So, I’m day three into the #LoveMe Challenge. Today, I am supposed to provide a word that describes me. For someone who works in a creative field, this is an especially tough request. I mean, part of my job is to know a bunch of words. Just one word too? Heck, it depends on the minute. Sometimes I would say verbose, sometimes it would be introspective, sometimes it would be inebriated, and sometimes it would lachrymose (oh alright, here’s the definition).
But looking back, not just over the past couple of months but over the course of my life, I think the word that keeps coming to mind is resilient. I think it’s an appropriate word to use for this challenge. I’ve had a lot of adverse situations that I’ve found myself. And throughout all of them, I’ve always felt that there was something better around the corner as long as I kept working towards a better outcome. Don’t get me wrong, I get despondent sometimes – but it never lasts too long and I always feel like I can take steps to make things better.
And thinking about dealing with an aggressive form of cancer… Maybe I’m too optimistic but I think that as long as I keep positive and keep vigilant, this won’t get the best of me. I have a good doctor. I am really keeping an eye on my skin. I am practically swimming in SPF… I am not delusional; I am well aware of the likelihood of another round of diagnosis, excision, recovery. But I think I dodged a bullet in this situation. Amelanotic nodular melanoma is not exactly the same diagnosis as healthy. But luck, fate, something, was on my side in finding this early, getting it taken off and identified before it turned into Stage 3. I know I’m one of the lucky ones who get pink melanoma.