In honor of breast cancer awareness month, I dedicate this essay to anyone who has ever had to deal with cancer, or knew someone who did.
Imagine how terrifying it would be to wake up to the thought of whether today is the last day you’ll be able to watch the sunrise at dawn, or whether it is the last day you’ll be able to make your morning cup of coffee. Picture yourself sitting down with your friend and having one of the greatest laughs you two have ever had, and yet right after you’re done laughing, a dark, gloomy cloud of grief and agony imprisons your mind and you start feeling like your heart is crumbling into a million little pieces, but you have to keep a smile on your face so you can be strong; not just for yourself, but for your friend. It all starts with cancer. A word so damaging, not just physically, but also emotionally.
“Imagine how terrifying it would be to wake up to the thought of whether today is the last day you’ll be able to watch the sunrise at dawn, or whether it is the last day you’ll be able to make your morning cup of coffee.”
Cancer is ranked among the top 10 deadliest diseases worldwide. Each year an average amount of 8.5 million people die from cancer. In other words, each day, second and minute there is a child who is losing his mother, a father who is forced to say his final goodbye to his son, and a friend, who simply couldn’t make it to his graduation, all due to cancer.
This fight is never easy. It is a tough battle between the body and the brain, and often it leaves scars; emotional scars that are way too difficult to heal. But Cancer is not the end. Give yourself a chance. Be your own hero. Be this empowering story you read to your future children. Fight this battle and clench onto each and every piece of hope and strength you can possibly find in your body and soul, because someday, when you heal, you are going to be a voice. A voice that with each echo behind it, we will hear your complex past, pain, fears, and scars. We will hear echoes of your exhausting battle. We will listen to each and every tear that has ever fallen down your cheek, and learn. Learn to never give up. And learn to keep going and growing.
Keep on fighting. Not just for your own sake, but for the sake of those who adore you a little too much, and would do anything to see you truly happy again, and to listen to this beautiful melody of your laughter. And if you are someone who knows a person that has cancer, all I can tell you is to be strong. No matter how much fear you hold, show courage. Even at your darkest times, where you just want to cry and throw yourself onto your beloved ones chest; do not. Because this amount of grief you hold is not even close to what the patient in front of you has. Their body is fatigue, and their mind is traveling in a million different directions.
Keep on fighting. Not just for your own sake, but for the sake of those who adore you a little too much, and would do anything to see you truly happy again, and to listen to this beautiful melody of your laughter.
It is not simple. In fact, cancer never is. However, its journey of healing can be eased. Hold on to faith, surround, or be surrounded by those who either need you, or want to be there for you. Lastly, remember that no matter how many obstacles you face, and “give up” moments you have; cancer is NOT the end.