I know it's been forever since I blogged, but I really have nothing melanoma related to talk about, which is great! I don't think I even blogged about my last scans/treatment, but it was pretty uneventful - also great. At the end of this week, I have my last round of treatment for the clinical trial, and I'm ready for that chapter of my life to be over with, and I hope I never visit the chemo area again!
I want to take this opportunity to challenge you to be the healthiest you that you can be in 2014. 'Tis the season of starting new diets and making resolutions to work out, and so many times we set ourselves up for failure - then when we fail, we give up completely. I know, because I'm an expert at this; just this weekend I did the "well, I'll re-start on Monday" thing even though Saturday morning I had decided that enough was enough.
So, while you're making your health related New Year's Resolutions, think about what is actually feasible for you and your schedule, what you can actually live with long term when it comes to your diet, and what your plan will be WHEN you fail and need to re-group, because it's inevitable. Also think about why you want to make changes. Try to find reasons a little deeper than how you look in a bikini, like the way you feel, your overall health, etc. If you diet just to look good on the outside, and don't care about how it affects your inside, you won't succeed, at least not for long, and in the end, your health suffers - including your metabolism, which makes it even more difficult to lose the weight again. God gave you one body, and you may not think it's perfect, you may have not taken the best care of it, but if you have all your necessary limbs and organs, and they all work, you should thank Him for it every day, wrinkles, fat, gray hair and all (even if you don't have all working parts, if you woke up alive this morning, be thankful!). Realize that you can only be the best version of yourself, inside and out, and stop comparing yourself to others.
So there's my feel good message for 2013 :) Have a safe, happy, and healthy New Year, and remember, just because it's winter doesn't mean you don't need sunscreen when you're outside!
Hi how are you? Thanks for this blog it is very inspiring. My mom was diagnosed with vaginal melanoma, we are in shock and we feel lost. Somehow your blog helped me a lot. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI live in London and my mom is in the Philippines. Do know your blog reaches far places and touches many hearts. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteStephanie thank you for commenting, I am doing very well, thank you, and I guess that's the main reason this blog has been dormant for so long! I'm sorry to hear about your mom, the beginning is very shocking and difficult, but over time, as you learn, I hope it gets easier. I was very overwhelmed at first, but took things day by day, and in August I WILL celebrate 2 years cancer free. I hope that your mother is seeing a melanoma specialist, that is one of the most important things to do. Also joining melanoma related online communities (on Facebook and melanoma.org) and reading blogs was very helpful to me. I hope and pray for the best for your family, thank you for commenting and inspiring me to start blogging again, and please let me know if there's anything else I can do!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. Glad to hear you are well. You have a good heart and may you be blessed continuously. Honestly we cant help but question fate, my mom was never fond of the beach, never used a tanning bed, never tried to self tan, non smoker, non alcoholic drinker. She was healthy and always follow whatever doctors suggest to keep her health. And one day, she had a vaginal bleed and poof eventually diagnosed with vaginal melanoma. We initially did not realise the gravity of it until now that we are told that it is a rare type of melanoma and very agressive with median survival of 19 months. We are in a state of shock as we dont even have a familial history of cancer. There are no much resources in the Philippines so we are arranging her papers for her to come to USA to my brother or UK to have more options. You are very lucky, i hope you will be cancer free forever and be an inspiration to everyone else out there battling the melanoma beast. (Apologies for the loooong reply!)
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