Chemo Valley

i just wanted to throw this out there and see if others can relate to this.. i've just finished cycle 5 of this go around of chemo...
Yesterday i had someone ask me how i was feeling and i responded with "Well i think i'm about ready to start this climb out of chemo valley" She responded with "Chemo valley?" and i was just like "Yea you know, like they say cancer is a journey, chemo valley is on the map " So she laughed and was "There's gotta be a story to this." So here was my response.

"We are like the pioneers of old who headed west...they all knew where they were headed, but they didn't know what exactly they would face on that journey, No matter how many people they had talked to who had been on that journey and returned, or letters written to the folks back home telling them what they had faced, they didn't know the particular details that they would face, because every journey, though similar would be different. Perhaps it would be flooded rivers, or windstorms, or lack of food or illnesses or injuries. There was no guarantee they would make it but they had a destination in mind.

When we first start on our journey to "Survival City" we can only plan based on knowledge we gain from researching the trip, for of course no one wants to go on this trip unprepared. We know we'll be going through many places so we must try to plan accordingly. Most everyone will cross many branches and streams of the Tears River at some time if not many times in their journey. Some will travel through the Dark Forest of Depression, others through the Mists of Anxiety and even a few may get near the Volcano of Rage. The lucky few who manage to avoid those often have a lot of folks supporting and guiding them on their journey. Almost everyone talks about the horrible things that can be expected in various parts and hollows of Chemo Valley such as the Brain Fog, the Nausea Swamps and lowlands belonging to the Blood Counts. but no matter how tired and worn out we get, there's always the knowledge that we will slowly start the climb, no matter how slow it is, back up from the section of Chemo Valley we are currently in and up another ridge in the Hope Mountains.

Almost everyone will cross the Surgical Divide at some point in their journey. Some may end up going across Radiation Plains to get to their final destination. Others may end up going through Clinical Trials Pass, and a few may choose to go only through the Natural Paths of the Gardens and Woodlands avoiding the other areas. Each chooses the best path for their individual journey..

But everyone's trip is different. No two people will experience the exact same journey and like the pioneers of old, not everyone will survive the journey. Some may arrive in Survival City and even stay for awhile, only to find that something was missed on the journey or something sends them back along the journey again.. But if someone doesn't begin the journey to start with, they'll never know if they could make it to Survival City and its better to try than to never try at all."

Hopefully others will find this encouraging... my friend thought it was a good analogy of what i was going through...and she laughed and said she knew that although the climb was slow in the beginning she knew I'd make it up this ridge of Hope Mountain and across the final hollow of Chemo Valley to ring the Freedom Bell found at the end of it right before climbing the final ridge of the Hope Mountains and into Survival City once again

written by BH (my RL initials) on 7/18/26