" there's a dark and a troubled side of life. there's a bright and a sunny side,too. though we meet with the darkness and strife, the sunny side we also may view. keep on the sunny side, always on the sunny side. keep on the sunny side of life. it will help us every day, it will brighten all the way, if we keep on the sunny side of life.. " keep on the sunny side - the carter family

if you can find a way to " keep on the sunny side of life" then it is a win-win for you. and this goes for everyone- not just thyroid cancer survivors. i tend to be a pollyanna type of person overall. not to say that i have not cried me a river over "thyroid cancer" stuff, but generally i feel sorry for myself for a couple of days, then move on. as i have said in the past, my job, where i see all sorts of cancer patients, sort of keeps me grounded. as bad as you feel, there is always someone who is dealing with problems that are way worse than yours.

i am proud to announce that on may 19th( this coming sunday) i will be a three year cancer survivor! yeah! last year i was working on that day. this year i will be visiting with my daughter and son-in-law for the weekend. we plan on going to her zumba class that saturday, and of course, some retail therapy afterwards. i am trying to get back to regular  zumba classes. i have been going  sporadically, but seem to keep having knee problems.(yes, i know that zumba is not the greatest thing for your knees). i have modified my moves a little- don't worry, i can still shake my belly skirt( no knees involved here)- in hopes that i will not re-injure my knee. for me, zumba is a stress reliever and it makes me happy. i know that for some people, it is running, yoga, swimming,etc. that works as a stress reliever. whatever makes you happy and helps keep you fit is so important. some people say that they just do not have time, but if you do not take care of yourself now, you will be in trouble later. and again, in my work,  i see too many people who have neglected their good health in the past, and are paying for it now.

this weekend, i had the pleasure of meeting another thyroid cancer survivor. she is a woman, about my age, who had to have two surgeries on her neck within about a ten day time frame. she says that she should have gotten a second opining before beginning her " thyroid cancer journey", but did not. i told her that you just have to make tough decisions sometimes and go with them. what is past is past, and there is no where to go now but the future. i recommended some books, websites,etc, for her, and sincerely hope that she can make future decisions about her health care that will be better for her. i really hate that things have been so difficult for her, but i am hopeful that going forward, things will be better. i suppose  that this is" keeping on the sunny side of life". it is impossible not to rehash the past, and wish that you had done some things differently, but it really does not help. unless of course you are offering up advice that might help another person make a decision about their health care.

that is one of the reasons for me  writing this blog. it helps me to express what i have been going through, and i sincerely hope that my experiences can help someone else who is dealing with thyroid cancer. it is important to know that we, thyroid cancer patients, are not alone and there is help and information out there! so learn from others( even their mistakes), exercise to keep your mind and body healthy, and try to keep on the sunny side. a good sense of humor always helps - whatever might come your way.