"I put on my pink boxing gloves and got ready to fight"

I am a SURVIVOR! On December 30, 2008, three weeks before my 40th birthday, I got the horrible news: breast cancer. Surgery, chemo and radiation would be necessary to kill this cancer. I spent weeks in emotional upheaval...stress, worry, anguish, trying to understand “why me”?

Then, after meeting with the surgeon and understanding more about what was happening to me and my body, I felt a peace and calm come over me. I thought, “why not me?” We had a plan: I put on my pink boxing gloves and got ready to fight! But not before I took my boys to Disneyland. The trip had already been planned and I so wanted to give this to my children (ages seven and 10 at the time) as I knew the next year would be a struggle. And it was.

Now, three years post-chemo and radiation I feel like me again and I am grateful for so many things in my life. What does being a breast cancer survivor really mean? For me it means that I can read a pathology report; that I will never complain about bad hair days again; that I have scars I never thought imaginable; that every time I hear of someone who has been diagnosed with cancer, my heart breaks for them because now I really understand. It means I have clearer priorities in life, and make time for the things I really want to be doing.

Being a survivor means I am now a member of a club I really never imagined I would join but am thankful that there are organizations like the Canadian Cancer Society that connect us and support us.