Chemo Round 19

Chemo Round 19. Allow me to take a moment and reflect. Wow.  I've powered through 19 rounds of chemo over the last 13 months. 19 rounds of chemo before turning 30. I certainly never could have predicted the way my life has changed, but I'm so grateful for my life and even more proud of this tough, resilient body of mine.

Chemo this time around was the best round ever. My time at Norris was fun, as usual -- how could hanging out with Dr. Lenz and killing cancer not be fun?! I even managed to do some work while infusing, which must earn me extra multitasking and attorney points (seriously, who works on a brief while receiving chemotherapy drugs?). On Monday night my belly got that über-mediciney acidy feeling which contributed to a sick headache that wasn't fun but was manageable. When I woke up on Tuesday, all of that was gone. And neither it, nor any other GI problems or headache issues, came back.

Tuesday got even better. In the morning, I emailed Taline (Dr. Lenz's nurse practitioner and my buddy), asking about my CEA tumor marker (my new Tuesday tradition). In about an hour or so, I had my answer. My CEA is still dropping steadily, now at a 9.1. 9.1!! This is the first time my CEA has been in the single digits since May, my friends. Certainly worth celebrating, but when you're celebrating all the time, it's a little difficult to distinguish when you're celebrating something or when you're just living. Not a bad problem to have, right?

Wednesday was actually much better than all the other Chemo Wednesdays. I was tired, yes, but I didn't need to nap at all and I was pretty active on email. I ate fine, felt fine, and pooped fine, too. Could you really ask for anything more?

Thursday was even better than Wednesday, and today -- Friday -- I just completed a (really) full day of work, working out, and planning for tomorrow's poker tournament.

Despite what people may think when they learn about my diagnosis, I have absolutely no complaints about my life. Going through treatment for cancer is worse than not going through treatment for cancer (at the very least, it's inconvenient), but I have to say, it's not that bad as far as I'm concerned. It's a challenge on every level, but getting through the challenge with optimism and strength feels better than not being challenged at all. I wonder if that makes any sense to people who aren't going through treatment -- or to people who are. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like fighting cancer because it infuses my life with a higher purpose, a renewed sense of gratitude, and an awesome feeling of accomplishment after every round of chemo, after every scan result, after every CEA reading.

Life would be easier and less complicated without treatment, but it wouldn't -- it couldn't -- be any better.

It seems that 19 rounds of chemo has turned me into a bit of a philosopher. I don't think that's what they mean by "chemo brain," but I won't be complaining about this side effect. :)