PST,PST wrote:That is wonderful news, Kiralynx.
I have a wish for you: that before three and a half years pass, blood tests will be a bore and the five-year all clear will seem anticlimactic. For me and many of my colon cancer listserve buddies, sometime between the 2d and the 5th anniversaries the conviction settled in -- gradually for some, more like a revelation for others -- that we were out of the woods. To an extent that I wouldn't have believed, the whole cancer business began to get pushed toward the back shelves of my mental cupboard. The big 5 came and went sort of like a 47th birthday: a milestone, perhaps, but hardly worth baking a cake. So I wish you not only good health, but that you wake up one day convinced that your worries are behind you.
Congratulations to you and your list serve buddies! I suspect that for many, it does work that way.
My own concern stems from an acquaintance who has, twice now, almost reached the two-year mark, only to have her Big C rear its ugly head again. So I will probably retain my concern until at least the third year.
For the most part, it doesn't impact on my daily life, except for the fact that I still have not recovered my ability to do as much of the water exercises as I did before the surgery. I do mostly core strengthening exercising, and, funny thing, a 24" (61 cm) incision puts a crimp in the core exercising. Most surgeons don't understand this -- they think you can be back to your regular activities within 6-8 weeks of the surgery, and it doesn't always work that way.
I do look forward to the day when these worries are behind me... and I congratulate you for having reached that goal!
