Another little bit of my cancer story. Part 2: Happy 5 years cancer-FREE to me!

/ The Particular Overall Collection

Has it really been FIVE YEARS?

It seems like it can’t have been that long, and yet it has been.

A couple of weeks ago had my six month cancer check up. Everything looked good on the inside — I felt a sense of relief a knowing there is nothing “in there” that wasn’t supposed to be. Last week I got the rest of my results back; my CA-125 is well with in range, and my other tests came back clear. So now I breathe a sigh of relief that I have made it another six months without abnormalities.

For those of you who manage to miss my semi-annual posts about my ordeal: I was diagnosed with stage 1-A ovarian cancer in 2012, just as I turned 30 years old. For some people it is genetic, but I am fortunate that mine was just a short straw of life that I managed to pull. I had had regular lady doctor check ups since age 19–my last only 4 months before I had symptoms. Speaking of symptoms, they are varied and can seem like no big deal: upset stomach, diarrhea, bloating, having to pee all the time–the things women deal with a lot of the time withOUT cancer.

This is where I beg you. Again.

I tell you this to BEG YOU, PLEASE, take care of yourself. Whether you are 17 or 27 or 67 you are never too young to have something happen to you. I don’t mean to be alarmist, I mean to ask you to LISTEN to yourself, to your body. If you think something is wrong PLEASE don’t ignore it and hope it will just go away. Doing NOTHING is never as good as doing something…that applies to pretty much everything in life.

The thing about cancer, even the treatable/curable kind, is that it shows you who your true friends are. I still remember each and every one of you who showed me kindness through visits, cards, phone calls, and prayers. I remember you all and you have no idea what your kindness meant and still means to me. For those of you who didn’t–well, I remember you, too. I hope you never have to be in the same lonely situation I was in. Surviving cancer activates a seriously low tolerance for bullshit.

I’ve been sorting through boxes of random piles of my life’s accumulations and came across a stack of thank you cards I wrote names (and some addresses) on during the time I was recuperating. While this is not a list that covers everyone I could thank, I thought I would share these pictures of the cards and thank you again, five years later.

{I guess I’ll keep the cards and use them for something else since I never wrote in any of them and probably all the addresses for people are different since we all move like every 3 years… XD }

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Thank you, Annette!                                    Thank you White Girls!

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Thank you, Anna!                                       Thank you, Mary Jo!

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Thank you, Kelsey!                                            Thank you Ben & Sara!

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Thank you, Meredith!                                                  Thank you, Lance!

Thank you to so many others–I’ve hesitated to make lists for fear of leaving someone out. There were so many people who were kind to me during that time, but my memory is also a little fuzzy since I *was* on pain killers there for a bit.

Thank you to all that visited me in the hospital, at home, gave me helpful advice, and helped support my mom:  Tracie, Jonathon, Amanda & DubbNubb, MJ, Chris, Lacy, MaryAnn, Mandi & Geof, Hedges, Troy, Bobbie, Angela, Joseph…the list goes on in my heart.

I just stumbled on another post I started last year after my June check up.

Here are some pretty flowers I saw as I was leaving my appointment. It’s incredibly cliche, but I try to take the time to notice and appreciate all sorts of beauty around me. I’m better at this some days than others, but I continue to strive for it, no matter.

 

Click here to read a little more about my story.

If you have any questions about my experience please ask. I’m an open book. If you don’t feel comfortable asking on this post then please feel free to message me privately.

Take care of yourself and help others as much as you can.

Be kind to yourself and be kind to others, always.

❤

5 thoughts on “Another little bit of my cancer story. Part 2: Happy 5 years cancer-FREE to me!”

  1. So glad you are healthy and okay today! ❤

    Becky

    On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 7:46 PM, Coon-Smith Sutlery wrote:

    > coon-smith sutlery posted: “Has it really been FIVE YEARS? It seems like > it can’t have been that long, and yet it has been. I just had my six month > check up and everything looks good on the inside. I have to wait another > week or so to hear where my CA-125 is, but I feel a sense of r” >

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