“Finding a new normal is not so easy. I try to live above the fear it leaves you in, and to slow the rush I feel to experience as much life as possible. Now if I had others around me that wanted to experience as many things, new foods and new places as me then game would be on!!! But for me the fear doesn’t lessen as time goes on like you think it would; it grows… retreats…hibernates…comes back out.”
Breast Cancer Grad- Erica
Breast Cancer Grad- Lindsey
"You will need all the help, love, and support people are willing to give. Don’t shut down and shut people out, that will only bring more sadness and depression on yourself. It is OKAY TO FEEL SAD AND BE UPSET, you are going to experience every emotion. It’s okay to cry, it’s okay to be angry, you have every right to be. Don’t feel like you need to stay positive 24/7 because what you’re going through sucks and it’s not fair, so don’t disregard those feelings. But don’t fester and stay in that place of sadness and anger, because you can get stuck there."
Breast Cancer Grad- Samantha
"Returning to my favorite hobbies - yoga and circus aerials - has been so healing. Getting married and making long term plans is healing too. There’s the fear that making plans is arrogant, we survivors all have the same fears, we know too well what could go wrong. But I try to tell myself that a recurrence will be just as devastating no matter what I do, so I might as well keep on like it’s not going to happen. "
Breast Cancer Grad- Emily Williams
"Cancer may have thrown a wrench in my 'past' life, but it also created a new beginning- corny but true. It’s like there’s a BC (before cancer) and AC (after cancer). I’m still that person I was before, just wiser now, more carefree, and braver. I’m more willing to take risks and do things that scare me, like travel alone or speak in front of a crowd. I feel more like the real me- it’s so crazy but true."