Signing in at oncology clinics while the older patients question if I’m in the right place. Going to support groups as the “breast cancer baby” because everyone else is two or three times my age. Being constantly told that I am “too young” to have breast cancer and yet, here I am – the odd girl out.
I felt invigorated. I felt inspired. I felt SEEN. I had never been in a situation where I was surrounded by so many kick ass women. They had all been through what I was going through, and that was powerful for me.
I’ve learned during this process, everyday I gain and meet some amazing friends. And although we may leave each other for whatever reason, I wouldn’t change a thing!
“We do what we gotta do to live, Sis,” she would often tell me. She was right and together, we did what we had to do to survive.
For so many of us in the cancer community, establishing connections with other survivors and thrivers has been a key piece in our ability to heal. We lean on one another and we learn from one another.
No, I am not the woman I was before, but the woman I am today shines the way God always intended for me to shine. And I am not sad at all that part of me had to die, so a greater me could emerge.
I didn’t know how to cope with having breast cancer.
How do you find your new normal like your oncologist so nonchalantly suggested? As if you were looking for your iPhone that had the “Find my iPhone” feature enabled.
I approached breast cancer like any other to-do; something “I” can handle.
I know that tomorrow is not promised, so I make it my business to live each day like it’s my last.
Your voice, your story, and your support can make a difference. Join For the Breast of Us in our mission to empower, support, and advocate for women of color across the globe. Together, we can create a future where every woman has the resources and support she needs to overcome breast cancer.
On the Web:
www.breastofus.com
www.breastofusfoundation.org
Email:
hello@breastofus.com
Welcome to our community—where hope thrives, strength is found, and sisters in the fight become family.
