Three Self-Care Tips That Helped Me Survive Chemotherapy

𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮'𝓼 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓪𝓹𝔂 𝓲𝓼 𝓭𝓲𝓯𝓯𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓷𝓽. For me I stayed focused by doing three things that helped me mentally: I got up and moved, maintained a healthy diet (the best that I could), and spent time journaling and talking to God.

Got Up and Moved

As I progressed through my chemotherapy journey, it became more and more difficult to get dressed and get out the house. Some days it was all I could do to sit on my back porch. On days when I wasn’t up to it, I would exercise by walking up and down my steps a few times. On better days, I’d head to the beach to sit and people watch while enjoying the sounds of the ocean. Something as simple as a walk to curb and back is better than doing nothing. It’s important to get up and move to avoid depression.

Maintained a Healthy Diet

I lost my taste buds during chemotherapy. Anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE food. Well, that all changed for me. Everything tasted nasty except for beef, vegetables and sweets. I found myself eating a lot of eggs and bacon. Days 3-7 after chemotherapy I could barely eat anything. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝑮𝒐𝒅. I ate vegetables and potatoes on those days. I added peppers and rosemary to add flavor to foods. I learned to eat to live. This made meal preparation challenging but necessary.

𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒅. No dressing. Salt, pepper and lime juice. 😋

Journaled My Thoughts and Feeling

Some days, I didn’t know what I was going to write. I learned to start with being grateful for His grace and the blessing of life. To be able to fight the disease is better than what some others are experiencing.

𝑴𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒍 𝒋𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔. From the oceanfront to the recliner in my bedroom. I found solitude in quiet places where I could sit and BE!

𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏, I journaled about everything. I wrote about my feelings, different meals, the side effects of chemotherapy and how it made me feel, my support system, how grateful I am, Gods grace and His Word, wrote prayers, wrote about my fears, and the list goes on. Journaling is my therapy, so I get it in. On the days where I struggle, I ask Him to lead me. I literally wrote that in my journal.

Thanks for listening to me. Until next time, be blessed.

Your Truly,

𝑿𝑶𝑿𝑶

𝑱𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒚 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒂