I Was Thinking

I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't spend time thinking because it can cause all sorts of problems. I know. I should stop spending so much time thinking. I'll think about that for a while.

Anyway, I was thinking because I read an article on the giant Rheumatoid Arthritis Time Suck. When you have RA you spend a lot of time going to the doctor to deal with doctors for RA and then all the time dealing with the side effects of your RA medications. And your low immune system which makes you high risk for everything. And blood tests every 8 weeks. And more and more.

But then I get to add in the fibromyalgia time suck which causes time wasted for pain, resting after exertion, and going to doctors. And the post breast cancer required follow ups with doctor appointments, and trying to avoid lymphedema issues - which can cause all sorts of delays in itself. And the post thyroid cancer doctor appointments, blood work, ultrasounds and more. And for every ailment I can add more time sucks.

Basically if you have an ailment, it also has your schedule. You need to go to the doctor for it. You spend more time doing things if you have any impairments because you move slower. You spend time chasing down prescriptions, dealing with insurance companies, waiting at the blood lab, doctor offices, and for tests (and their results).

Being sick has a huge time suck to go with it. Just think, if you get the flu, you spend a lot of time in bed. But then it goes away and you go back to normal. And the time suck goes away. My time sucks never go away. So I get to waste time (thinking and) in the giant time suck of being sick.

Every ailment comes with a time suck.

Has A Cancer Diagnosis Changed How You Think?

I was reading over at KatyDid Cancer that she turned 41. After being diagnosed with breast cancer before 35 she was never sure she would get to 40, or 41. (But now she is thinking 50.)

This made me think. How do I think about how long I will live? And how would I think differently about how long I would live if I had never had cancer?

At 19 (and invincible) I had no thought of how long I would live. Because I was barely an adult and between my freshman and sophomore years of college. And longevity was the last thing on my mind. I just assumed it would be shorter than without cancer.

At 45 I was more responsible and married with a second diagnosis. The thought of how long I would live definitely popped up again. But what was most concerning was how would I have thought differently if I had never had cancer? I have struggled with this one: how had my life been impacted by cancer which was something I never wanted. 

During the intervening years my thought processes had changed of course. But how would I have thought different if I never had cancer? I never really had a chance to be an adult without cancer so I have no idea on what I would have thought.

But since I can not undo the past, I have to settle with my current thoughts. Which doesn't give me any good answers.

The Cancer Balance

Do you ever wonder if you are focusing too much on the cancer in your life? Or too little? Before a cancer diagnosis, cancer probably occupies a little tiny corner of your brain.

After a cancer diagnosis, it takes up all but the little tiny corner of your brain required to do basic things like eat and sleep at minimal levels. After the initial stress, cancer-brain occupation slowly settles down to a somewhat manageable level as basic human demands for survival kick in - like thinking semi-logically.

Eventually you get to a bit more of an even keel so you get through life, after therapy, support groups, or whatever. Then life goes on, if cancer doesn't return, and you get some more of your brain capacity back and begin to think about life around you again.

So now, I wonder if I am thinking too little about cancer? Because I do not allow it to fill my brain all the time. Should I allow myself to think about cancer more?

Now that I have this knitting group with other women with cancer at the cancer support center, I feel like I am back in a support group sometimes. We have conversations about the ups and downs of diagnosis and treatment along with all sorts of related issues. I kind of like that part.

But it makes me wonder if I should be thinking (pondering) cancer more? I like being sort of back to my regular life without the cancer domination. As cancer is part of my life, should I be dwelling on it more?

Maybe I am still just learning how to balance cancer in my life.