Oct 5, 2017
TRANSCRIPT
This is Episode 9 of Glioblast‑O‑Cast. How do I stay positive?
Hello. Welcome to Glioblast‑O‑Cast, the podcast about my life beyond glioblastoma. I am your host, Meg Turecek.
In this episode I answer the question, how do I stay positive? And a bit of a warning, it’s clichés galore today.
Receiving a glioblastoma diagnosis is certainly a life-altering, shocking and devastating situation. I take it very seriously that the general prognosis for survival is given in months and not years.
Like other glioblastoma patients, and caregivers, it’s a part of my daily thoughts. But early on in my journey I decided—with my boyfriend, we decided—to live by one primary notion: to live by the facts, not by the statistics.
So, the average survival is around 14 months, but there’s no hard and fast rule about that. A statistic is just a statistic, it’s not a certainty. There are survivors that are beyond one, two, five or ten years.
Yes, there are not so many but it can happen and there’s no reason to resign my fate to the statistics. No reason I cannot be a long-term survivor.
So one of the keys I believe is to be positive. That’s my blood type, so I might as well follow it. But be positive most of the time. Now, why do I say most of the time? Why not be positive all the time?
As a human, I have a full range of emotions: happy, sad, angry, annoyed, thrilled, loved, surprised.
Holding the bad and sad stuff in or keeping it at a distance, that’s not healthy. It will come back in a hard shot.
So once in a while, I allow myself to have a good cry. Usually in the shower. Like my Mom always said, let your troubles go down the drain with the bath water.
My Mom had that kind of positive outlook. Her words resonate with me every day. And even the cliché sayings that seem to drive all cancer patients crazy as they aren’t really helpful.
But the one that helps me when I imagine my Mom’s voice saying, God doesn’t vie you any more than you can handle.When I think of my Mom saying that, it does help me. It gives me strength to keep moving forward.
A big part of keeping my positive attitude is to always have plans. Something to look forward to. Something I enjoy. Some kind of life goal. Basically, a bucket list. A list of things to do before you kick the bucket—meaning before you die.
Sure, it’s another cliché—having a bucket list—but for me the core of that is to make plans and enjoy life, however much we might have left.
So, my diagnosis of glioblastoma has fast-tracked me to pursue thing s on my some-day list and do them now.
No time like the present. Yet another cliché, but a good one for cancer patients. Don’t let a diagnosis and treatment hold you back. There may be limitations for certain activities, but if you take precautions you can follow your goals and wishes. Do things you enjoy with the people you love.
I make plans MRI to MRI, and a bit beyond now. Humans need goals and plans. Without that, it’s just waiting to die.
The plans don’t need to be extravagant. They could be as simple as a Saturday walk in the woods, or a weekly game of Monopoly with friends, or plan a weekend get away or taking a trip to a museum or maybe an art class, getting concert or sport tickets.
Really, I just don’t let the diagnosis stop me from living my life. I try to find the bright side, no matter how small.
Like I titled my podcast with a bit of whimsy—Glioblast-O-Cast.
Thank you for listening. This has been Glioblast‑O‑Cast Episode 9.
Theme music for Episode 009: “Energy” Bensound.com