I'm not sure how I feel about sharing all of this, and may decide I'm just not willing to, but I thought I'd give it a try, because I've stumbled across blogs written by other cancer survivors and I know how much they've helped me, just in terms of seeing how other people are dealing with everything and knowing that I'm not the only one out there going through this. If I can help someone else, maybe this will be worth it.
Yesterday, I met a lady who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is going to be starting chemo soon. She had questions about everything, and she reminded me of me just a few months ago. I still have a lot of questions and fears, but I don't feel as anxious now, and I wish there was a way I could tell her and anyone else going through that part of it that you really do start to relax, and as weird as it sounds, a lot of the cancer treatment process becomes routine. One of the nurses at my oncologist's office told me that, back when they first told me I was going to have to do chemo, and I thought she was nuts -- how can having potentially toxic substances put in your blood stream on a regular basis ever be routine? But after the first couple of times, it was, and I'm sure the same will be true with the radiation when I start it. I know that no one probably believes that when they're told it the first time, but it's true. As human beings, we have the ability to cope with and even accept as normal things that we never would have imagined we'd have the strength to deal with. I'm sure every cancer survivor has learned this, and for people who have just been diagnosed and are so afraid of the possible side effects of treatment that they would rather not have any treatment, I would just say, you're stronger and more resilient than you think you are. I'm not saying it's easy to deal with this stuff, only that you can. You may not like it, but you don't have to like it for it to work.
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