In a previous blog post, I briefly touched on Jeff’s unexpected Cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatments that all began in January of 2022.   What started as discomfort and fullness in his stomach, quickly turned to the three words you NEVER want to hear “You have Cancer”.  Although the doctors had stated early on a 50/50 chance that Jeff had a possible infection (which I was hopeful for, as crazy as that sounds), a biopsy and more lab tests would determine that it was Stage 2 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  Jeff’s reaction was quiet and stoic, while I silently freaked the hell out inside.  I would constantly look at jeff with the questions going through my mind, “how are you so calm and logical, how are you not putting your fist through a wall, are you scared?”.  Why the hell was this happening to him? Why can’t I fix this, make it go away?  Why, the word most spoken at first, but then came the what, when, where and how’s.

Thankfully once again, Dr. Alex helped us both to navigate and arrange appointments with the Ultrasounds, MRI, lab tests and oncologist Dr. Miguel, he went with us to those first few appointments, and tried to prepare us for the what was to come.  Fear of the unknown can be so scary and frustrating.  So many times, I turned to my best friends to express the fear and uncertainty, to vent, to cry and at times laugh.  It wasn’t as though Jeff and I could not speak about what was happening, we did, all the time, but even for Jeff, we needed time to process it all.  The why will forever be a question we ask ourselves, but now we needed to arm ourselves with the knowledge of what comes next… it all happened so fast!  We began to weigh the pros and cons of treatment here in Mexico or do we return to Canada.  After getting a better picture of the healthcare climate in Canada and receiving the timeline of treatment as well as the ballpark cost of treatment in Mexico, it became a no brainer to stay here in Mexico.  We had everything we needed here including support of loved ones, amazing doctors, and the comfort of our home.  Armed with the confirmed diagnosis, a timeline of treatments, the facts surrounding what we were about to begin as well as our plan of attack, it was time to call loved ones to inform them of the Journey we never wanted to embark on….