20th Year of Journey to Cancer Free Life

Twenty years after my breast cancer diagnosis, I can't help but look back.  I am trying to decipher why I made it through while others did not.  I suppose, God must have set out a greater mission for me to have leased me a second life.  That mission is still unknown to me till now.  I hope one day, I would realize that I had accomplished that mission without delay.   I am grateful that I am blessed to still be around today enjoying life, ..laughing and loving.  There are times of aches and pains but it is an integral part of being alive.  It is not a half-empty glass but rather a half-filled glass for me.   Always, countless blessings exist anywhere, everywhere.  "One’s healing depends on his state of mind. If you think you are sick, then you surely are. Whatever your mind perceive, you’re body will achieve.”  These words from my doctor makes sense to me now.

It is said that to be diagnosed with Breast Cancer is to live with it through the rest of your life. Nonetheless, I would like to think that I had hit it right in the head which knocked it down completely without the chance of getting awake.

Come celebrate with me and cheers to all of us, Breast Cancer Survivors!  Whether still on the arena and giving a good fight or declaring a knock out win, we are all winners for having strength and courage to face the challenge!

You may care to read my cancer story here. 

Thank you so much for the visit and spending time to read. Have a great day!

Sixteen and victorious!

I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer stage 3. Underwent chemotherapy and cobalt therapy and I was bald as a consequence of the former. While under chemo treatment, my skin, fingernails and toenails were blackened and I was very pale. Became very skinny like a broom stick. Would always be wearing my wig in and out of the house, despite the discomfort, coz I couldn't stand the sight of myself in the mirror looking horrendous and helpless. I couldn’t eat enough and was always puking. There were mornings when I wouldn’t want to stand up from bed no matter how much encouragement hubby would give me. He’d ask me to go shopping for my favorite stuff but I thought it would be useless thinking I would die anytime soon, anyway. Friends who visited me were not all helpful but rather made me feel worse. To tell someone who’s sick of cancer that you really pity her is not a consolation but rather a painful affirmation of hopelessness, I told them so and they were sorry. I did what has to be done. I followed each and every detail of doctor’s orders and prescriptions. I religiously guarded my health by having my routine check ups every year. I began to have a better view of what really life is. I read the book - Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale and it helped me a lot. I still remember a passage from it which says, “Your obstacles are present all right. They are not fanciful but they are not difficult as they seem. Your mental attitude is the most important factor. Believe that Almighty God has put in you the power to lift yourself out of the rough by keeping an eye firmly fixed in the source of your power.” In my case, I have been telling myself “Cancer is only in my mind. I think victory- I get victory!” I would also imagine my little kids then who were 10 and 6 years old to be grown-ups. I was doing it almost everyday and every night for years. Now, 16 years after my diagnosis on December 14, 1992, I am cancer free. I’m so grateful to live my second life and see my children mature. Life is full of obstacles but anything can be conquered if we will believe in the power of almighty God! I am very blessed to have survived Breast Cancer. Today is my sixteenth year anniversary of survival. ... Yes, sixteen and victorious! Thank GOD!