Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Anonymous nails it. The fight to just be.

Someone wrote this as a response to my latest blog. It is so meaningful to me. It really says so much with so little. Thank you anonymous. Thank you for sharing about your Mother's search for self with cancer and the vigilance to keep one's self that is necessary. Thank you-I hope you read this. MLH

Fighting and battling... my mom is a stage four cancer survivor--different sort. We used to have the same discussions about what it means to fight and to battle cancer. Having never gone through this myself, and only sharing what she came to believe... it was a fight to be you, to be who you are and be strong while you face this every day... to not lose yourself somewhere in the middle. She said that she wanted to be seen as herself first and not as someone with cancer. I wonder does that make sense? Watching her, it was one of the toughest struggles... doctors, and medicine, and treatments, and people changing around you, and tests, and more doctors, etc. as she fought to just be.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Michelle, I met you 1 year and 39 days ago, and you have been in my heart and mind ever since. Not because of your cancer - but because of YOU. Who YOU are was so obvious to me - your heart and mind were shining so brightly despite the bad news we shared. I check your blog frequently for updates - I love your wit and talent for describing your experience! You should write a book! I have learned so much from your writings, and I look eagerly for more to know how you are and to learn more about living with breast cancer. You have had a profound effect on how I communicate with and care for my patients with breast cancer. You can add a "teacher of doctors" to your sense of self. Thank you for sharing - keep on winning and living! Jenny Shook, MD

lila said...

happy birthday meesh, miss you on the boards YSC...i keep getting tagged by you, i dont know what it means so i deleted it. i just want you do know that i check on you and think about you. lila