Affects of Tumors/Cancer on High School Relationships

Visions of grandeur,
Rolling across state lines,
Midnight fits for exit,
Navy skies, perfect time

Outasight, Catch Me If You CanFurther EP, 2010

Having a brain tumor has created some awkward situations for me in the dating department, but nothing serious. My biggest concerns when dating someone have always been when to introduce the medical aspect of my life and how much to disclose. Luckily, having a tumor/cancer doesn’t pose as much of a deal breaker for high school students in relationships. Generally speaking, high school students don’t really think about tumor/cancer related topics. It’s pretty safe to say that high school students know someone or at least know “someone who knows someone” who is affected by cancer, but most high school students aren’t concerned with cancer because teens with tumors/cancer don’t appear to be very prevalent to the general public.

The most frustrating situation is when it comes to being out at a party or on a date and not being able to "stay up late" or stay out past 10:30-ish pm. If I don’t get enough sleep, it’s fairly likely that I’ll have some sort of a headache or seizure the next day. Most people describe me as “chill,” but from the Keppra I’m more than likely just really tired. It’s not very fun to always have to be the first person to leave, but I try to start my nights earlier, that way when they end earlier they’ve lasted longer.

I find myself rummaging through my backpack or purse looking for a something and pulling out a bottle or bag of pills and having to explain why I carry them around with me on a weekly basis hahah. I usually forget to turn off the 5:30pm Keppra alarm on my phone while in the movies too, which leads to apologizing for leaving my phone on, usually later leading to explaining why I have an alarm set for 5:30pm in the first place. Besides those two common situations and sleep stipulations, I’m lucky to say that my medical history doesn’t impact my dating life that much.

I wrote a guest blog for the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation earlier this month that gives advice geared towards the high school/college aged dating thrivers out there..check it out!