From time to time I like to talk about my family and living with cancer here, and the shift one has in priorities and perspective that cancer gives you because I think it’s such a life shock into action type of experience, that it’s worth sharing.

Last Tuesday, we had our post 6 month chemo appointment with Dr Marshall at Georgetown Hospital. It was an odd feeling going back there. We went 2x a month for a year to going 1x every 3 months starting over the summer. It still is not something that Scott and I are used to and last week was no different. Knowing how much anxiety I get heading down 66 on our way to our appointment, I can only imagine the feelings that Scotty has.

We met with a med student first, and then Dr Marshall came in. He has such a great way to put us at ease and gave us some really good news. The cancer markers are undetectable at this time and we do not need to go back to see them for 6 months! You would think there would be this huge sense of relief and happiness, right? Well it’s strange to describe — while I know this is great news, I have my eye on the 3 year prize because I have heard of so many people getting out of the woods only to be told that they really weren’t. Don’t get me wrong, this is great news and the reality of us rebuilding our lives is welcome and comforting – cancer has changed me, our family and our relationship. I don’t dwell on it – in fact, I go days and days without talking about it. But it’s never far away from my internal dialogue.

The holidays are always a time for me to really be introspective (sometimes a bit too much) and the journey I am on. Obviously I do that on a daily basis (read: the blogging), but thinking about lately looking back at how cancer invaded my family makes me angry and sad, acknowledging that we are in no way unique. Cancer doesn’t discriminate.

I said to Scotty the other day, how come we can’t get one quiet year with no major, out of the normal stresses in our lives? And in perfect Scotty fashion – he said “this is life”. He’s right.

So, we will plug away at our life like everyone else does – taking it one day at time and appreciating each day we have. We have so much to be thankful for, health being at the top of the list this season, it certainly makes so many other stresses we have seem smaller and definitely surmountable.