Recently another thought-provoking post was made on LUNGevity’s Lung Cancer Support Community titled, “What do you do differently now?”, asking our members what they do differently after having been diagnosed with lung cancer. www.lungevity.org
Lung cancer affects more people than all major cancers combined, receives virtually no federal funding, has no early detection test and limited treatment options for the over 80% who are diagnosed in its late stages. Once you’ve been told you’ve got lung cancer, I believe that is the moment you become a survivor.
That is the moment your life changes forever.
There is HOPE. People do survive lung cancer and you can find them at LUNGevity’s LCSC.
There are other aggressive cancers out there too and a cancer diagnosis affects an entire family, not just the patient.
So reader, what do you do differently after cancer?
I’ll tell you what I do differently.
I feel more. I hear more. I live more. I know how precious life is because it can end at any moment without warning. I live in total transparency, forsaking drama at all costs. I have sought out and clung to my spirituality and faith.
I also have little patience for the “small stuff.” I don’t want to sit around and gossip or contemplate other people’s lives. I have no patience for people who are superficial or careless or hurtful. Before their callousness would have hurt my feelings and upset me for days, now I just never give it any of my precious time or thought. I eliminate toxic people out of my life.
When you’ve held the hands of your parents and watched them take their last breaths, you really do know how quickly this earthly life can end. When you’ve watched support group members pass away as frequently as I have, you really do know how short this life is.
The moment I heard the words, “cervical cancer”, I changed.
The moment I heard the words “lung cancer” out of my dad’s mouth, my life changed.
My passion and my mission became my career. My secure and safe life was rocked to the core and suddenly I was kicked into HD and real love and meaningful living and making a difference with every day became as vital to me as breathing.
A switch has been turned on inside me that drives me forward these days. The need to make this life count for something never sleeps or stops. Is that good or bad? A lot of one and a little bit of the other.
What do I do differently after cancer? Everything. Life. It’s all different.
How about you? What do YOU do differently?