D.)

 

Off soon to begin what treatment can be provided. Aside to Two@Sea, Lorekauf and Ruth C: I'll be passing by See's Candies again, so you can well imagine that there will be a slight delay in getting back home ;). I'll think of all three of you while there. (Not sure if RandyK is a big See's fan or not, but I'm following his suggestion, "Go for it!" with great gusto.:))

[ironin]

Startwin: You're going to love that sailing, the Zuiderdam, and most of all, the crew! There are a number of exemplary crew members aboard the Zuiderdam. Once I get a tad more organized, and find photos to accompany the posts, I'll be mentioning some either here (or, more likely, on a new thread). You might want to take notes ;) - who knows? They may still be aboard when you are. Smooth sailing!

[RuthC]

Off soon to begin what treatment can be provided. Aside to Two@Sea, Lorekauf and Ruth C: I'll be passing by See's Candies again, so you can well imagine that there will be a slight delay in getting back home ;). I'll think of all three of you while there. (Not sure if RandyK is a big See's fan or not, but I'm following his suggestion, "Go for it!" with great gusto.:))

This "Dr." Ruth says you should make a stop a See's a standard part of every treatment session. Couldn't hurt!

[cruz chic]

This "Dr." Ruth says you should make a stop a See's a standard part of every treatment session. Couldn't hurt!

I agree with the Doctor:D;).

[Randyk47]

Not sure if RandyK is a big See's fan or not, but I'm following his suggestion, "Go for it!" with great gusto.:))

 

Oh please! ;):D I grew up on the West Coast....See's is in my blood. :) We don't have it here in Texas, at least not in San Antonio that I've seen, but I do miss See's.

[bcd2010]

This "Dr." Ruth says you should make a stop a See's a standard part of every treatment session. Couldn't hurt!

 

One reason RuthC is so popular on this board is because she is so wise ;)

 

I used to live in CA and IL where there were See's Candies stores close by. I took them for granted (sigh). Now that I'm here in SC where there are no stores, I would have to order online (during the holidays, there is a mall 25 miles away that has a kiosk set up to buy pre-boxed candy, but...). When I lived near Chicago, everyone there talked about Fannie May candy being the best - not as good IMO.

 

So do indulge, and enjoy. Your positive attitude is remarkable to me, and I also appreciate your ability to remain so.

[sail7seas]

Yes, yes, yes...........

 

Didn't Mary Poppins teach us "A Little Bit of sugar makes the medicine go down?" Who are we to question the dear Mary Poppins? :D :)

 

Chocolate has to be considered a great boost for full recovery. ;)

 

[ironin]

This "Dr." Ruth says you should make a stop a See's a standard part of every treatment session. Couldn't hurt!

 

I agree with the Doctor:D;).

 

As the crack treatment advisory team here all agree (See Randyk47; bcd1020; and Sail7Seas as well), this is one set of "doctor's" orders with which I am happy to comply. (Figures, as See's is "A Happy Habit" after all ;)). Fortunately, it looks treatments will always end just as the shop opens. It was already almost 90° when I started home yesterday, so you can probably guess how I set the car A/C" full blast on the feet, where the candy was stored. I still have my priorities straight. :D

 

Aside to randy k47: Once I saw your comment, I remembered you mentioning growing up in Oregon. I lived in Portland for 5 wonderful years - one of my personal top #3 places to live on earth. I'm old enough to remember when See's boxes advertised having shops "throughout California" and then later, IIRC, "California and the West." Idly wondering when they reached Oregon. Distribution was always limited by the speed they could transport viable product from the factory in So. San Francisco.

 

They did open a shop in Hong Kong, of all places, in 1975 or 1976. I know because I was studying there and came across it while wandering through Ocean Terminal near the Star Ferry Pier to cool off one day. At that time, a box of chocolates was $5/lb. in California and $10/lb. in Hong Kong as it arrived air freight. I could only afford a couple of pieces at a time and even then not very often. Sheer joy in every bite.

