Living with Cancer

I realize I have not been consistent with posting and so some of these may seem out of order.

Yesterday marked my last day of radiation. I had minimal unpleasant effects. I am currently a bit stiff (I have stretches to do), tired, and my arm pits are itchy/uncomfortable, but overall, I can’t complain. The feelings are bittersweet. On one hand, I’m glad it’s over and I can focus on just moving forward. On the other hand, there’s the “now what?” part and focusing on moving forward seems a little daunting too. I know I will have many follow up appointments and screenings in the future, but there is also now time for me process what the future will look like. Up until this point it’s been hectic and now there is some calm. It felt strange to not get up early and drive to the hospital.

I started some hormone therapy already, but I add in the 3rd medication in a couple of weeks. I’m already experiencing hot flashes, and I’m hoping this doesn’t make that worse! I have 5-10 years of hormone therapy ahead of me, which is sending me into menopause.

One thing I will note, is that I was terrified of starting one of the medications, Lupron. If you get anxiety around medication and have been prescribed this, do yourself a favor and don’t Google it. I had my first injection a couple of months ago and so far so good. I did get some immediate side effects, but those went away quickly and I have felt pretty good since. Hopefully that continues to be the case.

So right now I’m embarking on my journey of prevention. I’m working on establishing health habits and changing my lifestyle. This includes consistent exercise, eating a balanced diet (high fiber, more plant based meals, low sugar, low red meat, etc) and managing stress. All so much easier said than done, but I’m not aiming for perfection. I’m just trying to overall make healthy choices, while also enjoying life.