Sun, scars & sips

This summer is going a lot nicer than last year. But even last August we saw the end of the ordeal that was my cancer. By the last weekend in July, my final chemo treatment, I think we had been/were scheduled to go to Sloan to meet with Dr. Heerdt. My surgery was August 22nd (I think) and this year, that day won't be filled with trepidation. This year, on August 22nd, I should be able to celebrate a year of having evicted the cancer from my body once and for all.

I noticed this summer that occasionally my scars would be showing. They aren't large and hideous, but they are certainly there. Sometimes I catch people glancing, or taking a second look. And it hadn't been obvious to me that the scars were causing the double-take right away. I'd adjust my top making sure to conceal any errant bra straps. But it was the scar. I'm pretty sure it was the scar.

The scar isn't something I worry about concealing. In all honestly, I am not often in low-cut tops anyway, but I'm not going to hide it or put make up on it or… change my tops. It's sort of an interesting contrast to my healthy tan. And friends have said that I don't have any more of that "cancer patient" look about me. Just the scars to mark that chapter in my life. And the Tattoos! How could I forget - after all these years of being happy to have slipped through my 20's without being "inked", I now have 3 little dots for alignment during radiation. Small reminders, little souvenirs from that wild ride in 2007.

I'm so glad that I can go into the school year, this Fall, healthy. I really feel like this is the beginning of another era for me. Corny, but true. I think a Friday cocktail is in order, folks. I'm off to the fridge to finish that little bit of wine, or maybe use up that lime in a gin-and-tonic. Hmm… yummy.

Here's to our health and happiness - all of us. CHEERS!