Life has been plugging along pretty much as normal lately, plenty of work and fun and all the usual trappings of a Cape Cod summer. I’ve found myself more and more disinterested in cancer and more and more looking forward to putting the whole episode behind me.
I should explain; at the beginning there was an aspect of excitement with the diagnosis…an excitement to rise to the challenge, an excitement to face something like cancer down and to beat it, an excitement to learn more about my diagnosis, to work at being a perfect patient. Most of all I found it to be just another challenge in my life and I approached much as you would a challenge in your professional life, or an athletic endeavor; I was prepared mentally to beat it, I knew I would beat it, never doubted that much. I didn’t know how severe or mild the treatment process would be but was convinced that I was 28 years old and no matter how bad it got I knew it would be worth it…turns out it hasn’t really been all that bad and if you take the CT Scans at face value I appear to have beaten this thing, for now.
So I’ve become bored with it at this point, sick of talking about it and dealing with it and looking forward to just getting on with the business of normal life. I feel extremely fortunate to have handled things so well, to me that’s just the luck of the draw and a byproduct of youth. I also feel blessed to have such a wonderful support system around me, people who love me and care about me who have done a tremendous job of helping me through some of the more difficult periods, without that system this whole experience would have been much more trying, much more emotionally challenging.
To me, it’s already over, though I have two treatments left – I feel like I have beaten it, but I know that for the next 10 years it’s still sort of looming there in the background, waiting to pop-up and test me again. For now, I want to just get through the last two treatments, take my month off, do my radiation and then just sort of put it to bed – not think about it for a little while, escape the cycle of doctors, hospitals, tests and scans…it’s a routine that gets old pretty fast. I feel like I rose and met the challenge and with the help of numerous medical professionals, family and friends, I was able to beat it…for that I thank each person who reads this, you have all helped me in unique and special ways to face this challenge, accept it, and conquer it.
As for normal life, things have been pretty good…we had a surprise 60th for Kristina’s mother on Saturday, was a great time and we pulled off the surprise. We won in softball yesterday by intimidating the other team so much prior to the game, that they only had 3 players show up (a forfeit, but we take them however we can get them), the playoffs start next week, I’m expecting greatness.
Last week was in NYC for some meetings and just happened to be at Grand Central about 10 minutes prior to that pipe explosion; made for a wonderful traffic situation that night and all day the next day – pretty much everything I did was in mid-town, so it was a nightmare, but was certainly glad to have cleared that direct area shortly before the incident.
Everything else is pretty good…treatment #7 on Thursday, after our 30th Anniversary Party on Wednesday evening. Tomorrow afternoon heading to the Barnstable County Fair to eat everything I can – though I am sick of dealing with cancer, the upside is justifying every kind of garbage food you can imagine, on a regular basis, and tomorrow night is the Mecca of garbage food.
Look out for Jon Lester to start tonight in Cleveland for the Sox…if this guy can come back and pitch at the major league level in less than a year, I think I’ll be just fine.
All the best, Gary
