tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91101532034705511702024-03-12T18:50:13.128-07:00Cancer BanterWhat does a writer do when she finds out she has stage-four mantle cell lymphoma? She blogs. Because, as everyone knows, cancer sucks but blogging rocks.Susan Chttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12178330935523896363noreply@blogger.comBlogger603125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9110153203470551170.post-26582243713223780422013-09-08T13:16:00.000-07:002013-09-08T13:16:10.239-07:00Alive and Well<b>Cancer Banter </b>has been dormant for nearly two year. Of course, that's a good thing. Cancer, treatment and recovery now seem like things from the distant past.<br />
<br />
These days, when I make a new friend, I don't immediately divulge my status as a "cancer survivor." (Not that I ever use that expression.) But recently, after divulging my past as a patient to a new friend, I received an email that made reference to my "life changing experience."<br />
<br />
That phrase always makes me pause and think about how my life has changed post-remission.<br />
<br />
I started thinking about this few months ago at a party. An old friend gushed, "You must wake up every morning so grateful to be alive." At first, I considered lying and telling her what she wanted to hear. But, instead, I looked her straight in the eye and said, "Oh, hell no." The initial "I'm lucky to be alive" euphoria wore off a long time ago, and now I have to remind myself to be grateful for each day.<br />
<br />
Shortly after I finished my treatment in November 2007, I blogged about my fearless new take on life. I plunged into life with a new-found intensity. During this brave new period, I attended a toddler's birthday party and noticed a guest inching away as I spoke. Then she sheepishly muttered, "You certainly are intense." Note to self: Take it down a notch before attending a toddler party. <br />
<br />
But, like my lucky-to-be-alive attitude, my intrepid lease on life slipped away. After a front-car-seat on one of life's most challenging thrill rides, the cancer coaster, and a brief post-coaster high, I was ready to play it safe.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrG74pfrN4w/T-pp9SLOaPI/AAAAAAAACmk/GU__26j5woc/s1600/silver+bullet.+jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rrG74pfrN4w/T-pp9SLOaPI/AAAAAAAACmk/GU__26j5woc/s200/silver+bullet.+jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Silver Bullet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A year ago at Knott's Berry Farm, I looked up at the menacing coasters and thought about the thrill rides I've been on as a patient and a parent: up, down, sideways, round and round and upside down. The next thing I knew, I was waiting in line with flocks of middle school students for the Silver Bullet, described on the website as an "aggressive thrill." And, in spite of my nonstop screams, the ride was more exhilarating than frightening.<br />
<br />
When my boyfriend insisted that we sit in the front car for Montezooma's Revenge, I reluctantly agreed. And, much to my surprise, I loved it.<br />
<br />
<br />
So, after a few rides, both real and metaphorically, I have this advice: <br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Contemplate the course and mentally rehearse the scariest sequences. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Go with the flow. You can either bounce like a greenhorn trotting on a horse or flow like the Silver Surfer. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Remember that almost everything is temporary. </li>
<li>Enjoy the ride. </li>
</ul>
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<br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">A bag of fluids on a makeshift IV pole brings me back to my pole dancing days. </span></span>
<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: left;">There's nothing quite like a feeling of accomplishment. I felt that when I first mastered the art of dancing with my two-left-wheeled IV <a href="http://cancerbanter.blogspot.com/2007/06/when-i-first-got-my-mantle-cell.html">pole partner</a> when I was a patient at the City of Hope.
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<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8AfPILB0UKM/TksQNgBWJbI/AAAAAAAACmQ/1RqIrXcKoCQ/s1600/Puss.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8AfPILB0UKM/TksQNgBWJbI/AAAAAAAACmQ/1RqIrXcKoCQ/s320/Puss.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641620782331602354" border="0" /></a>And I felt it more recently when I found myself in the reverse role of caretaker. My aging and cantankerous cat <a href="http://cancerbanter.blogspot.com/2008/07/great-cat-napping-caper.html">Puss</a> needed fluids administered through the skin on her back. Each time I prepared to pierce her flesh, I repeated my new mantra, "It's only skin. It's only skin." When I managed to jab the needle and then hold her still for five minutes (with the help of my friend Anna), I felt a sense of relief. The second time, when I did the deed solo, I felt a genuine sense of accomplishment.
