
My submission was not accepted to be published in the magazine. When my copy of the issue arrived I was anxious to see what Heroes had been chosen over mine. There were the Heroes that come to everyone’s mind: firefighters, soldiers, Fathers, artists, movie stars, Women, Gandhi, but there were no cancer patients or survivors. It is hard to make a pretty picture out of cancer ... cancer is not pretty.
I have to admit that before I became a cancer survivor, before the 8 rounds of chemo, the loss of hair, breasts, ovaries and dignity…..I am not sure if I would have portrayed the cancer survivor as my hero either. If I saw a person battling cancer I had sympathy for them, but now I have empathy. Empathy for my fellow warriors.
So my heroes are the ones who have come before… Andrea, Lisa, Amanda… we can learn so much from them and the countless others who have gone before. We learn to fight, cope, live and even when and how to surrender to this disease.
My heroes are those of us who are in this club, in various stages of this disease. My friend who has just entered Hospice… a friend of a friend whose breast cancer has metastasized to her spine and brain. All Mothers with Cancer who contribute to this site and those that are just visiting.
My heroes are those that will come after us, who can hopefully find comfort in some of the words and experiences that we write about here.
My Heroes…
My Fellow Warriors…
those that came before … those that will come after…
cross posted at motherswithcancer