No more treatments
Here we are, finally, finished. No more treatments. No more doctor appointments every Thursday. No more feeling like shit. It feels like just yesterday I walked into the infusion room and decided to write a blog. That was almost 6 months ago. What a ride. This last treatment wasn’t so bad. It had its normal ups and downs, well not really any ups. But I consider not throwing up and being able to sleep the day away an up. I had my normal throat, head, and body aches, but it was one of those weekends where I couldn’t wait for it to be over mostly because I knew it was my last one like this. I was a little bit emotional during the treatment; it was hard not to be. A normal life seemed so far away before and here it was right around the corner. Can that be?? Unfortunately, when it ended I caught that flu bug that’s going around and I am still a little under the weather. I’m not really complaining because it isn’t chemo and I still feel fine, it just a little annoying.
During that last week of chemo while I was recovering, I was also running a spring camp with my best friend CJ and that was fun, but def. a little bit stressful. I enjoyed the responsibility and the hard work because I haven’t had to work much lately, so it felt good to get my feet wet, back to that real world, getting up early, tired by the end of the day, the kind of life I’m headed back to very shortly. The week was a definite success because all the kids had a fun time, nobody got hurt or lost, and all the parents praised our efforts and hard work. This camp is a definite part of my extended family and I can’t wait to work there again over the summer and see all my friends.
I just looked at the day, and it’s Wednesday. 5 days before I start school. Does that ring a bell for anybody? The day I was diagnosed 7 months ago was also 5 days before I was supposed to be heading off to my first quarter of school. Coincidence? Maybe fate? I move in tomorrow, Thursday, and start on Monday the 31st It’s a little bit scary to know that I will be entering school again, studying, reading, writing…I hope I have some brain cells left! In the past 6 months my idea of normal got drastically switched and as crazy as it sounds, doctors, chemo, sickness, worries start to feel normal. The trick is going to be switching that up and understanding that what I was going through wasn’t really normal, going to school, being a teen, pursuing my dreams is what is actually normal. That is the scariest thought of all. Knowing that what I want is here, but I’m not sure or know how ready I am. My friends and all of the support from my family have helped me so much. As a result of that support, it seems like I realize more and more who I want to be in this world and what I want to do. And I have cancer to thank for that. Sometimes it takes an unfortunate drastic event to alter some body’s life like that and I am grateful for it.
So let me tell you what I have been up to lately: Besides starting school on Monday, a couple weeks ago I took a ridiculously awesome road trip to UC Santa Cruz with my friend Bri to visit all my good friends from high school that have been there for me all along. I had an amazing time. The natural beauty of Santa Cruz and friendly people made the trip wicked awesome. I got to party with my friends and climb a huge tree watching the sunset crest over the ocean. It’s experiences and trips like that that make me so happy I sometimes forget what I have been through, so I thank everybody who made that road trip SICK!
I also did a documentary on the past 6 months of my life. I know it is kind of weird because I didn’t think I would ever do one, or be comfortable with sharing my story, but now knowing that it is over, I am comfortable letting people know what has happened and hopefully I can affect people’s lives in a positive anyway. To make a long story short, my mom has a friend who knows a producer who contacted me and asked me to participate in a huge national T.V. broadcast (documentary) and website promotion that will air in September. It is called SU2C (Stand Up to Cancer). The goal of SU2C is to bring awareness to those not directly affected by cancer, show how research dollars are spent, as well as show daily blogs of scientists’ updates and new developments on cancer. They want people to understand where there money is going. Pretty much what Inconvenient Truth did for global warming; they are hoping this is going to do the same for Cancer. They came to my house and did about 6 hours of shooting. My mom, myself, some close friends, and basically just asked me about my story and the Cuck Fancer dollars I raised. They loved it all. I am going to be doing some video blogs for the website as well. I will let everybody know more details when I know. It is really exciting and I am glad to be a part of something so large.
So even though I will be away at school, I come home April 11th for my final scans, PET, CT, Chest X-Ray, to make sure everything is gone and to just see the wonderful progress my body has made. I then come home the following weekend to remove my port. SO SICK. I can’t wait to get that sucker out so I can be active again. When I get my port out I am hoping to get back into shape to play soccer with AYSO and I am going to Hawaii for a soccer tournament in July. I am so excited! It is going be a 7-day stay and I am going to be playing soccer all week long. But right now I am just focusing on staying healthy, going to school, having fun, and being a teen again.
One last thing: I officially have made a large donation to the Leukemia Lymphoma society. I am still fundraising of course, so any money out there or bands and whatnot, I would appreciate to get sometime soon just because I want to solely focus on school coming up. With everybody’s combined efforts and generous donations we have raised $6102!!!!! I am stunned. My goal was $2000 and we raised three times that amount. I am so happy that I was able to make a solid impact on the cancer world, and hopefully the money will help those who are less fortunate than me. I just want everybody to know, that if anybody EVER needs anything, and I mean ANYTHING, I am here to help. Whether you know somebody who has gotten sick and needs somebody to talk to, or you just want me to pick up your dog shit, I’m there, because without all of you, I know I would not be where I am today. All of you are a solid part of my life, and shaped me into who I am today and I love you all.
I will keep you updated on the scans and school and whatnot, don’t hesitate to call, or email back if you want to talk.
I love you all.
Cancer is my bitch
Cuck Fancer, but love life.
Keep fighting the fight, yours truly
THE MAN (just kidding). Benjamin David Teller.
