Having cancer is a scary thing, no question about it. Having cancer when you're young is even scarier. Nothing in the world could ever prepare someone to hear the words "you have cancer." It's simply impossible. There are so many things you can never prepare yourself for during your battle with cancer. There are also so many things no one tells you when you get cancer.
No one tells you that the traveling to and from the hospital is awful.
The actual treatment is half the battle, the other half is the traveling to and from your treatment. The trip can be especially hard if you're lucky enough to be be treated at a hospital out of your city. The ride there can be plain torture, especially if you know what lies ahead during your appointments, the anticipation is a killer. The ride back is never any fun either, especially if your sickness gets the best of you. You could be in the backseat passed out one second and puking your guts out the next. Absolutely wonderful.
No one tells you that you're going to have tubes coming out of weird places.
I will never forget the feeling of getting my three tubes pulled out of my side. That is a feeling no one could ever forget. I also cringe at the thought of moving and feeling my IV move, and not in a good way either.
No one tells you you're going to become a low-key celebrity.
Of course, I loved the support that surrounded me while having cancer, but holy cow people. I couldn't go anywhere without hearing whispers of "thats the girl with cancer." As nice as that label is you gave me, you could just call me by my name.
No one tells you that cancer is something you will never see the same again.
After going through something as traumatic as cancer, you will never view it as just an illness anymore. You will remember everything just as it happened, just like it was yesterday. There will be no forgetting it and moving on. You can try your hardest, but it is a part of you now, and moving on and forgetting is not an option.
No one tells you that you will actually be okay.
Sure, everyone tries to tell you it will be okay, but it seems all too rehearsed. Think about it, we go through a traumatic event, and everyone's first instinct is to tell you that you will be okay, but will you really be ok? As awful as the situation is, you WILL be okay.
Sure there are a lot of things people do not tell you about getting cancer. No one plans to get an illness like this, it just happens. You cannot prepare yourself. You cannot change the way it plays out. You just have to go with it. There will be many unanswered questions, but that's the name of the game. Of course you do not want cancer to take over your life, but after getting cancer it's a part of you. You cannot change that. Cancer sucks, plain and simple.
