Tuesday, February 12, 2013

So Much Easier the Second Time Around

Remember when you were brand new parents and rushed to sterilize the pacifier every time your first child dropped it, but it was just fine to pick it back up, wipe it off on your shirt, and pop it back in to stop the crying for your second child?  EVERYTHIING is simpler the second time around!  You're more practical, you know what rules can be bent and which can't, and you just don't sweat the small things.  Dealing with cancer is no exception.

Chemo isn't scary because you know what to expect and how to prepare; you know how to schedule chemo to manage your calendar around good days and down days.  You can translate doctor-speak and know when to keep asking questions, you calmly schedule the endless appointments around your real life, and you just don't stress about having to occasionally don those tie-in-the-back fashion wonders.

So thanks to all for the well-wishes, I'm fine and fully focused on getting prepared.  I have some sort of appointment almost every day - an echocardiogram, a PET scan, additional bloodwork.  I've downloaded several seasons of Downton Abbey to watch on my iPad during chemo, and have my 'chemo bag' packed with a lap quilt, hard candy and gum, a Sudoku book, and my RonWear jacket.  I've been warned that I may go into neutropenia (low white blood cell counts) pretty quickly after chemo starts, so I'm taking advantage of the early warning to pig out now at every opportunity on what will be forbidden to me then - salads, apples, carrots, and fresh strawberry smoothies.

So while I'm ready, I won't know any more until I meet with my doctor next week.  Tune in then for another exciting adventure in Martha Kicks the **** Out of Lymphoma!


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