Resurrection: the concept of a living being coming back to life after death
So maybe this is a weird way to resurrect a cancer blog, but since my last post was in March 2012 (!!!) just after my first surgery, I think it is rather apropos.
In Platonic philosophy and other Greek philosophical thought, at death the soul was said to leave the inferior body behind. Let's just say that following that surgery, I DEFINITELY left that inferior body behind :-) There's a lot of catching up to do to make up for skipping more than 2 years of blog posts, but I don't have time tonight.
Today is a big day for me. Exactly 3 years ago today, I had a 'cyst' removed. One that reared its ugly head 5 days later and forced my surgeon to call me on a business trip to tell me that I had the big C. In the first few weeks I learned that the first 3 years of survivorship for a triple negative survivor are HUGE. The rates of recurrence drop dramatically at that point, pretty much making my odds of getting recurrent cancer about the same as most of you. I had a big day planned today but things didn't exactly turn out the way I planned. If there is a more appropriate way to 'celebrate' your Cancerversary, I couldn't tell you what it could possibly be.
My amazing hubby (I'll post on that later!!) and I had planned an early morning bike ride/training day for the Tour de Pink (don't worry, you'll hear more about that later too!) with our incredible friend Adam (aka Life Coach, Brother Adam, the man, the myth, the legend). We were going to ride from our new house (yes, yet another future topic!!) to Lawrence, KS, eat some breakfast and ride home. Maybe a 40 or 50 mile ride round trip. I was so excited that I could hardly sleep (the supermoon shining through our tent directly in my eyes didn't help either). Unfortunately, the supermoon brought a thunderstorm and foiled our plan to ride. I wasn't about to risk getting struck by lightning on my Cancerversary!! So we could have waited for the storm to clear, which it did a few hours later making way for a beautiful day.
Unfortunately, our Grandma (my mother-in-law's Mom) had a rough go of it last night and we opted to take our day to travel to visit her (and Mom too!) while we had the chance. This woman is amazing...92 years of spunk, sharp as a tack and still as sweet as pie. There is NO WAY that I would have missed this opportunity to hold her hand and kiss her cheek. She is an important part of my husband's life and for very good reason. It took one visit with her a couple of years ago to know that she is truly someone special. Of course we got to see Mom and some other family members too so it was a wonderful trip really. We did stop and have a delicious celebratory dinner on our way home, but since I still have some work to do for my upcoming workweek, it was quick, simple and delicious.
So, why so appropriate? Well, if getting a cancer diagnosis during a business trip with a busy summer full of activities on the calendar for everyone in the family doesn't throw you for a loop, a rained out bike ride and impromptu trip to see family certainly won't! I learned a valuable lesson 3 years ago... you really can't plan for the curveballs life throws your way. True happiness comes in weathering the storm, adjusting your sails and making the best of the days that are handed to you.
I got to have dinner with my husband, his Dad and two of my very best friends last night, I got to campfire with the A's (1-4!), eat s'mores, and have ridiculous bike races in our new huge backyard. I got to camp out under the Supermoon with my incredible husband, our furkids and our best bud in his tent across the yard. I had breakfast with two of my favorite guys, got to spend some very intimate moments with Mom and Grandma, meet some new family, hold Grandma's hand and my husband's hand all the way home. I ate fantastic Thai food. I am working on a project for my job that I love for a company that treats me very well. I am lucky. I am truly happy. I am alive today :-)
xo
Shelley
