Because of my current OMG BEASTIE BOYS obsession, I read a lot of internet garbage about how MCA's vegan diet and alternamagictibetanwoo medicine "cured" his cancer.

A) Not cured.

B) The people making the claims conveniently leave out the large scar on his neck from the surgery to remove the tumor and the subsequent rounds of radiation treatment

C) Last photograph of him was like six months ago and he looks like Jack Skellington

Which is all very irritating.

But your mom is very evidence-science minded, ita. I'm sure she'll stick with what the docs say to do.

Are you worried that she might stop treatment, or annoyed at the suggestion?

San Jose, as long as the flights aren't too inconvenient/expensive. Smaller, and closer to MV.

It's totes inconvenient and more expensive, but then again, it's not like I'm paying for it...

I remember there being a fuss when Sharon Stone stood up and said she'd had cancer and it was cured by her nutritionist. Later, of course, proved to be not cancer.

Are you worried that she might stop treatment, or annoyed at the suggestion?

I'm worried that she will get pressure to comply with the curing diet, when there really should be no stress attached to that at all. She has a rough enough time. I don't want her to feel like there's something else she should be doing, and something she might be failing at.

Also, I don't want my sister's friend to judge my mother. I'm hypersensitive because I already react badly when people cure my migraines with more celery, but I really hate that sort of shit.

It's totes inconvenient and more expensive, but then again, it's not like I'm paying for it...

The inconvenient part would push me towards SF. Mother ship can pay for a cab if they don't have a shuttle or car service.

Mostly I'm just spoiled and like direct flights, but the inconvenience of getting to MV from SF may cancel that out.

I hate it, too.

I think it sometimes comes from a place where people feel like their bodies have gone out of control and are working against them (even though we really have very little control over our innards anyway) and diet is something you can have a lot of control over. Maybe makes folks feel like they're actively doing something themselves to help themselves, because relying completely on the expertise of others can make you feel helpless and stuff.

It's how I feel about head meds, sometimes.

On the nature of depression, it is helpful for people to help me suss out the reality of the good things/hope, while acknowledging the reality of the pain.

"You're in pain, and that is true. You *feel* hopeless, and that is also true. In addition to those truths, you are surrounded by people who will cut a bitch if it would give you a moment of not being in pain, and that is way true, so try and set some time to give equal thought to things like that."

I don't know if that sort of thing will help your mom, but it always does help me to have someone help me take stock of the awesome shit.

TBH, I do know that the exchange rate on my .02 is often piss poor.

This is all assuming I can find a goddamn hotel that will let me check in on Tuesday. Augh.

One thing I don't have a moment's hesitation about is that my mother knows she is mad loved and supported. the outpouring of affection and people rallying around her was literally overwhelming, in the end. We had to tell the hospital to stop letting people in (and this included people who worked for the hospital), because she couldn't work out how to limit them herself (and even refused to give us secret signals so we could throw them out) and was exhausting herself dealing with everyone in person. We also had to run the plants and flowers home because we ran out of space in her room for them...they were lined up on the floor and outside her door and were becoming a hazard.

My mother is...well, people respond really well to her. She's a draconian hard-nosed professor, who'd punch you in the face if you messed with her people, but she's also...she's she's warm-hearted and she's really nice and mad brilliant and plain mad crazy. She doesn't feel all those things all the time, but she is surrounded by people who keep reminding her. All the time. From avenues I wouldn't even have expected.

And she's pretty right-headed about dealing with things, considering. I'd be handling all this a lot worse, no doubt. I deal with my headaches badly enough. But she's my mother, and I'm protective, and I want to take all the burden off her.

And I will tell her: "Allyson says take stock of the awesome."

I wanted to share somewhere that I did not put on makeup to go to work today. I have worn makeup every day of my life since 6th grade. I have been looking at myself in the mirror once I get to work and thinking that I look terrible, and I think my makeup is wearing off from the bus ride. So today I didn't wear any, intending to put it on at work, but I forgot. And I don't think I look any different, because I think it IS wearing off from walking in the snow/rain/sweat. I only wear foundation, blush and lipstick, so perhaps the change would be more dramatic if I wore eyemakeup?