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Chemo Has Come A Long Way

Pain management and support systems are much better

Shefali O'Hara
3 min readDec 20, 2024
Waterlily by Shefali O’Hara using ink; I hope to recover enough to paint again

I was first diagnosed with cancer when I was 36 years old. It was a very aggressive form of cancer, inflammatory breast disease. Originally, I decided not to do chemo and radiation despite my doctor insist I do both after having a double mastectomy.

Instead, I asked him how long I would be expected to live and he said 6 months.

I decided I’d rather spend the 6 months enjoying life than in a hospital.

However, I did make some changes to my life. I started taking long walks in a local park with a small lake which attracted a lot of wildlife. I saw colonies of red winged blackbirds, rabbits, and turtles. There was also a beaver dam at one end, and a couple of times I got a glimpse of one of its creators.

Depending on the season, I’d see migrating water fowl — geese, herons, and even the occasional pelican. A couple of times I spotted a few wild turkeys.

The daily walks were out in the sunshine and fresh air. I think that helped my body, along with changes I made to my diet. I switched to all organic foods and started juicing. I also removed news programs from my intellectual diet and started to watch comedies.

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Shefali O'Hara
Shefali O'Hara

Written by Shefali O'Hara

Cancer survivor, Christian, writer, engineer. BSEE from MIT, MSEE, and MA in history. Love nature, animals, books, art, and interesting discussions.

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