So I just finished up my last touch up surgery a couple of weeks
ago. There is always more I could do (so my plastic surgeon tells me), but I'm
done. I'm done with the bruises, the general anesthesia, the using up of
all my sick and vacation leave. I'm even done with my beloved Percocet. I'm
just done.
People keep asking
me if life is back to normal. I'm not sure what to say to that. No. My life is
never going to be back to normal. I'm different. My family is different. My
outlook on life is different. I have new passions and priorities. Cancer will
never be gone. It will always be a part of me, and I'm glad for that. I still
have my port. I'm going to hang it over my rear view mirror in my car to always
remind me of how Cancer changed my life. I don't want to forget a single
minute. To wind up my little adventure, I've listed the top 9 things I've
learned from Cancer. (Yes, nine is all I could come up with.) I'm sorry that a
chronic, life threatening illness was what it took to get these things into my
head. Hopefully that won't be the case for you as well.
1. It is extremely
difficult to apply mascara when you have only three eyelashes.
2. Considering the
number of chemo patients out there, there is a definite market for electric
pillowcases. Seriously. Someone could make a killing.
3. Pain and
suffering is relative. There is always, ALWAYS someone worse off than you.
Count your blessings every day.
4. Most people
think that attitude is the number one thing that you need to make it through
cancer treatment. They're wrong. It is denial. Clean out that dusty, broom
closet in the back of your head. You're going to need it, and it will serve you
better than a million "I'm going to beat this!" happy thoughts.
5. Don't assume
that just because you have gone through something similar, that you are
now an expert. Nothing made me want to rip the head off of someone more
that a well meaning stranger that took one look at my scarf and said,
"Cancer? Oh, yeah, I've been there, done that."
6. DOCTORS ARE NOT
GODS! Their job is to help you determine what your treatment plan is going to
consist of. If you have one that tries to lay it out for you without asking you
what you think or how you feel about it or blows off any concerns you raise....
RUN.
7. Nurses are
angels sent straight from heaven. All of them. Even crazy looking ones named
Lorg who have have long, shaggy hair, a beard, and wear hot pink scrubs with
little purple fairies all over them and insist on calling you
"Madame."
8. Regardless of
your beliefs, I don't care if you are Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Atheist, we
need one another. We have a responsibility to ourselves and the rest of the
human race to do our best to relieve suffering wherever we can. Our neighbor's,
friend's, co-worker's suffering should be our own. One of my favorite quotes is
by George Eliot. She says, "What do we live for, if not to make life less
difficult for each other?"
9. Cancer rates
have literally skyrocketed in the last several decades. And that is in spite of
the billions of dollars pouring into the Komen Foundation and other organizations
that say they are dedicated to finding a "cure." If you think there
is nothing you can do to protect yourself and your children, you're wrong. We
need to all take responsibility for our health. No one else will.
