I may seem like the most optimistic person ever, but trust me. I have my days too where chemo gets to me, I’m in a bad mood, I’m sad, and I don’t want to get out of bed. I’m not going to lie, I was in bed all day today. Chemo sucks, but you can either lay in bed and cry about it for 6 months, or get off your booty and do something about it. Here is what helped me.
1. Try to find the good in the situation. God knows we all have the time to do that too, while being on house arrest. I’m very spiritual and a strong believer in the fact that everything happens for a reason. I’m not saying that you did something to cause your cancer, because you didn’t. But take this as a learning experience. Maybe something wasn’t working in your life that needed fixing. We are always asking ourselves questions in life. Why is this happening to me? What’s next for me? Most of the time, the answers are just at the surface. Just dig deeper, you’ll find the answer. I promise. There’s a reason for everything.
2. Have a great support system. Spend as much time as you can with your friends and your family. Mine were a huge part of how I handled my situation so well. Let them visit you at your house as long as they aren’t sick and don’t have a cold! And if you’re not Neutropenic, try to get outside. (Be careful, of course!) Do not seclude yourself from the outside world! In my opinion, that’s the worst thing that you can do.
3. Get off your booty and put some make up on and dress up! No one ever knows that I’m even sick, because I always make it a priority to dress cute and put make up on. In fact, most of the time I even look better than people who don’t have cancer, ha! Just kidding. But in all seriousness, I’m going through chemo too, I’m sick, I feel like crap as well, I have Neuropathy, and excruciating pain in my stomach, so you have no excuse! So if I can put mascara on and get out of my sweatpants, then YOU can too! When you look good, you feel better. Trust me on this one. I feel so much better when I don’t look like absolute crap. At least take a shower. 😉
4. Make the best of the situation, make friends with your nurses while you’re at the hospital, and your chemo nurses too. I’ve met so many amazing nurses while at my cancer center that I absolutely adore. They will give you tons of good tips and make your life so much easier. They are here to help you! Also, your cancer center or hospital is a meat market full of cute doctors and residents (if you’re single). Talk to them! It can be like Tinder, except you don’t actually have to use tinder. I’ve met so many that I’ve become friends with, who I would have never met otherwise. Plus, they are usually good people and don’t care if you have cancer..just saying.
5. Don’t let FOMO (fear of missing out) get to you! If you are in my age group, think of it this way. While your friends are at a bar or club getting hit on by intoxicated men, and girls are spilling drinks all over their Louboutin’s, you get to avoid this! It’s hard to meet good quality people while engaging in those activities anyways. So consider yourself lucky. You have the rest of your life to do all of those things. Just start planning your Remission party 😉
6. Take care of your health and drink AS MUCH WATER as you can. When your chemo nurses tell you to chug water, it’s for a reason. And I swear, the more water I drink on chemo days and in general, the less symptoms I have.
7. Try to have fun with your situation. Yes, losing your hair is horrible and sucks, but think of how many hours girls spend on blow drying, flat ironing, even curling their hair. All you have to do is put a wig on, your hair looks perfect, and you’re out the door. Plus, you can switch up your styles and be a different person every day.
8. At the end of the day, realize what a bad ass story that you’re going to have to share. How many people do you know that can say that they’ve actually been to hell and back and won? I’ve noticed that cancer patients and survivors have a certain attitude about them that sets them apart from everyone else. You faced the possibility of death, and you won. You will start appreciating life more, not caring about little things and what people think, and you will be happier than ever. I’m only half way through chemo, and I already know that when I’m done with this, I’m going to be the strongest woman ever, and will truly be able to conquer anything.
Find my book “Talk Cancer To Me” available at amazon here:
