One week ago today I traveled with my mom to Battle Creek for my last radiation treatment. It was the last step in kicking this cancer's butt, mission completed! Many people ask me if I will have testing to make sure the cancer is gone. Truth is, the cancer was gone after I had my surgery back in October. The chemo and radiation are just to kill any microscopic cancer cells and to make sure nothing was left behind. I have already had a chest x-ray and lab work which both came back fine. I don't have any kind of appointments until May 10th when I see the radiation oncologist for my one month follow-up!
So after Monday I was so relieved! I was really looking forward to putting everything behind me, not even thinking about it anymore. But God had other plans. One of my classmates from high school, Melissa, sent me a private Facebook message to tell me that she was just diagnosed with breast cancer. It really threw me for a loop. All of those emotions and feelings that I remember having on October 2nd and in the weeks that followed were coming at me, but this time it was in empathy for Melissa. We have been in contact through Facebook messaging just about everyday since her diagnosis. She shares what is going on with her, I give her tips and encouragement. She put it really well when she explained it like this: I have climbed the mountain. Made it over the obstacles and reached the top. Now I can reach down and grab her hand and help her navigate to the top of the mountain. It's going to be a long climb for her but I am confident that with the support she has and her faith in God, she will make it just fine. This is just another way that God is using my cancer experience to help others. I am praying for Melissa everyday and if you are reading this, I ask that you would too!
I'm not sure how much blogging I will continue to do. There's only so much to talk about these days. I can tell you that my hair is growing, that my eyebrows and eyelashes are growing and that I even ran for just a bit when Kyle & I walked last night. But eventually you would get sick of hearing about those things. It's back to the normal, everyday, ho-hum life and let me tell you-that's just fine with me!
