While talking with a friend of mine who just finished 16 rounds of chemo I realized she still has a long road ahead of her before she can come out of the cancer woods.  She has a double mastectomy and hysterectomy in her future along with radiation, then probably reconstructive surgery.  Just hearing about it was a little overwhelming for me, so I’m sure it’s daunting to her at times, too.  She seems so peaceful, though.  She’s thankful to be alive.  She’s thankful for a good prognosis and the way her cancer responded to the chemo.  She told me confidently that cancer can take her hair, take parts of her that give her some of her femininity, make her sick and more, but it can’t take her soul.  Cancer can’t steal who she really is.

As I reminisced briefly with her about my mastectomy 7 years ago I realized that I still feel some hurt over the surgery changing my body, which is still a little lopsided and unnatural.  She is right and I needed to be reminded that my identity doesn’t lie in my physical appearance or health, Continue reading →