Life After Cancer Treatment Ends Pt. I

A Life Less Plagued; life after cancer treatment ends

I have been in remission from Diffuse Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma since October 2016. In the past eight months, I have spent almost as much time visiting doctor’s offices, vacationing in hospital rooms, and listening to the clinking and clanking of CT machines as when I was battling cancer.

“I thought that when my chemotherapy treatments ended…that I was done…”

I thought that when my chemotherapy treatments ended, and when I was over the illness, that I was done having blood drawn, experiencing pain deep within my hip and leg bones from white blood cell shots, and definitely done from feeling less than 100% most of time.

My immune system, however, has still not fully recovered from the chemical cocktails that were pumped through my body, and I have been battling a stuffy nose and a cough for nearly six months now.

The worst part — no one prepared me for this part of the fight! My doctors mentioned that my immune system would be slightly compromised for a few months, but since I’m young (33), and was good health prior to my diagnosis, it should bounce back quickly.

The worst part — no one prepared me for this part of the fight!

Well, that is NOT happening. My white blood cell count ebbs and flows like the tide, and my neutrophil is a straight D student doing just enough to get by. This is why I’ve decided to start this blog — as space for cancer survivors. It’s for people who are experiencing challenges now that their live’s are back to “normal.” It’s for those going through treatments who don’t know what to expect afterwards. It’s so that survivors are not left feeling foolish like I was because I thought getting over this disease was like getting over a common cold. “Yea, I’m fine now. I took my medicine, I rested a few days, and now I’m back to feeling like me!”

If only it were that simple.