“You’re one of the lucky ones,” my doctor said.
“Lucky?” I queried. It was February 2023 I had just completed 6 days of consecutive chemotherapy prior to having a stem cell transplant. We were months from knowing if this treatment would work so I found it hard to believe I could be lucky.
“Yes. You’re one of the lucky ones. We were able to give you the full dose of treatment,” he explained.
Fast forward to July 2023. Looking back over the 14 months since diagnosis I’ve had five different treatments of chemotherapy. Each treatment has been a different type of chemotherapy which varied in duration and intensity. Each treatment came with its own side-effects. For some doses of chemotherapy the side-effects were similar, like nausea. In my case, even the well-tolerated chemotherapy made me sick. Think violently ill like you’ve seen in the movies.
But it does not have to be like the movies. Treatment does not have to be horrific. It can be, but it does not have to be. Modern medicine has come a long, long way in managing the side-effects felt by chemotherapy.
As a cancer patient, your job is to stay ahead of the side-effects and keep yourself as fit as possible. I stayed in control of the side-effects by proactively taking medication to prevent nausea, sores, and pain. This medication made each treatment surprisingly bearable. With each treatment, one of the biggest battles I faced was taking care of my body and keeping fit. Sometimes I lacked the motivation to eat or exercise, but I considered it my job. Since I made it my job my body stayed strong.
As my body was strong enough I was able to have the full treatment. Within a month, I'll have a scan and hopefully with the most recent full treatment (Car T therapy), I will be one of the truly lucky ones.
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