Two Weeks of Chemo: Day 14 & Wrap-up

This is part of an ongoing two-week series. For more info, see this introductory post.

We made it! One more two-week cycle is finished and another is about to begin. This was my ninth chemo treatment and I have three more to go.

You may have noticed that I haven't been complaining about nasty side effects in the last few posts (toe dots don't count). That's because on these last few days of each cycle, I have no complaints. I live for these days, when I have energy and food has taste. Chemo cycles have the pleasant side effect of making you appreciate the good days. Every second Thursday, I live like a man who's parole is about to be revoked. I eat anything that catches my fancy, go out with friends, catch a movie, etc. We should all do this more often.

If you've learned anything from my posts, I hope you take away that there isn't one main downside to chemo; it's the summation of many small irritants that wears on you. More than this, though, I hope that you see, as I have, how much we take for granted when we're healthy. Every two weeks, I am reminded of both how wonderful life is when you have your health, and how awful it can be when you don't.

Thank you for reading through this little experiment. It was truly meant as a note to myself, so that I don't forget the lessons I have learned. I hate broadcasting that I have cancer and I am not looking for sympathy. This is one of the main reasons I loathe having lost my hair; it is the only outward sign of my malady. Were it not for the hair loss, I could suffer internally and not bring any undue attention to myself. But if my ailment must be made public, I am happy to use the attention it brings to inform people of what the millions of current and past cancer patients have suffered through on a daily basis.

Again, thank you for the generous outpouring of love and support. I'm off to have a wonderful dinner and enjoy the hell out of what remains of my Thursday. I hope you do the same!

Back to Day 13.