World Cancer Day: this is a really hard side by side for me to share. And no, this is not a skincare post…..Going to go ahead and do it in the hopes it raises awareness, patience, and understanding amongst or within ourselves. I think of cancer as “rear view mirror.” Every day is a mile between me and that awful disease. I’m fortunate. Many friends are still living in the presence of cancer or didn’t win their race.
I created this comparison not as a way to make myself feel badly but as a marker to show myself how far I’ve come. Cancer is not always what we think it looks like. I was walking around with it, unbeknownst to me, feeling exhausted, unheard, bloated and physically spent. I lost hair, time with my babies, and honestly(and thankfully, temporarily) some hope. I gained damaged teeth, new aches and a set of fears and damn it I can’t eat a cracker without drinking lots of water anymore.
Yet, for all I lost I gained a ton more. I gained respect for my fellow cancer warriors, thankfulness that I’ll always choose my fight over anyone’s else’s(so many brave warriors out there I so admire), self respect for the determined and strong person I found in myself, the ability to immerse myself and find pure joy, a renewed belief in God after being so angry that I questioned his existence, the ability to go thru experiences and walk away knowing what really is important, the appreciation of my tribe-the people I know that age 42, will sing my praises yet grow with me and not always tell me what I want to hear.
I thought that cancer was my next biggest fight in life but I had no idea it was preparing me for all that came next. The challenges don’t stop but my perspective is sure as heck in check. There is no attributing happiness to cancer -it’s quite the oxymoron. But I do attribute cancer to reminding me what it’s like to live. PS A special shout out to Rodan + Fields…without that Lash Boost serum I would not have my eyebrows and eyelashes back!
Melissa F. Liceaga 