The last few weeks, my friend and mentor Stacey and I have been discussing our new normal. You see, once you have had cancer, there’s old normal and new normal. Old normal? I never thought about what too much hair loss was. Or what a cold could mean. Or a cough. Or dry skin. Or….
Seriously, the list goes on. Some people make think that’s being a hypochondriac (which okay, it may be) but it’s the new normal. Old normal was full of very little stress. New normal is stressed out with every doctors appointment. Old normal didn’t know where my thyroid was located. New normal rarely goes a day without feeling what’s left of my thyroid to see if there’s a lump. Old normal rarely went to the doctor once a year. New normal is on a first name basis with: my endocrinologist, his nurses and receptionists, the blood work nurse at his office, the blood work nurses at my hospital, the registration lady at the hospital and my ultrasound tech (whom I somehow always manage to get).
See where I’m going with this?
So needless to say, the last few weeks I’ve been dealing with all that. And will be for probably the rest of my life. But fingers crossed, after another year, I’ll be done with stressing.
Four years cancer free and counting.
Life in the CLE 
30 years clean this month from Stage 4 non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Eventually it can become the “normal” again without having to differentiate. Best wishes in your continued cancer-free “normal”.
Congrats on being cancer free!
I’m also a cancer survivor–Hodgkins Disease (twice). Going on ten years now cancer free! I’ve always thought that being a survivor is harder for me than actually having cancer, just because of the stresses of recurrence or some other hairy complication. BUT I do try (sometimes unsuccessfully) to keep it from overwhelming me! Keep truckin’, cancer sucks!
Cancer sucks!!! Keep on fighting girl. And I don’t blame you one bit for being worried about possible symptoms – I think that is totally normal!
I totally understand, granted I’ve dealt with my condition my whole life… but I spend much more time worrying about symptoms and checking my heart rate. I’m glad to hear you kicked cancer’s butt though! I second Crystal… keep on fighting!