1)Cancer Journey: Sharing The Journey

Cancer! Really? The word scares the crap out of me and I never thought it would apply to me. And Stage IV? UGH! I couldn’t even hold onto “oh it’s ok, it was found early, it is localized”. It was 2019 and I was diagnosed with Stage IV Fallopian tube cancer. Fallopian tube cancer – who gets that?

It took me awhile to decide what type of cancer patient I wanted to be. Who was I… a question I ask myself often!

Was I the person who would share my experience openly on Facebook or in my blog?

Or would I be the stoic, private person, only sharing information with a privileged few?

I admire the strong, private folks, but that wasn’t me. But I also admire those who are honest and vulnerable and openly share on Facebook, but that wasn’t me either. I was a little surprised by how I wanted to keep it to myself and my inner circle, as I am a fairly open person. Sometimes, it is hard to say or share what is really going on in our lives, while it is happening. Cancer is scary, and writing it down makes it so much more real.

I like to share. I need to share. And, I enjoy writing – journaling and blogging. I knew I’d want to blog about the experience and share what was going on with my family and close friends. Also, as time went on, my whole support system wanted to be updated. I was incredibly BLESSED to have a huge support system. I was sending out individual texts all saying the same thing – test is Tuesday, yes a meal would be great, I am eating organic and gluten/sugar free, thank you for praying for me. A friend recommended I start using The Caring Bridge. If you have never heard of this website, check it out! Personal Health Journals for Any Condition | CaringBridge.

The Caring Bridge is a very useful tool for those on a Health Journey. I used it to blog updates, vent when things were frustrating, celebrate each little win and stay connected to those in my circle. I also gave admin privileges to a friend who updated folks when I was too sick or tired. She communicated when I was safely out of surgery, or when my blood counts were down and I wasn’t seeing many visitors. She also scheduled meals to be delivered through the Caring Bridge. It is a fabulous tool.

Now that I am two years into my journey, and cancer free, I am ready to blog about the experience and share it with a wider audience. Finding the Ability to go through the cancer journey drew on every corner of my life from my faith, to family and friends. I used many amazing and different tools to help me through my journey. There are some remarkable people, organizations and services out there. I was supported in ways I never imagined. My friends and family filled every need, and when they couldn’t, they found people who could! There was someone for everything. It is mind-blowing the various gifts people bring to a situation from listening, to cooking and cleaning, to just being there, organizing my meds, offering to pray with me, providing positive affirmations when my thoughts went crazy. And believe me, my thoughts went (and often still do) go crazy!

I had the reality talk – life is not fair. This is not a great situation but you can do it. Just go through it one step at a time. It is a marathon, not a sprint. I had several people coaching me to take things one step at a time, don’t freak out. I referred to the journey as a marathon with roller coaster rides along the way. I thought of each milestone as a telephone pole to pass.

Now I want to share that journey along with some of the wonderful tools, tips and services I discovered.

Finding the Ability to live through cancer – The Journey!

Stay tuned. More to come on this journey, including a post from Alice’s point of view.

Beautycounter Product Spotlight

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