"A Positive Thought Will Lead To A Positive Outcome"
"The Man in My Head"
It was September 2006 when a strange pain emerged in my head. “It’s a migraine,”
“It’s stress,” “We don’t see anything,” “Some things just can’t be
explained.” These were the responses I
received from doctors when I started complaining of an odd ache/pain in my
head. I went for physicals, blood tests,
MRI’s, MRA’s and cat scans and nothing was indicative of anything being
wrong. Therefore, I started medication for migraines and went on with my life. My head continued to hurt, but since “nothing
was wrong”, it became a joke and when I felt pain, I would say, “There is a man
in my head!”
Approximately six months
later, in April, I hit my head on the door of my car and got a bump. When the bump did not subside
after about a month, I asked the doctor to look at my head. He immediately sent
me for a routine skull X-Ray. It turned out to be anything but routine, the
“man in my head” was cancer. After
undergoing cat scans, body scans, pet scans, biopsies and MRI’s, I was diagnosed
with malignant fibrous histiocytoma otherwise classified as pleomorphic soft
tissue sarcoma. Sarcoma is a type of
cancer that usually originates in your extremities, such as your arms and
legs. My sarcoma originated in my head. I had a craniotomy in
July to remove the cancer and had titanium plates put in my head. I underwent
eight weeks and a total of forty radiation treatments and since the cancer was
not anywhere else, my treatment was considered complete.
Guess what? The man in my head wasn’t done traveling. He decided to visit my lungs and liver. As of November 16, 2007 I was in Stage 4 Cancer and my oncologist told me I needed to start chemotherapy as soon as possible. I was told, “Enjoy the holidays with your family,” so I started my chemo the day after Christmas.
The next year or so of my life consisted of entering the hospital every three weeks for intensive chemotherapy and in between treatments being rushed back and forth to the hospital for fevers, blood transfusions and platelet transfusions. I lost my hair because of the chemotherapy, but a portion of my hair will never grow back due to the radiation treatments. I am now the “Beautiful Woman with the Hats.” The “Man in My Head” was no match for me!! He was not going to win!! Cancer just happened to me. I never questioned, “Why Me?” It was just a turn my life took. My philosophy is you have to “Take one day at a time.” You never know what the next day will bring. With faith, hope and God, anything is possible.
After being diagnosed, it is sad, but you sometimes lose people you love in your life. Is it because the disease, the word Cancer scares them or were they ever really there? It will always be a mystery. However, there are the family, friends and even strangers you cry with and share with that will always have a place in your heart forever. I met a lot of special people that are now a part of my life
due to Sarcoma.
“You’re amazing,” “I could never be as strong as you,” “How do you do it?” “You’re our rock,” is what I hear all the time. Many friends and family have called me and asked me to speak to someone or a family member of someone that was diagnosed with Cancer. It might sound crazy, but I love to do it. I hope my words give them hope. My son calls me the “Cancer Whisperer.”
Trust your body, surround yourself with love and never forget that positivity is the key, “A positive thought can and will lead to a positive outcome!”
With Love & Hope,
Josephine Schiavo
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