Lessons Learned from Cancer

I was five months pregnant with my first child when I was diagnosed with cancer. Hodgkin’s disease. Two little words, yet they were about to change everything: my hopes, my dreams, and more importantly, my plans.

"You're very lucky," Dr. Robert Goldman, my new oncologist, pronounced.

I was thirty-four years old and I knew I was in trouble. Lucky was about the only thing I wasn't feeling.

Now, more than twelve years later, I realize how lucky I am. Hodgkin's is a treatable and even a curable form of cancer. I’ve been out of treatment for over ten years. For Hodgkin's Disease, that’s considered a cure. I have a healthy, rambunctious twelve-year-old daughter, a husband who has stayed beside me through the whole experience, and a new career.

I have learned a lot from having cancer. I have learned from doctors and nurses, patients, cancer counselors, friends, family, and neighbors. More importantly, I've learned from myself.

I've learned that not everyone is comfortable being around someone with cancer. Some friends, reminded of their own vulnerability, disappeared from my life. Those who stayed are still in my life today, and our friendships are even stronger.

One of the most important lessons I learned from cancer is that life is too short and most things are not worth the stress we add to them. I've learned to let things go. I only read the articles I want to in magazines. If I don't like a book, I stop and start another one. If I don't like a movie, I walk out. I've stopped feeling I have to reconcile my checkbook to the penny. I no longer worry so much about what others think of me. I'm even learning how to say no when I don't want to do something.

I love getting older, i.e. considering the alternative, I was given. Every birthday is a celebration--another year of life. When I turned forty, I bought myself jewelry at Tiffany's, perhaps as a badge of honor. I also took my entire family to Disneyland. Having cancer taught me that nothing in life is guaranteed, so I don't wait to do the things I want to do.

Most importantly I learned that having cancer is not a death sentence. The American Cancer Society is very proud of the fact that approximately 7.4 million Americans alive today have had cancer. I've had cancer. I've survived and I've learned.

What follows are my lessons learned. Also included are some quotes from others who’ve dealt with cancer in their lives. They are the old and young, men, women, and children. Some of these observations come from the cured, the in remission, and those no longer with us. Others are from caregivers, friends, and family members whose lives have been touched by cancer.

Something we've all learned is that there is no place in cancer for guilt. It doesn't matter what you've done, what you're doing now, or what you will do in the future. When cancer is a reality in your life, feeling guilty over how you got it only makes the journey more difficult.

So, sit back, relax and share these

Lessons Learned From Cancer...