My previous posting was the lengthiest blog piece I've ever written but there was so much to say. I do need to make a chronological clarification to prevent any possible confusion among any of my readers.
In my Facebook bio I stated that I have been a cancer survivor since 1998, but that was a mistake - this period of my life took place from mid-January, 1999 until May, 1999 when I was declared cancer-free. But in 1998 I had sort of a tiny cancer scare for my dermatologist at the time (December, 1998) thought a couple of lesions I had were actually melanoma, which thank God they werent!
Nowadays I am doing okay, post-cancer that is. I do have minor infections here-n-there but I was told to expect that for the rest of my life; granted, being HIV+ doesn't help matters but what are you gonna do? You just gotta make the best of it. And, of course, there are the annual checkups/exams. Any time I have a medical problem I immerse myself in reading books, latest medical journal articles, checking out websites, etc., and statistically speaking, IF I ever were to have this again (I pray it never happens again but every cancer survivor will tell you that a re-occurrence is ALWAYS in the back of your mind) it would not hit me again till around the age of 58 or 59. And let's face it, I may not even be here then, none of us knows what the future holds when it comes to anything like that.
Food. Lottsa myths about that, some true, some not true. I was told to never eat any of my favorite foods during the chemo period because I would actually find myself getting sick off of them. I thought that was a banquet of bullshit, but not so. I could not eat ice cream or tuna fish until about 5 to 6 years after the chemo ended. Tuna-fish you ask?? Yes, I'm probaly one of the very few gay men in America who will admit to loving Tuna-fish! Plus it's good for you, Omega-3 fatty acids and all that good stuff...lol
Foods that helped me? Everyone told me ginger-snap cookies were a shoe-in but not so - I can't eat ginger period. I drink ginger-ale and it burns my throat and causes blisters, the same thing with ginger-snap cookies, which naturally I should've taken into consideration before trying! Fruitopia, a type of non-carbonated fruit-punch-like drink company originally owned by the Coca-Cola corporation (I believe), hadda flavor out called Strawberry-Mellon and I practically lived off of that when I was nautious and couldn't eat. Also, Ovaltine - check the vitamin content in that stuff, very healthy stuff - this and the Fruitopia helped, they helped a lot.
Losing weight during chemo? Only IF your body isn't responding well to the steroids. I kept thinking "Here's a plus - shed those few pesky pounds from last Christmas!" - never happened - I actually gained about 20 to 25 pounds by the time all was said-n-done.
Gonna break off here and do 2 more posts.
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