Cancer patients…what gives you hope?

I have stage 3 colon cancer right now (age 46). When I was 7, I had a brain abscess. The doctors gave me almost no chance of survival, and even if I did, I’d be nothing but a vegetable for the rest of my life (I proved them right–I became a lawyer). I decided that if i can survive that, I can survive this. Plus, I also have diabetes and epilepsy–this one’s curable.

The first thing I did after I found out about the cancer was to research everything I could find out about it, and get the best oncologist I could. There have been small miracles all along the way. For example, my cousin retired and moved within 15 miles of me–she’s an oncology nurse who was on a national oncology committee for the last several years, and who wrote grant applications for cancer research programs for the University of Tennessee. She goes with me to every treatment, and explains everything.

I’ve always been an optimist. In fact, my ex-mother in law called me Pollyanna, though she meant it as an insult. And my odds aren’t bad–60% without chemo, but 75-78% with it. And I’m a fighter. I’m not going to let this get me. I want to be like my great-great grandfather. He told my father that he wanted to live to 100 and be shot by a jealous husband (he made it to 94).

Comments

wonderful words, ty

do you mean that at 94 he died naturally, or did he really get shot by a jealous husband?:P