<br />
<br />Now I'm about to do another fear-inducing act with a pole. A new friend who's organizing a fund raiser for <a href="http://www.bethematch.org/">Be the Match</a> has asked me to do the pole dancing skit that I created three years ago for <a href="http://cancerbanter.blogspot.com/2008/06/audacious.html">The Big C</a>. And, just like I knew that poking the cat with a needle was for a good cause, I'm going to shed my fear because 100% of the evening's proceeds will assist with adding new potential bone marrow donors to the Be the Match registry.
<br />
<br />I hope you'll join me on Friday, August 26, for a fun evening of wine tasting, appetizers, a silent auction, music, a beautiful and historic Pasadena venue and, of course, some pole dancing.
<br />
<br />
<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gEaqZ8sOplk/TksK04Ly1WI/AAAAAAAACmA/Gy7lTjON1ZA/s1600/Fundraiser%2BWinetastingevent%2BJBP.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 489px; height: 376px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gEaqZ8sOplk/TksK04Ly1WI/AAAAAAAACmA/Gy7lTjON1ZA/s400/Fundraiser%2BWinetastingevent%2BJBP.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5641614861763007842" border="0" /></a>
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<br />You may purchase tickets online at <a href="http://www.bethematchfoundation.org/winetasting">www.bethematchfoundation.org/winetasting</a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"></span>
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<br />
With Smooky's permission, I'm posting today about a blog that may be of interest to writers who read Cancer Banter. The Rose City Sisters flash fiction blog presents short-short stories of up to 1,000 words. There's a catch: each story might have a connection to Pasadena. (In spite of our name, male writers are welcome.)<br />
<br />
Susan took the fiction plunge last year and wrote "The Fourth Possibility," which starts: <i> </i><br />
<br />
<i>Miranda thought the Japanese word sounded like what it meant—hot and humid. She escaped the mushiatsui life when she moved from sultry South Carolina to Southern California, but there was no escaping the steamy, suffocating heat of Sado Island, Japan, in August. </i>(<b><a href="http://rosecitysisters.blogspot.com/2009/05/5-fourth-possibility.html" target="_blank">Read the rest here</a></b>.)<br />
<br />
My most recent story is about a woman with a <a href="http://rosecitysisters.blogspot.com/2010/08/48-good-with-names.html" target="_blank"><b>very peculiar superpower.</b> </a>This week we have a darkly comic <a href="http://rosecitysisters.blogspot.com/2010/11/52-ten-things-i-hate-about-thanksgiving.html" target="_blank"><b>Thanksgiving story</b></a>—in list form. (Illustrated with a nearly obscene photo of a raw turducken wrapped in bacon.)<br />
<br />
If you're a writer who's up for the challenge of telling a very short story, please read our <b><a href="http://www.rosecitysisters.com/submit.html" target="_blank">story submission guidelines</a></b>. If you know writers, share this blog post with them. The Rose City Sisters blog is accepting submissions. <br />
<div class="zemanta-related"><h6 class="zemanta-related-title" style="font-size: 1em; margin: 1em 0pt 0pt;">Related articles</h6><ul class="zemanta-article-ul"><li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://quazen.com/arts/writing-flash-fiction-wont-hurt-you/" target="_blank">Writing Flash Fiction Won't Hurt You</a> (quazen.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://writinghood.com/style/how-to/the-1-flash-fiction-writing-skill/" target="_blank">The #1 Flash Fiction Writing Skill</a> (writinghood.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://writinghood.com/style/how-to/great-flash-fiction-ideas-about-dialogue/" target="_blank">Great Flash Fiction Ideas About Dialogue</a> (writinghood.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://writinghood.com/style/how-to/how-to-create-great-flash-fiction-characters/" target="_blank">How to Create Great Flash Fiction Characters</a> (writinghood.com)</li>
<li class="zemanta-article-ul-li"><a href="http://rosecitysisters.blogspot.com/2010/04/being-prompted.html" target="_blank">Writing Prompts to Start Your Flash Fiction Story</a> (rosecitysisters.com) </li>
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