Hello.

One year down. Twenty nine to go.

The last year has been a journey to say the least.

I was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer in March 2022 just months after celebrating my 50th birthday. I’ve had some abdominal cramps for most of 2021 and was told that it was anxiety that some over the counter meds could alleviate the pain. Who knew that I had a tumor growing inside of me for the last five to ten years, waiting to introduce themselves in the prime of my life.

Today, August 9th 2023, I celebrate a year of being cancer free, no evidence of disease, remission. I went through the “mother of all surgeries” on this day last year. The procedure is called HIPEC or Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, laparoscopic surgery, and a reverse ileostomy. My amazing surgeon and his team took fifteen cancer locations including my five centimeter original tumor (reduced from seven centimeters after twelve rounds of intense chemo - Folfiri and Folfox) that was located in my transverse colon. I was identified early on in my diagnosis as a perfect candidate to go through this eleven hour procedure. Thank god that was the case as I my story would have a different outcome.

I’ve learned so much about myself through this rollercoaster of emotions that a cancer diagnosis presents itself with. This last year, writing became a form of therapy for me through my CaringBridge account, a creative outlet that I didn’t know I had. I’ve enjoyed sharing with others about the good and challenging moments of my cancer experience. My last post on CaringBridge was in February 2023 and I took a hiatus to take the year in. I realized that I missed this creative format and am reviving this medium on this substack account. I am not a writer by any means, but I am a storyteller at heart. I’ve challenged myself to write something every day and hope that I motivate myself to fulfill this challenge

Currently, I am in the middle of maintenance chemo to stave off any cancer that are lurking in the midst. The journey isn’t over yet.

In the next few posts, I am going to transfer my CaringBridge posts to this substack account to get the new readers up to speed from where I started. I’ll also reflect on that post a year later. My head is in a different place. A place of acceptance of this boulder I bear. A place of acceptance to who I am now. A place of acceptance to what my future may hold.

Please join me as I go through my goal of thirty twenty nine more summers and get a peek into my musings and experiences of a colon cancer thriver who continues to live in the moment and in the prime of life.