"BLOG 3"
JANUARY 22, 2007
In six weeks, it will be a year since I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. What a difference a year makes. For those of you who have been recently diagnosed or are going through treatment, this may sound trite, but this time will pass quickly. You don’t want to hear it, I am sure. I didn’t want to hear it either, so it is okay. Having breast cancer or cancer of any kind is an indescribably frightening thing and at time is overwhelming and might seem inescapable. It is easy to escape most things that bring us pain, discomfort or unhappiness in life, but when it comes to something like cancer, that is inside your body, threatening your life, how do you deal? Talking to family and friends is helpful, or even joining a support group, although that can be time-consuming with the physical and time demands of treatment. During treatment, sometimes, life can seem out of your hands, literally, with the needles, medication, and all.
What got me through it is something so simple that you might laugh when I tell you this, but I will tell you anyway. Here it goes…. I made up my mind that I would get through it, and that was half the battle. Secondly, I put one foot in front of the other. You see, after I got diagnosed, I would think, “I don’t know whether these people are right or wrong. Will I live a full life, or will I die of cancer today, next month, five years from now?” I worried incessantly. So, I decided that no matter what my prognosis, I would take control of my life and define what I wanted from the experience. You need to decide what it is you want from yours. You want to survive, yes. However, survival in and of itself is like just existing and not making the most of life. As challenging as it may seem, try to find the speck of hope or one thing in this experience that you can use to give your life meaning. At times it may feel like cancer defines your life; yet, you have the opportunity to decide to redefine it through this experience. My hope for you is that you will find that something in your life, that hope, that dream and despite your current health challenge, make it a reality, because it is you that creates your experience, and not the experience that creates you.
I know this because although next week will be two months since my last treatment, I too still struggle with defining and redefining myself after this experience. I still have questions and seek answers. I still worry and wonder; yet, in spite of it all, I move forward, squarely putting one foot in front of the other. Try it; you might discover something new about yourself, and in just the act of moving forward, you will create a future beyond cancer.
In six weeks, it will be a year since I was first diagnosed with breast cancer. What a difference a year makes. For those of you who have been recently diagnosed or are going through treatment, this may sound trite, but this time will pass quickly. You don’t want to hear it, I am sure. I didn’t want to hear it either, so it is okay. Having breast cancer or cancer of any kind is an indescribably frightening thing and at time is overwhelming and might seem inescapable. It is easy to escape most things that bring us pain, discomfort or unhappiness in life, but when it comes to something like cancer, that is inside your body, threatening your life, how do you deal? Talking to family and friends is helpful, or even joining a support group, although that can be time-consuming with the physical and time demands of treatment. During treatment, sometimes, life can seem out of your hands, literally, with the needles, medication, and all.
What got me through it is something so simple that you might laugh when I tell you this, but I will tell you anyway. Here it goes…. I made up my mind that I would get through it, and that was half the battle. Secondly, I put one foot in front of the other. You see, after I got diagnosed, I would think, “I don’t know whether these people are right or wrong. Will I live a full life, or will I die of cancer today, next month, five years from now?” I worried incessantly. So, I decided that no matter what my prognosis, I would take control of my life and define what I wanted from the experience. You need to decide what it is you want from yours. You want to survive, yes. However, survival in and of itself is like just existing and not making the most of life. As challenging as it may seem, try to find the speck of hope or one thing in this experience that you can use to give your life meaning. At times it may feel like cancer defines your life; yet, you have the opportunity to decide to redefine it through this experience. My hope for you is that you will find that something in your life, that hope, that dream and despite your current health challenge, make it a reality, because it is you that creates your experience, and not the experience that creates you.
I know this because although next week will be two months since my last treatment, I too still struggle with defining and redefining myself after this experience. I still have questions and seek answers. I still worry and wonder; yet, in spite of it all, I move forward, squarely putting one foot in front of the other. Try it; you might discover something new about yourself, and in just the act of moving forward, you will create a future beyond cancer.
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