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Last year I was diagnosed with cancer. I had six weeks of daily radiation and weekly chemo followed by three days of internal radiation. It was one of the most trying times in my life. In a few weeks I have my quarterly biopsy. I don't think the results will be bad, but you never know. The fact is that my cancer could come back, or I could get a secondary cancer caused by my treatment. For now, though, I am blessed to be in remission.

Life post-treatment is pretty odd. It's a series of weirdness followed by a period of normalcy followed by weirdness again.

Right after chemo and radiation, I experienced the most profound depression of my entire life. With a little help from caring family and friends - and Prozac - I got back on my feet, emotionally speaking. After getting involved with fundraising for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, I honestly feel BETTER than I have ever felt in my whole life. I feel like I am really giving something back to the community and helping people who are in much more dire circumstances than I was. The whole Relay experience gave me my confidence back. I have felt great over the past several months thanks to that experience and a renewed and deepened faith in God.

Now, I am back to the anxiety phase again. Although I am not really worried that my biopsy will come back positive for cancer, the reality is that it very well could. It's not likely, but it could. So, from elation I move to guarded optimism tempered with bouts of doubt. I have to wait two weeks after the biopsy to find out anything. I get to relive the whole "you have cancer/hurry up and wait" experience. Hurry up and get this test but wait a week or two for the results. The sense of urgency to get you tested is so great that it makes it almost unbearable to wait for the results.

All of you reading this, please do not put off any preventative steps and early detection tests. Get your mammograms on time, get your Pap tests yearly. Get your physical prostate exam. I put off one a Pap test - one year missed because of some stupid work commitment coming - and my laziness in rescheduling probably meant the difference between a simple procedure (had I gone early) and chemo, radiation, surgery, and internal radiation. Oh yeah - plus the treatment put me in early menopause. Hot flashes are hilarious until they happen to you. Haha. They aren't that bad - it's a blast of energy that reminds me I am still alive and here to raise heck another day!

Besides the lesson that preventative

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