Some years surely stand out above all others. A birth, a wedding, a graduation, a job or a death are major life events celebrated and measured each year. How does a cancer patient benchmark such an important life event?

In reflection over this past year, 2017 was the year I took my first ocean cruise to the beautiful Philippine Islands (where I did some of the best snorkeling of my life), the island of Borneo, and Singapore which is the closest I’ve ever been to the equator. My grand daughter turned 2, my grandson turned 5 and became a kindergarten student. My age entered into a new decade, the 60s which is considered the beginning of the “senior citizen” years. I had planned to take my first independent “Road Trip” through the south east, but my health took a nose-dive just days before I was to set out on this venture.

This was the year that could have been my last days on this beautiful earth. March 26th I had pain from acute pancreatitis which equaled childbirth without any time between contractions. Along with this I had septic shock.  Both were caused by rare, aggressive late stage gall bladder cancer. Surgery was done on April 10th. Chemotherapy began on May 12th, was administered in cycles of two Fridays on and one Friday off, and ended on November 10th. I feel as if these dates will be seared in my memory like a birthday or a wedding date.

I recently asked my surgeon and oncologist what is the date that would be used to count out my years of survival?  The date of surgery is considered to beginning of THE CURE. So, I have a new date to celebrate and measure in my life! April 10th will be my benchmark for counting out my years of survival.  My goal is to get to year 1 without a recurrence since the statistics start to improve with each healthy year. Year five is a big one so I am planning a HUGE celebration for April 10,2022! Bring on the years!