Treatment Three and more Thoughts From Barbara Johnson

I had my 3rd IROX treatment this week, and the side effects were the same as with treatment #2; extreme tiredness, nausea, headache, slight diarrhea, the intolerance to cold and just a general feeling of YUCK! But, one good thing, having the treatment on Monday, by Friday I am feeling better. We have been having the most beautiful weather, although a bit too dry. And for those of you who watch the signs of changing seasons, the leaves on my dogwood tree began changing colors at least 3 weeks ago. I guess we are going to have an early fall.

Now as for Barbara Johnson, for those of you who are not familiar with her writing, Barbara is a popular speaker on the Women of Faith conference tour and is considered the best selling female Christian author in the world. I discovered her works years ago and continue to find her inspirational and funny! Barbara was diagnosed with cancer in 2001, prepared herself to meet her maker, and in her words, "Unexpectedly...I kept on living."

So I give you some quips from the above book, I hope you laugh like I did, as I have found that humor, along with faith, is the only way to get through each day.

1. Some days you're the pigeon, some days the statue.

2. Time may be a great healer, but it is a lousy beautician.

3. They say life begins at 50, it begins all right, to disintegrate.

4. I'm not confused, I'm just well mixed.

And a note from Barbara regarding her cancer: People treat you differently when they find out you have cancer, especially people who are acquaintances rather than close friends. They look at you differently, and a lot of the time, I don't like the unspoken words I see in their eyes: Poor you. You've got cancer. You're going to die. It's made me want to follow another cancer patient's urges and a wear a T-shirt that says: Yes, I have cancer. Yes, I'm going to die. And so are you.

One thing I have found, is that some people, even friends, find it hard to accept my candidness and openess about my cancer. So if you someday see me wearing a T-shirt stating the above, don't be too shocked. To quote Barbara again, "The best laughter is the kind that's shared".

Sherri