It Takes A While To Feel “Normal” After Chemo

I am back to feeling completely normal. It clearly takes seven days for me to get over the effects of chemo. By Wednesday of the following week I walk my 2 miles at 5 am and then the day starts to come together. My brain still isn’t back to normal on Wednesday but by Thursday I am back to normal. That is how it has been the past two times and I’m hoping the rest. It’s good to know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Wow, I Ran That Far?

Since this past Thursday, I have been to Pilates and the gym and have been running. I ran 8.5 miles and walked .5 mile on Saturday which was a surprise to me. I was hoping to do 8ish but pushed to do a little more. I was surprised I felt back to normal so quickly after a chemo week. Now the question is how many miles will next weekend bring? I can’t wait to find out.

How Do I Answer “How Are You”?

A situation happened this week that I thought I would share with everyone. I wasn’t really aware of the feelings until I shared it with the dad of the family Ethan is staying with while I’m gone. I had to go to a meeting at school. I didn’t want to go into the classroom right away and socialize with everyone.

The reason is not that I don’t want to talk about my cancer but more that I don’t want to go over the story with everyone who doesn’t know. I don’t mind anyone and everyone knowing but think about when you ask someone “How are you?” First, do you really want to know? Or is it a knee jerk statement that you say to everyone?

Why Is “How Are You?” Such A Strange Question

It’s a strange question for me, and I’m sure any cancer patient, to answer. How am I? Hmmm, I have cancer but I’m fine. Really, I’m fine day to day but then there is a week that I’m not fine. Truthfully, I guess I would be more “fine” overall if I didn’t have cancer.

Once people know I am happy to tell them anything or talk about any of the aspects of cancer that I am experiencing but it’s strange to have to say “Do you know I have cancer?” That’s what I feel like I need to say first. It seems that I need to qualify my answer with that information before I respond. As I type this I think that makes the interaction more awkward LOL but it seems to just come out.

Some Days cancer Is Not The Focus

This weekend has been very non-cancerish. I have enjoyed not talking about it and having it be the focus of everything. Now having said that, please don’t purposefully not bring it up. That will make me crazy. There are just some days that it isn’t as prevalent as others. I have had a few of those days in a row which is welcomed.