I can't wait to enjoy it all again next year and the year after that.

Happy New Year.

Worst Fears and Realizations
Sat., Feb. 11, 2006

Good Morning America recently did a segment about "What are you most afraid of?"

The No. 1 answer was "snakes." Spiders were up there in the top five, and I don't remember the others because I started thinking about what my answer would be to that question.

We've all thought about it ever since we were kids. As long as I can remember, the thing I was most afraid of was "getting cancer." I wasn't particularly afraid of "dying of cancer" or getting any other horrific disease (although I certainly didn't want those), but I just thought the scariest thing imaginable was getting cancer.

Well, about six months ago I WAS diagnosed with cancer. Colon cancer. Pretty scary. I had finally "met the devil." Even though it was scary, it was not nearly as terrifying as I had imagined. I've heard that the way to conquer a phobia or terrible fear is to meet it head on. I have done that with my fear. I deal with it every day. I fight it and expect to win.

Cancer is no longer my greatest fear. I think now it might be snakes.

Meanwhile, this week was a milestone in my battle with colon cancer. I had my seventh chemo treatment, which should mean I'm halfway through treatment. Hooray! Let me tell you about my chemo to give you a visual.

I take a combination of three drugs every other week. I have a port surgically implanted in an area near my collarbone that allows me to receive treatment in and out of the clinic. I receive two of the drugs over a five-hour period in the medical facility, and the third drug is in a pump that resembles a video cassette that I carry in a fanny pack. It's attached to my port and I take that drug over a 48-hour period.

I can go out to dinner, shopping, or wherever I feel like going with it.