My Colon Cancer Journey

29/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/198VyNVWC4/

28/07/2026

So many people connected with my post about chemo brain that I wanted to talk about something else that often isn’t understood… chemo side effects.

Before I started treatment, I knew I might lose my hair. I knew I might feel sick. What I didn’t realize was just how many other ways chemotherapy could affect everyday life.

For some of us, nausea isn’t just “feeling queasy.” It can make the smell of food unbearable. Cooking dinner can feel impossible. Even walking into the kitchen can make you want to turn around.

The fatigue isn’t just being tired. It’s a heaviness that can make it feel like your body is glued to the bed. You want to get up. You want to do the dishes, answer messages, or spend time with your family… but sometimes your body simply won’t cooperate.

Then there are the mouth sores. Water can taste like metal. Foods you once loved suddenly taste strange or have no taste at all. Eating becomes a challenge, and weight loss can happen quickly. Some people battle diarrhea, others vomiting, and many experience both.

The truth is, chemotherapy looks different for every single person. Some people have side effects you can see. Others are fighting battles no one else notices.

28/07/2026

Cancer fatigue is not just being "tired."

It’s the kind of exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix. You can wake up after ten hours of rest and still feel like your limbs are made of lead.

Nobody tells you that it’s not just physical. It’s mental and emotional too. It’s forgetting words, feeling overwhelmed by simple decisions, and the frustration of wanting to do things while your body simply says "no."

If you’re going through this, please know it’s a real, documented side effect of treatment: not a lack of willpower.

21/07/2026

18/07/2026

One of the loneliest parts of cancer isn’t always the treatments or the appointments.

Sometimes it’s realizing how much of your experience you keep to yourself.

Not because you don’t want to talk about it.

Because you don’t want the people you love to carry the weight of it too.

There have been days I’ve wanted to say, “I’m scared.”

Instead I’ve said, “I’m okay.”

Not because I was lying.

But because I knew hearing “I’m scared” would break someone else’s heart.

So you start protecting the people who are trying to protect you.

You smile a little bigger.

You change the subject.

You tell them the scan went well, but leave out how terrified you were waiting for the results.

You tell them treatment was fine, but not that you cried in the parking lot before you walked in.

You carry parts of the story quietly because you don’t want the people you love to spend every day carrying your fear too.

I think that’s something people don’t always realize about cancer.

Sometimes we’re not hiding our feelings because we don’t trust you.

We’re hiding them because we love you.

And if I’m being honest…

I think a lot of people living with cancer are carrying conversations they’ll never say out loud.

15/07/2026

My ride home after chemo

01/07/2026

In a public hospital from now on and honestly I have a better and bigger team looking after me than ever. I am truly lucky 💖 to be here. They have made me feel so welcome and comfortable with free lunch lol 😆

Estou em um hospital público agora e, sinceramente, tenho uma equipe maior e melhor cuidando de mim do que nunca. Tenho muita sorte 💖 de estar aqui. Eles me fizeram sentir muito bem-vindo e à vontade, com direito a almoço grátis, rs 😆

30/06/2026

Obrigada Amiga Cidalia Ferreira por estas lindas flores de aniversário; elas são maravilhosas.

27/06/2026

Go out and live your life like your life depends on it. Enjoy every moment freely.

19/06/2026