513 Days Later….

Five-hundred and thirteen days? Yup. That’s how long it’s been since my life changed with a cancer diagnosis. I’m not going to beat a dead horse and go through all of it again. If you want to find out more about that, you can read more about it here: The Unluckiest Girl on the Planet?

This post is going to cover two other subjects, though they both have something to do with what happened last year.

First, last month, I had a test scheduled to make sure the cancer was still gone, and if not, that it was taken care of pronto. But the prep the nurse suggested – a pretty expensive one too – didn’t work as well as it should have, so I spent a few weeks stressing over it for nothing.

Fast forward another stress filled few weeks to today (technically, it’s still today on the west coast). This one included a two-day prep, with sixty hours of a clear liquid diet. It still didn’t work like it should have, though I drank over four-hundred ounces of fluid over that two days. Apparently, when you’ve had part of your colon removed, even a small part, even that part of life changes.

Long story short, everything went fine. The doctor dealt with the issue, removed a few polyps, and said even though they would be checked, he didn’t think I had anything to worry about. Even better, I shouldn’t need to come back for three years. Yay!

Of course, me being me, I kind of focused on the fact that there were no polyps (that I was aware of) during my colostomy reversal thirteen months ago. Now there were three or four? Of course, you know I Googled it, and found that more than two polyps is cause for concern, not panic. And I’m not panicked, just … concerned. And motivated.

Motivated?

Yes. I’ve been ‘playing’ with a low carb diet long enough. It’s time to get serious about it. I know that sugar (of all kinds) and refined foods help many cancers grow, and even thrive, and it’s time to stop messing around with my health. I’ve chosen the Trim Healthy Mama diet as one that will work with me. That’s an affiliate link. Learn more about what that means by clicking here.

I know where I’ve failed, why I keep falling off the low carb wagon, and I’m determined to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

It all boils down to being prepared. Over the next few days, I’m going to be making and freezing individual servings of meals, snacks, and desserts. Things I can grab and defrost or heat up fast when life happens and I need something in a hurry. Something that tastes good and makes it easy to say no to fast food joints and grocery store donuts and snacks.

I’m also making up triple and quadruple batches of other things, like seasonings and protein shake mixes – because all of those help too. The seasonings can transform a ground beef patty or a couple of chicken tenders from a blah kind of thing to something different and delicious that, when eaten with a salad or a veggie, makes me happy and leaves me satisfied.

This is what I did tonight. Not a lot because, thanks to very little sleep since Tuesday morning, I have very little energy. While the two-day prep wasn’t horrid, I only got about six hours sleep between Tuesday and Thursday afternoon. But now, I’ve got enough taco and Hubby Lovin’ Seasoning to last a while!

Okay. Enough of that. It’s time to get serious.

If talking about your colon, or the idea of having a colonoscopy makes you squeamish, uncomfortable, or embarrasses you, stop it. Just stop. You need to get over it. This is your body and your life. I discovered the hard way – but nowhere near as hard as others have – that life is fragile, and by no means guaranteed. Pay attention to your bowel habits, and to your poop. Yeah, I said poop.

If something doesn’t feel or look right, get to a doctor and get it checked! 

I still don’t know if my cancer caused the blockage, or if the blockage just happened, allowing the cancer to be found. No one ever said, or if they did, I was too drugged up in the days following the surgery to remember. I’m just so grateful to God that things went down the way they did because if they hadn’t, I don’t know how long I’d have continued to ignore signs that clearly pointed to colon cancer. And then, there’s no doubt that chemo, radiation, and maybe even funeral planning would have come into play.

We don’t always get a second chance, and cancer is a formidable enemy. In far too many cases, it wins. So educate yourself about the signs of colon cancer. And pay attention to your body.

If you want to learn more about colon cancer symptoms, click here: Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

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