Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Welcome to my world

Hi everyone. It's the first blog on a more official looking blog venue...

So who am I? I am a late 20 something soon to leave the 20s...frightening yes, a little.
I am a woman who has survived cancer twice...frightening yes, a LOT!
Has cancer changed who I am? Yout betcha?
Do I regret those changes...not on your life.

Every day I find I am learning more about what's been inside of me. I've been living each day to the fullest, despite at times wondering if that "earth time" will be equivalant to my peers. It's the kind of thing you think about as a cancer survivor-- time. But how to use it...how can I make the most of the time I have here on earth? Somehow I think it's a question we all overlook and I am grateful that I have something that grabs me, forcing me to look at it.

I am in remission. What does that mean? For those of you not familiar with cancer it means that there are no signs presently of cancer in my body. Remission, as they say is not a cure. Remission is wonderous, but it does come with a price. The price is that while you celebrate you are forced to look over your shoulder. It is a mode of protection to make sure that if it does come back that you are ready this time. Yet it's hard to live looking over your shoulder.

The word cure seems to be misunderstood in cancer. To be cured signifies that you go back to your original state and are transformed and the body is returned to its state of perfect wellness. The toughest thing to learn as a cancer survivor is that you have to learn to live again in a new body, one that may be drastically changed by the treatments used to preserve your life. Though I may mourn the loss of a normal body...I have accepted the challenge because it is all I can do to keep on moving forward.

That is what I intend to do...keep on trucking as they say. I hope you'll join me for this ride and read with a belief that yeah, it's okay to laugh at life...it's okay to smile through tears.

Onward....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

leah is awesome! i just wanted to be the first to comment on here!

Anonymous said...

Yay, I'm glad you moved your blog! I rss'd you, so I can keep up with all of your postings, which I love reading.