Today should be a day to celebrate. A year ago today I received the call which told me I was cancer free, for the second time. A year ago today we celebrated! A few months later we would find out that the cancer had returned again.
Seeing this pop up in my memories on Facebook today made me take a moment to reflect. I reflected on the last year and how much my life is different. I am still going through treatment, I still have cancer, but I am living my life differently in one specific way: I am purposefully advocating for cervical cancer awareness.
Another thing occurred today, I finally took the time to create my living will declaration. I found that Indiana has an awesome resource which has the document ready for you in an easy to use pdf format. I filled out my form indicating my wishes and had it witnessed by two friends. Stefanie at first said no, she wasn't signing my death wishes, jokingly. After getting my form officially completed I took the steps to get it on file. I emailed it to my oncologist's office, siblings, and husband. I want to make sure the document is in multiple places. I don't want there to be any question as to what I want done if I am in the situation where a living will would come into play.
Something I learned while researching living wills is that in Indiana if you do not have a living will your spouse does not automatically get to decide about your medical wishes. Your family could come in and disagree with what you would want to occur. I don't want my husband or any family members to be put in that position. I wanted to make the decision for myself. So that portion is done. That was the easy part, just a form completed and sent to the appropriate individuals. Next, there are more things I need to do but at least this was a start. Now when I go in for a medical procedure I don't have to face the judging eyes when they ask me if I have a living will and I sheepishly tell them no, even though I've had countless procedures and surgeries since the beginning of my cancer diagnosis in 2012. Now I can tell them yes, I have created one and I'm taking matters seriously.
Now that my living will declaration is done and I have reflected on what might have been if the cancer had stayed away it is time to make another decision. I am deciding that today is a day to celebrate, even if it isn't celebrating being cancer free we can celebrate life. We can celebrate that I am able to live my life the way I want to, with a few modifications.
Today, we celebrate.
Seeing this pop up in my memories on Facebook today made me take a moment to reflect. I reflected on the last year and how much my life is different. I am still going through treatment, I still have cancer, but I am living my life differently in one specific way: I am purposefully advocating for cervical cancer awareness.
Another thing occurred today, I finally took the time to create my living will declaration. I found that Indiana has an awesome resource which has the document ready for you in an easy to use pdf format. I filled out my form indicating my wishes and had it witnessed by two friends. Stefanie at first said no, she wasn't signing my death wishes, jokingly. After getting my form officially completed I took the steps to get it on file. I emailed it to my oncologist's office, siblings, and husband. I want to make sure the document is in multiple places. I don't want there to be any question as to what I want done if I am in the situation where a living will would come into play.
Something I learned while researching living wills is that in Indiana if you do not have a living will your spouse does not automatically get to decide about your medical wishes. Your family could come in and disagree with what you would want to occur. I don't want my husband or any family members to be put in that position. I wanted to make the decision for myself. So that portion is done. That was the easy part, just a form completed and sent to the appropriate individuals. Next, there are more things I need to do but at least this was a start. Now when I go in for a medical procedure I don't have to face the judging eyes when they ask me if I have a living will and I sheepishly tell them no, even though I've had countless procedures and surgeries since the beginning of my cancer diagnosis in 2012. Now I can tell them yes, I have created one and I'm taking matters seriously.
Now that my living will declaration is done and I have reflected on what might have been if the cancer had stayed away it is time to make another decision. I am deciding that today is a day to celebrate, even if it isn't celebrating being cancer free we can celebrate life. We can celebrate that I am able to live my life the way I want to, with a few modifications.
Today, we celebrate.
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