Thankful for Cancer - Thankful for You

I know. It sounds bizarre to say I'm grateful for cancer, but when you read WHY I'm thankful for cancer, you will understand.

I am lucky - very lucky - to have so many friends and family members who have surrounded me with the love and support I've needed these past couple of months since I first received my diagnosis.

I'd love to one day have a giant party where all of my friends and family members could meet each other, where we could all gather together in one place to celebrate the precious gift I've been given - the gift of having met all of you, whether in person or online.

In the meantime, I want you to know that the reason I am grateful for cancer is because of you.

Because of you ...

... I have been able to endure the pin pricks, the chemo, the testing, and the numerous doctor visits that resulted from my breast cancer diagnosis;

... my tumor has shrunk from 4cm wide to imperceptible;

... I will be getting surgery a month before it was originally anticipated;

... I thank God every day that you entered my life when you did;

... I feel humbled knowing that you think of me in your thoughts and in your prayers;

... I am free to share with you my good days and my bad days.

... I will be able to endure the surgery and the aftercare of radiation and more chemo.

I honestly believe in the depths of my soul that the only reason this tumor diminished as quickly as it did was BECAUSE OF YOU.

I am lucky and I am grateful. I have been given an opportunity to find the genuinely good in people that I might have been too preoccupied to notice before.

You have enriched my life in so many ways, because you stepped out of your comfort zone to offer me your thoughts and your prayers, even when you didn't know what to say. For all of you I am thankful.

Even my grandchildren, when asked if they would still love their grandma when I lost all my hair, rallied around me and told me I would be beautiful bald.

Yes, I am thankful and I have been blessed -

With parents who have always been there to cradle me when I have fallen.

With sisters who grew through sibling rivalry to forge a bond so strong nobody will ever be able to break it.

With children whose love and support sustains me through pin pricks, chemo treatments, and exhaustion.

With grandchildren who bring smiles to my face when I don't have enough energy to move my mouth.

With friends who send me warm hats, beautiful scarves, sensuous robes, and words of comfort (sometimes wrapped in warm pink blankets).

You are more special to me than I can express in words.

Might I have felt grateful without having to experience cancer? Yes, but these physical problems have manifest in ways that touch me emotionally and spiritually. I can't help but respond with gratitude. And at this time of year, it seems appropriate to thank those people who have helped me through my journey with cancer.

So, to my family and friends, I say thank you for your gifts, for your cards, for your emails, for your thoughts, but most of all, for your prayers.

And now a word to my cancer:

Because of you, I feel blessed.

Because of you, I know the true power of prayer.

Because of you, family and friends have come together in prayer and gratitude.

And for all of you, I am thankful.