flosfaciem

Be gentle with her. Be understanding. The boy I was with during my treatment had a hard time with that -- he didn't really allow me the space to be in a bad mood, or to just be generally upset about my situation. He would get angry. Don't treat her differently, per say, but do try to understand that it's hard to be your regular self when you're going through something like this. Be patient, and ask her what she needs. Really listen to her. I hope she is okay. I am very sorry.

Aw thanks. He tried his best, I think he just wasn't nearly mature enough to handle it -- but what 17 year old boy would be?

I actually had no symptoms at all until the day I found the tumour. I literally woke up one morning and looked down at my belly and I looked 4-5 months pregnant. It "popped" overnight and suddenly became very visible. I thought I was pregnant at the time and it was three or four days before I went to the ER and found out it was a tumour. From there it grew exponentially, it was slightly bigger than a cantaloupe when they removed it. Once it started showing was when I had symptoms! It was painful at times, and sometimes it would shift around and I couldn't pee. That really sucked. I was relieved to have it gone.

Thanks! :) I actually kept going to school whenever I wasn't in the hospital for chemo treatments (I went out of town, which meant I'd be admitted for a week for each treatment). I graduated on time with a 94% average! I've always been a good student and I was very determined to keep up the work. Though it was a very dehumanizing experience, I still managed to have some fun throughout. I spent a lot of time with friends, and with my boyfriend at the time. I was the prom queen at my school's prom! It really didn't have as much of a negative impact on my school career as I thought it might. As for my post-secondary plans, I'd always thought I'd go away for school immediately after graduating, and I really just didn't feel ready to do that. I'm currently starting my second semester of my first year at the University in my city. I am planning on moving to Montreal for school in September, though!

My perspective has changed in that now I believe that if I want to do something, I should do it! I try not to let fear or anything else hold me back from anything I want to do. I've been travelling a lot this year and trying to be fearless in the creation of my art (I am a visual artist and a musician). The hardest part was definitely chemotherapy, but that's pretty broad, so I'll narrow it down to just the way my body felt during treatment. Often times I felt like I was dying -- like every single cell in my body was shutting down. During those times, I couldn't move or speak, I could barely even open my eyes. I couldn't watch TV or read or look at my phone, but I also couldn't sleep... I would just lay in bed, motionless, feeling like I was absolutely going to die. In those times, I really wanted to. On my best days, I was still weak. I got dizzy and tired very easily, I had a constant horrible taste in my mouth as if something in my throat was rotting, and I would have sudden nausea where I had to run to the closest sink/toilet and throw up. My body did not feel like a home to me throughout my treatment and even afterwards it took a long time for me to begin to feel like myself again.