Learning the Rules of the Game

As novices to the Cancer Game, we picked up on the goal pretty early on…get rid of the cancer!  Now to do that, there seems to be a lot of rules and strategy to make you successful.  This is the part of the learning curve in which we find ourselves and it is pretty steep.  But these last few days have been very educational, because like in any game there are those that hold strategy and use of the rules very close to the vest and there are those that are willing to share what they have learned from their successes and failures to hold the next player up a little higher.  They invest their time, energy, and knowledge, to support you as you learn the game.  We found some of those people this week and some of them found us.

After unpacking the Cancer Game box back in June, we thought we knew how to play from visiting with other past and present players of the game.  We first started to learn about prescription drugs on a scale we had not experienced before.  Oh, that one is not so nice, but this one seems to help.  Yuck, lose that one and give me a higher dose of that one.  Let’s try this new one instead of that other one…yes it seems to help too, but lasts longer.  What, we can only have how many milligrams of acetaminophen a day? 

Once we were assigned our cancer, we settled into our treatment and assumed the game would be pretty straight forward from there…like Checkers for example.  We take our turn going to radiation each day, seeing progress being made.  Okay, this is a pretty simple game.  Chemo began.  We started to learn about all the possible side effects and things to avoid.  We witnessed other players miss their treatments due to not following some of the rules.  Oops, your white count is too low…see ya later.  Awww, your hemoglobin needs help…you can still play, but you need to work on it.

We've met some other players along the way, all with their own interesting reasons for playing.  Many of them beginners like us and some that have been around. And in some cases repeat players.  No discrimination in this game.

Recently the game lost its Checkers like resemblance and started taking on a different persona.  Around what we thought would be half way through our game, we were sent back to square one, like in the  game Sorry, when someone lands on you or like many other games when you draw a card that makes you miss your next turn.  Our chemo drugs of choice were not showing the results as hoped, so now we head back to our starting position and hope to roll a number to get us back in the game, moving forward toward the goal. 

We were just getting comfortable at our table and now we may need to switch it up.  We will be consulting other experts of the game soon to learn of new strategies and hopefully getting back on track towards success.  In the mean time Miki has been placed on the injured reserve list, but her come back is immanently close.  The fans following our game keep us going and we treasure your support.  Hang in there with us and we will hang in there for you.

Of course I don’t view this as a game.  The intensity seems to ratchet itself up all on its own.  There are days I don’t know how Miki keeps her head straight and days that soften the hard ones.  One of the many lessons I think I may have learned is you can’t go into this journey with any expectations, because as soon as you do, it kicks you in the butt.  Kind of like Cribbage, you either get the cards your way or you are waiting to get the cards your way.  In the meantime, you strategize and pay close attention to yourself and take cues from those you surround yourself with.  Success is there for the taking.  It is a matter of which route you take to get there.

My Zen from Home:  Be open to the possibilities.  In the last 2-3 days, friends and in some cases acquaintances have helped me and us reemphasize that we are in charge of the choices we make.  And to be open to all the options available whether you believe they are doable or not.  Not sure it is the same as “if you build it, they will come,” but if you think it possible…it can happen.

Tree House Update

Door and windows awaiting siding and trim.