Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #stage4cancer
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Today, I'm beginning my 5th year of living with stage 4 cancer.
Three years ago today, I was diagnosed with metastatic #leiomyosarcoma.
Four years ago tomorrow, I was misdiagnosed (the primary tumor in my thigh was dx'd as a DVT; the tiny nodules in my lungs were dismissed as benign scar tissue).
Four years ago tomorrow, I was misdiagnosed (the primary tumor in my thigh was dx'd as a DVT; the tiny nodules in my lungs were dismissed as benign scar tissue).
So now I've been living with #stage4cancer for (at least) four years, but I've only known I was living with it for three.
It's almost midnight and I'm still processing this morning's appointment, my first with this particular doctor. Having never met before, the first sentence out of her mouth (after introductions) referred to my #stage4cancer.
In the 8 months since my diagnosis, none of the many doctors, nurses, or other medical personnel I've seen have used that language about my situation. None. Yes, I have metastatic cancer. Yes, that is #stage4cancer. But the language of cancer is such a tricky thing.
In the beginning, I rejected the language of "stage 4" as unhelpful. And in many ways, I still find it unhelpful. It has a way of shutting down reality. It has a way of sounding like it is the ending of a story that hasn't actually ended yet.
