If you wrote a book about your journey with blood cancer, what would your book title be?
Share your title below!
Blessings and Curses on Life's Rollercoaster
My title would be "Candid Conversations With Blood-Cancer Patients"
Multiple myeloma, my ongoing journey
What Multiple Myeloma has taught me about life
I am doing well, September will be 7 years since my SCT and I have been in remission since then, the last 3.5 without any maintenance chemo drugs.
Mostly what it taught me was to slow down, to make sure I take time for myself. I was a bit of a people pleaser. If someone asked me to do something, I would do it. I worked full time, we had a dairy farm at the time that I also helped with milking and other stuff when I was not at work, did a lot of canning, I was a township tax collector, I was treasurer for our local Daughters of the Revolution Chapter, was secretary/treasurer of a small township historical society, I knit and crochet, so I made things for people when they asked for items (I did take some money for it) and did a lot of genealogy for myself. Looking back, I don't know when I slept!! I had to resign from tax collector, treasurer of DAR, secretary/treasurer of historical society, family decision (unrelated to my cancer), we have since sold the farm and animals. I still knit and crochet and do the genealogy, but I have learned to say NO and not feel guilty.
So glad to hear that your treatment has been so effective. I'm jealous of your time with zero maintenance drugs. After my stem cell transplant nearly five years ago, I went back on maintenance drugs after a few months, and it's been that way ever since. After a recent progress earlier this year (I wrote about it here: https://blood-cancer.com/living/cancer-reminds-that-its-there), I started a second line of treatment, and it was modified to a third. I'm hoping I can get to a point where I'm untethered from my infusion center so I can do some traveling without have to make a decision to forego a treatment or two to do it. It would be difficult for me to relax in that kind of scenario, you know? Anyway, you most certainly did have a lot of pre-cancer roles. I'm glad you prioritized and now perform the ones that give you most pleasure and peace of mind. Keep it up! #PunchTodayInTheFace -RAY
