I would like to wish everyone a very happy new year full of blessings and all things good!
2007 was a very good year and I have much to be thankful for. In the area of my health, this year I was given great reports from my doctor, the side effects from the chemo came to an end, I feel GREAT and I am free of all pain. My family & friends are well, I still love going to work, and life is good. I look forward to a great 2008!! May all of our dreams come true!
When I was hospitalized for neutropenic fever after my first treatment, I was feeling really down because the road ahead seemed so long and terrible. The morning after I was admitted, I met two sisters while waiting to be picked up from x-ray. Mary was there visiting her sister Rose who was there to have a stem cell transplant. They saw how down I was and were very kind to me. We soon became friends and would hang out in the recreation room. Thank God, Rose is doing well two years later. Mary never fails to keep in touch with me to ask how I am and give me updates on Rose. Here is an email she recently sent to me.
Greetings Jackie, you have been so much on my mind lately ( and more often than you know), hoping all in well in your world, and that you continue to get stronger and stronger with each passing season. Rose is doing very well -- progressing to the point of getting vaccinations!! Though as you know the new you is well just a different you. We speak of you often and I always tell Rose of your updates and your progress. This is a special time of year for you and your family, so here's just a small note to let you know we still have you in our hearts. A wonderful holiday to you and those you love. Maybe someday we will have the same checkup day A MSKCC> As always, the best of thoughts coming at you and of course Steve. Remember 
Mary
I wanted to share this because it reminds me of all the good things that came out of being sick. The best of all is the friends I've made and have kept to this day. So remember, every experience, even the though ones, can produce good things. You just have tochange your way of thinking and they will be easy to find.
OK everyone. I've been wanting to do a poll ever since it became a feature of the blog. I'm always curious about how many people read my journal and what they get out of it. Don't worry, if it turns out that not many people read it, I won't be offended. This journal is written as much for me as for all of you, so I plan to continue it. There are five quick questions for you to answer. Please play along and have fun.
Jack :)
That's it. Check back to see the results! And feel free to add comments below.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I have so much to be thankful for. Last week, I went to my oncologist for a flu shot and he did blood work as always. My numbers are good and he is very happy. My next CT scan is January and he doesn't need to see me then because I did so well now. I will see him again in the spring. So, I couldn't be happier.
This summer, I read The Secret. Much of what is in the book I already learned while being sick. I recommend that everyone read it or watch the DVD if you haven't already. Below is an email I received from their website on gratitude. It is long but well worth reading! If you don't have time today to read it, please come back and read it another time. Not to mention, they are giving away free journals and I included that link. I ordered mine so that I can start a gratitude journal.
Love and blessings to all!
A Secret Scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne,
Creator of The Secret
Two words which will change your life!
There are two words that, when spoken, have the most unfathomable power to completely change your life. Two words which, when they pass your lips, will be the cause of bringing absolute joy and happiness to you. Two words that will create miracles in your life. Two words that will wipe out negativity. Two words that will bring you abundance in all things. Two words which, when uttered and sincerely felt, will summon all the forces and vibrations in the Universe to move all things for you.
The only thing standing between you, happiness, and the life of your dreams, are two words...
THANK YOU
Gratitude is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to transform your life. If you become truly grateful, you will magnetize absolute joy to you everywhere you go, and in everything you do. In fact, without gratitude, nothing can ever change. Your life will change to the degree that you use gratitude and begin to feel grateful. If you are just a little bit grateful, your life will change a little bit. If you are very grateful, your whole life will change. If you live gratitude every single day, you will become one of the greatest human beings on the planet, and the light of your life will uplift our world.
The greatest human beings who have ever lived showed us the way with gratitude, and by their example became shining lights in our history. Einstein said "thank you" hundreds of times every single day! Ancient wisdom dating back thousands of years gave us the truth about gratitude. Every single religion speaks of giving thanks. All the sages and saviors of the world demonstrated the use of gratitude in all their teachings.
Of the thousands of letters we receive from people whose lives have become miracles after experiencing The Secret, every single one of them has made gratitude their way of life. It is impossible to be negative when you are giving thanks. It is impossible to criticize or blame when you are feeling grateful. It is impossible to feel sad when you are in gratitude. Most people are sporadically grateful, however, to change your life with gratitude, a new way of learning how to be truly grateful is what will bring unlimited happiness into your life.
