Yeah, I’m a cancer survivor, and yeah, I’m writing a book about my journey. Told here for the first time, the tome’s working title is “Destination Life: My Cancer Road Trip.” Though everyone has a story to tell whether they have cancer or not, I think that my tale is quite interesting, perhaps even a little over the top, and not one you’re going to hear that often. Some parts of it are typical for sure. Yes, my life was devastated. (Though really, is having your life devastated “typical?”) Yes, I was frightened that I was going to die. And yes, I had an incredible amount of stuff to learn. This is probably where the “typical” part of my journey ends. Because I’m one of those people that eventually took control of my care, had a fair amount of good luck in a bad luck situation, called out the prayer warriors, eliminated negativity, and saw things turn around quite dramatically. I know the wonders of modern medicine. I know the power of Big Pharma. But I had to go through some poop to get to the right place.
Before all that happened, I was just a human being flailing with the thought that my life would never be the same again, and maybe I wouldn’t even have a life to look forward to:
It’s still warm in New England, and foliage season is approaching. Autumn is not my favorite time of the year as it is for many, but definitely a beautiful time, and one that I always enjoy hiking in. The leaves are changing colors, and so is the rest of my world. As my sister drives us home the “C” word starts to set in. I look at other people out the window and they appear so casual, so carefree, no worries in the world. They don’t have to think about cancer, but I do. And I come to understand something again, that I realized in 2004 after my mom passed: the world still goes on. Life goes on, even as you’re suffering, even as your life or your world has suddenly been dealt a devastating blow. The world doesn’t care. It has to keep turning for everyone else. It is one of the many sad facts of humanity.
As I write this post, I’m stronger than ever in many ways, but I had to find my wings to fly through my new life. It wasn’t always easy or positive. The ground I was walking on was shaky, uncertain. The fear was real, and debilitating. For a while, the news was getting worse. Here’s an excerpt from one of my darkest days:
A lymph node on the right side of the base of my neck is on the rise. Supposedly it’s on the PET scan, but wait…wrong. The one on the PET is in the lung, a hilar node. The neck node is unaccounted for. I discover it when I scratch my shoulder one night, while talking to my sister on the couch. So now there’s four areas.
Or…five?
Dr. L finds an abnormality in the back of my throat and matches it up on the scan. Now we have to find out what these two new discoveries are. The possibility of two different cancers is floating around. Could I really be that unlucky? Head and neck cancer, and lung cancer, too? The cure word gets tossed aside, the waters muddied. The rug gets pulled out from under me again.
More questions without answers are swirling around. This is an all-time low point. Two more biopsies are on the near horizon. The throat node requires a trip to another specialist, an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctor.
Treatment looms too far ahead as cancer grows inside me, packing its bags for an adventurous road trip.
I wasn’t totally serious about this book when I sat down to type it from the original journal I composed in longhand. But I’m committed to it now, as hard as it is to relive such heartrending moments so soon after they happened. Yes, this was only four months ago. Oh, how far I’ve come since then!
I don’t know how this particular book will end, since my new life is still unfolding in the most interesting of ways. Nor do I know when it will be done. I’m not on a schedule; I’m in no hurry. But I’m pretty sure that it won’t be the only book of its kind. Thinking it might be a series. I have a lot to say, and I’ve always wanted to write nonfiction. Here’s my chance!
I Am Barb Lee 