Dear Family and Friends of Joanne,

This is a reminder about the Zoom celebration of Joanne's remarkable life on Sunday, November 15.  We will start to gather at 3:45 pm. The program will begin at 4:00 pm. Join at:[...]

Dear Family and Friends of Joanne,

You did not receive an email notice of my October 31st PostHope journal entry. Please go to that October 31st entry to see Joanne's obituary and details of the celebration of her life on Sunday, November 15, at 3:45 pm Pacific Time. I repeat the Zoom details here: [...]

Joanne Rachel Bethlahmy passed away peacefully on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, in her home in Larkspur, California. 

Joanne was born on July 25, 1954, to Rhoda (Eisenberg) and Nogah Bethlahmy. While her birthplace was Santa Monica, California, Joanne considered Los Gatos, California her hometown, where she spent her K-12 years, graduating from Los Gatos High School. Joanne was a scholar and prided herself on her hard work to earn top honors at every academic institution she attended.  She was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in History [DB1] from University of California, Davis and was invited to join the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Joanne then earned a joint J.D./M.B.A. degree from UC Hastings College of the Law (graduating in the top 10% of her class) and the University of California, Berkeley.[...]

Dear friends and family,

With a heavy heart, I want to let you know that Joanne passed just before midnight on Tuesday, October 6. She was calm and at peace. She left this world in typical Joanne fashion. She decided that she was ready to leave, and she did![...]

Hello everyone,

I’m sending this note on Joanne’s behalf.  She wanted all of you to know that, after a brief hospitalization for breathing issues this weekend, she came home and entered hospice.[...]

Hi everyone,

I know a lot of you have been waiting to hear how the treatments at Anatara are going. Well, me too. The frustrating truth is that we probably won't know if all this effort has been successful until about November.[...]

Hi all,
 
I’m sorry that it’s been almost two months since I updated the site. I’ve been so exhausted - and often in pain - from all the hair pin turns, valleys of despair, sudden glimmers of hope, changes in doctors, endless appointments and procedures that I just haven’t had the energy to write. I’ve come up with several titles along the way: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Stick a Fork in Me, I’m Done. A Sudden Leap of Faith.
 
In the end, I settled on Take This Job and Shove It…Unless It’s Working.
 
Beginning in April, the percent cancer blasts in my blood started to increase quickly. This is a key measure of the disease progression. I had been told by Kaiser that once they reached 20%, I officially had AML, acute myeloid leukemia, and would have months, not years, to live.
 
According to Kaiser’s lab, I hit 20% on June 13. I was alone at the house (of course) when I opened the results. In the two years of this journey, I can count the number of times I’ve fallen into crying hysterics on a couple of fingers. The two poor friends who happened to be home that night had to keep telling me to breathe, I was crying so hard.
 
However, as things seem to go with this odyssey, almost simultaneously I was introduced by an old client to a private medical clinic in San Francisco, Anatara Medicine. They are an integrative medicine practice that incorporates leading edge procedures not covered by insurance. I took several deep breaths, pulled out a lot of savings, and started seeing them on June 15.
 
My job today: leave the house at 8:00 am, drive into San Francisco, park in a garage, walk 2 ½ blocks (one uphill), sit for 5 hours with an IV needle in my arm, drive back to Marin, force myself to do a short walk, enter my door at 4:00, collapse, have a little dinner, and crash to sleep at 8:00 pm. Then, do it all over again another 3 days a week. The fifth day is generally devoted to Kaiser appointments, such as giving blood, getting a bone marrow biopsy or driving to Sonoma for radiation on bone lesions. (These are fun little side effects of my disease which create porous bones. Apparently, I broke a rib recently which is healing. No wonder my side hurt so much.)
 
So, as I said, take this job and shove it. But…
 
Last week, after two weeks of treatment at Anatara, my cancer blasts went down significantly. Depending on whether it’s the Kaiser lab or Anatara’s outside national lab, I’m at 14% or 9%. I’m trying not to dance yet because the blasts have gone down before and then sky-rocketed the next week. However, it is very encouraging. This hope is supported by energetic readings from other channels such as my healer, a biofeedback machine, and my astrologer. If there was ever a cross-your-fingers-moment, this is it.
 
Sheltering in place is making this even harder since I have to do all of it by myself, ill and anemic. Safe distancing visitors – or even help with driving if at all possible – are very appreciated. The SF clinic allows visitors (testing temperatures, etc.), and I’ve had people at the house for takeout, spread outside. Neighbors have also been good about picking up a few groceries since I’m avoiding crowds. Any get together that feels comfortable to you will brighten my day.
 
Much love, health and sanity in these times,
 
Joanne[...]

Thank you for all the nice feedback from last week’s update. I’ve gotten a lot of encouragement to write more, especially about recent lessons learned, doctor stories and other topics that might help a few people. I’m still mulling over how to address these areas, but in the meantime, I thought I would share something a bit lighter, more fun and hopefully interactive.
 
Last year, when I was in the hospital for 5 weeks, my friend Kelly invented a super creative activities book to keep me amused. My favorite activity was to list 10 Things I Know for Sure, a nod to Oprah’s famous expression. I won’t bore you with all ten, but here are the three that resonate with me the most.
 
1.     You Need Intuition and Analysis to Make Good Decisions. Most of my yuppie friends tolerate my spiritual stories but in their hearts are very skeptical. They hesitate to dip a toe in these waters for fear of sullying their intellectual credibility. Conversely, my psychic friends often despise corporate types for being closed minded and are deeply suspicious of Western medicine. Me? I might be one of the only people on the planet with a JD/MBA who graduated from a clairvoyant program. I just think that God gave us two sides of our brain. Why wouldn’t we use both of them?
 
2.     People Who Travel Know More.  Recently, I watched a PBS series called Sacred Wonders which profiled religious sites around the world. I was so excited to see familiar places! I had been to 1/3 – 1/2 of them. Candidly, I’m proud that I’ve been to about 31 countries and 47 states. I love having that historical or cultural knowledge in my brain and finding links at odd times. I give foundational credit to my parents who somehow weren’t fazed by taking two children and seven pieces of luggage around the world in 1965.
 
3.     Everything and Everyone Can Leave. My father was almost a mathematical genius when he was young. By the end of his life, he had trouble with easy arithmetic. That’s when I realized that even our strongest capabilities will diminish with time. I’m still working on accepting gracefully the disappearance of old friends and close relatives. I tend to be deeply hurt and want to hold on, although I’m much better than I was.  It lightens the load to let go.
 
What are your top 3?
 
Love, Joanne[...]

Many of my friends are still working and complaining about being stressed. Here, I’m pretty bored and boring. The birds are singing, and I can sit in the sunshine with the kitty. I’ve done a lot of easy yoga and physical therapy, gone grocery shopping at 6 am, taken four or five socially-distant friend walks, and twice recently had someone over for a meal outside, separated by a very large coffee table.[...]