I originally started this blog to tell you the story of what my life once was: a way to look back & reflect on the past year I had spent within the cancer world. I started this blog as a “survivor” & now I will continue this blog as, once again, a cancer “warrior”. On July 01, 2011, after a CT guided biopsy of a 1.2 cm tumor that showed up on my latest PET scan a week earlier, I was again diagnosed with Stage 3 Rectal Cancer.
It has been a little under 11 months since my first surgery where my tumor & entire rectum were removed, along with a permanent colostomy fixed to my stomach. It has been a little under 5 months since my last cycle of chemotherapy entered my veins; a little under 4 months since I was officially in remission - a short, but very much appreciated time of my life. It’s feel so surreal to find myself in this strangely familiar territory of conflicting schedules, calendar dates, & introductions to new doctors and staff. As of right now, we have a very rough, undefined game plan: I will, again, have surgery to remove my tumor - this time in Pittsburgh, PA and will, then, receive an unknown number of cycles & dosage of chemotherapy. I invite you to tag along on this journey with me - I will be updating as regularly as possible. Here we go again.
Didn't you feel just so defeated to hear it came back? I know I blamed myself for it coming back, I'm overweight, I don't eat the healthiest foods, I should have exercised more...blah blah blah. So I let myself pout for a week then I picked myself up dusted myself off and put on the boxing gloves!
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