It is so amazing to be back out in the world! Being fully vaccinated for Covid-19 is allowing us to once again see friends close up, dine out (carefully), entertain and even travel.
In mid-May we went to Florida to visit friends in their brand new home on the ocean. The setting was spectacular, the house so comfortable, the wine delicious and the pool and the views were stunning.
One afternoon Dan and our friend went to the beach and did some boogie boarding. The waves were big. Rough. Intimidating. They came back to the house a little beat up (and with pockets full of seaweed) but also exhilarated. Dan said, “You just have to catch the right wave and ride it as long as you can.” Cassie immediately responded: “Just like living with metastatic cancer.”
Living with MBC is a wild ride. Some “waves” are bigger than others – you hit a rough patch of not feeling well or you get bad scan results and all you can do is just try not to drown in how scary and overwhelming it all feels. Other “waves” are more easily managed. You find yourself in a spot where you can comfortably ride it out. Your head stays above water and you can even catch an occasional feeling of joy and lightness.
Right now, we are riding a good wave. Trying to enjoy this period which we have come to think of as the “in-between” time. Cassie’s back is recovering from her major November surgery just as the doctor had hoped. She still has six more months of not bending over and being very careful with lifting and twisting but that’s totally doable and overall we are feeling like we are close to the end of that journey. On the MBC front, Cassie has a scan at the end of summer to check if the lung tumors are continuing to grow (as they have three scans in a row) and to see if the cancer has found its way to any other part of the body. But, that scan isn’t until the end of summer.
Our challenge now is to enjoy this in-between time. To appreciate the wave we are on. To ride it as long as we can. To not spend a minute worrying about what may or may not be found in the upcoming scan. To not speculate about side effects of new medications. To just be in the here and now and soak up all that’s currently good in our lives.
Ride the wave.
