So as I mark two years since my cancer diagnosis, unlike last year, we really don’t have any plans. I’m not sure how that happened. [Read more…]
Another Reason to Celebrate
January 15, 2016 Leave a Comment
So I told you I’ve been feeling pretty awful the last few days. Well, if I weren’t, I would be doing a little celebrating!
Can you believe THIS original post was a year ago!
I copied the original below to make it easier to read.
Still Aching
January 11, 2016 Leave a Comment
So while I don’t publish posts “live” very often, for a bunch of reasons, I do try to keep the follow up and information on the same timeline as real life. Just maybe a few days later. Somedays I write them as it is happening and then let it sit. Then I come back and check it out and have That Guy give it a once over. It’s just how it works for me. The day after I had my last lupron shot, I wrote a little about what was going on. And it was published a couple days later. The fun did not end there.
Halfway through Pinktober
October 20, 2015 Leave a Comment
Someone recently asked me, as part of my recovery and moving on, how often I think about being a cancer survivor now. I wryly answered, “It’s October. It’s everywhere. Any time I am on the internet, turn on the television, or go shopping I think about it.” I mean seriously, we are aware folks. Can we rename it education, perhaps?
Whoops, sidetracked already. Getting back to the main point, this is not the easiest month to move on with my life.
I Sense a Theme
June 22, 2015 Leave a Comment
So I recently posted on twitter that I am trying to add running to my activity options. I was pretty excited to have gone out and run in some humid weather and made it through. I use the Couch to 5K program (I use the app on my phone) and this is not my first time through the program. In the past I have been a spring and fall runner enjoying the perfect weather to do so, and always finding something else to do when it gets to be all weather extreme-y hot and freezing cold. There is a local race in Pink-tober that I walked years ago with a friend. Every year since, I would think about running it. This year, I have decided I really need to shut up and do it. Well, technically, I don’t think I ever said it aloud to anyone, so maybe it is stop thinking and do?
While That Guy and I were away I went from making excuses to making a playlist. Then I went for my first “run”. I was just going around our neighborhood and headphone free. And then it all started. One right after another. Rump Shaker. Shake What Your Mama Gave You. Baby Got Back. Money Maker. I Got It from My Mama.
I am subliminally trying giving my not so tiny heinie an eviction notice and dedicating the soundtrack to it’s memory apparently!
And my playlist default songs might need some freshening up.
The good news is I have two whole runs finished and I decided to ask a few friends (and my mom) to run with me so that I have the accountability to just do it this year.
Let’s hear some good running songs from you all! Pretty please!
Do Your Job
May 19, 2015 Leave a Comment
As anyone who has dealt with their own or a loved ones medical emergency can attest to, sometimes you feel like your job is to make sure other people do their job. There were days I seriously just wanted to scream DO YOUR JOB so I didn’t have to. I have said that I was provided a nurse navigator through my health network system. There were times I could not imagine navigating this process without her. Once the process kept going, she was sort of a last resort to get done what I needed to when I was not able to get things moving. If you don’t have a navigator, as most people do not even though they are becoming more prominent in this sort of setting, it all falls on you and can be even more frustrating. This is where having a notebook, a planner, and a support system buddy at your appointments can really be helpful. You will need to be your own advocate and push people to get done what you need to in whatever time frame is necessary in your situation.
Say Anything
April 30, 2015 Leave a Comment
So, I’ve been trying to figure out how to write a post about what to say to or how to support someone who is going through cancer, or any medical crisis really. Every time I try to write it, it comes off as really mean and ungrateful. That Guy is blunt about this. There really isn’t a nice way to give specific examples of things said or people who have disappointed me without potentially hurting someone’s feelings or sounding like one of those annoying vague Facebook posts. That is not my intention.
Like the Energizer Bunny
March 27, 2015 Leave a Comment
So I left off as I was going into my third week of this chemotherapy regimen. This meant that it was a Taxol only week. My dad was my buddy this week for my treatment. I think it was the first he went with me. Week four was a three drug week and That Guy went with me and of course I fell asleep as I did every single time he went with me. Week five was back to one drug and a friend was able to go with me, and it was the first I was able to get an infusion without having to see a doctor before hand. My week six treatment was the first my mom was able to go with me. So we all just kept going and going and getting me through this. By the end of the sixth week I would be half done with the second group of chemotherapy drugs. Oh and you know, I started this blog at this point in my story.
Sidestepping Side Effects – The Ones No One Discusses Part 1
March 13, 2015 Leave a Comment
So there are obvious side effects, like hair loss, that everyone knows about and thinks about when they contemplate what a cancer patient goes through. Then there is all this stuff people just do not like to talk about. Or it seems like at least talking about it is finally starting. For example, loss of independence, financial stress, loss of control, depression, anxiety, and lost time doing activities you enjoy to keep yourself emotionally healthy. I feel like I have done a good job pretending these don’t affect me, but they do. That Guy and my mom see it the most, followed closely by That Little Girl. It’s awful. And that is coming from someone who tries really hard to just suck it up and get through this.
Months ago a childhood friend and fellow cancer survivor and I were talking about how exactly it feels. There are not many cancer patients in my demographic when I go in to the doctor’s offices. Being diagnosed while pregnant is another special thing. Even having little ones at home makes me somewhat of an oddity when talking to the care team. Dealing with any or all of our own special circumstances changes how we cope as a family and patient. It is a rather lonely feeling no matter how many people we have loving and caring for us as a family, in the end it is all in me and on me.
[Read more…]
Guest Post – Staying Sane During an Insane Time
January 19, 2015 Leave a Comment
Hey all. It’s That Guy filling in for That Girl. A little while ago, the readers of this blog voted on a topic for me to discuss in a guest post. And finally, with the help of some ‘gentle reminders’ from That Girl, I’ve gotten around to writing about it. Staying sane during an insane time. Oh where to start?
All About My Girls 