Triumphs, Trials, and A Great Hair Day
Treatment three is officially in the books, and let me tell you, the past week while it had its downs, was a week with many highs. Overall, I'm still standing, but not without a few bumps along the way. Case in point: my intimate encounter with my very first hemorrhoid. Yikes! I’ll spare you from the details because it's a memory I'd rather leave buried in the archives.
But enough about that discomfort. This week brought with it some genuinely rewarding highs that I refuse to let slip through the cracks.
The Good
In my last entry, I got into the not-so-glamorous side effects of chemo and the ugly thoughts that cancer can conjure. It was a tough pill to swallow, and I hesitated to share it with my professional network. As a marketer, I know how LinkedIn’s algorithms work, and knew that post would end up in front of people outside of my network. I could practically hear the judgmental whispers echoing in the digital ether. But against my better judgment, I hit that post button anyway.
And you know what? It paid off in ways I never expected. Among the sea of comments, one stood out—a brave soul very connected with Lemmon Holton Cancer Pavilion sharing his own journey through chemo. Michael, if you're reading this, your vulnerability spoke volumes, igniting a fire within me to keep pushing forward, documenting every twist and turn of this journey.
Another high from the last week is that I’ve surpassed the 14-day mark and still haven’t started losing my hair. I was told that with the chemo’s I’m on I could expect hair loss at 10-14 days. Along with the hair wins… I have the best fucking wig on the planet and anyone that has chemo-induced alopecia or age-related alopecia you MUST go visit Rachael at Confidence Beyond Hair. She not only has great options but colored my wig to look like my pre-cancer hair. An additional hair high… My parents surprised me by making this significant purchase for me (because of course my terrible insurance won’t cover it). On a call with my incredibly frugal, Goodwill-shopping father who’s always looking for a good deal, he told me, “I don’t care how much it costs, all I want is to make sure that you outlive me.” It seems insignificant, but if you knew my dad… it’s not.
But perhaps the highlight of my week was attending the ATHENA Leadership Forum. Despite the looming risk of infection, I couldn't resist the opportunity to bask in the presence of fierce disruptors and soak up the unwavering support. In times like these, it feels really good, and is very humbling to know so many are following and inspired by my words. It makes me feel like I’m doing something important.
I said that was my last significant high, but I also want to add that I have the best clients. When I initially got my diagnosis and put my business owner hat on a flood of anxiety and worry came with it. Sure, this year might not go down in the books as my most profitable, but hey, I'm fighting for my damn life over here. If any of my clients are reading this, your understanding and solidarity have been a lifeline as I navigate these murky waters.
The Bad
Now, onto the not-so-great parts. Spoiler alert: there weren't many. But seriously, this past week didn’t have a lot of lows outside of the hemorrhoidal debut that I’ve already promised not to get into the details of.
My most significant low came over the weekend and I’m calling it my “angry day”—a meltdown of epic proportions fueled by a severe lack of alone time and unmet expectations. Envision me as an angry little Tasmanian devil (think spinning Taz) that was slinging verbal blows like the “Pows” “Zonks” and “Whams” in the early 90’s Batman cartoons. Not my best moment.
So here's to embracing the good with the bad and finding solace in the moments that ignite our spirits. To everyone rallying around me, your support hasn't gone unnoticed. As someone accustomed to leading in the background, this level of attention is both foreign and deeply humbling. From the depths of my heart, thank you for seeing me in ways I've longed to be seen for years.