It's Cancer Again

So here's the news I'd been alluding to for most of this month.

At the end of October I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. It sucks, not just because it's cancer, but because it's the second cancer I've been diagnosed with in as many years. There's possibly something going on at the genetic level, we're looking into that, but in the meantime… Well, I'm just trying to get through my treatment one step at a time (though sometimes those steps are in a bit of a rush).

Though last year's endometrial cancer was no joke, quite bluntly, dealing with stomach cancer is going to be much longer and more involved. I didn't need chemotherapy last year. This year I do. I'm going to be on chemo for eight weeks, surgery, and then eight weeks of chemo again afterwards.

Needless to say, this upended a number of plans I had for my personal life, from participating in this year's NaNoWriMo to seeing my new niece, and it really sucks that this is happening during covid since the chemo is going to render me immunocompromised.

For the next 5-6 months I expect to be not quite myself as I'll likely be fatigued, possibly nauseous, and dealing with other side effects from chemo. I hope to keep blogging during this time though as it brings me a lot of joy and the doctors are encouraging me to keep up my normal activities as much as possible.

Some of you reached out to help me with my cancer treatment last year, for which I am still deeply appreciative. At this point I don't know what the eventual damage will be since I'm early in treatment and most of the bills are still to come, so I don't need help at this time. And to be honest, I feel a little bad at the thought of asking again. But if it gets to that point, I'll say something.

And I would like to add something on a related note. If you happen to be a writer eligible for SFWA, an event like this is a good reason to become a member. Their Emergency Medical Fund helped a lot last year. It wasn't even close to the top of the list of reasons why I joined, but turned out to be well worth the cost of membership.