My Thoughts on National Cancer Survivors Day - 6/7/21

Yesterday was National Cancer Survivors Day. All day, I thought about the people in my life who are Cancer Survivors and what a resilient group of individuals they are. Whether it is my Step-Mother who is a 2-time colon cancer survivor, my Sister-In-Law who is a survivor of Leiomyosarcoma, family members who are breast cancer survivors, a friend with multiple myeloma, or the many friends in my circle, every single one has battled the horrible cancer monster and been the victor of their fight.

I am a part of the club that no one ever wants to join but am thankful that I too can call myself a Survivor. The club is full of AMAZING people from all walks of life. People who have bravely stared death in the face and said “It’s not my time”. Being a survivor can be beautiful but be horribly scary at the same time. While I can say “I am a Survivor”, I am still in that early stage of my remission period (now they refer to it as NED or No Evidence of Disease) that there is always the possibility that my cancer can return with a metastatic status. The last 10 months have given me a great new perspective on my life and made me appreciate the little things more. I know my boys and Tim cringe when I get so sappy and emotional about things, but I just try to acknowledge things that are important to ME and cherish them as much as possible. I must be honest though; at times I do have survivors’ guilt and wonder why did I get off so easy? Yes, I had to have a bilateral mastectomy, had a reconstruction surgery with another in my future this Fall, and surgery to remove all my reproductive organs – none of which were easy by any means, but I wonder, why did I not have to go through the grueling process of chemo or radiation? Why did I not have to lose my hair or endure the horrible burns from radiation? Why have other women I know had to go through all of that and I did not have to? Not that I am wishing for any of it but at times I feel guilty that they have a more difficult journey than me. Or I think of my Pop, my Grandparents, both of Tim’s parents, and my best friend’s husband and her mother, all of whom battled their hardest until they just could not battle anymore and aren’t here to say they are survivors and that makes me horribly sad.

So, to all the warriors who are here today; while our paths are different in our cancer journey, we all have something in common and something that unites us; we are all are Previvors, Survivors, or Thrivers and that is something to celebrate! We are here, supporting each other, sharing our experiences and we are telling our story!

I’ve got some other pretty important dates coming up that I’ll probably be posting about as the 1 year anniversary of my diagnosis and my surgery or my “cancerversary” are both right around the corner. These are both dates that have been added to our calendar and have significant meanings in our home so stay tuned!