The Big 40

Episode XCII - Oh, I'm getting older too

Another Birthday... but this one officially says that I am over the hill...

Most people get all weird about turning 40. Like the good part of life has already happened and now it is time to grow up. Maybe feeling like they are losing their youthfulness. I have never really thought about aging like that. I have embraced each age... maybe even grateful that I am moving out of the decade I was in.

To be honest, I would not want to go back. Each age and stage has been good, but each has also given a fair share of challenges. I had no idea who I was in my teens. I was trying to figure out who I was in my 20s. I was finally figuring it out in my 30s until they ended up malignant (bad cancer joke).

Now I look forward to seeing what is over the hill. I am sure my 40s will surprise me. However, I am just grateful to be here. Not only happy to be alive, but enjoying my actually birthday on vacation with my family. It's October and we are at the beach.

Fall Break = Florida

It is fall break and a good time to get away. I am responsible and followed all my lymphedema precautions. I would attempt to avoid any additional swelling. However, I am going to enjoy life... even if it means I get a swollen, painful arm!!!

However, it is the perfect time to be in Florida. The weather is not too hot. It is not crowded. We did so many fun things. But I cannot lie, like with everything in life the trip had its high points and low points. Things do not always go as planned... stuff happens. I have young kids... they are going to misbehave at times. But overall, it was a good trip!!!

In my head...

There is nothing like a good beach vacation to forget about it all. The beautiful ocean view. The sand in your toes. The... I already have forgotten what I was talking about!

It is hard to believe that now would be the time I would begin to think about scheduling a mammogram. Honestly, if I had not found my tumor back in April 2013, at the rate my tumor was growing, I highly doubt that I would be here. Wow!

Like I said... I am grateful to be here!!!

Episode Reference: Landslide, Fleetwood Mac song

either/or

Dixie Chick song

Comments

giving your 16 year old scissors

New Traditions Losing my hair - it's going to happen. When I did this in 2013, I waited to cut my hair once I was further in treatment. I didn't want to do that again. I didn't want to do it while I felt sore and bad. This time, I wanted to get rid of my hair before treatment. Since I will have now done this more than once, it can be considered a tradition: cancer haircuts by my kids . Last time I did this, the kids were 6 and 13. So, this time around my son (23) opted not to cut, but watched some. However, my 16 year old daughter leapt at the opportunity to cut my hair. Even though 10 years have gone by, she had to adhere to a few basic rules. Basic Rules: 1. Do not cut my ears. 2. Do not cut your own hair. 3. Do not cut anyone else's hair. These rules still hold up and are the general agreement we make before I put scissors in my kid's hands to chop on my hair! And the tradition isn't the same without going outside (weather permitting) and listening to our

happy birthday to me... almost

Let's rewind a bit and start a few days before my birthday... I had my first cancer treatment day on October 3rd - check it out if you haven't read that blog post yet. Let's just think of it as an early birthday gift since my birthday is October 7th. Great gift, right?!? If I have to hear "Happy Early" or "Late Birthday" from another medical person, I might have to smack someone. Especially, since I have spent most of the weeks leading up to and after my birthday at a medical appointment regarding cancer. Not really loving my birthday this year. Let's just say, on my birthday, I woke up with a special chemo-side-effect-surprise at 2am. That fun surprise I will share later... Rewind a Few Days... Update But first, let's go to October 4th, the day after my grueling 8 hours of immunotherapy and two chemotherapies on the 3rd. I woke up swollen, red faced, and fevering, as well as feeling pretty crummy. I didn't have time to dwell on it since I

my longest hardest day yet

Get ready boys and girls... today is a doozy. And a long post too! But before we begin on one of the toughest days I've ever done, let's recap. Mon: Irritating Onc day where I was not told about suspicious fluid around lung/heart in time to get a biopsy & I got contradicting info from his NP the week before. Tues: Spending the morning getting Immunotherapy and 2 Chemotherapies before going straight to the airport to fly to Houston and enduring long rental car lines and afternoon heavy traffic. A few more checks off this weeks list... a few more to go: Now back to my Wednesday... the Humpday I would like to forget! So, after 8 hours of cancer treatment, flying, and travel in congested Houston the day before, I didn't have much rest because we had to start Wednesday early. My husband and I decided to walk to the medical center since our hotel was close. However, it was not necessarily the easiest or closest walk - tons of traffic, intersections, and some strange indivi

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