Cancer Selfies

Sunday April 16, 2023

Exhaustion is bad for mortality salience

Cycle 16, Day 12

Gang, I'm so tired. Tired of counting cycles. Tired of the side effects. Tired of living in a sort of constant existential terror.

I took a walk to the beach, roughly 400m, and found myself lightly winded when I got there. Walking back was the same story. I've been doing some basic yardwork, collecting leaves that fell on the patio stones mainly, and after three hours of medium-light labour I'm so exhausted I need a nap. I've never been the most fit person, but even at the peak of my cancer pain on the late summer I was still able to work (medium-heavy labour) fifty hour weeks without wearing myself out. It's a lot to get used to. And to add further insult, my nose has been running constantly for the last month. It's a known side effect, but it's gross and frustrating.

For the sake of my mental health, I need surgical dates to look forward to. I'm hoping I hear something this week

A man wearing a hoodie with very little hair sits at a bench at dusk, a brightly lit bar is behind him

From the comments

James Petrosky: Most of the time I'm pretty comfortable with my mortality, but the anxiety and depression and exhaustion have a way of eroding the peace I've made and found.

James Petrosky: My personal nurse has been a tremendous help, though An orange cat sleeps on someone's lap, she is contented

Cathy: A black standard poodle and golden labradoodle share a dog bed in front of a door