MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue - 6

Health THE EVOLUTION
complain how cancer sucks, I could live
in my bed and wallow in sorrow, or I can
choose to find joy and do things that make
me smile, I could figure out how to live
around cancer rather than it taking over
my life. I could get out of bed and do something
I CAN do. I have been on crutches, in
a wheelchair, and bedridden, I have been in
pain, nauseated, lethargic, and depressed.
I know the extremes. I always say that I'm
90 percent of the time well, but 10 percent
of the time I feel like shit, but I know better
days are coming ahead so push through it.
Let's " why not " our life. Everyone always
recommends that I sit and slow down, but
no one can answer why? It's because it feels
better for that person to see us " rest. " Listen,
I will rest when I die and when my body
forces me too. If you want to learn how
to snowboard, fish, drive a boat, camp,
travel, eat healthy, eat bad at times, listen
to music, create a nonprofit or that business
venture, grow fresh foods, volunteer, work,
create memories with your kids, advocate,
become a certified (fill in the blank), then
do it! Why NOT? If you need money, find
the resources to get the income. There are
tons of grants for people living with cancer,
there are tons of organizations that can
support your dreams, people to watch your
children, help you get an affordable internet,
phone, or computer, etc. Don't allow
lack of access to stop you, or a person saying
" No. " Take action because you can. I was in
the middle of graduate school to become a
nurse practitioner when I was diagnosed.
I could have stopped there and said, " well
what's the point? " However, I chose to say
the cancer drugs work in your favor, you
get this overwhelming feeling of not just
living but being ALIVE. Live in your joy
today, each day, even on the bad days until
you reach the end. The capability of making
plans is powerful hope versus dreading your
last breath.
ACTION
This is the fun and sometimes scary part.
We have the mindset, we set the intention,
now let's apply the action. Whenever
there's a question about if you should do
something? The answer should always be
WHY NOT? My outlook on life and how I
apply wellness gives even my doctors hope
6
MY LIFE MATTERS
HEALTH AND WELLNESS ISSUE SPRING 2023
and love. I'm their favorite patient. They
even send their residents to see me so I can
share my light versus them seeing death all
the time. For them to see me in the flesh
living for that dash, gives them perspective.
If we can inspire new doctors, it will
help them think of how important it is to
focus on quality of life research rather than
only curing cancer, because quality of life
matters. When I say living for the dash, we
have a birth date and a death date and in
between its the " dash, " the dash represents
our life lived. How do you want your legacy
of life to be remembered? How do you want
to live prior to that death date? I choose to
live in action. I could cry all day, I could
" why not. " After taking a two-year break
from school and being more medically
stable, I wrote a letter to my university to
allow me to continue my courses, though
according to the standard rules I no longer
qualified. But I refused to take " no " for an
answer, and I eventually got approved.
I finished my classes, even dealing with
cognitive dysfunction,
and graduated
and took my boards to become a certified
nurse practitioner and now I practice medicine
helping underserved patients who are
predominately Black receive quality of care.
I am doing what I always dreamed of doing.
What if I didn't take that action? No one
truly knows how long you will live with
metastatic breast cancer, so keep living like
you have forever, because why not?
MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters: Health and Wellness Issue
