I still love the sun

Today was a beautiful day outside. The sun was shining and the weather guy on the radio said this week, we will see an increase of 13 minutes of daylight. That means 13 more minutes of sun — that wonderful yellow ball of warmth and light and happiness.

I love the sun.

So, about a week and a half ago I wrote about my lifestyle changes, working out and going to the doctor. Well, the test results are back from the labs.

The good news is my (mostly) healthy eating habits and working out are paying off. My weight is down. My cholesterol is down and up - meaning the bad is down and the good is up. I forget what the numbers are, because to me they are just numbers. And as I said before, my blood pressure is wonderful and I have a healthy heart and strong muscles, according to my doctor.

And now, here it is Monday — deadline day at the paper. I am in a good mood, for the most part. Why not? I mean the sun is shining and it is 23 degrees ABOVE zero. And I am having a good hair day. What could be better? Well, apparently one of the doctor’s at the clinic has been trying to get a hold of me for a few days. I was out of town to attend my uncle’s funeral service. So this morning I returned his call.

That is when the shadow fell on my sunshine. The nurse told me the mole on my arm is “malignant melanoma.” She followed up by saying it is a very aggressive and the most serious skin cancer a person can get.

Ok, now hearing those words, “you have cancer” is a bit overwhelming — especially on a Monday — deadline day. Pretty much, after I heard those words, I didn’t hear much else. And it was quite difficult to concentrate for most of the day. It was almost as though I was transported to another time and place where everything was simply altogether unimportant.

It didn’t matter to me if the photos I took over the weekend went into the paper or not. It didn’t matter if I wrote anything anybody wanted to read. It just didn’t matter. That nurse told me I had cancer.

It’s not that I feel sorry for myself, because I don’t. I just don’t know what is going to happen next. That nurse, whose name is Jan and she really is a lovely person, by-the-way, made an appointment for me right away tomorrow. In the mean time, I did a quick google search, and found that most websites agree, it is a serious form of skin cancer. But the sites also say it is nearly 100 percent curable if caught in the early stages.

When I see the doctor tomorrow I will hopefully ask the questions I could not ask today. Like what stage is this cancer in, how advanced is it, treatment options, chances of recovery and re-occurrence, and so on.

For now, today, I am on an emotional hyperdrive. I wouldn’t call it a roller coaster, because quite truthfully, there haven’t been many highs to the day. But I know it will get better.

After all, the sun will come up again tomorrow and I still love the sun.

I’ll keep you posted.