Readership Poll About This Blog

I started this blog primarily to manage my time, to stay off the phone, to keep from giving the same medical update too many times each day.  And it worked for me.  This blog has been a real time saver in terms of keeping family and friends up to date on my 11-month protocol.  However, this blog has grown into something I never planned for. 

It turned from a daily diatribe about my medical updates to a journal of sorts about the perils of this silent killer called Inflammatory Breast Cancer.  It became a way to share the physical and mental battles while enduring the harsh treatments required to eradicate aggressive cancers from the body. 

But through this blog, I have “electronically encountered” cancer patients from all over the world.  Many of them became readers of this blog because they were looking for some honesty about the emotional strain and physical challenges of cancer. 

As one woman said to me in an email, you have helped me gain confidence and a voice to tell my family that cancer is much more than what we expected, much worse.  Then there was another woman who said that she just needed to know that somebody else was feeling just like her as she continued her own battle.  And then there was the lady I met at the UAMS oncology clinic who said she felt as if I was her cheat sheet, that she could read this blog and know what was in her future. 

Then there were other readers who were looking for a way to get through cancer with a bit of humor.  And while cancer is about the most unfunny thing in the world, some of us make the conscious decision to still enjoy and laugh at life no matter the circumstances.  These were the blog readers who enjoyed the stories like getting kicked out of the wig store, confirmation that I’m a fall risk, meeting new people with the wig hanging off my head, going to my cancer glamour class, leaving CARTI in my hospital gown, and more. 

   

I’ve visited with several friends lately about what to do with this blog.  My tendency is to end it, to move on to the other matters of life and put all the cancer behind me.  But when I’ve mentioned this with friends and acquaintances, they have discouraged this.

So, my question to them is this: What would I write about?

The Rabbi was the first to suggest I continue to write about living a good life after cancer – what does it take to carry on, even though cancer is always looming in the back of your mind.  Another friend suggests writing about my continued encounters with others who are battling cancer and other life-challenging disease.   Then another friend said, “I know you.  You’re going to continue to read up and stay informed on cancer, breast cancers, and all things that go with the territory.  You need to keep us all informed.” 

I’m just not sure and would welcome any comments you might have.  Should I stop this blog writing and move forward?  Or, should this blog continue, and if so, what should I write about?   

Keep in mind, this blog can live as long as I want it to, as you don’t have to erase a blog from this site.  That’s to say that even if I never post another blog entry, others fighting the perils of this disease can still continue to read this blog and learn from my protocol experiences, cancer calamities and moments of hope. 

This blog writer welcomes your comments, your complete honesty about this dilemma.  If so inclined, send your thoughts to neverlosespirit@gmail.com. 

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Blog Writer’s Note:  This will not be my last blog post.  Tomorrow is my final cancer protocol treatment, and then in a few weeks I'll have the Reclast treatment for the Osteoporosis I now have from the chemotherapy drugs.  But I’m just thinking about all of this, and need to make a decision soon.