Cancer Selfies

Wednesday March 22, 2023

The cycles cary on

Cycle 15, Day 1

I leave for my chemotherapy appointment in a couple hours. It's not going to be too bad, I'll feel like throwing up for three days (but probably won't because the medications are effective), I'll be unable to eat anything but yoghurt and white toast with jam (and I won't want to eat that past the halfway point), and I'll mostly be just awake enough to feel the time pass.

I've developed such a feeling of dread for this. It was easy to motivate myself when the memory of the cancer pain was still fresh. But it's been six months since I felt that pain, six months since all of my symptoms are the direct result of the treatment. I know I need to keep getting treatment, know that I'm in another phase, that things are moving, but I also know that this dread is spreading earlier and earlier into the cycle. I started feeling the anxiety and dread Sunday. It used to only start day of.

The cycles carry on, and they're exhausting.

A man sits in a computer chair, many Squishmallows are visible behind him A man sits on a couch, a seal Squishmallow rests on his sholder and takes up half the frame

From the comments

James Petrosky: It doesn't help that my appointment is later in the day than usual today. I just get to sit around, full of worry, burning through the dumb internet nonsense I'd normally enjoy while receiving treatment.

James Petrosky: I clean off my bed for maximum chemo comfort, so I made this adorable pile of cute friends A tower of Squishmallows climbs from the floor to the height of a thermostat