Milestones

Hi MandaMoo,

Thank you for your post - I felt a little funny reading it as it seems to be a beautiful letter to your kids that if I had written it, would want to keep private between me and my kids (it didn't stop me from reading though - perhaps because we have now met, I can hope to get to know all the characters from this story).

I wanted to add re: the language of cancer that it is so true that we can't be fighters, as such. When I was diagnosed with primary, the program was set, it was clearly defined (mastectomy, 5 months chemo, 2 months radiation and reconstruction if you choose), but with secondaries, it's different. It's all unknown and not defined. People often asked how long I will need chemo for, I answer now, as long as I want to live. Whilst I don't wish cancer on anybody, and wish I didn't have it myself, now that it's in my lungs, cancer and I are just going to have to get to know each other, and learn to share this body if we are going to continue living in it. (starting to sound like a bad sci-fi movie), but I hope you get what I'm trying to say. If cancer can sit around in the body undetected for so long, why can't it say stable with our treatments and let us keep living for the things we want and need to accomplish before we go?

don't think about Monday until Monday. It's easy to say, I know but worrying beforehand doesn't change the outcome and although scans can feel like a setback if the news is not what we expect, they are like school reports, a tool to use to see where we need to improve and (hopefully) what's working and what we should continue to do!

Will be thinking of you

Penny