Column: A Peculiar Existence
I’m not exactly pretending that I don’t have stage IV lung cancer (non-small cell, to be specific), but ever since my hospital admission on August 2nd, I have been treatment-free; no I.V. chemotherapy, no oral medication, no targeted treatment, no nothing. And during this sabbatical (I use that term loosely; being off chemotherapy has been as much about recovering from surgery and recuperating from my hospital “stay-cation” as it was anything necessarily intended), I have progressed from feeling crappy and being short of breath—while being infused previously, to where I have become relatively asymptomatic, breathing normally and for the nearly eight week treatment-free interval mentioned, have felt mostly OK.
Art of Movement Thrives at Workhouse
Lesley Spalding runs 15 exercise classes for 250 people a week.
The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton offers Art of Movement classes in vibrant formats that are “off the beaten path.” The fall season started Sept. 16 with 19 certified instructors teaching everything from Pilates to yoga to hula to zumba to jazzercise to “strong graceful body.” About 250 people of all ages can sign up for eight-week classes, six days a week, between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. The next session starts Nov. 11. “We’re always seeking and reaching out to make sure we’re on top of our game with the latest information,” said Program Director Lesley Spalding, 51, of Rolling Valley in Springfield. “We’re all certified in every aspect.”
One Step at a Time
TC grad makes 3,600-mile run for veterans.
When Brendan O'Toole was in high school, he and his friends repeatedly watched “Forrest Gump,” with O'Toole joking that one day he was going to recreate the film character's run across the country. For most young men, the conversation would end there but for O'Toole, a 2007 graduate of T.C. Williams, it was just the beginning.
Life Time Athletic Opens in Reston
New gym brings jobs, promotes fitness in Reston
Life Time Athletic Reston held an official opening ceremony on the evening of Sept. 12. The grand opening ceremony was open to the public, and several local dignitaries attended, including Robert "Bob" Simon, Jr., founder of Reston. Life Time Athletics staff from the Reston store and other locations including Centreville were also on site to attend to the large number of visitors.
When Food Is the Enemy
Pair of moms work to raise money for research into their sons' rare disorder.
For a small but growing number of parents, having a child who's a finicky eater would be a dream come true.
Eating Pizza Can Help Local Girl
Paisano’s holding fundraiser for Tara Sankner.
A fundraiser being held by a local pizza chain won’t cure Tara Sankner’s cancer—but it’ll certainly help her parents pay for her medical bills. Called “Let’s Take Care of Tara,” it began Sept. 3 and will run through Sept. 30 at all Paisano’s locations.
Column: Now This is What
Do nothing (no more treatment) and live life to the fullest (for as long as I’m able, and right now, I’m extremely able); start another chemotherapy protocol – with an I.V. chemotherapy drug which, according to my oncologist, has not been proven in any clinical setting to be better than the patient doing nothing; or, try to get into a Study (Phase 1, 2 or 3) at either N.I.H. (National Institutes of Health) or Johns Hopkins (in Baltimore) and let the treatment chips fall wherever experimental/research medicine takes them. This is what my oncologist discussed with Team Lourie at my most recent appointment, my first appointment with him since my hospitalization and subsequent release.
Inspired to Give
Local teens positively impact youth on a global scale.
Picture this: An impoverished young teenager sits in a hospital bed in rural India, suffering from a life-threatening cancer, opens up a tablet device filled with educational tools and apps to distract them from their daily struggles. You would probably expect the tablet to have been shipped there by a large, national non-profit run by paid staff members. Not so. It was delivered to this teen by other teens, all working toward the same goal: to connect with pediatric cancer patients around the world in order to provide them with encouragement, support and education.
Incendiary Remarks in West End Fire Investigation
No arrests yet, but fire chief says investigation puts one individual in the hot seat.
Alexandria Fire Chief Adam Thiel stopped short of calling it "arson." But the chief was clear that city officials believe that the person of interest identified by the investigation into last week's six-alarm fire on the West End started the fire on purpose.
Annual Ride Raises Funds for Lymphoma Research
Alexandrian patient among the participants.
On Sunday, Sept. 22, the Lymphoma Research Foundation will hold its seventh annual Lymphoma Research Ride. Hundreds of present and former lymphoma patients, as well as families, friends and supporters, will embark on a fundraising bike ride
Providing Programs for Those with Developmental Disabilities
PCR works with other groups to launch similar programs.
In 1994, Joan and Jim Sullivan of Potomac proposed an idea to Father John Enzler and the parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church — an idea that changed and improved services for teens and adults with developmental disabilities in Montgomery County.
Tide Turns for Arlington Mill
Community center almost fell victim to recession; now ready to formally open.
Four years ago, the fate of the Arlington Mill Community Center looked moribund.
Jim Savarese Memorial Golf Tournament
Knights’ Golf Outing Fights Pancreatic Cancer
Local Knights of Columbus Push Back at Cancer
Wellbeing: How To Set Realistic Goals
Local experts say the key to success is setting achievable goals.
Laura Wheeler Poms, of Fairfax, set out to earn a doctorate degree and make a career change. As a wife, mother and working professional, the goal, she said, often felt lofty. “Writing my dissertation at times felt overwhelming, especially if I looked at it as one huge project,” said Poms, who now holds a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology and is an assistant professor of global and community health at George Mason University in Fairfax. “I set goals like writing one page or doing one analysis each day and I was able to get it done. I also gave myself little rewards along the way.”
Column: Indeterminate Sentence
And no, that’s not another made-up phrase by yours truly describing my occasionally cluttered/run-on prose with which many of you extremely patient regular readers are all too familiar. No, it has to do with how I perceive my future now that I’m post-hospital and sleeping in my own bed. Instead of nurses, respiratory therapists, X-ray technicians, doctors and miscellaneous other hospital staff too numerous to list, I have one wife and five cats to do my bidding. And though they’re not nearly as attentive as the hospital staff, I know that they all have my best interests at heart.