Treat the problem in front of you

There has been a lot of press coverage the past few days about Robin Robert's announcement that she has developed a secondary cancer likely caused by her chemo treatments 5 years ago for Triple Negative Breast Cancer. In case you don't recognize the name, Robin is a long time anchor on Good Morning, America.

The news knocked me for a bit of a loop yesterday. She was one of my breast cancer heros....LOOK, if Robin Roberts can lick the same kind of cancer I have and still look so damn fabulous, maybe there's hope for me too! I don't even know the woman and I'm generally not a celebrity hound, but I am indeed very sorry to know she now looking at more chemo and bone marrow transfusions.

When I first met my oncologist, she warned me that chemo and radiation treatments are known to cause secondary cancers. She told the story of a patient who had recently started treatments for leukemia brought on by the chemo protocol my doctor recommended. She looked pained as she told the story. I was warned.

There's been a good deal of discussion on the forums in the past 24 hours about the wisdom of having chemo if a secondary (and incurable) cancer could result. In an interview this morning, Robin mentioned her fear that her situation would discourage others from having chemotherapy. She said she has no regrets about the chemo and would not be alive today if she had not taken it.

I agree. The possibility of a secondary cancer is no reason not to treat the problem in front of you. We can't possibly predict if we will be one of the unfortunate few who will deal with another cancer in 3 or 5 or 10 years. And if we don't treat the problem in front of us, we probably won't be alive to know.

As much as I utterly despise my chemo treatments, I will continue to suck it up and do it. My one regret is that I have not been able to muster the grace and courage many appear to exhibit during cancer treatments. I have gone into it kicking and screaming and bitchin' every step of the way. But come tomorrow afternoon, I will march my bald self into the Cancer Center of NC and sit my fanny in the chemo chair and DO IT. I will.