[2023-01-22] 900th post
Today is my 900th post, representing 900 straight days of publishing an article every day.
As I did the day after my 600th post, I reflected on what has happened during the last 900+ days. It's been:
- 908 days since I learned that I had ovarian cancer, but kept on living.
- 900 days since I started medical leave and launched Jenesis.
- 878 days since I had surgery for ovarian cancer.
- 781 days since I learned that my CA125 level was in the normal range.
- 739 days since I finished chemotherapy.
- 701 days since I started my maintenance drug to keep ovarian cancer at bay.
- 434 days since I had surgery for perianal skin cancer.
- 349 days since I finished radiation.
It's also been:
- 902 days since my backyard wedding with my husband, Chris.
- 425 days since my official retirement from the federal public service.
- 398 days since my son moved to his own place.
- 294 days since I started keeping a daily accomplishments log.
- 224 days since I articulated my priorities.
- 160 days since I started using Duolingo to learn Brazilian Portuguese.
- 137 days since we said goodbye to our dog, Freddie.
Life brings with it challenges and joys, setbacks and achievements, trials and triumphs.
As I look at the milestones of my cancer journey, I realize that many of my highlights pertain to the end of a process—something that I got through and could therefore cross off of my to-do list.
Other notable ranges reflect happy streaks—being married, living according to my priorities, and learning a language—but also losses (RIP Freddie).
When I first learned that I had ovarian cancer, I could not have predicted that I would be alive and thriving 900+ days later. Healthcare providers rarely speculate about the future, focusing instead on the immediate steps in a patient's treatment plan. The first oncologist I met talked about a six-month process of surgery and chemotherapy. His aim, and that of his colleagues, was to get me through that.
Both during my cancer journey and looking back on it now, I recognize that—even during the most difficult months—I lived. I felt gratitude. I saw beauty. I celebrated. I was present in the lives of my loved ones and invested in what they were interested in.
One of the most meaningful items in the list above is this one: 349 days since I finished radiation. That's almost a year without any significant medical intervention to deal with cancer.
But the best item remains this one: 908 days since I learned that I had ovarian cancer, but kept on living.
