Two Years

[chicagoetc]

To all of you:

It has been two years since I was first diagnosed. It seems like a good time to reflect.

Positives:
I am alive. The entire experience has changed how I view life and priorities. Radiation made me tired bit was otherwise fairly easy. In spite of cognitive problems my brain MRI came back fine. I made friends along the way (e.g. Donna and Sheila). I was diagnosed recently enough that Herceptin was part of the treatment. Pre-chemo meds did not cause me to gain weight. In fact I lost weight. My doctors et al were great (except for my two favorite nurses who seemed more frustrated and/or less caring towards the end). My husband was a huge support through everything.

Negatives:
I hate chemo in general but I hate Taxol in particular. Some side effects to chemo seem semi-permanent (have not gotten better or worse over the past few months): Increased clumsiness. Some significant cognitive/attention/memory problems. Peripheral neuropathy (fingers). More discomfort walking longer distances, especially on concrete. Less hair on the top of my head. Some G.I. problems. Ongoing and unresolved nail problems, presumably from Taxol and Herceptin.

What I have learned so far:
From this website (I.e. you) I learned cancer is something to fight. It is being treated more and more as a chronic disease rather than a death sentence. I hated wigs but at work I hated the thought of baldness more. It is probably a good thing that I did not know how long my treatment/recovery would last or what it would entail. Sometimes facing into life is more challenging than facing death. The journey is not over...but hopefully some of the hardest times are behind me. The best advice anyone gave me was from my oncologist: walk thirty minutes at least five days a week.

Also:
Even though I did not post on this website that frequently I have visited almost daily and benefited from all of you. I cannot imagine having gotten this far without it. I love it that people on this website reflect all the various stages of cancer. There has been much to learn from everyone. And what a great way of not feeling alone...

So thank you (and thanks to God for this gift of life),
Melanie