This is my third go round with cancer. The first was in 99 when I had bone cancer. In 2018 with uterine. Now with stage 4 uterine. I will do separate posts about each of those another time. I was initially diagnosed on Mar 11 of this year with ovarian. After different scans & such it was upgraded, you could say, to stage 4 uterine. I will go into more details in a different post.
Admittedly, when I was first told I had ovarian, I had been having severe incontinence & some bleeding. I chalked it up to being menopausal, initially. I finally went to see my primary who referred me to an urologist. I thought it was going to be something bladder related. I did realize it could possibly be cancer, but was hopeful it wasn’t. When I learned it was I, of course, was upset.
After I left the urologist's office I made an appointment with my primary, gyno & I had already had one scheduled with the oncologist. I knew there were times I would be depressed, but I also knew I had to fight for my life & I needed to focus on getting this taken care of.
On Sept 19 was the first anniversary of my divorce (after being together 23). We’re still friends. I’ve been on my own for two years. Which has been a blessing. Including with this. If he had been here, there would have been his health issues to contend with, plus occasional abuse. It would have increased the stress. Which for me is more about the financial. I get temp disability. Which is to run out in three months, if they don’t renew it. I’m praying they will. This is why I have my blog & my shop on Zazzle. To be able to take care of myself.
For some, being by themselves during a health crisis, would have made it worse. It has been very good for me. I get to focus on getting better instead of other external problems. Besides, I’m not alone. I have my two kitties & two senior Chi mixes. All adopted from the shelter where I volunteer.
What has also helped me is my spirituality, good friends & maintaining a sense of humor. I watch a lot of funny clips on YouTube. My favorite lately is Frank James. He talks about the 16 personality types. My ex & I used to say, if you can still laugh, you’re not too far gone. On the days it’s difficult for me to keep being strong & positive, I watch a lot more vids. They have really made a difference for my mindset.
I also started a page on FB called, My Dance with Cancer. My bestie says that I’m inspiring & uplifting. That’s what I wanted to be with that page. Offering hope & humor. Things that have been beneficial for me & might be for others. It’s also one of the reasons I started this blog. Since I’m going through cancer the third time, I felt that my purpose was to help others. I had already felt that with my volunteering. I’m also not going to just survive this time but thrive.
As I mentioned, I will elaborate on some of these things in later posts. If you or someone you know is going through cancer or other long term illness, what have been things that have kept your spirits up? I’m going to be discussing a wide variety of topics on here. Because I like having different kinds of conversations. What are some of your interests? They might just be mine as well. If not, I do like learning new things & could include them down the road. Thanks for sharing.
https://facebook.com/mydancewithcancerhopeandhumor
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