Emily,
Waiting for scans, then results, then consults, always waiting with a deep foreboding, that kind of sums up my entire treatment experience. As a community, we call this symptom scanxiety. I call it Scanziety and wrote a book about it. I liked the photos you posted by the way.
So where do we start. We have a lot in common. I grew up in the suburbs of Philly, sailed a lot in my younger days, suffered a lung cancer diagnosis, had Carboplatin (18 times) as one of my chemo pairings, and achieved a NED (no evidence of disease) state after a CyberKnife radiation procedure. And I'm alive, and I say most emphatically, if I can live, so can you.
Words of wisdom? Stay in the day; look for a little piece of joy everyday, and then revel in it. Tomorrow will take care of itself and will happen on its own accord. You have no ability to control tomorrow, or any outcome for that matter, so why try? You don't need to make decisions about the future today. You may tomorrow or next week, or next month, or never. So on the day required, make the decision then quickly go back to joy.
I decided I wasn't going to let lung cancer take over my life. I found I had the power to make and abide by that decision.
Stay the course.
Tom
