Catching Up

I haven't posted in a while. I guess as I get more time between me and the cancer treatment, I have learned to integrate all the fears and emotions. My outlets for dealing with the disease have taken more of a form of helping others.

I have two friends, who sadly, have been diagnosed - one with rectal and one with colon cancer. I've been touched by this. I also realize that although rectal and colon cancer may have the same characteristics under the microscope, they are treated very differently. My friend will be undergoing chemo and radiation prior to surgery. Her concern about the surgery is that she may end up permanently having a bag and is considering the quality of her life. One on hand I want to tell her she must have to increase her odds and on the other hand totally relate to the prospect of having a constant and quite inconvenient reminder. I know for me, I focused on the having a port installed as the worse thing that can happen. Its odd how our minds connect to something.

My other friend has No Evidence of Cancer and her CEA during chemo has gone down from 50+ to just under 5. This is very good, but I still worry a bit. Under 5, is considered "normal" by the testing labs, but as I understand it under 2.5 is normal for non-smokers. She had quite a few challenges with the chemo, but continued to work. She is a real fighter.

I have also become an "ambassador" for the American Cancer Society. It is the political activist arm of the ACS. Two of the activities I have participated in at a local level were the passages of bills by the state to cover un and under-insured people for colonoscopies, as well making insurance companies cover routine colon screenings.