I Got Cancer, Cancer Didn't Get Me

On January 29th I went to the hospital and swallowed a pill of radioactive iodine that was going to kill any remaining cancer cells in my body.  They brought it into the room in this little white egg-shaped container and unscrewed the top...inside was a vile that contained the pill, which looked like a regular Tylenol capsule, only it was gray.  I swallowed it and went home.  I had to be quarantined from Joe and our animals and everyone else for three days; that was the hardest part.  Harder than the two surgeries I had to go through.  ( I was deer hunting a day and a half after surgery, it was a cake walk!)  I worked from home for a week, went back to the hospital for a full body scan, which did not detect any more cancer anywhere, and I was sent on my merry way, cancer free!

I realize that I am lucky.  Incredibly lucky to have gotten an "easy" cancer to deal with.  I coasted through two surgeries like a champ and my biggest gripes are being tired and cold all the time, due to having my thyroid removed.  I didn't have to go through chemo and lose my hair and be sick from it.  I am grateful every day that it was found early enough and we acted quickly to remove it and get it taken care of with minimal side effects.  I'm not going to die from it, I'm not going anywhere.  I'm know how lucky I am, believe me.

The biggest surprise from this whole ordeal has been how people react once they hear about it.  I put it out there on Facebook that I had cancer but I don't talk about it incessantly.  I don't want it to become a part who I am because I don't have it anymore, it's gone.  And hopefully it will never come back.  I don't want to be treated different or pitied.  There is no reason to feel sorry for me.  People have said, "You've stayed so positive, you're so nonchalant about it" etc.  I guess it never occurred to me to have anything but a positive outlook about it.  I mean, when the doctor found the lump and said the C-Word don't get me wrong, I was pissed. I don't have time for cancer!

When I got the official diagnosis I had a 5 minute freak-out but that was it.  And from that moment on I've done everything I need to do to get rid of it as quickly as possible so I can get on with my life.  You think of cancer as an "old person disease"...I'm far too young.  I have my whole life ahead of me and I wasn't about to let this slow me down.  I know that it could have been a different cancer with a more serious prognosis and a more difficult path of treatment.  If you have to get cancer, I guess this is the best one to get if you look at it that way.  I'm grateful for everything; my family and friends, Joe, my little furball Rosie that keeps me grounded and calm.  I'll always stay positive about it; I don't know any other way to be.  I'll always joke about it and remain slightly weird because I don't see a reason to be any other way.  That's the way life goes, you just roll with it.

And then there's this: