Round 2, in the books!
Here we are for chemo #2.
As I sit here and look up at these bags of liquid, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to live in time when we have the medical and scientific advancements which makes this possible. I’m only here today and able to write this because of so many others who have dedicated their careers and lives to finding treatments for what I have. I am grateful for them. It’s a humbling feeling.
I also recognize that there are so many others who are on the receiving end of this care (patients like me) who are currently going through the same treatments. The same science. For some of them, it’s working, and for others it’s not. I can only hope I’m in the former. There are also countless others who have lived and died with cancer throughout human history. I’m grateful for them, too. Not because I wish them misery or misfortune, but because of the advancements that have been made possible by those who came before me.
So far, my side effects have been mild. We are still waiting to see if that changes. I even played pickleball yesterday for the first time since this all started! My appetite has been good. And Leah said it best, “This is the kind of treatment that people dreamed of ten years ago.” And that is true. I come here once every two weeks, and sit for four hours. For others, it might be every day. I get to go home with an infusion pump and wear it around while doing as I please. That’s a concept which would be foreign to someone in my position in 1990. I am fortunate enough to have a “desk job” and can continue working while the pump does its own thing. I have the kind of treatment where I don’t have to lose my hair (fingers crossed that doesn’t change.)
Everything about this is much, much easier because of the others who have already suffered. They’ve struggled through the harsh treatments. They had the more primitive medicines and struggled with the effects. Practices which hadn’t yet been refined. Machines that were less technological. All of it led up to this moment, for me. I owe it to all of them; the scientists, doctors, and especially the patients past & present to live up to my full potential during this. I also feel a duty to participate in any trials that I can, so that someday, someone else’s cancer journey is a bit easier.
It’s high time we all choose to love each other a bit more. Please, do something kind for someone else today.