More surviving

I was thinking yesterday about survivorship. (is that a word?) and also about the article I wrote for coping magazine. It will be printed sometime this spring. It's funny because I included all of the things I had survived up until the point it was written, which was a lot, but certainly, since then, I have survived much more. I thought I would update the list:

• I survived 4 emergency room trips (including a very romantic trip on our 7th wedding anniversary)
• I survived 4 AC chemos and 4 Taxols
• I survived scrambling to hunt down Taxol and managed to find it and get treated without missing any treatment time
• I survived cancelling our Disney trip due to chemo side effects
• I so far have survived 18 radiation treatments, including radiation burns in the esophagus
• I have survived getting passed the totally bald look, and am now entering Sinead O'Connor territory
• I survived going back to work full time while still in treatment (or at least 18 cycles so far)
• I survived having my doctor tell me I was losing weight to fast and to stop (now I am waiting for him to tell me I am gaining it back to fast)
• and I survived learning that someone I love has joined the ranks of the breast cancer sisterhood. I survived the anger of feeling like she has suffered enough watching me and doesn't deserve to have to go through this now too. and I know she will survive it all too.