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Category: After cancer

Remission times two

Remission times two

Remission times two On the Path - Cheryl Schatz blog

Remission times two

Almost four years ago (May 2013) I saw my doctor with the concern that I may have cancer. The summer that followed that visit was filled with a whirlwind of emotions as I started on the journey to save my life. It didn’t help that the local specialists were either booked or on vacation and the cancer was visibly growing. My husband went through my journey with me in such a supportive way that he would often say “We have cancer.” Little did we know at the time, that he too had cancer. It was just a mist showing up on a CT scan from 2011, but no one knew what it was, and his doctor at the time didn’t pursue a diagnosis. His cancer was diagnosed as a much slower growing variety, and he did not need chemotherapy until this January (2017). Now is the time that I can be there for my husband so that “We have cancer” is a saying that is repeated in our home. At the same time as his cancer was becoming a hard mass that needed immediate attention, I was feeling an alarming pain in my arm. I was concerned that cancer had further spread in my bones. On my last bone scan, I received a diagnosis of stage four cancer when a spot was found on my spine. My cancer doctor had not ordered a bone scan on my last checkup as he said he was afraid of what he would find. He was concerned that more chemotherapy could take away my quality of life. Then came the arm pain.

Persistent pain brings another bone scan

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Is Cheryl Schatz still alive?

Is Cheryl Schatz still alive?

Is Cheryl Schatz still alive? On the Path blog

“Is Cheryl Schatz still alive?” some have asked. It has been far too long since I updated my On the Path blog. I am still alive, and I am still on the path, although I have suffered through a time of spiritual abuse. I am doing very well physically, and there is no sign of the return of cancer. The one spot that I had on my spine is smaller, and I am considered stable. My last chemotherapy infusion was two and a half years ago and that trial is becoming a distant memory. I still have side effects from the chemo and the anti-estrogen medication, however, I am doing very well and thankful to be alive. There still have been challenges in my life, and I needed to step back for a time to heal emotionally. Two things happened in the last year that I never expected would ever happen in my lifetime.

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Growing after post cancer treatment

Growing after post cancer treatment

It has been a long while since I updated my “On the Path” blog. I have been SO busy, it has been difficult to make the time to post something. But it is time to post an update about where I am after cancer treatment. This post will have some updated pictures.

Where I am “growing” stronger after post cancer treatment

  1. My hands are healing after carpal tunnel surgery. I am taking liquid glucosamine twice a day (double the dose) and that helps a lot with the residual pain from the anti-estrogen medication. My right hand isn’t fully back to normal, but it is doing much better.  I still need more strength, and I am still tender, but I am getting closer to being pain-free. My left hand (which was operated on first) is not doing as well. My left hand is much weaker, and I still have daily discomfort/mild pain in the left wrist and up my arm. It is so much better taking the liquid glucosamine and if I forget a dose, I have a lot more pain. I am trusting that in another six months I will be pain-free.
  2. The arthritis-like symptoms in my legs are so much better, and I no longer feel like I am 80 years old! I am growing stronger and growing younger after the effects of chemo and the on-going anti-cancer medication. Praise the Lord!
  3. I have grown strong enough to handle full-time ministry work again! I am so happy to be back into video editing and writing scripts. This is what I was called to do.

Where I am “growing” younger

My hair is finally going back to “nearly” normal.

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Last surgery for 2014

Last surgery for 2014

Last Surgery

On December 11, 2014 I had the last surgery on my right hand, the last of five surgeries this year.
I am doing well after a very painful second hand surgery. I have a rare extra muscle in my hand once again that needed to be cut, and my hand did not take the freezing properly. My surgeon had to stop the surgery twice to administer two more vials of freezing. In the end I just had to take the pain because my carpal tunnel connective tissue was so tight, the bottom part of the surgeon’s scissors kept pushing on my median nerve, and there wasn’t any way to freeze it.

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Evolving hair – brought to you by chemotherapy

Evolving hair – brought to you by chemotherapy

Chemotherapy hair regrowth

By request I am posting a history of my hair from the effects of chemotherapy. I decided not to post the original bald head because that was not a memory I would like to keep.

First hair growth is grey

I was so surprised that my first hair growth came in grey! I was so happy to have hair, but the grey was really hard to get used to. Don’t be shocked at the picture.

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Going with the new flow

Going with the new flow

Going with the Flow - On the Path blog by Cheryl Schatz

My new life flow

Yesterday was a banner day for me as I looked forward to two events that were important to me. The first event was getting the results of my bone scan, which I will share in just a moment. The last event of the day was far less important but something that I had been looking forward to for a whole year. It was a wonderful experience to get my chemo curls removed. I went from a mass of curls to a real hair style for the first time in more than a year. During the past twelve months, I was completely bald for at least six months, so it was wonderful just to have hair again. But lately I found myself looking more like a woolly lamb as my longer hair was threatening to turn into ringlets. I am so thankful for my friend Shauna, who took the time to cut and shape my post chemo hair.  My husband said that the cut was “terrific.” That is a first for me in such a long time. Thanks Shaun

The first event that happened to me yesterday was something that I had been eagerly awaiting. In February of 2014, I had been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer from a bone scan that showed the cancer had spread to my spine. My internist said that it had been verified by two tests so it was sure, however, my surgeon took issue with this diagnosis saying that it could be something other than cancer.

Verification

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Life after cancer

Life after cancer

Life after Cancer-On the Path blog by Cheryl Schatz

Life after Cancer

Living life after cancer is a whole new mindset. I guess I never realized how much cancer had changed the way I look at life. When I found out that the cancer I had was stage 3 (mine was a very aggressive cancer with a high chance of recurrence) I went into survival mode. Every purchase I considered, I weighed, “Is this item worth the price if I only live a short time?” After months of living this way, my decision-making progressed from a habit to a mindset. This mindset was now Cheryl living with cancer. However, there is a definite paradigm shift when the treatment is over. How do I now live life after cancer?

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