Cancer Diaries

I don’t mean to be morose by writing about my cancer experience. But when faced with day to day difficulties, I find that reflecting on tough times that have since become a distant memory, is very therapeutic for me.

My Cancer Diaries

I was at home recuperating from a minor surgery and was relishing the few days off from work and I had happily settled into watching a marathon on Bravo’s “Project Runway.”

My pleasure was short-lived when I received a phone call from the surgeon who had performed my surgery, which included taking a small amount of tissue from my abdomen.

“Well Ramona, it’s cancer.” He explained. We talked for a while, and the next few days flew by in a flurry of phone calls, making appointments for the oncologists and labs.

In the course of the following days, I received my pathology report and notes from my surgery. I was reading over it, hoping that seeing the diagnosis in black in white would somehow make it seem more real to me. Ovarian Neoplastic Malignancy…… “Okay,” I thought……hey..wait a minute!” I continued to read, "..the patient is a 43-year old, slightly overweight female.." Slightly overweight! I was horrified.

I have an explanation for my vanity…..Since I had absolutely no control over my diagnosis but could still regulate my weight, I wanted to be able to control something. So, I did what any newly diagnosed cancer patient would do…….I went on a diet!

It was very easy to drop the weight, with the surgery and chemo…..I don’t suggest it for a weight reduction plan however.

Over time, I felt more and more at ease with my illness and realized that as a patient I really could have some form of control over the disease, as far as what doctors I decided to visit, and what treatment options I pursued.

So, the lesson I learned here? You can tell me I have cancer….just don’t tell me I’m overweight.