Is mental illness on the rise?

You are very brave.

Right?

Do you, like, go around hatching dragons in your spare time? Because you are seriously one badass khaleesi!

Paisan!

Yes, good point. Anyway. Whether it’s hard-core chemo or “chemo lite,” it’s no fun to be sick. Here’s hoping she enjoys a long remission!

Good for you, showing that sucky psa who’s boss! I hope it drowns in a bog. And then apologizes. And then drowns in a bog again.

Oh, yes, certainly, you are right. At least, I’d hope they’re try other options first! IV Cytoxan is no joke!

I know, right? Say it with me — “have you tried going gluten-free?”

OMG I just want to slap your Aunt Linda right in the face!

So true! Good luck to her and love from the rest of the wolf pack!

Oh, I’m stupid, I just realized you have PsA. Which also sucks!

Also, sorry about your health. RA sucks giant boulders! (I’ve heard. I have lupus, so we’re, like, cousins.)

That’s not quite true. I mean, yes, it’s true, but real, hardcore, lose-all-your-hair-and-shit chemo is also used. At least, it is for lupus, especially lupus nephritis.

Oh, yeah, chemo has been used to treat lupus for decades. IV Cyclophosphamide is most often used to treat lupus nephritis, but can also be effective (I’ve read) against vasculitis and myositis. Also lupus-induced blood disorders such as pernicious anemia and thrombocytopenia. And probably other things I’ve forgotten…

Excellent point.

Just had a conversation about this with husband recently. I would never have imagined we were anything but on the same page, then within seconds he was bristling with (totally understandable) anger and I was flooded with (also totally understandable) bewildered guilt/shame/remorse.

I feel kind of conflicted, because

Lots of stepmoms are more “real” than lots of birth moms anyway. Raising a child is a tremendous task, whether you gave birth to that child or not. (And even if you did carry the child, are you “not really” its mother if you borrowed someone else’s eggs? Honestly! The stupid things people find to be competitive about!)

I wish I could be your friend. No babies for me. No lots-of-things for me. Long-term serious illness just changes all the rules, doesn’t it? I really, really, really understand how that kind of isolation feels.