My friend blurted out today, “We are the crazy cancer chicks.”
So that is our new label. Cancer chicks!!! We both have stage 4 cancer and decided that we are going to make this year fun and achieve all our goals. We have promised each other to make a list of what we want to achieve and make sure that we each stay on our path.
I asked her what she wanted her children to remember of her. She said – Strength. That their mother was a strong woman. That she gave them their strength and their independence at a young age. She has done this beautifully. I admire the path that she chose: To give her children their own lives, even if that meant for her letting go. That is pure strength and beauty. To really let go and let your children go so they can soar. I am amazed at her courage. I wish I could tell the world about the gift that she gave to her children when she was diagnosed. It is the truest act of going with your heart and not operating from what should happen or being on a track with what society says we should do.
This page is the most difficult for me to write. I have never really been comfortable talking about myself. I have always encouraged others to tell me their personal stories – that is where I am most at ease, as the listener. We each have a story, and that is often how we identify ourselves. Despite my hesitance to tell my own, I’ve recently realized that my story might have the potential to help others along their journey.
For the past year, I have been trying to answer the question: Who am I? Am I the woman who six years ago was diagnosed with breast cancer and has gone through treatments that changed the very essence of my being? Am I a mother and a wife and an artist? What is my purpose on this Earth? What is intended for me?