Thoughts on 3 years of survivorship

This third year of breast cancer survivorship hasn't been an easy one for me. I've been healthy, I've been happy, I've been grateful, I've stayed active, and gotten stronger. Yet, I've struggled.

People don't talk about what it's like to try to regain your footing in the real world after the all encompassing cancer bubble. For that time period you have a singular goal: survive.

Then chemo is in the past and food tastes good again. You've recovered from surgeries, the radiation burns have faded, and life goes on as it was before.

But you're not the same person.

You've experienced things that were truly hard. Made decisions that were difficult to wrap your mind around. Really thought about, and were faced with, the fragility of your own life.

Things that once seemed like a big deal to you, no longer matter. You know what is truly important and you want to put your time and energy into those things.

You may want to live your life as an example of what is possible. You may want to simplify your life so you can quietly enjoy what matters to you the most. You may have another idea altogether.

Or you may really be struggling to figure out how to move forward at all, still in shock over what you've been through.

For me, I want to be an example of what is possible in survivorship and I want to show others how to move forward. The hard part for me this year has been figuring out HOW to do that - I want my work to be meaningful, to make an impact. And I have spent most of the last year laying the groundwork.

In August I started a free monthly support group for women of any age who were diagnosed with breast cancer before 40. I’ve met some amazing women in that group and I love hearing their stories. One thing I hear each month is how much this helps them, talking to others who get it. This Thursday the 3rd is our next meeting!

And now I also offer coaching for young breast cancer patients and survivors. I love to be able to support women through all of the stages of this process. Getting the word out about my coaching is what I’m working on the hardest right now. So, if you know of someone who is tired of feeling the way they do, no matter where they are at in their breast cancer process, please forward this to them 🩷