There is a lot going on in my body. There is a lot going on in all of our bodies. Mine in particular, is home to an ironic interplay between the rampant overproduction of otherwise healthy, helpful and necessary plasma cells which become cancerous myeloma cells (because they are trying to take over my bone marrow); and the life-saving toxins that are introduced into this battlefield to kill off this unchecked expansion - while brilliantly sparing all of the other healthy cells in the neighborhood. This Multiple Myeloma melodrama has nothing to do with my age or other chronological advancement factors.
I was recently diagnosed with bursitis in my left knee. It doesn't hurt, has absolutely no adverse affect on my mobility or flexibility (not that I have the moves or flexes of a 20-year old), it's not getting any worse, and with a little time, and a compression knee brace/sock thingy, will be easily managed. This IS directly a result of aging. Part of my responsibility of growing up (ha - ha - ha), and as a cancer patient, is to be attuned to my body as these various health happenings occur, and to monitor them, respect them, keep them in perspective - but as necessary, get them checked out by a qualified professional (ie: not self-diagnosing using WebMD). So that little things stay little and cancer things get addressed by my Onc team.
I've never been one to harbor an aversion toward going to the doctor. Nor am I a hyper-speed hypochondriac who rushes in for a diagnosis without a reasonable period of time for self-evaluation and legitimate, sustained symptoms that can be exhibited and examined. Additionally, over the past four "cancer years" I have increasingly developed the ability to discern between ongoing cancer stuff and new, possible other stuff (age-related or otherwise). This knee thing could have been a metastatic tumor (at its worst), or a nothing (which it unsurprisingly turned out to be). The "new" Nat is inclined to readily check that out and let a doctor (in this case an Orthopedist; with x-rays and lots of education) tell me that it really is nothing.
So, I guess I am both a little older and a little wiser - and am learning to tell the difference between aging issues and cancer causes.
