Feb
5
I Have Cancer, But Cancer Doesn’t Have Me!
February 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Uphill Climb
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My wonderful friends and family. . .you have all been on my mind lately as I sort through this new up hill climb. I wanted to do what was right in breaking this news, as there are just so many of you to personally contact as this battle begins. I felt the best way to help you to realize that “I am WELL” is to set up this BLOG and provide on-going updates as to my progress.
I will begin by first saying that over the past couple of months my Loving Heavenly Father has put Angels ‘round about me in preparation for this day. I feel an indescribable sense of peace as I embark upon this journey. When I left the hospital this afternoon and was driving on the freeway in a torrential downpour, I was struck by my unusual feeling of calm, and it was as though a blanket of protection had been draped over me. I felt a gentle joy, and I have to say, “Sure, I’m quite a positive individual, but this was not of my doing.” It was confirmed to me in a blessing the night before that I would feel a surety of my decisions as I was placed in the hands of a team of doctors who would know what to do. I again quietly thanked God for this enormous gift.
There will be many of you who will, with good intent, feel sorry for me. I ask you not to. There is nothing to feel sorry for me about. Let me explain: I believe that we are given challenges in our lives to be as a refining fire. Without bumps along the way we would just take this journey as observers, basking in the pleasures and comforts that we enjoy. I see our challenges as opportunities to become greater, more gentle, compassionate and loving individuals. To truly understand the challenges of another, one must see through similar eyes themselves. Now, not everyone will get breast cancer. Some will have much greater battles to fight, such as, losing a child. I can think of much more difficult bumps to maneuver over than what I have just been given.
I have a friend who has overcome more hardships in her life than you could imagine. She has had more surgeries than an unprepared army, has gone from wealth to poverty, and she has seen her loved ones go through the refining fires that would destroy most souls. I tell you about her because she is a testimony of what a person can truly become in their fire. Her refining fire has forged a gem not of this world, a beautiful daughter of God who continues to give back to others because she understands. So, the lesson that she has taught me is that the most important gift we have is to be there with our self-same experiences, to lift up others as they move onto unfamiliar ground. I have never before undergone surgery to this extent and, she has come here to be at my side and help guide me. I would only hope that I will be so selfless in the future and be there for others as they are given the news that they have cancer. But let me once again assure you that “CANCER DOES NOT HAVE ME.”