Tough Twinkie

"Are you good?" Well, since chemotherapy infusions ended, I am no longer a “Paskahousu” (shit pants)! Yet, I believe when folks ask, “Are you good?” Really they want know, “Is the cancer gone?” And yes, I am cancer-free, as much as I know! However, the treatments — chemotherapy infusions, breast surgeries, immunotherapy, and now hormone suppressants — have left skid marks. The disconnect between looking recovered and living in a body that is adjusting wears on me. I continue to meet with several specialists because of many side effects. My body does not feel young anymore and the health appointments pile on. It is emotionally dehydrating to respond to, “Are you good?” Each day is a toss up — energetically, physically, and mentally, just as it was throughout chemotherapy. How do I describe the level of depletion? The level of confusion? This Tough Twinkie is at a loss for words.  Like a mime at the circus.

107-Year-Old Italian Longevity Tip The rumors are true. Yes, I've been distant and quiet. I’ve been reflecting. Also navigating spikes in ADHD that no one prepared me for. In fact, I’ve written several blog posts in my head, they just haven’t landed via the keyboard. However, I am back. There is something to clarify: only 1-year has been checked off the 5 -year treatment plan . It’s a circus, ladies and gents. So, let’s wheel in a cage match between certainty and reality, sponsored by promises. Having worked in marketing, I caught on early to how industries capitalize on our desire for certainty. Possibilities are spruced up to sound more like certainties. And indeed, treatment has introduced me to spruced-up possibilities. I've heard countless versions of: eat this way, move this way, avoid that... Yet, the fact is the genealogy test labeled the cancer as, “Environmental”, with no specifics of what caused it. Science has its place; after all, it's one of the reasons I'...