GETTING INTO ROUTINE

Getting Into Routine

I felt like I don't have enough real photos on here, so hello. This was me in February of 2018, which seems like a distant memory at this point. Crazy.

So, you've gone through your first few rounds of chemotherapy. You know the drills, how it all works, and you've mastered the schedule. Once you get it down, you start to feel a little more at ease. As a control freak, getting to know my routine was my sense of having control over it and it always made me feel better.

Something important about this journey is, depending on your cancer, not everyone knows protocol or everything about it. Having a more rare form of cancer myself, I saw that not many medical personnel knew the logistics right off the top of their head. So, I became the expert of my own cancer, my own chemotherapy drugs, my own treatment. That way, at least someone knew off the top of their head how things work and it solved any gray areas or lapses in issues. It's just a suggestion, but if you become a boss at your own cancer, it's just another way of proving you're stronger than it.

There are other things you can do to make your journey more for you, more comfortable, and easier. Unfortunately, nothing about this is truly comfortable or easy, but you cut corners where you can.

For me, being in the same chemotherapy chair or inpatient room always made me calmer because the sense of familiarity boosted my confidence. I knew where everything was and the familiar views made a bigger difference than I would have ever thought. If possible, ask if you can have the same place every time. It's not always a guarantee, but when you're receiving chemo on a regular basis, being in the same place over and over makes it feel like home away from home.

If you're inpatient and like me, you'll get sick of the hospital food real quick. I started associating certain foods with being sick and soon I didn't want anything on the menu. Good thing is, as long as you follow your diet requirements, you should be able to bring in your own food! My family would bring leftovers or there were restaurants nearby where we could easily order from. You can also pull the Cancer Card and ask friends to bring you food. In the age of UberEats and Venmo, anything is truly possible.

If you're inpatient, have someone spend the night with you! Family, friends, anyone! I know it sounds childish, and maybe my 19-20 year old self was the only one who thought it was cool, but having friends spend the night was always fun. We would watch movies, eat donuts, gossip, and I even have a handful of sock puppets from sleepovers. Why not?

You know those hospital gowns?? The long, one-sided dress with a million different shades of blue on them, like this one:

Yeeeaaahhh, clearly wasn't made for fashion. You don't always gotta wear it! You do whatever is most comfortable for you; I know patients that made their own with super cool fabrics and designs!

And those nurses who take care of you all the time? Get to know them. Ask them about their day, about their lives, anything to build a relationship with them. It makes the experience more tolerable if you're surrounded by friends who also happen to take care of you. They become your advocate and really take good care of you. (They also may be good ice cream and chocolate candy hookups, but you didn't hear that from me.) Also, get to know everyone you meet during treatment. Phlebotomists, Radiology Technicians, Physical Therapists, even the people who clean your room or pick up your linens! Build a family while you're there. You never know who you could meet, and you'll always have someone to talk to.

Outside of treatment, pay attention to when you feel good and when you feel icky on your time off. This helps you plan to do things on your good days, because you deserve to go out and have fun while you can. Even if it means go to McDonald's or sitting on a couch at a friend's house. Getting out during treatment is so important, but you have to do it at the right times. Keeping in mind of when you need to stay home and rest and when you know you're ready for an adventure helps give you stuff to look forward to, besides the end, which sometimes feels like will never come.

Spoiler alert: It does.