Regardless of how successful your philanthropic effort is, take heart in the fact that you had the desire to change the world, and we are all better for it.
Many of us cherish our lives.But the one time that I actually subconsciously cherished myself was when I had cancer.I say this because when I heard those three words that everyone dreads, I resolved in my heart to fight for me... to fight to live.
"When I woke up from surgery and had tubes and ports coming out of me, I was just a body. When you come into your body, you become porous. There is no separation between you and the world."
Well, my friends, that cancer circus began eight years ago today. And in my books that makes me an eight-year survivor. I feel an emotional connection with today. It's right up there with my birthday and the birthdays of my three kids.
There are many times when I am so happy! Many, many people say they'd never know that I was sick. But right now, living feels like so much work. And the wait to get better keeps getting longer and longer.
The one thing we have to make sure is that they don't change irreversibly. Cancer can take a lot physically. It can only take what we allow it emotionally. We are stronger than cancer. Even if it takes our life, we are STILL stronger than cancer.
Now that my physical fight is long ago, my motivation is to help others get back up when they've been knocked down, and I will even include myself in that category.
The words "You have cancer" are arguably some of the most devastating you can hear. I have found new cancer patients (and those supporting them) love hearing stories (and seeing pictures!) of how survivors faced cancer.
I made my cancer personal. To me, my cancer was my bully. Before I started treatment, it beat me senseless on a daily basis.
Even though my life is calm these days, I plan to continue my practice because I know a new stressor is bound to appear just as certainly as the sun rises tomorrow. For me, yoga is good medicine for body, mind, soul and spirit.
Having to tell children about a breast cancer diagnosis is rotten. However, based on my professional experience as a nurse and my personal experience as a patient, I know that including children in the process is the most important thing that adults can do for them.
Wrapping your head around the fact that you or a loved one has cancer is no easy task. After my 46-year-old husband was diagnosed, we were in a state of shock and paralyzed with fear. Here are six things I wish we had known at the beginning of our cancer journey.
It's hard to actually convey just how horrendous nausea can get. With my own experience, I didn't have a lick of it after my first three days of chemo. The docs said that most of that was because of the anti-nausea drugs. And then came day four.
Written by Suzanne Leigh for Brain, Child Months before my elder daughter was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, I started leaving brief hand...
Pets are powerful allies. The devotion and caring they dole out is invaluable during the good times, but even more so during the bad. Without even realizing it, Elsie and Sophie brought me great comfort that day, as well as during my mother's illness two years earlier.
Three years ago, I was thrust into this sub-culture of a forgotten population of cancer survivors: young adults. I wish there wasn't a need for my job, but at the same time, I couldn't picture doing anything else.
It's always a horrendous experience when you are told you are going to lose a body part. I unfortunately know way too many people who have had this happen during cancer treatment. But there's a little extra slap in the face when reproductive parts are in the equation.
I was as prepared for my daughter's birth as anyone could be. What I wasn't prepared for was my wife's cancer diagnosis a little over three months later.
Though it's been largely associated with traumatic events, such as war, terrorist attacks and even natural disasters, post-traumatic stress disorder (...
It's only when you stop resisting change and make the best of the moment, "without knowing what's going to happen next," that the universe supports you to create inspired healing, wellness, and live-out-loud joy.
As I meditate on the impact that illness has had on my life, I realize I'm a better, more grateful woman today because of cancer. I was asleep at the wheel before cancer shook me awake. And though there's still no cure, I continue to live harmoniously with cancer.
Close your eyes for a moment and just say that as many times as it takes to sink in. Love. Never. Fails. It immediately brought my mind to all of the people I know who are right now battling cancer.
I was 22 years old on the brink of graduating from one of the top musical theater programs in the nation, when I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I thought I was Superman, and my super power was my singing voice. Until, that is, the kryptonite lodged itself into my body.
You might wonder why I've decided to write, rather than just curse you in silence. Writing to you certainly won't make my Valentine better. But there's a small chance it might resonate with someone noticing a change in his own body and convince him to bring his concerns to his doctor.
When I was first diagnosed with cancer at age 18, the only thought that ran through my mind was how unfair this whole situation was. But I soon realized that it wasn't helpful to think this way.
