Episode 16 - A Day in the Life with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Happy summer! It has been a minute since I’ve posted, and I thought I’d check in, and let you know what’s going on these days. A lot has changed, but some things remain the same - just life, I guess!

Let me tell you what changes I have embraced for 2025.

In late December of last year, I was thrilled to find my cancer so stable as to be virtually undetectable, with the original tumor having shrunk to nearly nothing, and no new lesions, or activity with any of the others. As I approached the 4 year mark since getting the dreaded diagnosis, this was surprising, and delightful news, indeed. Not only were the scan and blood test results great, but I had also begun to feel stronger, less fragile, and more physically resilient. I knocked wood, and embraced the notion I might be around a little longer, after all. But, what to do with myself now? And how was I to remain financially stable enough to afford to, well, live? Big questions, big hope, big decisions.

In February, I began a job search in earnest. After a couple of false starts, I finally landed something close to ideal. May 1, I started a part time gig in the city, just a short commute from home. It provides a lovely combination of autonomy - my employers need me to work independently, and rely upon my own good sense, and work ethic to get the job done without bothering them too often - and enough in the way of salary to keep the wolf from the door. Yay! And most of the time, all is well.

After stepping away from work 3 and a half years ago, it has been a wee bit of a challenge to rock and roll with a regular work schedule, and still manage the few physical limitations that remain. Since May, I have learned to manage the regularly scheduled long days at the clinic, chronic fatigue, and stomach issues with careful planning, diet, and great attention to hydration. It ain’t sexy, it ain’t rocket science, but I’ve learned I CAN manage these ignominies with something close to grace. So, yeah. I repeat, yay! And the influx of new cash has allowed for a few treats - among them, a few pretty clothes to wear to work. If you’ve been following along, you will know how important it is for me to look, and feel a quiet, casual elegance. It’s pretty sweet to feel a little more like my old self - the pre-diagnosis Parker. So, that’s the work change - there have been a couple of other things I’m exploring, as well.

Late last year, a friend invited me to go with her to one of those wine tasting/art class things. I agreed to go, as her company is always wonderful, but I wasn’t really looking forward to it. Well, I loved it! It has been a LOOOONG time since I’ve created anything even close to visual art, and the rust was profound. Once I knocked that stuff off the hull of my little artistic endeavor, I sailed through the class, and painted something that decidedly didn’t suck. Wonderful! 

After thinking about it for a while, I resolved to get over myself, and just give it a go. I bought a few small canvases, some acrylic paint, and am now happily experimenting with style, color, and with finding a voice, so to speak. And I couldn’t be happier. A lovely new change in my life. And I think, I really do think, I am ready for perhaps one more.

I’m not quite sure how I am going to start this next adventure, but I am resolved to finding a romantic partner.  A few years ago, I said good bye to someone I’d adored, and in the leave taking, let him know I wished him only success with his work, and art, and my hope that he live well, and even fall in love one more time. I am finally ready to embrace those powerful, kind words, and challenge myself to that wish - to fall in love one more time. 

With the summer sun streaming in my window, I am filled with cautious hope, and the desire to again be part of the world. I am finally ready to embrace the changes - new work; new creative endeavor; and new romance. And if it all goes tits up, well, I’ll figure something else out! And so it goes.

Enjoy your summer, and your own adventures, and if you have enjoyed following along, please subscribe. Thanks for listening.