GUEST POST BY KATHY-ELLEN KUPS

Breast Cancer changed me. The physical changes are pretty obvious, but the deeper more meaningful changes are far more subtle. They are revealed in the way I no longer take a million tomorrows for granted, or when any ache or pain can convince me the cancer is back. These are thoughts that remind me that my carefree innocence about life is forever gone. There are other changes too. Changes that revealed to me that I am stronger and more resilient than I ever thought I could be. Somehow it’s comforting to think that although breast cancer took my breasts, it gave me something I may not have gotten any other way: the heart of a survivor and the will to really live my life.

I focused on how I really wanted to live my life while I sat in that chemo clinic all those hours watching the drugs meant to save my life drip into my arm. I saw those drugs as a type of tonic to provide me with the stuff I needed to make sure I didn’t take any more of my days on earth for granted. I didn’t get the survivor’s heart from any medicine or treatment, but somehow it developed during the battle.

My survivor heart leads me to tell my friends and loved ones how dear they are to me more than I ever did in the past. My new found courage has lead me to try new things and embark on new endeavors I might only have thought of but never acted on. I have learned that being courageous doesn’t mean you are fearless. You only need courage when you are in the midst of fear.

This new found courage leads me to approach complete strangers to ask how they are doing or to offer help to a lonely soul. It pushed me to take up downhill skiing when I was almost fifty and to do a four hour kayak trek with my dearest friends down a river. Things I would always put off if they challenged me or made me feel uncomfortable. With winning the battle against breast cancer came a new freedom to be more daring and not so concerned about what others think.

Perhaps it is just me, but breast cancer changed me. Friends still see me as the same girl they have always loved and adored, but I know me as the new super woman who faced down breast cancer, lost all my hair and ran around town with one breast. If I could live through that I can live through anything. The most important thing is to turn that battle into a challenge to really “live.”

Kathy-Ellen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003 and has been cancer free since completing treatment in 2004. She moved from Canada to Michigan in 2002 to marry her husband Bob. The couple has two college age sons from her previous marriage. Kathy-Ellen built a career in marketing and merchandising and has worked as a corporate speaker. She recently started a company that provides corporate communication skills training to executives. For the past four years Kathy-Ellen has been blogging about breast cancer for Everydayhealth.com a health and wellness website. She was also on a panel that debated health-care reform for the Washingtonpost.com in 2009-2010. Kathy-Ellen has also appeared in the magazines Beyond and MAMM. She has been a guest blogger for other breast cancer sites on several occasions.

Tags: breast cancer, Cancer, cancer survivor, Inspiration, Kathy-Ellen Kups

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 at 10:10 pm and is filed under Support. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.