Ten Years Ago I Had Cancer

I read a cancer reoccurrence for my type of lymphoma can happen at any time. I found some people that talked about a comeback between seven and nine years after RCHOP. The treatment cocktail I was given. The initials are way easier than printing the actual words!

I am nine years post-treatment and ten years from diagnosis, now what?

Several years ago I wrote a book as a fundraiser item for the Powwow for Hope. A fundraiser for the American Indian Cancer Foundation. I wrote the book in memory of my sister, who died from leukemia in 2010. Family, friends and I have fundraised for several years under her name, Team Carrie.

I tried to put a positive slant on cancer in the book. That is tough and I thought I succeeded. And maybe I did. I want to talk about some of my regrets since treatment. How difficult it is at every follow-up treatment comes to mind for example.

I know keeping a positive attitude contributes to a good outcome people will say. And many talk about how they think stress is a contributing factor to cancer and many other conditions. Well, I stress before appointments. I had labs this week and noted a few H’s. More than usual on my labs!

My mind goes directly to… is cancer back? My blood labs are H! Lymphoma is a blood cancer. I rescheduled my oncology appointment twice and it is now pushed out to July 1, 2022. I will have to stew until then. Maybe, I will call and see about getting in sooner. Stress is not good for me!

I rescheduled as I have a three-day training this week. My next scheduled appointment was usurped by a ‘cancer lady’ I know that has cancer treatment machines and sells a few products in her store like an immunity tea and hormone balance topical cream that I use. It is difficult getting in to see her.

Yes, it is more difficult getting in to see her than it is to see my oncologist. There are so many more oncologists than there are people like her! She is the only one I know like her.

Then, I work as a culture consultant, and every week, I talk about the medicines that we smudge with at the end of the group. We use sage, sweetgrass, cedar, and a little bit of Chaga. I talk about picking the medicines, where they can find the medicines, and not picking where chemicals are used.

I live around several fields that are growing crops. Roundup is used on the crops by our house. We had roundup put in our field after we lived here for a short time. My husband and his brother owned 40 acres that have always had hay harvested by a farmer in the county each year.

One year the farmer asked my brother-in-law who doesn’t live here to plant a crop, and hubby’s brother agreed, and the next thing we knew the field was being sprayed with roundup to kill the hay. I found out what happened and left home for a week right as the field was being sprayed.

A week is, of course, not long enough. So then there were more air purifiers purchased and used regularly. Plants that take the toxins out of the air are thriving in my house.

The roundup stays in the ground for 5 years I’m told. And then the farmer asked to spray halfway through the crop season and asked again at the end of the season, before harvest. Both times we said no. He said that we were the only ones to ever complain.

I asked him how he in good conscience would feel if I got cancer again from the fields he planted and profited from. He hasn’t asked again.

I also mentioned how my mother-in-law, who didn’t leave when the field was sprayed was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis as was her friend on another corn field. There appears to be more cancer in my neighborhood than in other places I have lived! And to think I was concerned about living in a big city.

I could probably write a sequel to my first book as another fundraiser item. Recently friends encouraged me to attend a local meeting, and talk about the fields. They said, be nice, clear, calm, and state what I know to be true. No fighting with the neighbors. I don’t know about doing that!

That is why I haven’t gone yet, as I want no fighting with neighbors or being thought of as a trouble maker! It feels like that is what would happen, even though my friends said, I am judging my neighbors unfairly.

We are retired and living where the hubby wants to live until he can’t do the upkeep anymore. He is outside every day and he has not developed cancer or pulmonary fibrosis. It can be that he is an exercise nut, not overweight, and gets plenty of sun. I am overweight, don’t get sun and very little exercise.

So the cancer is really from my lifestyle choices. And that lets me off the hook for doing anything but improving my lifestyle habits. I guess I could say that too just to be fair? What do you think?

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First published by Penny Press on Medium