It’s not rocket science, it’s rocket salad.
Cancer is a hugely complex experience to go through and living it can feel like being in the biggest bowl of spaghetti ever. Forget anything linear, life is all twisted, intertwined and messy.
But if there is one thing I have been guilty of and it’s making it more complicated than it needs to be.
Let me explain.
Cancer is definitely a complicated beast. Why some people get it and others don’t can be baffling but for those of us that do, treating it is something way above my pay grade which is why I leave all that stuff to my oncologist – he’s an expert and I’m not.
At first, I tried to read around the subject and plunged into research papers, online journals, the latest this and the latest that.
I did that because I’m a great believer in being active in the treatment of your illness and the recovery of your health.
Now, don’t get me wrong – doing this stuff can be a good thing but only if you understand it. I struggled because I’m not medically trained and so I found myself out of my depth. I can grasp the ‘Dummies Guide’ version but that’s my limit.
I realised that for me, cancer is more complicated than rocket science but my response to it doesn’t have to be.
The way I choose to live with incurable cancer is down to me and if I want to bury myself in articles that I don’t understand then my life will always be spaghetti.
Another way to approach the experience is the rocket salad way and just keep it simple.
I’m still really interested in the latest news and the latest developments that are happening in the world of cancer research including exciting new trials but that’s for the oncologists to interpret and translate.
From my point of view, brain candy is more important. I choose to focus on the simple and enjoyable pleasures so that I can distract myself. This involves entertaining myself as much as I can so I’m not thinking of cancer all of the time.
I still enjoy intellectually stimulating and demanding content but unravelling cancer’s complexity is for the experts to worry about.
So, for me, cancer is best left at the level of rocket salad. I can manage that mentally and it gives me more cognitive space to breathe.