If It's Not One Thing...

In the words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. It’s always something.”  Such is the course of my cancer schmantzer odyssey.

I sailed through chemo two weeks ago, and despite being tethered to my chemo fanny pack for two days, I was feeling pretty optimistic.

Because I have had digestive issues and their accompanying queasiness for years, when I started to feel a bit queasy the day after chemo, I didn't take it seriously.
BIG MISTAKE!

By the time I decided that I had better begin taking the anti-nausea drugs that had been prescribed for me, it was too little, too late, and thus began my quest of trying to figure out “my new normal.”   As a child, I used to look forward to visits from the Tooth Fairy. Without going into too much detail about my obsession with my ever-changing bodily functions, suffice it to say, a visit from the Poop Fairy was the highlight of my last two weeks.

Among the things that I have learned along the way is that Fort Wayne has excellent resources for cancer patients. I have already taken advantage of a free massage at Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana, and I have made appointments to check out the exercise and wellness programs that both Cancer Services and the LIVESTRONG at the YMCA  offer. Fortunately, every day I am made aware of more and more resources that are available.

Among other things that I have learned along the way are that some people find it helpful to visualize what they want to happen during chemo, so I am visualizing that my little army of Pac Men/Women is relentlessly charging around my insides gobbling up cancer cells. I have also decided that as soon as I get home from my next treatment tomorrow, I plan to stay ahead of the nausea. I have also learned that if something doesn’t feel quite right, I need to deal with it immediately rather than overthinking it. As much as I hate taking meds, I am going to slam those pills because I have no intention of toughing out anything. 

Since April, my life has been divided into two separate but unequal parts: life before cancer and life after cancer. The learning curve has been steep, but like Sisyphus, I will keep rolling that huge boulder up the hill.  Tomorrow's chemo is just another Manic Monday....and like Sisyphus, I will rock on!