Chilling Out

In an attempt to preserve my energy and brace for the potential chemo side effects (which usually present themselves tomorrow), I just chilled out today. I watched a bunch of Law & Order: SVU (I am so addicted to that show), ate a bunch of food (my appetite is still 100% intact), and painted a new “Love Life” painting for my parents. All in all, it was a pretty awesome and very relaxing day.

Generally, my “chemo weeks” are like this -- no real commitments, no real pressure to do much of anything, and lots of time to rest. In my former, pre-diagnosis life, weeks like these would drive me absolutely nuts, but I’m getting better and better at taking things slow. After fighting “the cancer” for about eight months so far, one thing has become absolutely clear to me: beating cancer is not a sprint -- it’s a marathon.

I’m pretty happy with how this round has gone so far. Chemo at Norris went well, I’m feeling great at present, and my bag o’ chemo is almost ready to be detached. For the first time, I feel like I’m actually settling in nicely to this phase of my treatment: the post-op six rounds of chemo. Up until now, I’ve been a little impatient with these last six rounds. After all, I’ve been through quite a bit in the last eight months and I’m itching to get back to my new-and-improved previously-scheduled life. I felt that chemo was holding me back instead of helping me move forward. But finally, after three rounds of the six, I’m back in the zone. I’m focused on finishing this treatment and officially stomping all over cancer. And I’m enjoying every minute of it.