Today marks the start of my last week of radiation. Next Monday I will ring the ship’s bell that sits in the radiation waiting room for people to ring on their last day. Everyone claps and then everyone moves on. I don’t have a particular need to ring the bell, but I’ll carry on with the tradition as I do expect it is the end of my radiation for good. Although I have the full 12 months of chemo to come, this particular chapter is coming to an end.

This has me thinking a lot lately about what I have control over in my life. It’s an interesting thing to be forced to step back from everything you normally do and be given the chance to just reflect. I find that I feel I have much more control over my life than I had really given myself credit for. I don’t plan to let A-A-Ron grow back. I plan to control his remains with a healthy lifestyle of good nutrition and exercise based on all the scientific evidence out there that proves I can. I plan to rehabilitate my brain to the best of my ability. I plan to be healthier coming out the other end of this entire experience. I see no reason why I cannot be successful in any of these plans. I can think of no greater priority in my life than my own health at this point…and I believe that taking care of myself will make all other parts of my life better in general.

While I don’t recommend growing a brain tumor in order to step back and take stock on your priorities, I do recommend taking the time to think about whether you are doing the things that make you happy or just going through the motions of each day and watching life pass you by…

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