Time is Arbitrary

February 28, 2026

I am now 26 days into my diagnosis. Well, let me amend that … 26 days since my first abnormal mammogram; only 10 days since actual diagnosis. I mentioned before that time seems all “timey-wimey” (any Dr. Who fans?) and it’s speeding along and standing still at the same time.

Though I’m making progress through my wish-list and preparing my house for recovery, it is still a lot to process, and to physically and mentally handle, continue working, and do the normal activities of daily living. Regular cooking and cleaning have a routine to them but adding long term preparation cleaning means more physical work and mental fortitude because you know what you’re preparing for. It’s all just hard. Be nice to yourself and ASK FOR HELP! Hypocritical coming from me. I know that Dylan will help and has done A LOT since this whole thing started but I also feel the need to control things because pretty soon I won’t have much control over what happens. As the saying goes, “Time heals all wounds” but I’m not sure that pertains to mental considerations as well. 

A breast cancer diagnosis has a lot of moving parts and though the surgeon may remove the growth, you may likely still have other treatments like radiation, and potential chemotherapy. Depending on your status, this may also mean a 5-10 year course of AI (aromatase inhibitors) to keep cells from re-growth. (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24685-aromatase-inhibitors) 

That was SHOCKING to me; ten years!?! Now, remember that your grade, tumor stage, and receptor status could be different and this may not be necessary for YOUR treatment plan but keep this in the back of your mind as you navigate through the treatment process.

Oh – that reminds me; I need to put together a question list for each stage of diagnosis for you. The Google Machine gave me some great questions to ask. Both the NP and the RN commented on my thoroughness and appropriateness of my questions.

Years ago I met an amazing woman at the hospital and trained her to do the OR front desk/control desk job. As you do with most former work colleagues, we drifted but are still friends on Facebook. She coined “The Google Machine” phrase and even “a hundred years later” I’m still using it.

The health system that is treating me has dedicated nurses – apart from the NP and RN that I’ve already seen – that will help navigate the process of obtaining home care, working with insurance, social work, physical therapy, and all things related to diagnosis and treatment. This includes city, state, and federal resources alongside any health system initiatives. If this is not offered at your treating facility, please ask. They may not have a dedicated oncologic team, but the hospital does have resources and you should take advantage of everything you can. The mental toll of this diagnosis, at least for me, is much more extensive than I thought it would be. Then adding the financial and physical effects on you AND your family/caregiver. Ugh … take advantage of what is being provided and if it’s not provided, ASK. 

I worked later than usual this morning but Dylan and I worked together to deep clean and move furniture around to make floor space for the new chair coming this week in what I’m calling the recovery nest. Additionally I was able to figure out this site and now have live posts! Definitely made mad progress today and I hope that I’ll be able to sleep more than 3 hours, which has been my average since February 2nd. 

Sometimes I think I’m going overboard but then I think about all the things that could go wrong. I guess my tag line should be I’d rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Friday, my colleagues received an email from our manager that included their words and my initial social media post. My department is fully remote so it’s not like we see each other every day but the overnight shift needs to have someone covering it while I’m in treatment. I’ve heard from people that toward the end of the radiation course the body tires quickly. Since I have other health issues, I’m expecting that radiation may hit me a little harder than someone who is healthy outside this diagnosis. 

I received some really nice words of support and commiseration after the information was sent. One co-worker had a cancer diagnosis (not breast) and they received messages from people they’d not heard from in years. Just be prepared for that if you go the route of telling people outside your immediate circle. As I mentioned before, be careful of those who you tell as it *will* spread.

Stories from people who have gone through something similar is why I want to share my journey; validation and experience.

Another colleague shared their mom’s journey in the barest of outlines, but I learned from them that Aquaphor pops up as a good after radiation lotion. Actually, they said to apply it HOURS before treatment and then again when back home following treatment. There are other oncologic specific remedies available but Aquaphor is a much less expensive alternative. I currently have two creams on my wish list and will try out the Aquaphor soon to see if I can handle the thicker formula. I will keep the Calendula lotion because, if you haven’t read the prior installments of my journey, I prefer the holistic route when possible.

I haven’t yet researched radiation other than in a very broad sense. I knew that toward the end of treatment that I’ll likely have a radiation burn but I wasn’t aware that I’d be wiped out and tire easily. I mean, it makes sense in hindsight, but having another person’s experience with similar issues helps me plan and anticipate my own issues. 

It seems that the running theme from everyone is that I’m strong for sharing everything so publicly. From the moment I opened MyChart and saw abnormal results on my mammogram, I knew that I wanted to help others; I can only do that by sharing my diagnosis and summarizing everything I’ve learned. 

There are some amazing breast cancer websites out there that provide a lot of information that is valuable but I know that I didn’t want just the medical perspective. Scientists are great and provide information about the disease but not the effects of the disease on an actual human’s physical and mental equilibrium. Everyone’s situation is different but having someone share everything as it happens (I hope) helps others know that their experience is normal. And if it’s not someone else’s experience, they know that as well. There are plenty of blogs and others sharing their lives in and around cancer and I’m throwing in my personal trek to compare and contrast.