The title is only partially appropriate, as it is hardly ok to compare one’s mother to Lady Macbeth. (Sorry, mom!)
Still, there is a spot (two, actually) which must come out. On that front, we have good news!
My mom has now had two doses of chemotherapy. (She had the most recent one on Friday.) Shortly before her last chemo, she mentioned that the lump that initially made her worry is now almost undetectable. She said that if she didn’t know it was there, she wouldn’t be able to find it.
A few days later, her oncologist verified that she’s right! The lump is indeed getting smaller! This is very good news, and a sign that the chemo is doing its job.
It will be important to remember this triumph if the most recent administration of chemotherapy brings about any ill effects. The chemotherapy doesn’t seem to have much of an impact the day of the procedure, but a couple of days later the tiredness begins.
To move to the topic of cancer in general, one thing that I am consistently seeing in my reading is that sugar and simple carbohydrates are bad news.
Oh sure, different dieticians, nutritionists and doctors might champion some specific/unique foods or practices, but pretty much everyone agrees about the sugar! From what I have read, cancer just looooves sugar.
I need to specify here that I am talking about simple carbs and not demonizing carbohydrates in general, which are essential to your body and brain. (You’ll never make me give up my lentils, beans and fancy rice!) The not-so-great stuff is the junk that your body breaks down quickly; the white-flour, white-sugar crap that we all love to snack on.
I have a sweet tooth myself, so this is a real bummer. However, I can’t help but come to the conclusion that if you’re worried about cancer, you should look at your sugar intake. (Hey, aren’t you already sweet enough? 😉 )
Mom seems to be handling this whole thing remarkably well. I was afraid initially that she would make everything worse on herself with stress and worry, as that would be easy to do! Instead, she has been doing a commendable job of focusing on the things that she loves and that are important to her. She spends a lot of time in nature.
In fact, I was lucky enough to share a hike and a fire with my mom and dad last Saturday. I can assure you, my mom has been the opposite of anxious, depressed or self-pitying over this. It’s almost as if she is committed to refusing to allow cancer to bring her down.
You can see it in her insistence on wearing hoop earrings and red lipstick to chemotherapy sessions. It’s there, in her eyes and in her smile,
Onwards and upwards,
Jennnq
Critical Happiness 