LIVING with HOPE AND CANCER

As if I am going to live.... Lots of people don't know what to say to me. That's okay. I remember being at a loss for words, wondering what to say to someone who has cancer. It's easier to know from this side, from inside the body that is fighting. Can I help you?

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Worry is like being in a rocking chair...

You have something to do, but you aren’t getting anywhere. (Gary Osbourne)

Worry keeps us from healing. Worry keeps us from moving forward. Worry keeps us stuck.

Fighting cancer is a time to produce endorphins. Fighting cancer is a time to embrace life. Fighting cancer is a time to be held by your family and friends, to let them in, to laugh, to smell flowers, to dream, to trust, to seek God, and to let him cover us in his presence. If you don’t know how, ask Him now, ask him, “show yourself to me”. Ask him, “show me you are real”. And then watch for it. That is an invitation that God can’t resist. He is fighting alongside you, and has been. He knows the end of the story, it’s a good one.

Wednesday, March 15, 2006

IMPORTANT!!

2 important things to remember…

Cancer is a Temporary Condition of the Universe.

HOPE is eternal and powerful.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

NO FEAR TODAY!! Get rid of 'Cancer Face'!


My husband likes to tell people, “Don’t come at me with ‘cancer face’.” ‘Cancer face’ is that long sad face, like the face on the puppy dog canisters begging for money for an animal shelter. Having cancer face is when your mouth says, “How is she?” but your face and your eyes say, “You poor, poor thing. She’s dying, isn’t she.”

Our family avoids both this attitude and the people who carry it. Fear is not our friend. Fear lies. Fear does not tell the truth. Fear does not promote healing. Fear on people’s faces says, “You don’t have long. Maybe you want to pack it in now.”

Peace, Joy, and the expectation of Life lift everybody, the patient and the family. And when we are lifted, hope rises up inside of us, and hope calls healing to us. Hope relieves our pain, hope gives us something to look forward to, hope fills our day with possibilities. A little bit of hope makes all the difference.

You wouldn’t want to steal possibilities from a person fighting cancer, would you? Banish ‘cancer face’ from your expressions. Don’t let it in. Treat it like the thief that it is. You can let someone know that you love them with a hug and a smile.