Update: As I lay here finishing my 7th Chemo (for this most current and please God let it be LAST cancer treatment), I am feeling pretty lucky. Lucky? Lucky might not be the word some people would use, but its what came to my mind (I squash it at the end though - dont worry, there is no such thing as luck). My hair is falling out, my fingers are peeling off, my hands and feet hurt like hell -- oh and Im still the bag lady. I still have the lovely ostomy bag sticking out my side and a bag of chemo on the other side! (chemo bag on one side and a bag of poop on the other makes for an interesting few days). BUT I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE ROUND!! YAY! So you may wonder why I feel lucky. Ive had cancer twice and both times it has been a solid tumor and they have been able to remove it. In this day and age with cancer running rampant through our world -- do you know how many people have to endure this horrific treatment called chemotherapy for months and months and sometimes for years and years?! How did I get lucky enough to have the kind that could be removed? twice? I got a pretty bad one the first time (rare tumor in a spot that it shouldnt be, metastasize to lymph nodes, reached stage III) and I was very lucky that they were able to eradicate it. This time I got the most common form of colorectal cancer there is. It is a new and completely different cancer than the first time (and although colorectal cancer is on the top 10 list for killers among cancers, if caught early enough it is easy to destroy----with a somewhat complicated surgical way about it, but very straightforward protocol). This time we caught it at stage two --and since the treatment is a known protocol, there are no shortcuts, easy peasy. Radiation/chemo, surgery, chemo, surgery again. It works. Thank God. When I was in College I studied abroad in Mexico. Not some touristy type place but waaaaay into Mexico at The Universidad de las Americas in Puebla. It was located southeast of Mexico City, on the way to Guatemala. I mean, I was deep in a third world country where they stared at me because I was white, many of them had never seen a white person before. I saw how many of them lived in cardboard houses or no homes at all and they made their 2-3year old babies beg for money on the streets. There is more to this story but the point is ... It humbled me. Dont get me wrong, I was NOT born into money; matter-of-fact, if you saw the house I grew up in, compared to South Florida you may consider it the slums. But during that time in Mexico, I remember saying a lot of thank you prayers to God for letting me be born into the family I was born into. Why wasnt I born in Mexico? Why wasnt I born in another third World or impoverished Country? How did I get so lucky? My mindset changed from what I could get out of the trip (college credits/a minor in Spanish), to opening my eyes to how other people live, what other people have... or dont have. I dont have an inoperable brain tumor, I dont have a blood cancer where chemo is not working, I dont have a terminal condition. I do have: A wonderful supportive group of friends and family that not only help me on a day-to-day basis (esp. Lisa and Stacy:-), but are in the fight right alongside me! I got lucky enough (again!) to get ---what have to be the best chemo nurses out there! They always ask me how I am feeling, change my meds if necessary, even tuck me in when I want to take a nap. The nurses do that with everybody though, even the ones that have been going there for years, the ones with a terminal diagnosis, the ones that are barely conscious.... Its a thankless job. I say thank you to them every time. Our friends and family have been supporting us financially, which continues to blow my mind. I do not know where we would be without you. How did I get so lucky?? Just like my last update I want to thank all of you for everything that you do. But this time I want to publicly thank God too, because everyone knows theres no such thing as luck! None of my life has been lucky. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11(NIV) So I am not going to feel lucky anymore. I feel BLESSED! Thank you! Thank you! I thank God for all of you! Thank you for ALL you do!! Love, Jenny
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 20:31:51 +0000
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