Tag: gratitude

One year ago, I was in the middle of a nearly nine-hour surgery.

It’s incredible to think that experience is now behind me.

But it is!

I’ve completed my surgeries—four of them in 2020—and recently met with my oncologist to review my MRI.

All clear!

With that news, I have been “downgraded” to oncology appointments every six months. I will have additional imaging this summer and continue taking Tamoxifen, a daily medication planned for the next five to 10 years.

Cancer has changed both my perspective and my priorities.

I now divide so much of life into before and after my diagnosis: my thoughts, dates, sense of time, body, holidays and even the length of my hair.

It’s a little like life before and after children, divorce or an election.

You get the idea.

Before my diagnosis, I often pushed my deeper thoughts away. Now, I sit with them—even if some days I can manage only a minute.

I need to reflect on this past year. I don’t need to justify it or find a reason why. I simply need to acknowledge what my family and I have experienced.

I have so many blessings to count.

My tribe is alive and well.

And so am I.