Cancerversary

One year ago today I was diagnosed with Stage 1B2 cervical cancer. It's been an interesting journey and one that changed my life, for the better, surprisingly. Throughout this experience I've felt a range of emotions and feelings - fear, anger, hope, gratitude, frustration -and have spent a lot of time thinking about my life, what I want and who I want to be.

These thoughts weave through my mind daily. And, although I don't talk about it much, the fear of recurrence weighs heavily on my mind. In talking with other cancer survivors I'm learning that this will lessen as time goes by.

Recently, I've learned that recovering from cancer treatment takes a long time! I've had a few conversations with some cancer survivors who were competitive athletes and they said it takes years. I had to be patient during treatment (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation) but I wasn't prepared to be patient after treatment! However, I have been struggling this summer with my fitness so I'm going to listen to the advice and focus on recovery, not racing. Having said that, I still have a few races that I'm going to be doing but for fun. After all, I love mountain biking so why stop?

This weekend is the Wausau 24 -- a 24 hour mountain bike relay race that I'm doing with 3 friends. I will be a fun weekend and a very fitting way for me to celebrate my first year as a cancer survivor.

Happy riding!