How does it feel? Cancer and Postpartum

Being a cancer patient is not easy. Especially if you are also dealing with postpartum from the delivery you just had less than a week ago. And you need to be in the shoes of your own caretaker who must be the epitome of courage and positivity for everyone else's sanity!

My entire outlook on my cancer has been mostly positive so far and I plan to keep it that way. Right from the time we were given the reports stating the diagnosis, I've taken this like any other illness (like cold or flu) which has a set treatment plan and the patient is cured post treatment. People think I'm super and that it would take great courage to have this attitude. 

They are right to some extent. While I'm not super as I was able to internalise soon enough that I'll need to step up to be my own caregiver to give people space and energy to take care of Ayaan, my new born. Additionally, like I've done before with previous adverse times, by experience, It's more about the mental outlook than anything which can be a make or break. So, the most important thing I must ensure is always (or most times) in right place is my mind. The more attention people will give to my illness, the more is there a chance for me to feel more sick. This is something I definitely don't want in any scenario.

It's been 5 days since my 1st chemo. I must confess it is tougher than I had imagined and there have been moments in these 5 days that I've dreaded the next 7 sessions to follow. Basis my understanding, while some aftereffects are yet to come, the common early onset ones can be tackled with in first 2/3 days after chemo and having done that gives me confidence I can probably do that over and over. 

However, nobody prepared me for this double impact of postpartum on top of chemo! My bones hurt. They make a noise when I move them. While I'm arranging massages, they still hurt. Pain management via medicines is possible of course but in my case, I need to also ensure I don't throw in more acid in my body than is really necessary. 

Chemo drugs make your body really acidic. Key then is to ensure you have more alkalinity in your diet. I've even changed the water I drink to one with ph level >7! Chemo also leads to loss of appetite and that is probably more of a reason why cancer patients lose weight and become weak. The hack here is to trick the mind and eat smaller but more meals with a good mix of carbs and proteins. I'm usually going for soy and cottage cheese as my go-to proteins and the flair of creating new recipes from these is coming handy. Even though doctors have advised not to have raw foods, I'm bunging on fruits, especially orange to keep my vitamin C full! 

Let's see how well I fair the next sessions and this full treatment. One silver lining motivation I created for myself yesterday - By my 30th birthday, I'll be cured and I'll be a cancer survivor. Quite an achievement if you ask me for under 30 ;)