I am thankful for… 1 YEAR!!! Today on this day last year I started my very first round of Pembrolizumab (aka Keytruda) and I am excited, emotional and let’s be frank… relieved that I have made it to 1 year on this drug. Cancer is scary! And it deserves to be considered scary because unfortunately it comes with constant uncertainty. No one ever knows where their life will take them. But for a patient with cancer your life turns into constant trips to the hospital, you know how to smile better than most even when you don’t feel like it, the world gets smaller, you retract further, things become irrelevant, medical articles become interesting and you realize you know more medical terms than your own GP… You learn to live differently, needles, blood tests, emotional outbreaks like a psychotic cat on speed become normal; laughing one moment and crying at bloody ads on TV the next!
I never thought I’d be a person that gets excited by a drug, or by medical research and I can honestly say I will probably never in my life understand or see why the cost of treatment outweighs the cost of a human life but as we all progress forward I’d like to hope that others too will experience a one year, or a two year or an NED for that matter, because it’s the people out there who truly understand the importance of anniversaries that will get why days like today are important to me! I am thankful that I was granted compassionate access, that I have 1 more year left to access this treatment on these grounds and that at right now my side effects are minimal. And yes the road is unpredictable and I may not like everything that happens to me but I’m happy to be able breath for another day, to laugh, to drive a car, to be physically active and independent, and while I’m able to do so I will celebrate every anniversary with whatever emotion I feel fit! I know this drug has extended my life and everything else I do is just a bonus to make me feel better in what I believe and who I am! Thanks for letting me stick around for another year, let’s hope that I keep kicking goals and celebrate new anniversaries with all of you!
What are you thankful for dear Naked on this Thankful Thursday?
