As a cancer survivor (as of today 7/22/2023, 13 years cancer free) it is very important what goes into and on my body. It’s about minimizing the risks and still enjoying living.
I am lucky that the type of cancer I had was contained or also known as DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) meaning, it had not metastasized.
I saw firsthand at the tender age of 10 when my father was struck with lung cancer back in 1965. I saw what it did to him, yet as I grew up in a new country, I, like others, indulged in things that were not available to us in our birth countries.
I suffered like most from weight issues. Yes, I have tried most of the diets out there; I lost weight and gained it right back. This yo-yo lifestyle is what got my health in trouble. Being diagnosed with diabetes II, and high cholesterol (both go hand in hand) to cancer.
In 2006 I decided to take care of my health. I started working out at a gym with a personal trainer. If I was going to get healthy, I needed help (this one was hard, as I am not used to asking for help). In nine months, I lost 50 lbs., got off the diabetes medication. Within a year of eating and exercising, I reversed diabetes and stopped taking the cholesterol medication as well.
Moving forward to 2010, I was diagnosed with cancer, three different doctors told me if had I not changed my lifestyle when I did, they said, “you would not be here talking to us”.
In 2012, my weight started to creep in again, it has been a battle since then. I still watch what I eat, my choice of drink is water and maybe once a year, I will have one alcoholic drink and that is a maybe. I have been working at losing weight and somewhere along I lost myself for focusing so much on my weight and the unwelcome remarks from some friends and family.
There are things in our own bodies that are just beyond our control. I ended up with a complete knee replaced in May of 2021.
You see I was diagnosed with arthritis at the age of 11. Always had problems kneeling and getting up. It hurt a lot. As a child in 1966, you think that what you have is normal and you go about your life. Always had a crunchy sound, I thought that was normal. Who asks other kids if they have similar issues? I didn’t. I was always rejected by my classmates, so sharing was not an option. You see I didn’t fit in. Those that have felt rejected know what I am talking about.
As mentioned above, I started working out in 2007 in one of the exercises called the running man I was performing, my knee popped, and I dropped on the floor in pain. Somehow, I managed to get up, get my gear and get to my car. Once in my car, I called my primary doctor, and made a rush appointment. When she saw me, she said I had a baker’s cyst. I told her, no I do not believe that’s what it is. After a few minutes of dialog, I basically said to her, I need an MRI on both my knees. She said no, I said yes, my body, my pain, I need an MRI. Can you guess what happened next? Yeah, she ordered the MRI for both knees.
After the results came back and, on my follow-up appointment, she apologized for not listening to me. Basically, she said I had a torn meniscus and no cartilage behind the kneecap on both knees. She then asked me if I knew that. I said no. She then asked, “Didn’t you ever hear a crunchy noise?” I said yes, since I was a child and I thought that was normal. She said, no that is not normal. She suggested I seek help from an orthopedic surgeon.
Anyway, I found the orthopedic surgeon, after x-rays and the MRI results, he basically said, you are too young for surgery, but you will need a knee replacement of both knees in the future. This is a type of surgery you should have once in your lifetime. So from 2007 to 2019 I lived with more pain and cortisone injections. 2020 rolls around and I just couldn’t take the pain anymore.
I reached out to the surgeon and said it’s time. Surgery needs to happen. He said OK. The one thing I needed to do was to lower my A1C to below 7 or he would not perform the surgery. As we all know, in 2020, we were in lockdown and all surgeries were postponed.
2017 you can do everything right and when the body decides not to work as well as it used to, it becomes a struggle. I was recently diagnosed with diabetes II again; I knew I was still at risk and some things are just beyond someone’s control. Now I have to take medication to lower my A1C. Will this make me give up? The answer is NO!
During this period, my knee would move out of place and to push it back was painful to say the least. 2021, things started to open, surgeries were taking place and finally, I get to have the surgery. Having lived with paid all my life, I thought I had a high tolerance of pain. The joke was on me.
I went through with the knee replacement, let me tell you. The surgeon told my son that my knee was a lot worse than was reflected on the x-rays.
Remember when I said I had a high tolerance for pain, well the pain from this surgery was a lot worse than I thought. I had c-section, gallbladder removal, lumpectomy and the pain of these three surgeries were minute compared to the knee replacement. Medication helped some, it didn’t take away all the pain. The depression was horrible, crying all the time.
However, once I stopped all the meds and just used Tylenol, the depression went away. You always read about the side effects of meds and think this will not happen to me. Well, it is real, it happened to me. You see on a normal day to day; I do not take any pain pills at all. I use medication for diabetes and that just about it.
I have not given up by my focus these days at the age of 68 is to keep moving the best way I can. Yes, I still have pain in my surgical knee. Going up and down the stairs is a struggle. I can walk on flat land, go uphill. Coming down is another story.
All the exercise and strength training that I did when I first started on this journey has helped me a lot.
An update, it is 2022, yes, I am still battling with diabetes, still watching what I eat, and I still move as best as I can. The key is to be good to yourself no matter what rocks are dropped in front of you. You have to go around, climb over it and just keep going. NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!
My wish is to inspire you to take care of yourself, never give up, be kind, be in love with yourself, and accept yourself as you are. Ignore the unwelcome comments. You know your body better than anyone else.
You are you, the most incredible, beautiful person that has a lot to offer to the world.
Live4yourlife, no one else will live4yourlife. Only you!