Brain Scan-iety

January 7, 2019February 5, 2019 ~ June Grace ~ Leave a comment

Brain

If you had told me 5 years ago that I wouldn’t be super stressed about a brain scan, I wouldn’t believe you.

But it’s true. I’ve stopped counting, I’ve stopped tracking every single scan, every protocol I need to be following, and I’ve just been maintaining the bare minimum. I’m giving the least amount of time and mental energy for what I need to do to maintain my tumors, that’s it. And it feels so good 🙂

So when my brain scan results came back this week showing that the tumor that was treated had shrunk even more (only a tiny bit, but hey, that’s still amazing), I was elated. I already assumed that it had shrunk, mostly because the symptoms I was having from that tumor had lessened. What a blessing!

Waiting for Scans

January 16, 2018 ~ June Grace ~ 1 Comment

jairo-alzate-45540 Waiting on scan results is hard. Your mind starts to wander, you imagine the worst. You invent meaning in nuances. Did the radiologist add extra time to your scan because there was something extra to image?

Was the rad tech compassionate with you because she knows something you don’t (yet)?

You bargain. You play “if this, then that.” And you pray.

But you still have to wait.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, that’s the hardest part.

Hair Loss, and More

September 7, 2017 ~ June Grace ~ Leave a comment

braided

I went to you in tears

Soaking wet from my shower,

wrapped up in a towel

Seeking comfort

Another clump of hair had fallen out

Despite the fact that I knew to anticipate the hair loss, that I knew it wouldn’t all fall out, that I knew it would grow back, despite all that, it still brought me to tears

So I went to you for comfort, for reassurance

You turned to me with an empty stare

I wrapped my arms around you anyways

But there was no comfort to be found

Because you weren’t really there

Shedding you was the best thing I never knew I needed

And the hair grew back eventually

Beautifully so

There Is No “All Clear” in Cancer

December 15, 2016February 18, 2017 ~ June Grace ~ 2 Comments

I got the results of my 6-month scan today. Everything is stable.

Stable. Meaning that my tumor is still there, looking the same as it did 182 days ago, and the other lesions that are not (yet) tumors still show up as, well, just lesions to be scanned again in another 6 months.

It’s a waiting game. Full of stress and the discomfort of living with the unknown.

“That’s amazing news, your tumor is stable,” friends and family say when I give them the update. “Yes, it’s the best news possible, given the circumstances,” I quip.

It is good. It could be so much worse. The report could read “metastasis” or “additional tumor.” That’s what happens in my nightmares. That’s what gives me anxiety, because it could happen, and at a rate much higher than people who aren’t predisposed.

You can’t really understand how it feels when the report comes back as “stable.” No one can understand, unless they have been through it. There is no “all clear” when it comes to tumors. It’s more like “You’re cleared for another 6 months!”

It sucks to live life in increments based on when your next scan is, so I try not to do that anymore. It took practice though. Just like lying in the scanner took practice to manage without popping a magic pill.

It is good news, but it doesn’t eradicate the worry. It is good news. But better would be if there were no other enhancing lesions, malformations, or spots that lit up the MRI at all. Because those represent my unknown. And people can say, “oh don’t worry.” But they don’t read the research like I have, they don’t hear from other patients in the similar situations, but farther down the path of this disease.

And so they say “don’t worry” because they don’t know what else to say. And I nod and let them.

Tumors & Insomnia

July 6, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ June Grace ~ 1 Comment

Two binders sit on my shelf, side-by-side. One with the word “Tumor” emblazoned upon its spine, the other labeled “Emotional Tumor.”

The first binder details the tiny tumor that’s perched, quite literally, inside my head. It doesn’t bother me so much, this 1.4x 1.0x 2.7cm mass. It needs to be treated, but the treatment is fairly straightforward. In less than 30 days, it will be taken care of, with a 95% probability of never bothering me again. Sounds promising.

That is when you’re not lying awake anxious, wondering about the black hole that lies within the missing 5%.

In comparison, the headache in my second binder has no end in sight, is relatively unstable, and seems to multiply every attempt I make to move forward. That would be my divorce / custody binder I’m referring to.

It’s hard to say which stress outweighs the other. Usually it’s a tug-of-war fueled by which, in that particular moment, has the most pressing immediacy.

situation: battling insomnia that’s come back to rest in its familiar place

song: In the Long Run, The Staves

My Scar Story

March 26, 2016June 5, 2017 ~ June Grace ~ Leave a comment

scar screenshot.png

Living life with a visible scar is like wearing your secrets on the outside. It can be hard when the first thing others notice about you is a reminder of something you’d rather forget.

In a society where celebrities are nip-tucked, Botoxed up, and Photoshopped to perfection, I’ve most definitely felt pressure to be scar-free in order to be considered beautiful.

Click over to YourTango.com to read about my experience….