Surviving

I have been trying for a couple of days to write something about surviving breast cancer in the sense of getting through every day.  It is surprisingly easy to sound smug.   So I have rewritten the whole thing once again.

At the risk of missing someone, for which I apologize, I will say that support of family, friends, students and co-workers has been key.  My daughter, Becky, has cleaned my house, done my laundry and grocery shopping on a weekly basis.  She has insisted on driving me to chemotherapy treatments for all of these months.  My sisters, Trish and Beth, were here for my mastectomy and Beth stayed the week after surgery with me.  They have called and visited on a regular basis.  My students have made me meals, bought me funky earrings to wear with my hats, visited me, e-mailed, texted and made me laugh.  At their pinning ceremony they even all wore hats for me.  Nan, a friend and co-worker, has taken on the duties of acting chairperson, covered classes for me and driven me to work so I would have the energy to teach a class.  Shanese came to the rescue with my Patient Rights course and actually took most of the responsibility while giving me the credit.  She has also given me papers to edit and asked for advice while she works on her doctorate.  This has helped me immensely with my frustration with my chemo brain - I do really have a brain sometimes.  I love her chatty telephone calls.  My friends, Deni, Lea, Randy and Marsha,  have brought me meals, friendly gossip, new projects to look at and taken me to movies.

It has helped that I am an occupational therapist.  I know all of those energy conservation techniques that we teach our patients.  I plan my days around what I have to accomplish for the day - like go to yet another doctor's appointment.  I don't really have to eat breakfast, take a shower and get dressed without resting in between.  Actually, I haven't been able to but I don't beat myself up when I need to take a break.

Last, but certainly not least has been my Buddhist faith.  Meditation has given me a calm, quiet space from which to face the day.   I know that this will pass, as all things pass. 

And now I am on to a new phase of life after chemo which I am sure will present new challenges.