Good Day Sunshine

It was a lovely “wish I could bottle it” type of day. I “rolled” my disabled son, Jay, around our complex after I came home from school. What a perfect way to spend the late afternoon enjoying the elements of Nature and soaking up some much-needed rays. Here was a perfect example of enjoying the little things in life. I felt like I was in “The Truman Show” waving to all my neighbors who had been hibernating all winter long, just like we did.

I shared the terrible news of my lung surgery and chemo, and I could tell they were astonished, since most of them have thought I always looked like the picture of health. When I’m done with my two final treatments, I hope to continue my road towards radiant health again.

After our hour-long walk, I curled up with my favorite magazine, More, which is for women over the age of 40. There’s always a section called “Health News” and lo and behold, the caption read: “Worried about the cigarettes in your past?” Hit the salad bar. A new study suggests that four or more salads a week – as well as one or two low-impact exercise sessions—can help reduce your risk for lung cancer by 67%. Now I’ve NEVER even taken a cigarette out of a pack, let alone try to light one, so imagine my surprise to read an easy way to reduce your risk of lung cancer. I eat salads SIX days a week and have for close to twenty years, as well as exercise daily, either on a treadmill or outside or both.

“News” like this makes me want to SCREAM! WHO authorizes these “studies”? The Salad Institute of America? Nike walking shoes? It’s beyond me, that I’ve always done everything I could to prevent cancer, and yet, it snuck up on me anyway. I try to stay positive and move forward, yet it’s a blurb in a magazine that throws me off temporarily from my drive to finish my treatments and move on with my life.

I know that tomorrow will be another “wish you were here” postcard of a day, and I’ll rush home from work to take Jay out for a “roll”. I’ll forget about the blurb from More magazine, and concentrate on becoming the poster child for lung cancer survival.

Oh by the way, Mr. De Mille, I’m ready for my close-up….