The Unexpected Cost of Surviving Cancer

 A doctor friend of mine said this best, “I’ve always hated the saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, it’s more like what doesn’t kill you, leaves you more vulnerable for the next thing”. The effects of chemotherapy and cancer cause major damage to the body. When I relapsed in 2013, the leukemia caused complete organ failure. I now have been diagnosed with stage four chronic kidney disease. If it progresses to stage 5, I will need weekly dialysis or a kidney transplant.

I mentioned that I have to do monthly phlebotomies or blood lettings because of an overload of iron in my blood. The iron overload was caused by the multiple blood transfusions I needed because of the leukemia.

It’s been 9 years since my relapse, yet I still battle daily with ataxia. Chemotherapy gave me cerebral ataxia which destroyed my balance and greatly damaged my speech and motor skills. Years of speech and occupational therapy has improved my speech and motor skills but I still struggle. I’ve also had years of physical therapy but I have yet to restore my balance. I remember when the ataxia first happened, doctors and nurses said it would wash out. Over time, the effects of my ataxia have lessened but they haven’t “washed out “. 

I could continue listing problems that were directly caused by cancer treatments but I will spare you the details. My point is that while I survived cancer, I still deal with its effects.