Facing Cancer: 40 Days of Radiation

Imperfect but still beautiful 

A neighbour you wave to, a co-worker you work with, a distant relative you see maybe once or twice a year for family gatherings, or even a  stranger that you meet while waiting in line at the grocery store, what do they all have in common? They have probably been through a cancer diagnosis or supported someone through it. However, it's a totally different feeling when it is someone so close to you.

I've almost lost my Dad once (through his very unexpected encephalitis illness) which took a very bad toll on my mental and physical health, even after his own healing began. I could not heal, I was not able to process my emotions clearly and no matter what doctor I went to, I still felt like this was just a nightmare I was never going to wake up from. Thankfully,  I woke up and realized that the next time (there will always be a next time of bad news - this is the reality of life) I will handle things differently, or at least try to.

I failed. I failed miserably yesterday. I got so overwhelmed with the idea of researching to make sure I knew everything about my dad's condition (prostate cancer) and what he was in for. Truth is, no one knows because every person is so different. You get horror stories from people and then others say that it wasn't pleasant but it was tolerable, and then there are the in-betweeners.  I had booklets and tons of information that I thought were all credible sources. I suppose my thinking cap wasn't screwed on tight enough when I didn't question the title of  one article stating "your prostate wants you to be a vegan." A bit extreme. I am just going to look things up when I absolutely need to. 

This is a situation I cannot really control fully and my burning desire to be in-control of something, anything... is hard to let go of.  I also have to acknowledge my own boundaries of what I can and cannot handle. I am thankful to my brother for taking the reigns this time and helping out in areas that I'm not equipped for.

And so I start again.

Here is my Dad's latest blog on what happened on his first visit to the Cancer Center here in Windsor.  His oncologist is wonderful, not to mention the whole staff and volunteers there. 40 days of radiation, 5 days a week is coming up. https://tecumsehcityblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/my-good-and-bad-news.html/

The thoughtful words and on-going support never go unappreciated or unrecognized, so thank you. :)