Reclaiming My Time

Being diagnosed with cancer comes with a variety of challenges. I have written about a few of these already. Being diagnosed with lung cancer at a young age brings on a few different types of challenges. Being post-diagnosis for eight years now, I have learned that I am now at a point where I can reclaim my time. I will explain what I mean with a few examples such as work, weekends, and how my astrology sign plays into things.

Adjusting to a new way of life

I was diagnosed at 30 years old. As you grow up you are on your parent/guardian’s time clock. Then, you start school, and you are on their time clock until at least the age of 18. I chose to go to college and went even further and received a master’s degree. I started working. My time was taken up by other people's time clocks. As I was transitioning my life from school to work I was diagnosed with lung cancer. This brought on a whole new time clock. I now had doctors’ appointments, chemo chair time slots, and radiation time slots while also listening to my body and going by my own time clock considering when I needed to rest.

Balancing work and cancer care

I tried to work through cancer. I was working full-time when I was diagnosed at a car dealership. They were great! But when I started traveling for a clinical trial, I decided to take some time off. Looking back, I feel like I did not utilize my time as well as I should have. But I was tired, sick, and really just trying to stay alive. After I have removed from the trial and started receiving treatment at home again, I worked myself back up to working part-time in a casual role. I then started working part-time in the evenings. This was because I always found myself to be very nauseous and tired during the day. I changed the time that I took my pills, and I started feeling better. I decided to look for a full-time job again. Fast forward to today and I have been working full-time for 3 years!

My work schedule is Monday through Friday on the first shift. This means that I have free time in the evenings and on weekends. I try my best to use this time wisely and plan things accordingly! As a cancer survivor, I have learned that it is best always to have something to look forward to. We planned my birthday trip a few months before and I buy concert tickets for my favorite artist when they go on sale (always a few months before the show date). We are trying to plan a trip to Disney to bring the nephews!

Use your time to focus on yourself

I am a Virgo and we are perfectionists. One thing that I have found that I like to do is write to-do lists. It is very satisfying to not only check off an item but to complete a list. Today, I made cucumber-tomato salad and cucumber soup with cucumbers from the farmers' market.

Using your time for things you want to do is healthy and gets you into a good mindset. It is unfortunate that we have to use our time at doctors' appointments and be on their clock after being diagnosed but we can find creative ways to reclaim our time.