Life as a Cancer Survivor in 2023

 

    Hi everyone! I thought I’d write an update blog post since I haven’t posted in half a year. The sad news is that life as a cancer survivor is not like my life pre- diagnosis. The happy news is that my most recent scans showed no evidence of disease!

    2023 has not been as smooth sailing health wise as I had hoped or expected. The biggest scare of this year was in February 2023 when I mentioned a bump I felt above my implant to my plastic surgeon. She suggested I get an ultrasound “just to be safe”. I now hate those words. Don’t get me wrong – I am grateful I went for an ultrasound “to be safe” and we found my cancer when we did. But I’m not reassured when people tell me “it’s probably nothing and they’re just being cautious.”

    Praise God the biopsy in February turned out to be clear. It was just scar tissue. Since February, I’ve had some big life updates. I got a job in Boston and decided to move from Memphis. It is definitely bittersweet.

    It was strange going to the West Cancer Center for the last time (most likely) for an MRI on July 25. I had my last follow-up appointment with my oncologist on July 19. It was weird. I was kind of disappointed when he didn’t give me a hug goodbye. It’s an interesting relationship. He’s pretty much a stranger to me but also helped give me life.

    This past week has been so full. And it’s ending on a very full note tomorrow. Tomorrow is the day I move into my new room in Boston. The week began with goodbye meals with friends. On Monday, my wonderful Mom flew to Memphis to help me pack and clean my house. I also had a CT scan that was ordered by my oncologist on July 19. I mentioned to him some lower back pain I had been experiencing so he ordered a CT scan “to be safe”. On Tuesday, I had a follow up breast MRI. Because of my history of breast cancer, I now have to have routine MRIs. After my MRI, I picked my brother up from the airport. He flew in to help me pack my house into a moving truck. We packed and cleaned all day Tuesday. On Wednesday, my brother, my mom, and I drove from Memphis to Charlotte, NC.

    One aspect of life as a cancer survivor that sucks is the fear of recurrence. Before getting diagnosed, I didn’t really think about the possibility of me getting cancer and/or what that would mean. Now that I’m a cancer survivor, I know what could happen if a scan comes back with bad results. It’s quite unnerving that I have to go about my life while trying to push down the fear that my scans could come back with bad results. I realize this is part of life. I’ve just never had to experience this until recently and I hate it. Thankfully, I got the phone call (which made me even more nervous because it was a phone call) during my drive on Wednesday that my scans were clear!

peace,
amy