December 5th was the last day I got Taxol. Since then my body has rebuilt itself and hopefully, no random cancer cells are rummaging around. I still have some occasional numbness in my fingers. I think I am still working on getting to full strength after all treatments. I know my memory is not as great as it was before chemo, I don't think that ever comes back, but I could be wrong. I hope my heart continues to do well and most of all that cancer doesn't return.
This week I was able to virtually attend an amazing conference, The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. There are so many doctors and scientists all over the world working to find new safer treatments for all stages of breast cancer. The best thing to do however is to avoid getting cancer in the first place, so to that end, I say get genetically tested around age 30. If you carry a known inherited mutation, then you have time to decide if you want to do any preventative surgery or additional monitoring to avoid having cancer in your 40s, 50s, etc. Once the cancer cat is out of the bag, then you are always at higher risk of it coming back or a new cancer showing up, and don't forget all impacts of side effects from treatments leading to new and not exciting, medical conditions.
And so ends my PSA. Here are some cookies--a feast for your eyes! Now the warrior thing, personally I, and many other cancer people I talk to, aren't fans of the war/battle framing of disease. We are all just people trying to live our best lives, if we could get in the ring and actually battle cancer and defeat it we would, but that's not how it works.
I was thinking about better descriptive words for people who had/have cancer and I've come up with an idea for those of us who are out of treatment and hoping it never comes back.
* Call me a NEDder. That's no evidence of disease. This is where I'd like to be for the next four decades!
I hope you and yours stay cancer-free for all your days because cancer is extremely inconvenient, annoying, and not fun! If you or anyone you know is looking for support check out:
The #BCSM hashtag on Twitter
