People often ask me, “How are you coping with your treatment \u2014 or life after it?”<\/em> And the truth is, it\u2019s different for everyone. Some days you feel strong, ready to fight. Other days, you’re so drained you wonder how you’ll get through the next hour, let alone the next round. But somehow, we do. Because the alternative? Well, that\u2019s not really an option.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned a lot over the course of my cancer journey \u2014 some things I expected, but a lot caught me off guard. So, I want to share a bit about what it was really<\/em> like, and the things no one warned me about.<\/p>\n When I had my first chemo, I was terrified. I pictured myself bedbound and vomiting nonstop. Instead, I felt oddly drunk after each session. Then I\u2019d get really hungry, only to crash a few hours later into sheer exhaustion. Sometimes nausea would kick in the next day, but the anti-sickness meds helped a lot. A couple of days later, I\u2019d feel flu-ish \u2014 aching body, low-grade fever, wiped out.<\/p>\n The hardest part? The bone-deep tiredness. My chemo cycle was every three weeks, and it wasn\u2019t until midway through week two that I\u2019d start feeling like a human being again.<\/p>\n Then came the weird side effects \u2014 like a red, sunburn-like rash that peeled along my fingers and hands. I also had to inject myself with filgrastim<\/strong> for five nights after each chemo (thanks, Docetaxel!). The injections weren\u2019t bad \u2014 tiny needle, quick jab in the stomach \u2014 but the bone pain afterward? Awful. I was sent home with liquid morphine for that, which helped take the edge off.<\/p>\n Chemo threw me straight into menopause. On top of treatment side effects and my fibromyalgia, I also had to deal with hot flushes that made me nauseous and clammy. The combination was brutal. I developed peripheral neuropathy<\/strong>, too \u2014 numbness and tingling in my hands and feet, and occasional spasms and cramps that still haven\u2019t fully gone away.<\/p>\n Hair loss typically starts around day 14 after the first chemo, unless you\u2019re cold-capping. I tried, but it triggered migraines. Soon after, my scalp got sore \u2014 even the weight of my hair hurt. Then the clumps started falling out.<\/p>\n Buzzing my head actually helped ease the pain. With the weight gone, the inflammation in my hair follicles settled. And once I was bald? I had a bit of fun with it. I slapped on temporary butterfly tattoos and wore them like a crown. Humour helped \u2014 a lot.<\/p>\n During my first round of treatment, I had a PICC line<\/strong>. It made getting chemo easier, but came with challenges: I couldn\u2019t get it wet, the dressing irritated my skin, and it always felt like it was in the way. My son learned to flush and care for it at home, which was a blessing.<\/p>\n For my second go-round, I got a chest port<\/strong> instead. It\u2019s tucked under the skin, so I can shower and even swim with no hassle. It was sore at first, but now I barely notice it.<\/p>\n My single mastectomy<\/strong> was a tough one \u2014 more mentally than physically. I chose not to have reconstruction. For me, the additional surgeries, scars, and uncertainty just weren\u2019t worth it. After surgery, I had fluid buildup (I sounded like a hot water bottle), which had to be drained.<\/p>\n Four years on, I still have numbness under my arm and limited range of motion, despite daily stretching. Scars? Not the neat, tidy kind. But they\u2019re part of me now.<\/p>\n I now use a silicone prosthetic<\/strong>, which fits into mastectomy bras. I also have a Boost prosthetic<\/strong> \u2014 lighter and better for summer. The soft foam one they give you after surgery didn\u2019t work for me \u2014 it floated around like a runaway marshmallow.<\/p>\n Radiotherapy was daily, Monday to Friday, for three weeks. Each session was quick, about 20 minutes, but I wasn\u2019t expecting the tiny tattoo dots<\/strong> they gave me to align the machine. Because my treatment area was near my heart, they used a gel pad over the site.<\/p>\n I had some redness, like sunburn, but the fatigue was next level. It built up slowly and lasted weeks after treatment ended. I\u2019ve also got a permanent patch of broken blood vessels across my chest now \u2014 a little square reminder of everything I\u2019ve been through.<\/p>\n The second time, surgery wasn\u2019t an option. The cancer was in lymph nodes too risky to remove, and I couldn\u2019t have more radiation on that side. So I had weekly chemo<\/strong> (three weeks on, one off) for a year, and immunotherapy<\/strong> every three weeks.<\/p>\n Immunotherapy revved up my immune system, sometimes too much \u2014 I had nasty diarrhea, rashes, and joint pain. Steroids helped, but my neuropathy worsened<\/strong>, and it hasn\u2019t gone away, even a year after stopping treatment. I\u2019m tired all the time<\/em>, though some of that may be fibromyalgia and menopause. It\u2019s a cocktail of chaos, really.<\/p>\n Now, I get CT scans every three months. It\u2019s nerve-wracking. So far, I\u2019ve been stable for a year \u2014 and I\u2019m holding onto that. If things change, there are still options. But let\u2019s hope I don\u2019t need them for a long while yet.<\/p>\n One of the hardest realizations? I wasn\u2019t living<\/em> \u2014 I was just surviving. I had to stop putting my life on hold. I got counselling, joined online groups, and started opening up more. I remind myself of my limitations and try not to beat myself up when I can\u2019t do something.<\/p>\n Cancer changes you. These days, I\u2019m more relaxed, less reactive. And I lean into humour whenever I can. Like when my prosthetic breast fell out of my top while I bent to grab a package \u2014 right in front of the delivery guy. Or when I drop my meds because my hands spasm. You\u2019ve got to laugh. Otherwise, you\u2019d cry every time the pills go bouncing across the floor.<\/p>\n Everyone copes differently, but having a good support system makes a huge difference. Knowing what to expect helps you prepare \u2014 mentally and physically. But above all, don\u2019t stop living<\/strong>. Take the trip, eat the cake, get the tattoo, laugh at the awkward moments. Keep going, even if it\u2019s just one day at a time.<\/p>\n Because you\u2019re not just a patient \u2014 you\u2019re a person. And you still deserve a life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" People often ask me, “How are you coping with your treatment \u2014 or life after it?” And the truth is, it\u2019s different for everyone. Some days you feel strong, ready to fight. Other days, you’re so drained you wonder how you’ll get through the next hour, let alone the next round. But somehow, we do. Because the alternative? Well, that\u2019s not really an option. I\u2019ve learned a lot over the course of my cancer journey \u2014 some things I expected, but a lot caught me off guard. So, I want to share a bit about what it was really like,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1317"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1321,"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions\/1321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/earthspirittarot.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nChemo: Not What I Imagined<\/h3>\n
\nThe Menopause No One Talks About<\/h3>\n
\nLosing My Hair (And My Mind, Briefly)<\/h3>\n
\nPICC Lines and Chest Ports<\/h3>\n
\nMastectomy and Aftercare<\/h3>\n
\nRadiotherapy Surprises<\/h3>\n
\nRound Two: Chemo & Immunotherapy<\/h3>\n
\nThe Scanxiety Is Real<\/h3>\n
\nSurviving vs. Living<\/h3>\n
\nWhat Helps?<\/h3>\n