When I’m passionate about something, I run with it full speed ahead. That’s how I viewed my fight with cancer.
Step one for me was... a head-shaving party. Cancer wouldn’t take my hair. Baldness would come on my terms. Twelve family and friends shaved their heads with me. What fun!
I was nervous the day of my first chemotherapy treatment at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Muhlenberg, but determined to make the experience enjoyable. I brought someone different with me to each treatment. It was comforting to know so many people wanted to help me, including my amazing nurses. My experience would have been completely different if it weren’t for them, although there were times they asked us to keep the noise down because we were having too much fun.
We wore party masks and feather boas. We used noisemakers. I wore funny glasses with a mustache and eyebrows, a defiant response to my lack of eye hair. I named my intravenous pole Darth (like the Star Wars villain). I also reminded patients that a positive attitude is half the battle.
My doctor says chemotherapy is like a roller coaster ride. He’s right. The day of your treatment you feel fine, but a few days later it’s hard to move. (My daughter, Olivia, was my motivation to get out of bed.) Gradually you start to feel better, but by the time you’re feeling OK, it’s time for another treatment. After each treatment, it becomes harder to recover. Chemo kills cells that grow rapidly. Cancer cells die but so do “innocent by standers.” That’s why you can experience hair loss, brittle nails, digestive problems, mouth sores, numbness, tingling and more. Many side effects are treated with medication, but my favorite remedy was positivity. I would cry and get angry at times, but realized I would get through it by taking one day at a time.
