Hi ALK. I suppose for me the hardest time was just after treatments ended, as everyone said it would probably get worse for 2 weeks and it turned out they were right. That is incredibly frustrating, and you begin to wonder if it will ever end.

Two things kept me from getting down. The first was just taking one day at a time and celebrating any improvement. And the second was setting a goal for myself - after checking with the RO that it was reasonable - of taking a fishing trip about 2 months after treatment ended. That meant getting the PEG out at least 2 weeks ahead of that. It gave me something to shoot for. Not that it was easy -- not even on that fishing trip. But it felt like a return to some kind of normalcy. And it was still just a day at a time. Turns out that after a while you progress without thinking or worrying about it.

Now that I'm coming up on the one-year anniversary of starting rads/chemo I'm feeling stronger all the time, putting weight back on since 2016 started, getting on with things. There are days when I don't even think about cancer. So that's out there for you. Just gotta' grit your teeth and muscle on through. We'll be celebrating your recovery with you here before you know it.