As most of you have noticed, it has been a while since I have felt well enough to write an entry for the blog. The side effects of my fourth chemo treatment on July 17 seemed to linger a little longer than any of the others. I guess it is the cumulative effects of the drugs. I have been at this chemo thing since my first treatment on June 5th and it definitely has taken a toll on my body. Actually, I am fairly healthy as far as chemo patients go – at least that is what my regular doctor told me today. I had my yearly appointment with Dr. Minocha in Manhattan. It is one that I had scheduled for a long time so I decided to keep the appointment. We had a good talk and she told me to call her anytime I had any concerns – she even told me to call her at home. It is nice to feel that personal connection to her during this crazy time in my life. I want to add two more items to my list of ‘gratitude notes’ – 1) the fact that I have a personal relationship with my primary doctor (or even that I have a primary doctor), and 2) that I am a relatively healthy person so that I can withstand the aggressive chemo drugs. It seems that each time I reflect on my journey I ‘see’ more of life’s lessons.

Another lesson that became clear to me during the last nine days is just how connected my physical self is to my emotional, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing. I noticed as I took longer and longer to recover from the chemo effects that I spent more time thinking about my cancer and my recovery or lack thereof. I found myself surfing the web for survival and prognosis information about my specific cancer. I have not felt the need to do much of that before now, but I found myself doing that several times in the past week. Now that I feel better, I am thinking about things like golf, grocery shopping, going to my office at LSP, exercising, and working in the yard. I am sure the lesson I just described is obvious and well-known to many, but it is one that had a big impact on me this week. It definitely reminded me of the balance in life and the interconnectedness to our different selves – the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual.

I have so much more to write, but that is all for now. I promise I won’t wait another week to post!!

Love to all,
Mary Kay