"The best present I ever gave myself during treatment was a cancer free day."

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer several years ago, my very first thought was, "this isn't happening! Why me?" Almost immediately on the heels of that I had another thought, "why not me? What's so special about me?" Turns out, when it comes to cancer, not a lot. My husband and I are both cancer survivors, as is my mother, although she is now facing another battle with the disease. At 92 it won't be easy. I lost my adored uncle to Mesothelioma, after he beat bowel and then liver cancer. My aunt is currently facing a second battle with bowel cancer after surviving breast cancer. A very dear friend passed away a few months ago from the disease. The list goes on. We all face tough times in our lives. Being diagnosed with cancer is right up there. Your own body is betraying you; it is producing cells that could kill you. Treatment is hard enough physically, but emotionally it is devastating. You feel like you are alone on a runaway train that just won't stop, and at the same time you don't want it to stop. You grasp at anything for a hint that things are not as bad as they really are. There are a whole team of people who are trying to keep you alive and you don't want to let them, or those dearest to you, down. Along the way, I have learned a lot of things about people and, more importantly, about myself. I have learned that I am actually mortal - now there's a shock! I have learned that cancer is a word not a sentence. I have learned it is okay to say no, but it is more fun to say yes. I no longer suffer fools gladly, but I find I am quite happy to make a fool of myself. The best present I ever gave myself during treatment was what I called a "CFD" - a cancer free day. Our support group liked the idea and adopted it. That just means we gave ourselves, whether we were in treatment or caring for someone who was, permission to be happy, to be normal, to not be that woman with cancer for just a little while ... it gave us permission to just be. Those CFDs got me through some really hard times. Sometimes, even now, when those pesky survival statistics start to eat away at me, I give myself a CFD. It feels good. And by being involved in events like the Relay for Life and the International Heroes of Hope program, I have made some friendships that I know will last a very long time. I fought back the only way I knew how, by getting on with my life and trying to be the best person I can be. I don't know what the future holds but I know I have a future, and that is all that matters. Join in. Fight back. Save a life. It might be yours.