Renaissance

I am very much looking forward to the first day of Spring — March 20, 2025! That is the day I fly back to Europe from America after having completed my course of radiation therapy. Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal of life – a renaissance. That is what I am planning to have – my own renaissance. When I was first diagnosed with cancer, someone told me that I would emerge a different person on the other side. I suppose that is true to some extent because I do have a new outlook.

For many years my primary goal has been to stay busy. That way I was able to avoid thinking of anything unpleasant, disappointing, or stressful in my life, and at the same time expand my horizons through experiences and friendships. But now, after this diagnosis and time alone to think and just “be,” I realize that in the future, more than living life to the fullest, I want to live life to the best.

It may be hard to resist my nature to aspire to the highest level of social butterfly status, but that is my objective. I don’t want to sink into a rocking chair on a porch somewhere, but rather I want to be more selective in my activities and in applying boundaries – an activity in which I’ve rarely participated. My intentions are both an act of self-preservation and an attempt to enjoy every moment, even when I’m alone. I plan to return to my exercise activities and language classes and work to be the healthiest I can be physically and mentally!!

I’m not going to drop off the radar…I hope to continue to experience Catalan life in a way that will be of interest to my friends and readers…

After 12 sessions of low-dose radiation, I rang the bell as is a custom when one finishes cancer treatment. I actually sailed through the treatments and experienced no negative effects. As scans revealed no additional cancer in other parts of my body, I am confident that I will be declared to be in remission when follow-up exams are performed in August. I hope this phase of my life is over, never to return, but that is probably a foolish notion. My oncologist explained that my particular type of cancer is a chronic one, and so may return to my stomach, where it was discovered, or to another part of my body. I plan to live with vigilance, but without anxiety. I feel great at the moment!

I’ve always felt lucky – I had great parents, I have good friends, and I was blessed with extraordinarily wonderful children (and recently, grandchildren). Now, I must add to this list the good fortune I had to have been diagnosed so early and to have received such superb treatment from doctors and staff at Houston Methodist Hospital, my former employer. It’s not for nothing they were ranked on US News and World Report’s Honor Roll of top U.S. hospitals! I’m so grateful!!

Now, som-hi! as they say in Catalan…Let’s go!