Just a very interesting quote (about having cancer, but "survival story" runs parallel):
Quote:
For me, as I think some others have said, constantly hearing how “strong” I am and with how much “grace” I’ve handled all this has mostly left me with the message that I should put on a brave face and help everyone else feel comfortable with my situation. When I send out updates, the ones that get the most comments and support are the positive, upbeat ones. The ones where I worry, complain, and share bad news are too often greeted with silence. My favorite responses ever were the ones that acknowledged what a raw deal I got and how much cancer sucks. I have dealt with this situation with much more grace and fortitude than I ever expected from myself, based on how I’ve dealt with lesser problems in the past. I think the lack of choice is the key to that. When people say, “Oh, I don’t think I could go through that treatment; you must be so brave,” or whatever, I just say, “well, you know, it beats the alternative.” I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer in 2007 and I am lucky to be alive today. If I hadn’t had the treatments, or if they hadn’t worked as well as they did, I wouldn’t be here today, for sure. The other thing, though, about being told all the time how well I’ve handled cancer, is that I now have almost no one to talk to about any other problems I might be facing. Because, after all, I should keep things in perspective: I survived cancer! how could anything possibly be wrong now?