[Randyk47]

 

Aside to randy k47: Once I saw your comment, I remembered you mentioning growing up in Oregon. I lived in Portland for 5 wonderful years - one of my personal top #3 places to live on earth. I'm old enough to remember when See's boxes advertised having shops "throughout California" and then later, IIRC, "California and the West." Idly wondering when they reached Oregon. Distribution was always limited by the speed they could transport viable product from the factory in So. Francisco.

 

I lived in the Pacific Northwest from 1962 until 1981 and it seems to me that we had See's in our first big mall back in the late 60's, early 70's. Dumb me but I was actually kind of surprised not to see a See's in Texas when I moved to El Paso, Texas.....kind of assumed they were everywhere. Of course from El Paso I moved to Germany and then back to the US in Virginia so I really missed out on See's. If it weren't for annual vacation trips to San Diego to visit my ex's parents I wouldn't have had to chance to get my "See's fix". :D

 

PS - Editing this post to say I just got hit by a strange craving for See's chocolate covered raisins....beats me why though they were one of my favorites. It's all your fault Randy! :D

[JORAY]

We are lucky -- We have a son living in the LA area who sends See's to us for brithdays & ETC. :D

 

I think it cost him more to send than the See's cost but he is a good son who knows what Mom & Dad like! :cool:

 

At Christmas time there is a small store here in NC opens and sells See's

 

Ray

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather: The two of us do tend to be on "opposite" sides during various debates, don't we? :D Not sure if I've said this before, but I do have a high regard for your opinion, which is precisely why I've engaged you in debate on occasion. At times, I've wondered if that came through and it sounds like it has. In truth, I've looked in on Molly's blog a few times, was tempted to leave a funny/cheering comment after seeing the MRI post a couple of months ago but thought it might feel like internet stalking. :eek: Heaven forbid!

 

 

But not always on opposite sides, Ironin ... not always;). What I notice here on CC is the people with open minds who will agree on some things but not necessarily on others. Just because someone doesn't agree with me doesn't make them wrong (or me either for that matter) ... it's different views that make the world go 'round!

 

I'm very happy you've visited Molly's blog ... that's why it's there. She finds the bright side and has a way of spinning life in a more positive way when I might be a bit more cynical. So she grounds me;). Leave a comment any time you like; love to hear from everyone. She's on Facebook, too ... busy little dog.

 

Hope you saw that after more tests all was well for me and I'll be around for quite some time. I'm glad that diagnoses aren't always what they appear and wish it were always so:).

[mamaofami]

I am deeply saddened to read of your diagnosis. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this difficult time.

[Wayfairers]

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis. You are a special person to look outward and praise people and to encourage others to praise people while dealing the cancer.

 

If you happen to get radiation therapy I suggest adding turmeric or yellow curry to all your foods - the curcumin in turmeric (an ingredient in curry) helps protect skin. It lessened my skin burn when I had 28 rounds of radiation.... yellow curry is delicious on bacon! I am fair skinned and only peeled once.

 

My positive is that the general ship staff on HAL have always been extremely nice/helpful and consistently nicer than the staff on other cruise lines. They are one reason we are returning to HAL in October.

[MightyQuinn]

Wow ironin. I don't visit this HAL forum regularly anymore, but when I saw a thread started by you ... well I just had to check it out. :):)

 

And what do I discover? There in the midst of spreading joy and gratitude about others, you dropped a little tidbit about your own health that left me stunned. I'm so very sorry to learn of your diagnosis and I hope you feel the positive energy I'm sending you for the best possible outcome. It's amazing the impact that folks we've never met can have on us and you've had such an effect on me. I always enjoy your intelligent and balanced posts, as well as your reflective contribution to many debates. Keep it up, I'll be watching!

 

But on topic ... I don't have a happy HAL story to tell, but then again, I don't have a sorry tale either. We've been sailing other cruise lines since '09 but we'll soon be cruising HAL Amsterdam on its delightful 14-nite Alaska voyage. So far, so good.

 

ironin, take good care.

[ironin]

 

But not always on opposite sides, Ironin ... not always;). What I notice here on CC is the people with open minds who will agree on some things but not necessarily on others. Just because someone doesn't agree with me doesn't make them wrong (or me either for that matter) ... it's different views that make the world go 'round!

