TSA vs Cancer Survivors
The Transportation Security Association (TSA) and cancer survivors are not one of the areas that I thought I would be blogging about. What has me upset is the insensitivity of the TSA with people that wear any type of prosthetic devices. There have been two incidents that have been reported on the news that have humiliated and embarrassed these people, who both happen to be cancer survivors. Continue reading
I Believe Something Different
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Many people think that cancer survivors are victims in life—people that have earned the right to be pitied and felt sorry for. They feel that survivors have the right to be angry at life and God because they have gone through this horrible life threatening experience. If that is your opinion, you probable want to stop reading now.
I believe something different. I believe something along the lines of being grateful for a second chance at life. I believe my cancer treatment sucked, but it gave me some valuable insight about my life that I don’t think I would have learned if not for this experience.
When you are diagnosed with cancer, you are plucked out of your perfect life and put into a twilight zone of existence. Things are no longer normal and your life is unrecognizable. You are in a world that talks about the odds of you dying. It is so surreal that it allows for lots of time for inner contemplation. This time allowed me to have deep reflection on the life I have lived so far. I put my life in a capsule and analyzed my thoughts on my past, present and possible future. I wondered why my dreams and my reality were so far apart. I wondered why I ever fretted about stupid petty things when there were so much other things to think about. I realized that my life was not as perfect as I thought.
Now I see my life from a new vantage point. I understand how each day is a gift and appreciate the time I have. I choose to make the best of the rest of the time I have left. I don’t waste time doing “things” but choose my time doing “things” with meaning and purpose. I even apply this to the people in my life; I don’t waste time on toxic vampires, instead spending time with people that make me feel happy, joy and peace. I concentrate on the positive and close the doors on the negative thoughts. I understand that the time is now to act on my dreams, that there is no waiting for the “right time” because the “right time” is right now.
I know I won’t be the poster child for how to change your life through cancer but I am grateful that I had this experience. Life before treatment was ok, but life after treatment is richer beyond my wildest imagination.
I love Kris Carr’s description of what a survivor is:
A survivor is a triumphant person who lives with, after, or in spite of a diagnosis or traumatic event. Survivors refuse to assume the identity of their adversity. They are not imprisoned by the constructs of a label. Instead, survivors use their brush with mortality as a catalyst for creating a better self. We transform our experience in order to further evolve spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. Our reality challenges us to go deeper. Survivors cultivate an essence that will never be victim to a word……Kris Carr, author of Crazy Sexy Cancer Survivor
Stepping Stones
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[fancy_header]What’s your story?[/fancy_header]
It’s a question that can reveal the heart or the soul of anyone you ask. I have been amazed and inspired by the adventures and journeys that perfect strangers have shared about their life. “What’s your story,” asks the person, what happened to you that makes you who you are. Our lives are made of many stories that take us through our journey like stepping stones to cross a stream. Each stone representing an experience that influenced which step to take next on the path.
I want to tell you about one of my stepping stones. It starts out on May 26, 2006 when I was waiting on a phone call.
It was a beautiful day, the kind that the sky is royal blue and there are no clouds at all. I was waiting for a phone call that I thought would kick off the summer to a great start. The call came right when my youngest was getting home from school. The call would change my life forever. I had breast cancer. Continue reading
Anniversaries
[fancy_header]Welcome to my blog the place to be with like minded people living well after cancer. Today is its official launch and I am excited to share my thoughts and hope you do the same with me.[/fancy_header]
Why is the anniversary of our cancer diagnosis significant? Why don’t we just forget about it and celebrate any day but the dreaded day when we were told “you have cancer.” I won’t pretend to speak for everyone, but, I can tell you why I hold my cancer diagnosis date in remembrance. It’s very simple-I don’t want to forget.
I don’t want to forget that I am vulnerable. Most people that have been through treatment of cancer live with the “dirty little secret”—fear of reoccurrence. My anniversary date reminds me to take very good care of me. I exercise and eat healthy but I also pay close attention to my thoughts. I cancel the negative thoughts and rewind with the positive thoughts. I don’t listen to my inner critic tell me I am not important or fat or stupid. I tell that gremlin in my head to stop talking and allow empowering thoughts to be heard. I have learned to be my own best advocate for health and wellness.
I don’t want to forget the experience. The journey into cancer treatment is not for the meek and mild. It is a combination of the Fun House and the thrill ride at the carnival. Your body doesn’t look the same and you feel sick most of the time. I learned through this ordeal that no matter what happens to me anytime, or anywhere I am fearless. This journey taught me that when one journey ends another one begins—and that is the true celebration.
I don’t want to forget that I am grateful. People are still dying from cancer. I think about my “sisters” that went before me who are no longer here. They remind me not to take life for granted or too seriously. I look forward to each day and really try not to sweat the small stuff or the big stuff. I trust I can get through this because I have survived cancer.
I love the quote by an anonymous author…Just when the caterpillar thought it’s life was over it became a butterfly. I feel like the caterpillar that turned into a butterfly. My life before BC was busy doing nothing, my life after BC is busy doing something. May 26 doesn’t remind me that I almost died it reminds me to live!
