It’s hard to avoid the negative aspects of cancer and chemo treatment: fatigue, isolation, and ruminations about life. But too much of that and we miss seeing the positives.

Let me name just a few of these:
- Losing all those stubborn pounds that have resisted diet and exercise.
- Being free to eat ice cream with hot fudge sauce. The fact that it doesn’t taste as good as it once did just means that I can eat all I want.
- Postponing dental appointments, colonoscopies, haircuts, and other invasive medical procedures.
- No dishwashing, carry out compost, pulling weeds, etc.
- Having an unassailable excuse to avoid meetings and other events that I didn’t want to attend anyway.
- Being insensitive to ambient temperature. I still get hot or cold, but it doesn’t seem to have much to do with the weather or what I’m wearing.
- Unlimited streaming with no guilt.
- Good excuse for my slowed walking pace; so much better than “getting old” or “being lazy.”
- Learning much about how our amazing body works. Like Heidegger’s broken hammer, we understand it best when it’s broken.
- Reminder to focus on the things that matter in the finite time we all have.