Other Turbulence

You don't have to have cancer in your life to experience turbulence. There are lots of possible stressors in everyone's life. Most likely it involves family, friends, or work. It could be health issues. It could be money. It could be all of these things. No matter what the reason for the turbulence, the key is to protect yourself in some way, like fastening your seat belt. Just because there's turbulence doesn't mean that it'll last forever. It doesn't mean that you can't hang in there and get past it. 

During my cancer treatments, the side effects of the treatments along with knowing that I was battling cancer were one type of turbulence. For me, the impact of my treatments on my epilepsy was a turbulence that no one other than me expected me to experience. 

Epilepsy

Maybe being diagnosed with epilepsy, in some way, was preparation for my cancer experience. An epilepsy diagnosis meant I had to learn new terminology, take new medication, and make lifestyle changes. I also found out that having epilepsy puts you at a higher risk of having an accident and dying. It wasn't something that anyone mentioned to me when I was first diagnosed. It took being declined for life insurance for me to find out this tidbit of information.  

Little did I know that, many years later, I would have to do the same things again, but this time for cancer. In a twist of fate (or just plain irony), the impact the chemo treatments had on my epilepsy was just as bad, if not worse, than the usual side effects of chemo. In fact, if I hadn't had epilepsy, I would have done extremely well with my chemo treatments. 

Since this site is about providing information and looking for the positive in things, I had to dig deep to find the following positive things to say about my cancer-epilepsy experience:
  • Since many people don't know very much about epilepsy, people are less likely to recommend things you should take to make your epilepsy better.
  • When my epilepsy went haywire, it meant being non-functional for a day. My brain shut down so that I couldn't even say a full sentence or understand what people were saying. It was like chemo brain on steroids. Fortunately, these bad days were only for about a day, sometime after each treatment. I am thankful that on most days my brain was really clear; in fact, I managed to work while I was going through my chemo treatments.
  • On my bad days, I got to stay on the couch for the entire day and what TV, although I kept falling asleep and I really didn't comprehend a lot of it. That could be for the best as well. 
  • I gave my oncologists a fresh perspective. They kept telling me that they had never seen anyone with a seizure disorder have a problem with chemo. Well now they can't say that. I showed them. 

Even with all these positives, I would give up the opportunity of having epilepsy or a recurrence of cancer. I have been known to vent, "I just wish I could be normal." Having said that, everyone's normal is different and, by comparison, mine might look pretty good. I'm alive and have a good quality of life, so that's what really ​matters.

Mental and Emotional Well-being

Resources

The following websites aren't specific to cancer. They're not specific to laughter. They're links to sites about everyday life, which can include good news.

Laughter is a lifestyle choice