MSI Press Blog

  March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Being aware of the dangers of colon cancer, how widespread it is, and how fairly easily it can be identified and treated at early states is important to everyone's long-term health because colorectal cancer can attack anyone. Here is a guide that can help: Guide to Colorectal Cancer Carl Leaver for whom the CCC is named and maintained died of cancer of unknown primary. How oncologist believed (no evidence when it comes to CUP) that the cancer started in the colon.  I, his wife and MSI Press LLC managing editor, was found cancerous polyps through a home colon cancer test, ordered because of an observed change in bowel behavior, that led to a much-earlier-than-planned follow-up colonoscopy (5 years instead of 7-10 years after the first colonoscopy that had yielded no concerns). That led to several siblings revealing the same state and that they were on short-term follow-up colonoscopy schedules. Carl blew off his scheduled colono

  I like to follow the blog of Barbara Karnes , hospice nurse par excellence. Much of what she has to say to hospice nurses about end-of-life issues in general apply to caregivers of cancer patients in particular. Her latest post, " For some doctors, it just isn’t in their tool kit to stop trying to treat,"  reflects our experience very well. Only when Carl fell and needed four people to lift him and get him to the hospital and x-rays showed complete take over by cancer of four major organs along with blood clots in his legs and lungs did the doctor suggest hospice (although he also expressed a willingness to continue treatment -- a different treatment -- if we wanted). We chose hospice, but the period of time was short. Carl returned from the hospital and went on hospice August 7. He died August 16. I have always wished that the doctor had put the hospice option in front of us much earlier, perhaps even at the beginning of the 5-month period during which the doctor tried eve

Excerpt from Intrepid: Fearless Immigrant from Jordan to America (Leaver & Leaver): A Tenuous Beginning We do not know just how Intrepid got his start. We met him as a squalling, bird-legged, rough-furred, unkempt, insatiably hungry kitten of just a few weeks, being delivered to us by the hands of Ahmed, a professor of history at New York Institute of Technology in Amman when we were living and working in Jordan. Since our landlord hardly delighted in our adopting additional cats (we already had several that we had rescued from the streets), we typically brought them upstairs to our third- floor apartment, past his first-floor door, in cages, quietly. There was and would be nothing quiet about Intrepid, though. As Ahmed mounted one stair after another the squalls radiated in ever-increasing intensity. Clearly, Intrepid had had a difficult start. A kitten so little (perhaps 4-5 weeks—a guess) could not have been weaned from its mother. Very likely, the mother had died

  Carl's Cancer Compendium is intended to serve as a starting point for all things cancer. It does not purport to answer questions or advise, but rather funnel those with questions in search of answers to reliable websites that answer their questions. When Carl Leaver , the co-owner of MSI Press LLC and its principal graphic designer and typesetter, lay dying, his family spent valuable time searching out answers to his condition and needs that members would have preferred to have spent with him. It is hoped that this page, over time and with the help of those who read it, will become robust enough to fulfill those unmet needs for families of future sufferers from cancer.  The compendium is eager to hear from readers who have a need for information not contained on the webpage. Drop a line to infoe@msipress.com so that the topic can be researched and included.  

  from treatment and recovery systems Many of the decisions that that Carl made in the last few months of his cancer-riddled life were completely irrational. In some cases, I did not know enough about the situations to know that they were irrational; they did not seem right, but the contractors went along with Carl. After all, he was paying, so it was his decision even if irrational.  Examples?  He had the sump pump behind the house removed and the area filled with concrete. During the first tremendous rains -- California's 2023 crazy storm season -- we ended up with a backyard swimming pool. The plumber reinstalled the sump pump.  He set up three generators (one probably would have done) powered by a wind turbine (we do have a lot of wind here) to maintain electricity if the power went out for a long period of time. Yes, we are on top of an earthquake fault, but we had not lost power for more than a couple of hours -- ever. And have not lost it at all since. To power the generator

  I recently came across a wonderful post on Caring Bridge , a site that helps critically ill people and their caregivers establish to communicate with family members (so as not to have to repeat the same information many times). It also has a lot of other ways of providing support and supportive information. Among that information I discovered this great piece that I wish I had seen when I was the stressed-out caregiver for my husband and MSI Press typesetter, Carl Leaver .  Here is the post. Following the post is a list of 8 tips for managing spouse caregiver burnout -- and boy, are they great, starting with #1, "understand that your feelings are valid." You can read the tips HERE . What Is Spouse Caregiver Burnout? Spouse caregiver burnout is a state of exhaustion and stress that can affect people who provide ongoing care to their partner. Also called caregiver stress or caregiver fatigue, it’s something that can affect someone physically, mentally and emotionally. Unfortu

    The following excerpt comes from Overcoming the Odds, edited by Carl Leaver\. GUIDELINES: TWO RULES FOR SURVIVAL Gratitude 1. When you get up in the morning, express gratitude that you had your husband as long as you did. You can do this by writing down some thoughts in a journal, saying a prayer, or just thinking grateful thoughts. 2. Talk about your loved one with friends, mentioning particularly nice things your husband did for you and others. 3. Make a list of everything that you have to be grateful for. Post the list in a conspicuous place: near your computer, on the refrigerator, or in a journal you use every day. 4. Take yourself out to lunch at a favorite place, and feel grateful to be lunching there. Savor the food; admire the ambiance. 5. Go to a movie that you know will touch you. Be grateful that you can still be touched. Do Something for Someone Else 1. Buy a little gift for one of your husband’s relatives. Sisters, brothers, even cousins may be hurting as much as yo

  We share a couple of items with you in honor of All Saints Day. (1) We would remind you of the book, Saints I Know , by Sula, parish cat at Old Mission (shown above with Our Lady of Guadalupe). It is a great resource for catechism students in choosing a saint's name. It is also a great resource for anyone wanting a collection of true stories about well-known and not-so-well-known saints. (2) Sula also wrote a book, Sula and the Franciscan Sisters (saints in waiting). (2) Today is the second anniversary of Carl Leaver 's birthday following his passing in 2021. Carl was co-founder and chief typesetter of MSI Press from 2003-2021. While he was born on All Saints' Day, he usually referred to himself as a "rotten pumpkin," being born the day after Halloween. Happy All Saints' Day. Read more posts for All Saint's Day here . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI

  Today's post is short -- just a link -- but it could be more important than much longer posts. I recently came across the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and its compendium of drugs. Like Carl's Cancer Compendium, this collection of searchable and readily available information is a goldmine that I wish I had had when Carl was dying from cancer. You can check out this rich complication of cancer drugs and information about them HERE .  See other posts on cancer drugs . See other   Cancer Diary   posts. Blog editor's note: As a memorial to  Carl Don Leaver , co-founder of MSI Press LLC, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The web page is in its infancy but expected to expand into robustness.

Just up! Managing Editor, Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, and Graphic Designer/Tech Director, Carl Leaver, traveled to San Diego, California in February. While there, they met with author, Joanna Charnas, author of three books, and conducted an interview on each book. Listen to the podcast  about 100 Tips & Tools for Managing Chronic Illness on our podcast page on our website by clicking  HERE . Take a look at Joanna's three books: 100 Tips & Tools for Managing Chronic Illness Living Well with Chronic Illness A Movie Lover's Search for Romance (to be released in July)