Cancer Journey The Road Less Traveled or Taken

Having to go on a cancer journey is not easy or something we can ignore or walk away from.  It is not something we choose for ourselves but it is something that we must confront and face.  I say these words because this is where my dad is right now.  He is in a point where he does not want to completely accept that he has cancer or wants to deal with it, but unfortunately it is not something he can ignore.  After his last surgery, he did not feel well due to swelling and pain when trying to go to the restroom. I could tell he was in a great deal of pain but was trying hard not to show it. As the day’s passed, our prayers were answered and the pain started subsiding. He actually started feeling better to the point that he thought that perhaps that was it, the worst was over and nothing else needed to be done. I honestly think he was in denial of the situation and actually convinced himself that he didn’t have cancer anymore.Unfortunately, that bliss was short lived because a few days ago, he started to urinate blood again during the night time.  Alarmed by this he immediately contacted the doctor and the doctor advised him that may occur from time to time. He also recommended to keep monitoring the situation and if the blood increased in volume or he felt, dizzy or faint to go to emergency room right away or call 911.  Needless to say, that this incident has forced him to snap out of denial and to have to face CANCER head on.  I say this because now he asked me explain to him in vivid detail how the experience was for me to go through the procedure of having a port a cath placed because he is scheduled to have one inserted in 8 days.  He is very anxious and doesn’t know what to expect. I tried to calm him down and assured him that is a relatively painless outpatient, procedure.  I explained that when they performed the procedure on me, they injected local anesthesia on my neck and chest area where they made the two incisions to be able to insert the port a cath.  I tried to make him feel better by jokingly telling him it’s like going to the dentist but not as scary. He chuckled and sounded relieved when I described the details of the procedure. After a long pause he told me I guess I really do need to do this.  He then told me that they will tell him the date of first chemo treatment after this procedure is concluded.  As he was telling me this, I heard his voice was trembling and was getting choked up when he was speaking. I could tell that he was about to break down. Therefore, he immediately changed the topic to saying that he was going to go visit his brothers (my uncles) and sisters (my aunts) to get his mind of cancer.  I told him that it was good he was going to enjoy time with them since they don’t see each other that often.  I told him that it is important to distract yourself through the process so your thoughts will not just focus on having cancer and the battle ahead.  I don’t think many people realize that it takes a great deal of strength to pull oneself out of a dark place mentally when your face with trials and tribulation such as cancer, but I am fully aware of this challenge.  Therefore, I want my dad to feel and be as positive as he can be going into his first chemo session because we don’t know how his body will react and how he will feel afterwards with the side effects.  I say this because my chemo treatments cause me to feel depressed and it was difficult for me to pull myself out of this mindset and keep a positive outlook in my battle against cancer.  From my experience, trying to stay positive and in a good spirit is very crucial to be able to be successful in overcoming cancer. In addition to the possible emotional challenges, he will face physical ones such as loss of hair which the oncologist told him would happen due to one his particular chemo regime.  I have tried to mentally prepare him by making jokes that he will now look like one my uncles, his brother and they will become twins even though they vary in age. He actually laughed out loud when I said this and said no, we won’t be twins because I am way better looking than your uncle.

#Positiveoutlook