I have two friends who were recently diagnosed with cancer. Both women are like me. They are in their 30s with small children and husbands and jobs and with the previous notion that cancer would not happen to them. But for reasons unknown, it did happen. And now they are both embarking on the journey that began for me almost one year ago.
We are on common ground, in some ways. Our lives are thrown out of balance and we share the same disbelief and fear and worry. We all fight to keep life as normal as possible, while managing appointments and tests and treatments and families and emotions. We question our strength and learn that we can handle more than we ever imagined. We are all survivors.
But our individual paths are different. While one friend has breast cancer like me, our diseases are very different. Our tumors were different sizes and in different locations. Our staging is different. Our treatments are not exactly the same. My other friend, who learned of her diagnosis just two days ago, has renal cancer. She will have her right kidney removed in a few weeks and will find out then what treatment path she will follow.
I am so sad that my friends have to travel this bumpy road. But I am confident they will reach the end of the road safely and with a beautiful perspective on life. I am thankful they are in my life so I can draw from their strength. I am in good company.
Jacki Donaldson