Trusting My Doc

One of the most common questions that I was asked after coming home from the hospital was “Are you happy with your surgery?”

Lashes Return

It’s the oddest feeling. You’re now accustomed to only a few lashes existing on either set of lids. And now it feels like miniature brushes are installed in my lids.

Sweet Sleep

The journey is an education. I’ve learned volumes about how our bodies work, how we make it more difficult and easier for our bodies to do their jobs.

Home for Recovery

I arrived home yesterday by about 1pm. But it was an interesting hour or so.

Realizing When You’re Blessed

I’ve always thought that it was important to understand your place.

Whether it’s that you have an average or above-average lifestyle or you’re wealthy. Whether you’re bright but not genius and whether you’re especially talented, or a great team member.

If you don’t realize and accept this, then you might have unrealistic goals or displaced expectations.

There is something else that recently became clear to me: it’s important to realize how blessed we may be.

Too often we take a “poor me” perspective – especially in situations where something has gone awry in our lives.

This is an attitude that I hope I don’t exhibit. I don’t think I do. I’m more of a “glass half full person” and I hope that is what comes through in my personality. But I also don’t want to be unrealistic. Understand reality but be positive about outcomes.

I’ve been real with myself about my journey with breast cancer. From the beginning my oncology surgeon made sure that I knew all of the facts. She noted that knowing everything is the only way you can be comfortable with how you need to move forward and form a positive perspective about treatment and results. Her comments – and her full-disclosure methods – have helped me tremendously in this journey.

I know that this is a serious battle. I’m fortunate that I’m fighting this battle with access to the effective drugs and excellent doctors with amazing knowledge and understanding of the cause and effect relationships between specific cancers and treatment methods. Because of their speed to act and excellence, I’m cancer free and well on my way to moving on with my life.

I don’t, however, make the mistake of thinking this is the way it is for everyone. I see other with true struggles with everything from energy and endurance during treatment to insurance process to body reaction to medicines to emotional nosedives. I’ve done much better than just tolerate my treatment and I’ve recovered quickly from surgeries and procedures and been able to come pretty close to living my normal life.

I know that there were lots of “could’ve beens.” Cancer could have moved to other areas of my body and put me in a cancer maintenance mode instead of looking at being “cured.” I know of other people who have advanced cancers that were quick to run rampant  throughout their bodies and within weeks – taking their lives away and weakening them to the point of requiring total care.

I can look ahead a few months and see an end to what I will call “active treatment.” I will be able to take the necessary medication but feel confident that I will have many more years ahead of me to enjoy my family, friends, work and hobbies as I did before my battle f 2015-2016.

It’s a blessing that I don’t take lightly. It’s one that I thank God for many times a day.

So I’ve definitely realized that I’m blessed. Many times over in the past year, but especially after hearing stories of others whose journeys have been more difficult and whose battles are being lost.

Yes. I’m blessed.