Melanoma Marathon

Now Racing Through My Mind…

is the appointments, no longer in the distance but hurdles to be jumped in the next few days. I honestly, don’t see a finish line in my melanoma path, primarily because beating cancer is now a way of life. This isn’t a knee scrape that we put a band aid on and all is good.

Bottom line, I’m alive and I’m in the care of world class doctors at Dana Farber, and I’m monitored on a regular basis.  Do I want to be under such scrutiny? Hell, yes! While I’d love to have no medical anything in life, I have a ginormous medical life. This is what is keeping me alive and that is how I look at it. This IS life now.

Not The Fast Track

My journey involves traveling. Weighing whether my Stage III metastatic melanoma was worthy of out-of-state cancer treatment with the recurrence, it was obvious that was the track we were on. Road trips add another layer of angst but once you get the routine down its okay.

A folder includes changes in medicines, printed schedules, and other loose paperwork. The notebook of questions, previous notes, and dates, etc. is essential. Identification and the dreaded health insurance cards are put in my “Maggie Bag”… a gift from a friend that keeps the small essentials together. There’s also a cribbage board in there, pens, chapstick, pain relievers, and special beads from the grandkids.

All of this goes in the backpack, along with water bottles, snacks, and perhaps some knitting or reading.  I can’t do books on Dana Farber days as my mind wanders but a good magazine is easier on the brain.  Why the backpack? These days are beyond full so we bring what we need and usually don’t have to return to the parking garage until day’s end.  Wear comfortable walking shoes as procedures are not next door! What works for you on big medical days? I’d love to hear your tips! Please comment.

Having a caregiver, if possible, is very important. Driving, listening to medical professionals, helping to navigate floors, offices, and labs, taking notes, asking questions, and just offering support in a very anxious situation is incredibly helpful.

Start Up: A Marathon with Hurdles

Dermatologists will examine every dot and spot. Included in the day is: blood work, MRI and CT scans, skin cancer oncologists, and the infusion team if all goes well. Beyond grueling as woven in to this time of poking and prodding, is the nugget all cancer patients keep buried in the back of their thoughts…”will the tests come back clean?”.

Health information is exchanged. I let my medical team know of my fatigue challenges, what aches, any new areas in question. In return, I will get preliminary results from all the testing, and perhaps a green light for infusion of Yervoy (imilimumab), one of the drugs in the clinical trial that I started last Fall.

Train For The Hurdles

Like each day, I take the medical days moment by moment. Each appointment is important, and brings me one step closer to the end-of-the-day infusion that may be enhancing my immune system. Train your brain to seek the positive when possible. How you prepare for the next appointment matters.

Lead into your hurdles with hope and courage; it makes for a strong landing. Life is different for each of us, and we all have our challenges, our hurdles. Take each one as they come, and work toward a solid landing. Like the track and field runner, practice finding balance and positive head space. Where does your inspiration come from? #rootingforyou #cancer #melanomatheskin #melanoma #yippyforipi #inforthewin #Tuesdaythoughts

We can-cer vive!

Janis