Life goes on - both after diagnosis and after remission

In my last post I mentioned the book Surviv(her) featuring the cancer experience of young women. I would like to echo the words of Kristin who was diagnosed at age 21. She says: "The whole point of getting cancer is to wake up and do something different. What would you change? What parts of my life aren't I happy with right now? Everything is just broken and now I can start from scratch."

After I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma, every new morning seemed somehow to be a special day. I realized that time in the sunlight of this life was precious, and that I needed to consider each day as very valuable, and that I needed to change my priorities. What could I do to help another person in my life? What did I hang on to that was just frivolous and of no value and should be got rid of?

After remission in October 2018 I still keep up my natural healing regimen of supplements that are considered to prevent or reduce cancer, as well as injections three times a week of Iscador (a derivative of mistletoe developed to battle cancer in Germany). And I keep discovering new things.

I have mentioned that getting shingles was one side effect of my chemo experience. Although the nasty shingles pain still persists it is somewhat reduced from what it was a few months ago. Then I read that turmeric (with the active ingredient being curcumin) is a pain reliever. Now I have been taking curcumin in the morning for months. But at nights I have some joint pain problems (shoulder, hip) and sometimes the shingles pain wakes me up. So I decided to take my high potency curcumin at night just before I go to bed. Voila! Joint pain and neurological pain from shingles no longer wake me up. I can now get a good night's sleep.

Also I have just received what I consider to be an honour. There is to be a living with chronic disease (prevention, self-management and care) workshop in Yellowknife on December 5 (two weeks away) and I have been asked by the territorial Cancer Care Specialist for the NWT Health Authority to be there as a patient contributor to the workshop from my experience as a chronic cancer sufferer living in a remote community of the NWT. I will decide by tomorrow if I will attend and make a 10 - 15 minute presentation from my cancer treatment and recovery perspective.