I have written blogs in the past about the anxiety that I felt when I had to go to my cancer checkup appointments. On May 19th, I will be a ten year thyroid/parathyroid cancer survivor. On May 22nd, I will be a five year breast cancer survivor. I had an appointment scheduled this month for my " big thyroid cancer" checkup. My endocrinologist was going to do blood work, an ultrasound of my neck bed and throat, as well as an office visit. I have not had an ultrasound in a year- my endocrinologist was ordering these every six months, due to the aggressive nature of my thyroid cancer. However, while I still was seeing my doctor every six months for blood work and an office visit, at my last office visit, she moved the ultrasounds out to once a year. I called my endocrinologist's office, and have rescheduled the appointments for October ( hopefully). I will have to admit, that while I had quite a bit of anxiety before my checkups, I did appreciate the excellent care that I have been receiving from my doctor.
I have also been seeing my oncologist, who follows my breast cancer, once yearly, for blood work and an office visit . Last year, I saw him in early August. I have not heard from his office so far. I am not really a fan of how his office schedules appointments- they just send their patients a letter, about two weeks before the appointment, with the appointment date. So, I am not really sure about when I will be getting a follow up appointment for my breast cancer checkup. My oncologist's office is huge. There is a massive waiting room, rooms for office visits, two labs for blood work, and a large room with a nurses station for chemotherapy treatments. I had my chemotherapy treatments in this office complex. It seems like yesterday, and not almost five years ago ( I finished my chemotherapy in August, 2015), that I was waiting in the office for my treatments. In fact, and I have mentioned this before,that the smell of the bacterial hand soap they use in the office still makes me nauseous. The thought of going into the office, surrounded by so many immunosuppressed patients makes me anxious. I do not worry about my safety as much as I worry about theirs. Right after I started my chemotherapy, my white blood cell count dropped dramatically. My oncologist prescribed an antibiotic for me, and told me to practice " social distancing". My heart goes out to those receiving chemotherapy now- one has enough to worry about with the cancer and the chemotherapy drugs, much less adding the Covid-19 to the list.
So now, I seem to be a bit anxious about NOT getting my checkups. I will admit that I am the type of person who " needs to know" versus the type of person who feels that " no news is good news." If I can just have the facts, I can make a plan of action, and that makes me feel better- more in control of the situation. I realize that one can only be in control of a disease just so much. And that brings me to the topic of self care. Self care is something that everyone can do. Paying attention to any unusual symptoms and getting in touch, by phone or computer, with one's doctor if there are unusual things happening in your body is an important first step. I for one, think that people can have a sixth sense, so to speak, when something is wrong. Go with " your gut" as the saying goes, and contact your doctor if things seem off.
There are several self care elements that bear repeating. Getting enough rest is key to feeling better- both mentally and physically. This has been hard for me, I will admit. I struggle with anxiety issues, and night time seems to be the worst. I have implemented a few rules for myself, which while far from perfect, seem to help a bit. For one thing, I cut off social media before supper time. Yes, I like to stay informed, but I have a saturation point when it comes to Covid-19 information. I do not want to hear about how many people died or were infected today, how young the persons were who died, etc. right before I go to sleep.I have always been an avid reader, so I have been reading even more now, and trying to limit my TV time in general. Getting outside for a walk really makes a big difference for me. I am very fortunate to live in the country, a very rural part, so social distancing for me means avoiding the deer, bear, coyotes, etc. Taking a walk outside, even a short one, has been good for my mental and physical health.
Eating good food is also important. Of course, getting fresh fruits and vegetables has been a bit of a challenge. My husband and I have to work up our courage to go out to the grocery store. We have been wearing masks and gloves for a little while now, and try to practice social distancing- this time with people, not with the animals mentioned above. One can also get a little vitamin D outside in the sunshine. I take a prescription vitamin D because my levels have been low for a while. As far as vitamin supplements go, I recommend that you ask your physician. While I personally feel that some vitamin supplementation would be helpful for some people, there is also the chance of overdoing this.Just because something says that it is " all natural" does not mean that in excess, it can not be harmful. This is a whole other blog, so I will get off of this soapbox for now.
I have been keeping a journal of everyday " happy" events that make me stop to think about and appreciate my life now- even in isolation. Seeing the first butterfly, the first hummingbird, hearing the whip-poor-will sing for the first time this year, have been topics in my journal. I know that these happy events will be different for everyone, but it really does help one appreciate life- even though we face major changes. I hope that one day my children/grandchildren can look back on my journal and see that things were not all bad during his pandemic. Simple joys, simple acts of kindness still happened.
Self care is the primary thing that we can do for ourselves right now. Rechecks on our health may have to wait a while. And perhaps, I will be less anxious when I finally get to go back for my appointments.
