Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Reflections On Chemotherapy

                                                       Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.




Lord! who Thy thousand years dost wait
    To work the thousandth part
  Of Thy vast plan, for us create
    With zeal a patient heart.
J. H. NEWMAN.




Of all the cancer treatments I've ever had, chemotherapy is the one I am the most comfortable. After all these years, I know what to expect when chemo infusion occurs. I know how my body will react and I know how to prepare for it. It has always been the same. It's as predictable as the coming of day and night. The schedule rarely changes only if my body is not cooperating. Then it's moved up by one week. Pretty predictable.

I have a name for my chemotherapy treatments, I call them my spa days. It's probably the only time when I am completely left alone to do whatever I want. I will spend the entire day there at the clinic crocheting, reading, doing puzzles. I even once addressed all my Christmas cards during treatment. Where else can I go to receive such uninterrupted peace?

The one thing I don't like about chemo is how it makes the food taste rotten. For a foodie like me, that is horrible. Many times, I have longed for the real taste of mashed potatoes and gravy. Or a delicious cup of coffee in the morning. We lose our taste buds with chemo and that is why it is so difficult for people to maintain their weight when they are experiencing complications. No one wants to eat spoiled food. I can always tell if a cancer patient is having health complications with chemo just by how much weight they have on them. That is one consolation to me to know my weight is perfect for treatment. Maybe not for the common man out there, but for chemo treatment, I'm the perfect size.

I believe that it really doesn't matter which treatment you get as long as you do receive some sort of traditional treatment. Someone once told me that pain was pain no matter how one looked at it. That is absolutely true. There is no easy treatment that's for sure. We have to keep moving forward with our lives regardless of what lies ahead.

Have a blessed day everyone. 

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