So how do you live in gratitude? Begin your day by feeling grateful. Be grateful for the bed you just slept in, the roof over your head, the carpet or floor under your feet, the running water, the soap, your shower, your toothbrush, your clothes, your shoes, the car that you drive, your job, your friends, your refrigerator that keeps your food cold. Be grateful for the weather, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees, the grass, the rain, and the flowers. Be grateful for the stores that make it so easy to buy the things you need, the restaurants, the utilities and services and electrical appliances that make your life effortless. Be grateful for magazines and the books that you read. Be grateful for the chair that you sit on, and the pavement that you walk on. Be grateful for your favorite music that sweeps you away, and for movies that make you feel good. Be grateful for your phone that connects you with people, for your computer, for the electricity that lights up your life. Be grateful for air travel that flies you everywhere. Be grateful for the roads and traffic lights that keep the traffic in order. Be grateful to those who built our bridges. Be grateful for your pet, for your child, for your loved ones, for your eyes that enable you to read this. Be grateful for your imagination. Be grateful that you can think! Be grateful that you can speak. Be grateful that you can laugh and smile. Be grateful that you can breathe! Be grateful that you are alive! Be grateful that you are You! Be grateful that there are two words that can change your life!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
The more that you practice gratitude the more deeply you will feel it in your heart, and the depth of the feeling is the key. The more deeply and sincerely you feel it, the more you will bring absolute bliss and happiness on every single subject. Watch what happens in your life when you practice gratitude every single day and in every single moment and in every opportunity that you can. Remember, if you are criticizing, you are not being grateful. If you are blaming, you are not being grateful. If you are complaining, you are not being grateful. If you are feeling tension, you are not being grateful. If you are rushing, you are not being grateful. If you are in a bad mood, you are not being grateful.
To understand the power and the magic of gratitude, you have to experience it for yourself. So why not begin by deciding to find 100 things a day to be grateful for? As you practice gratitude every day, it won't take long before gratitude is your natural state of being, and when it happens you will have unlocked one of the greatest Secrets to Life.
This week the United States is celebrating giving thanks with Thanksgiving Day. To inspire everyone to use gratitude, not just for one day but for every single day, The Secret is giving away 9,000 special edition Secret Gratitude Journals, which are beautiful, leather-bound journals. This gift is one journal per person, and the only cost for you is shipping.
For The Secret Gratitude Journal gift, click here.
There is just one other thing that I want you to know about Gratitude.....
When you are giving thanks, you FEEL GOOD!
Rhonda Byrne
The Secret... bringing joy to billions.
I just have to tell this story because I haven't really told a story in a while. The "C card" is what my family and I call it when I use my cancer to get what I want or to make a point. It really is quite powerful, and honestly I don't use it often. My sister Andrea has said that she would use it a lot more if she were me. As a matter of fact, she has used my "C card" to get what she wants once or twice in the past. Oh well, I'm here to help. Really, I'm not making light of this and I hope those who know me, know that I never would.
So on with the story. I was out at a party a couple of nights ago at restaurant where we were seated outside. A man eating a few tables away was smoking a big cigar as well as a member of our group. The man sitting across from us complained to the waiter that even though we are outside this is still a restaurant and by law no one should be smoking around people who are eating. Besides that, his wife gets sick from smelling cigar smoke. The waiter got the owner who made light of it. Then a man who was sitting one chair away from me said that they should lighten up because he never smoked but never minded people smoking around him. He said that one could breath second hand smoke their whole life and never get cancer. With that, the restaurant owner offered this man a cigar and even though he was not a smoker, he said yes he would like one!
That was the last straw. I turned to Steve and just said, "Can I use the card?" He said, "Go ahead." I could see that the couple was very upset and frankly, I had been getting very congested from the smoke that was already in the air-I did not need this man to light up next to me! I excused myself for butting in and explained to the man that I am a cancer survivor. I told him that I had lymphoma in my lungs and that my lungs were left scarred from my cancer and it's treatment, and that I did not appreciate people smoking around me especially where smoking is not allowed. He apologized and I further explained that we may not be able to tell how much second hand smoke will cause a person cancer and that you don't know the person's situation who sitting next to you.
Needless to say, he did not light up. I smiled at my new friends across the table and said, "It works every time."
Wow! I can't believe it's that time of year again. And I really can't believe that this is my 3rd year walking in the Light the Night Walk. I am participating in the walk on October 6th and I will be celebrating being post treatment 2 years!
My cousin Joe emailed me when he donated to this walk saying that I am a "walking miracle." It really is a miracle that I am here and doing so well. I do not forget that if I had this disease only a few decades earlier, I would have not survived given how advanced it was when I was diagnosed. And that is why two years later I still do not take my cure for granted and continue to walk so that others may be a "walking miracle" some day.
Here is my donation page if anyone is interested in making a donation:
http://www.active.com/donate/ltnWestfi/Jackiepie07
The walk is Saturday, October 6th at Brookdale Park. Registration begins at 5:30. Come and join Team Jackiepie!!
Easter is my favorite holiday. It's a time of new beginnings and I love that. Easter blessing to you all!
