Things that matter

Years ago I read a short but powerful book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". There was a quote in it that I never forgot those close to me have heard me say it many times over the years, " Ask yourself this question; A year from now will it matter?" I use this when I am going thru tough times to keep me grounded, if it's something that won't matter then it doesn't deserve the energy to worry about. Obviously health is on the top of the that list and until the first week of February it had not come up for me.

 I am one of the fortunate ones that hear the words "you have cancer" and in 2 shorts months hear "you are cancer free". I saw the oncologist today and he doesn't believe it would be beneficial to have chemotherapy. I am fortunate, my cancer was stage 1 with my tumor being stage 2. In layman's terms if I had to get cancer this is exactly the best case scenario. He is confident my surgeon removed all of my cancer and doesn't think there is any part of it left floating around anywhere. The only concern he has is that given my age and not knowing exactly what caused it, I could get a recurrence again. In his opinion the best way to avoid that would be to see him a few times a year and have blood work done to keep on top of it. Also, I will be getting colonoscopy's every year now.
Small trade off for what could have been a much longer and more extensive recovery for me. Again, I am truly one of the lucky ones.

There is however a small trade off (and by small I am being sarcastic). My digestive/colon has a new normal to which I am having challenges on accepting. I will not go in to any detail, although I have had conversations with some of you on this and you know what I'm talking about! I can just say that before having colon resection I took many things for granted in regards to what I ate/drank and how it processed thru my system. I will be participating in a support group(thru Riverside hospital) that I am really looking forward to attending. The group consists of others that had the same procedure and how they handle the daily challenges. I have had a few "feeling sorry for myself" moments regarding this but I keep telling myself I am still here and overall healthy. This is my new normal and I will learn how to live with it.

I have crammed a heck of a lot in the last two months and to say that I've learned from this experience is a major understatement. I am fortunate that thru this I have had the best medical professionals, I will never be able to thank them enough. To me they all seem to do what they do in order to help others, not for the paycheck. And all of you, and the support you have shown leaves me speechless. Thank you, knowing you were all there was a comfort & blessing.

So in closing, when you are going thru a tough time ask yourself if a year from now will this really matter? If it will then it deserves the concern, if not move on and don't give it a second thought.
Your body, listen to what it is telling you. Only you know when things don't seem right and ignoring bad signs do not make them go away. And your family and friends, it's true what they say, you know who your real friends are when things get tough because they are the ones that are there to support you.

Be good to yourselves and enjoy the small stuff. :)