My 5 days of chemo last week went well. It was a lower dosage so I felt a little better but was still my normal tired. It felt good mentally to be back on the meds. I felt like I could finally fight again, although clearly I see that my body is constantly fighting. Most of my labs from yesterday were stable but my infection fighters dropped a bit and are borderline. I need to check labs again on Thursday to see if I need the white blood cell stimulating injection. After that I will have Labor Day weekend off and will head to the lake to spend some time with family. I’ll check labs again Tuesday morning and if all is good I’ll start my second round of the lower dose.
It is crazy to think that it has been 6 months since I had that MRI. The MRI that showed the tumor that completely changed my life. So much has happened in that time! I just now am feeling like I am getting the hang of living a life with cancer. And I mean that, I am LIVING with cancer, not dying from it! My life turned down a path 6 months ago that I never could have imagined. There will continue to be ups and downs and constant adjustments to my new normal. I have learned to take advantage of the times when I am feeling good and make as many memories as possible. I will continue to fight my battle but now with a better understanding maybe I can do more for others as well. Even if it’s just in little ways.
I did agree to participate in a medical study. It looks at activity, sleep and fatigue. They are currently just gathering data. At some point they are hoping to see some sort of correlation between them that may help people with this diagnosis. All I have to do is wear a “fitbit looking thing” and answer some survey questions a couple times a month. So easy, but I will do whatever I can to help.
Even as expensive as my own medical bills are I want to help raise some funds for research. I have created a team and I am participating in the Brain Tumor 5k in October. It isn’t much but it is at least something to add to the cause. We need a cure for this disease and the only way to find that is research. This is such an easy way to help! It is also a good goal for me to be able to walk that distance. It is amazing just how weak my body is sometimes. Some of it is still the final recovery from surgery…brain surgery is no joke! Some of it is the toxic chemo that takes its toll. And in all honesty, a lot of it is just my laziness and lack of activity before any of this even happened. Let’s just say I was not cardiovascularly in shape :)
Life is moving along and I thank every day for it. No matter what I have to endure that day I am grateful to still be here and take it on!