Postby marian » Sun Jan 18, 2009 1:09 am
For me, most things returned at a reasonable pace. I had it all, neuropathy, fatigue, chemo brain. The fact that I was NED and could go out and hug long distance friends drove me forward. I worked continually on my stamina with projects in the garden. But it did take time. Most of the neuropathy left in 6 months, there's a small 5% remaining that is seldom noticed, just that first step in the morning. Stamina, that progressed as my weight returned. I had hit a low of 87 lbs. I didn't expect my muscular strength to return so easily, but it did. I'm still a slight woman, now 105 lbs, who can easily lift 60 lbs. Chemo brain, that took longer than the rest. I worried and wondered if I would ever be myself again, the thought process that I had always been able to count on. It did lift, of course leaving that little 5%, but naturally, it might just be age. I think I was 16 months post chemo, 14 months post surgery when it finally happened. The clarity of my own thoughts was refreshing. Worried about a recurrence, that never leaves. It takes many shapes and forms, most of the time, I just feel downright convinced that it will never happen again. These days, these precious days that I am healthy, should not be squandered over things beyond my control. The fact is, cancer, getting it, is beyond our control. How we treat it, how we live with it, and how we live after it. That we can control.
1/06 Diagnosis Stage III Anal Cancer
2/06 Chemo
6/06 Colostomy
NED ever since