 

*LOL!* I certainly do appreciate that we aren't always not seeing things the same way. Heather, I know you agree that it would be just as remarkable if we agreed 100% of the time. And a tad boring, eh? (to borrow a Canadianism in honor of the many Canadians who have posted here) :eek:;)

 

Heather, that's why exchanging opinions with you is invariably interesting. Although we do have different perspectives, we both usually have a decent understanding of the differences which goes far in preventing the misunderstandings that so often occur due to the limitations of bulletin board exchanges (lack of vocal/facial/body clues, etc.) It definitely makes the conversation flow easier, I think.

 

As you said earlier, I do usually make the effort to recognize different outlooks. Probably always have (I've been damned and praised for being overly analytical for what seems like forever.) 20 years of bulletin board participation (I could be found on the AOL precursor to Cruise Critic in 95-96, in fact) have taught me a lot, but even after all that time, I'm still picking up tips and clues for better communication. Brevity, admittedly is one I continue to struggle with. :D

 

I'm very happy you've visited Molly's blog ... that's why it's there. She finds the bright side and has a way of spinning life in a more positive way when I might be a bit more cynical. So she grounds me;). Leave a comment any time you like; love to hear from everyone. She's on Facebook, too ... busy little dog.

Yes, she is! Cute, too. Your post about the MRI had me laughing. Given your feeling about that, I was going to tease you a bit about having scored a "Buy One, Get One Free!" offer in February. Exposed to hepatitis over 20 years ago, I've had an annual ultrasound to check for any liver anomalies for well over a decade. Until this year, it, and the tumor marker test, always come back A-OK. This year, a lesion about the size of a quarter was observed, but the tumor marker test was unchanged (at the very low end of normal range).

 

Thus, the first MRI. Unlike you, I actually enjoyed it! Made up tunes to go along with the random sounds. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't tell them all that much. They called up and invited me back to use the super-duper version MRI with a dye recently developed for livers (Eovist). And it was FREE! So, off I went to see what IT was like. It went fine. In the end, two radiologists and two physicians agreed it was most likely benign (a hemangioma) and a biopsy was ruled out due to the risk of causing internal bleeding if it was. Since the lesion was small and tumor marker was unchanged/so low, "Let's see how things look in 3 months."

 

That's what I was going to share with you then. As you discovered yourself, not all diagnoses/tests lead to bad results, but getting them provides peace of mind in the end.

 

What has happened in my own case is exceptionally rare - the unexpected results, the unexpected type of cancer, the unexpected aggressiveness. Thus, it turns out that three months was too long (it actually ended up being 4 months because scheduling dropped the ball and I had to push.) In that short amount of time, the tumor marker unexpectedly went up 1900%, or 7 times the maximum for normal, the lesion grew 60% and brought along 20 friends to the party. The biopsy continued with the unexpected theme, confirming bile duct cancer not liver cancer.

 

Around 20 friends and relatives have volunteered partial liver donations, but the time for that possibility passed when 1 lesion became many scattered around. The oncologist says that, with my existing bloodwork and health, if we can get the tumor markers down,etc., I'd be a prefect candidate for a transplant, but Hepatitis carriers (even undetectable as I've been for a decade) are automatic rejects. There's just too many otherwise healthy people for whom a transplant can mean decades of life to risk on someone who will infect a good liver as soon as transplanted, and probably won't live nearly as long. I understand that an am quite comfortable with the logic.

 

Probably TMI, but once I got started, I didn't know where to stop. Besides, I'm thrilled I'm still in the full upright position after chemo first thing yesterday morning and have thus far, none of the possible side effects on days #1 and #2. We'll see if I'm still chipper tomorrow. Hope so, because we've got tickets to see Camelot at the theater-in-the-round tomorrow night and I'm really looking forward to it after seeing both The Producers and Anything Goes last month.

 

Hope you saw that after more tests all was well for me and I'll be around for quite some time. I'm glad that diagnoses aren't always what they appear and wish it were always so:).

That is wonderful news!!! I thought so, but, in all honesty, I wasn't so sure, which is one of the reasons I held back, because the humor could have appeared to be extremely inappropriate/ misguided in that case.

[peaches from georgia]

Ironin-

You are one amazing person. I hope you know that. I salute you.