Cancer Diagnosis + Revisiting my Bucket List

This summer has not been what I expected. I’d planned to go home for three weeks to get a branchial cyst removed, catch up with family and friends, then come back to my husband for a trip to Armenia and Georgia. But one week after my surgery, I went for my post-op, and heard a word I wasn’t prepared for: cancer.

Most of my time in Florida was spent in doctors’ offices. Luke had to hear the news over Skype. My sister and mother cried, and Dad went quiet. Even with a good prognosis (thyroid cancer is one of the most curable cancers), that C-word rattled us.

After hastily canceling our trip to the Caucasus region and returning to Bucharest, I’ve had a lot of time to think. What’s my purpose in life? Do I believe in a higher power? Should I stay abroad or move back home?  

During one of these periods of pensiveness, I dug up my old bucket list. I typed it up ten years ago before moving to Korea—a time when my thoughts were permanently dancing high above my head. I was 27, heart-broken, about to lose my job, and had an intense longing to do something that would change everything I thought I knew about myself and the world.

Looking back on all of these things, I feel immense gratitude. I also feel the need to keep adding to the list. We never know how much longer we have here on earth.

1. Live abroad
2. Visit all 7 continents
3. Walk on the Great Wall of China
4. Ride a camel in the desert
5. Stay at an ashram in India
6. See the Taj Mahal
7. Hike Machu Picchu in Peru
8. See the pyramids
9. Go on an African safari
10. Travel by myself
11. Live in Europe
12.  Become a full-time writer
13. Fly first class
14. A wine tour in Napa Valley
15.  Win an important award
16. Positively affect a child’s life
17. Become a big sister to someone who needs it
18. Raft through the Grand Canyon
19. Hang gliding
20. Sky diving
21. White water rafting
22. Get my scuba diving certification
23. Watch the sun set in Santorini (This is happening in October!)
24. Eat pizza in Naples, Italy
25. Eat sushi in Japan
26. Complete a challenging race
27. Learn to dance ballroom
28. Learn to speak Spanish fluently (In progress)
29. Drink steins in Munich
30. Go to a coffee shop in Amsterdam
31. Have a spa day
32. Ride a mechanical bull
33. Fall recklessly in love
34. Write a book
35. Write a food column for a magazine
36. Learn about wine
37. Take professional cooking classes
38. Learn to play an instrument
39. Take a photography class
40. Try to surf
41. Catch a fish and eat it for dinner
42. Explore the canals in Venice
43. Go to a pub in Ireland
44. Visit a castle in England
45. Learn to salsa dance
46. Dance tango in Buenos Aires
47. Learn to play golf
48. Learn to play chess
49. Swim with dolphins
50. Go scalloping
51. Fly in a hot-air balloon
52. Explore the Louvre in Paris
53. Learn to meditate
54. Ride a motorcycle
55. Get out of debt
56. Go backpacking
57. Go on a road trip
58. Have a successful blog
59. See the aurora borealis
60. Own a convertible
61. See Angkor Wat
62. Explore Rome’s ancient ruins
63. Stay inside the old walled city of Jeruselum
64. Go to Bali
65. Teraccota Warriors in China
66. See a show at the Sydney Opera House in Australia
67. Travel Vietnam top to bottom
68. Jungle trekking
69. Ride an elephant in Thailand
70. Paint something and frame it
71. Decorate my house with pictures I’ve taken from around the world
72. Throw a surprise party
73. Visit Pompeii
74. Dive the Great Barrier Reef
75. Go to Rio de Janerio in Brazil
76. Ride a bike down “the world’s most dangerous road” in Bolivia
77. Volunteer abroad
78. Find a cause and volunteer regularly
79. Learn to drive a stick shift
80.  Become a certified teacher
81. Take a Turkish bath in Turkey
82. Go to a spice market in India
83. Visit the Old Town Square in Prague
84. Have high tea in London
85. See Giant’s Causeway in Ireland
86. Spend a day in Belgium drinking beer and eating chocolate
87. Rent a car with my significant other and travel “The Romantic Road” in Bavaria, Germany
88. Wine tour in Italy
89. Ride the Trans-Siberian Express in Russia
90. Take the Sampo Icebreaker Cruise in Kempi, Lapland, Finland
91. Go to Alaska and experience 24 hours of daylight
92. Spend the night in The Ice Hotel in Norrland, Sweden
93. Dive in the Read Sea in Egypt
94. See Petra, then camp in Wadi Rum desert
95. Take the hydrofoil from Spain to Morocco
96. 9-day trek up Mount Kilimanjaro in Kenya
97. Float on the Dead Sea then take a mud bath in En-gedi, Israel
98. Stroll through the covered bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey
99. Visit the Galapagos Islands
100. Cruise to Antarctica from Argentina

My thyroidectomy and radical neck dissection is scheduled for December 11^th in Florida. I’ll be returning for radiation therapy in March and hope to get the “all clear” after that. Meantime, I think I’ll work on crossing off some more bucket list items.

Tell me: would you like updates? Do you have your own bucket list? If so, what’s on it? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

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