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Day 1 – I had to give myself permission to nap
In all my pushes to make sure I’m getting enough exercise, I had lost sight of my need for sleep – or a least a little more sleep than I usually get. I got quite a bit of sleep last night, but by 2pm I was knackered. I had to realize that I should stop…
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Negotiating identities in multiple worlds
I find myself living between two worlds – or perhaps more – negotiating my different identities. Anyone who gets breast cancer under 45 is considered to be ‘young’, so I’m re-negotating what it means to be a young cancer patient. In church, we had groups for young adults age 18-35 and I remember the very…
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The pains with the American system
Having decent insurance has made most of the process of cancer treatment go smoothly. You’d have thought with a week of advance notice, it would all be figured out … but not so much. The chemo went well today – well seems like an odd word to use w.r.t chemo – it went, I’m feeling…
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First day of chemo
So today was day 1 of chemo. It was a little emotional when she pushed the Doxorubicin (A) – they closed the curtains when I started crying – but the emotions didn’t last too long. The A only took about 10 minutes (three vials). While they were doing it, the person across from me was…
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I’m ready
I am so ready to make the transition from someone with breast cancer to someone fighting breast cancer. Tomorrow morning, bright and early, I begin chemotherapy – assuming the heart ultrasound and blood tests say I’m healthy. Ironic (in an Alanis Morissette kinda way), the idea of being in ‘excellent health’ and having cancer at the…
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I’m an educator (and my public service announcement)
A couple weeks ago I was reflecting on who I am. I reported to the blog, that I am an academic, but further reflection has me questioning that. Mostly in the form of what type of academic. Since diagnosis, I haven’t been able to read a single academic article. I’ve browsed through a few, but…
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A pre-treatment trip
One of the bits of advice I received was to try and get away before you start treatment. Both Scott and I needed a couple of days to enjoy ourselves and enjoy nature. Since we already had plans to head up to Yosemite, we decide that we would modify our plans slightly and still go up.…
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Nature has more beauty
Someone in one of my networks commented that after diagnosis, nature has more beauty. That suddenly you are more aware of the beauty that surrounds you. I’ve definitely noticed that when I go out riding or walking. I’m finding the bike path behind our place particularly beautiful these days. Today, rather than riding (it was…
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Scrapbooking
I saw a Facebook post from a friend the other day about scrapbooking. It isn’t something I’ve wanted to do before – what on earth would I do with a scrapbook once it was done. But now, I’m receiving so many wonderful post cards and other such beautiful ‘thinking of you’ that my cancer binder…
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T-shirts
When I was young I remember a T-shirt my mother used to wear that said “Don’t stare, grow your own” … A friend emailed me about a friend going through chemo who had a T-shirt “Like breasts? You can have mine, they are killing me!” Morbid but funny. I find myself wanting a new jersey for biking. One…
