Winning the Jackpot in the Lottery of Life

Thank you to everyone who wished me good thoughts and crossed their fingers and toes. The CA 125 result came back. It’s still low. In fact it went down. That big sigh is me relaxing into the next 4 months of my life.

I am feeling incredibly blessed by the world and a good test result is only part of it. I am well looked after by an excellent health system that achieves the highest survival rates for my cancer. I am grateful to be financially secure due to disability payments that I contributed to while I was well. My family and friends support me through good times and they are there to listen when I’m low. My kids are young adults, both pursuing their dreams in higher education and in August I hope to help them both set up apartments in Toronto. Next month I’ll move to a new apartment, not quite so modern in a not so swish neighbourhood but it will be cozy and I will be content. And after we raise money for the BC Cancer Foundation through The Underwear Affair, I’m off to Europe for a couple of weeks. And there will be a few days of camping at the beach with my special person.

It’s a good life despite the periodic anxiety about the potential of recurrence.

May 8th is the inaugural World Ovarian Cancer Day. We will raise awareness about this nasty disease that has no diagnostic test, no cure, and kills more than half its victims within 5 years. 17,000 of us are living with ovarian cancer in Canada and we don’t want anymore to join this lottery.