Article: I Survived Cancer & This is How I Did It
Article in Authority Magazine
I am proud of this article I wrote!
I was recently interviewed for Medium’s Authority online magazine article. It is a huge honor to be featured in this popular online platform! A big māhalo goes out to Savio Clemente for featuring me!
The article is quite long (it takes 16 minutes to read) and it took me weeks to complete (given that I’m a total perfectionist!). I have shared a brief snippet from the article here:
Cancer does not have to be a horrible experience. It is possible to thrive and grow from the experience. I am not saying it is easy, but it offers a brilliant opportunity for positive personal transformation.
In my own cancer struggle, I sometimes used the idea of embodiment to help me cope. Let’s take a minute to look at cancer from an embodiment perspective. If your cancer had a message for you, what do you think it would want or say?
Life is short and precious.
Everything happens to me for my highest growth.
Cancer is a wakeup call to true embodiment of my soul. It makes me appreciate life in ways that I would never have realized before this fateful diagnosis. Due to the fact that I have faced my death multiple times now, I now truly strive to appreciate every breath I’m fortunate to take.
Living with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis is an abrupt wake up call to life. I don’t have the naïve assumption that I will live to a ripe old age, like I did before. It is an absolute miracle that I am alive right now and I am aware that my future is not guaranteed. It is a luxury to plan one’s life out five to ten years in the future. Due to this, I strive to fully appreciate each day.
The other things that cancer tells me is:
Don’t waste a moment.
Love hard.
Live without regrets.
If you love someone, make sure you tell them. Nothing is guaranteed.
Live life fully in each moment!
What are a few of the biggest misconceptions and myths out there about fighting cancer that you would like to dispel?
Cancer does not have to be a horrible experience. It is possible to thrive and grow from the experience. I am not saying it is easy, but it offers a brilliant opportunity for positive personal transformation.
Words have power. With every word that rolls through your mind and pours out of your mouth, you are creating your experience by every word you choose. I do not use the terminology ‘fighting cancer’. I focus my mind on working harmoniously with the cancer, rather than being at war with it. The word ‘fight’ creates a sense of strife, unease, and stress in my mind. My body and mind are sensitive to whatever sense of awareness I choose to bring into my field. If I continually think, “I am fighting cancer,” then the particular energy around the sense of strife, war, imbalance, dis-ease and constant turbulence will in turn, translate to my body. In contrast, if I see myself being at peace with cancer, then that brings in a sense of ease, harmony and peacefulness within me. It calls in the parasympathetic (rest, relaxation) mode of being, which is definitely more conductive to healing than dwelling in a sympathetic (fight, flight or freeze) state.
Having cancer is NOT a death sentence. I know many people who are defeating the odds with a late stage cancer diagnosis. On that same note and to take it a bit farther, it is possible to live and thrive with a stage 4 cancer diagnosis! The sad reality of living with cancer is that, yes, you can die from the prognosis. So many friends of mine have tragically died at a young age, and I know that it’s an absolute blessing that I am alive now. There are many that are beating the odds and have miraculous healing stories! I like to believe in that possibility rather than the latter!
It is possible to live a full life while having cancer. You might have to alter your lifestyle to adapt to treatment, rest and increase your need for self-care, but it is still possible to live a vibrant, enjoyable life with cancer!
If you have any feedback about my article, I would love to know! I always love hearing from all of you!
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