Cancer Lesson #??: Having survived cancer makes me luckier — not braver — than those who didn’t.
It’s nice to be a cancer survivor, to act as a symbol of hope to others. And yet, I have a problem wearing a label which seems to imply I did something more than those who fought cancer and didn’t survive.
That’s not true.
I’ve been lucky.* My treatment worked, leaving me clear of cancer.* But it’s not because I fought any harder than those who didn’t beat the disease.
In truth, I had it pretty easy. One big surgery, rehab, three months of chemo, and now, nearly three years later, I’m doing well. So, I have scars (big ones!), and the muscles in my stomach and right shoulder will never be quite as strong as they once were. I can do pretty much everything I did before.
I call that damn lucky.*
So many others go through so much more with less positive results.
They are the brave ones, don’t you think?
*at least for now. (I add this because, like many survivors, I believe that once you’ve had cancer, you are never truly free of it.)
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I agree….I have had several friends that I have met on my journey with breast cancer who fought with everything that they had and still lost the battle. I have had 4 surgeries and 5 months of chemo and I am still alive. I had the SAME treatment that some of them did. It is luck…..we never know. I did not fight harder than they did.
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Debbie, I’m so glad you got what I was saying. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful at all. I’m so happy to still be there, and I appreciate people thinking good things about me, but some of it just comes down to dumb luck. You and I have been fortunate. Others were not. Doesn’t mean they didn’t “fight” hard enough. Thanks so much for stopping by, and for commenting.
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Thanks for linking to my post.
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