So here we wait at my mom’s final chemotherapy treatment and it has been an ordeal I would not want to go through again. (However, we have enjoyed befriending extraordinary people.) Having said that, I know full well the probability of eventually having cancer is extremely high with every woman in my family genealogy having it. You hear it from everyone, “I didn’t realize how many people had cancer until I was in it. It’s astonishing.” The numbers will only be growing in the next decade. Cancer is a growing epidemic that will affect the lives of millions of people.
I suggest having a positive attitude makes a positive difference. But then you questions how that could be? How can anyone be positive with such a killer diagnosis? Is it the result of chemotherapy causing exhaustion that consumes one’s body and makes it painful (metaphorically) to think about their situation? Just watching and listening to my mom’s positive attitude has had both of us questioning whether she has truly accepted the reality of her cancer. But we both know she has. And her strength comes from her faith in God, her confidence in the medical team and believing that living a healthy lifestyle accelerates the healing process. She’s a survivor… always has been… always will be.
I know she is ready to start enjoying her life, even though she still has five weeks of radiation and begins a full year of herceptin every three weeks. But she is discussing a trip back home this summer and including her family in the plans. She’s also looking forward to putting her arms around her grandchildren who have been kept at bay because of their little germ-carrying bodies. (As it was, after every treatment she has come down with a terrible cold in the second week). But most importantly, she is looking forward to just getting out of the house and taking her two sheltie dogs, Tori and Kola, for long walks. It has been a long winter but the spring is looking fine.
