End of Treatment Update: Onward and Upward

Hello world! We're getting ready to re-enter the real world...

Other than all things “hair”, life is returning to normal. We are done with treatment – no more appointments! We can get back to work, life, and some normalcy.

Since I posted last, Ed and I have blasted through the final loss of hair and probably our minds (LOL – Just kidding) as we fast-tracked, as best we could, cancer treatment. And as “holistic” as I try to be, we decided to follow all the western medicine recommendations to knock this thing down and prevent it from coming back. We did four cycles of chemotherapy (one every three weeks) and directly into a month of daily radiation. Pretty much from October through the end of December this has been the priority – stay as healthy as possible and “do this”. I definitely lost some fitness – probably about 60% of it. And hair – all of it. I got fluffy – gained about 15 pounds. And many times thought myself crazy, I’m sure like so many others who go through this.

Many of you who know Ed know how charismatic he is. Day in and day out regardless of my mood, he was “on”. This was probably THE most effective therapy. And it was consistent. It’s funny how at the first of the year you hear this – how adherence to a diet or exercise program is the most important element for success. I’d say Ed’s day-in, day-out positive attitude was the secret to my success – and if you know him, you know he’s a pessimist! How lucky I am he turned this off for a few months 😉

Today we’re only looking forward. We’re on a mission to lose 15 or 20 pounds, get some strength and fitness back, and feel good about going out in public again. We’re reviewing our goals at work and in life, and going to make some changes to live less “with our hair on fire” and find more balance. It may take a while, but this whole ordeal has led us to see it’s time for a few changes.

We both are and were so grateful for the outpouring of love, cards, and communication from friends and family, and the patience you showed as we withdrew into life between home, the hospital, and the box…it just made things simpler as our mental universe seemed so cluttered. So thank you, if you are reading this!

The funny thing is, I remember in 2019ish at Rebels, we had three young women diagnosed with breast cancer around the same time. We were in disbelief. We knew the statistic of 1 in 8 women being diagnosed within their lifetime, but it was surreal. Lucky for me those three women were still around and able to offer advice and counsel to me. Funny how bad things can breed good things.

And on that same note, both Ed and I feel this brief disruption is probably one of the better things that could have happened to us at this time. It put things in perspective and helped us see we needed to “slow down”. And also, that how healthy you are right now is protective against whatever life might throw at you, including “treatment”. Going into chemotherapy and radiation as healthy as we did helped us come out on the backside in pretty good shape.

All in all, this is a positive post with regard to the entire process and where we are now. And this will be the LAST post on me and cancer…now it’s all about continuing to remember without our health, we don’t have much quality in life. So prioritize that, above all. The rest of life will be easier!