Treatment Attitude

Wow - I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted. No, I haven't been sick and everything is fine. Charlie and I went to Clearwater, Florida for some in person hugs with his family and a little R&R. The day after we got back was my dad's 90th birthday and then I started 2 on-line classes, so I've just been making up for some lost time. I did, after all, spend much of the last 6 months sitting on my butt getting nothing done.

This week when I went for my Herceptin treatment (aka targetted therapy) there was a woman sitting across from me in the pod and she was having a difficult time. Now here's the thing about these pods - they are just small enough so you can't really have a private conversation and just big enough that you can't really talk to someone in another chair without being disruptive. So, I of course, overheard her talking with the nurse about her hair beginning to fall out. She had shoulder length hair and was very upset. Her husband had left for a while to get something to eat and I could see she was emotional. I didn't want to drag my IV pole across the room, so I waited until I was finished to go and speak with her. The nurse had told her to cut her hair short because that would lessen the impact of the loss, and I told her that was a great way to go - we all remember my buzz cut. But I also told her that although it is upsetting when it first happens, it really becomes not such a big deal after the first few days. She looked somewhat releived and agreed that cutting her hair was probably a good idea.

Ok, so where I'm going with this story? I once again have to thank my mother for my attitude. One of the most important things she ever taught me was not to worry about things I couldn't change. Her exact words are "it's no use getting yourself all upset over something you can't do anything about." And she is right. You have cancer, you get chemotherapy and your hair falls out. Nothing you can do about it. And it's SO much more important to focus on the fact that the chemotherapy is working to save your life. The trick to getting through treatment is perspective. So what if you get bloated from steriods, your hair falls out and you feel sick to your stomach. It will be over in a few months and odds are your life will continue for years - isn't that what's most important?