MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2024 - 42

Becoming Empowered FINDING RESILICENCY
Remember you are resilient because you show up every day. OK,
some days it may seem that you look a little raggedy and disheveled,
but that is OK. Tomorrow is another day to do it again and so on.
of them, but because I am a Ms. Independent,
Type A, " I got this, I can do
this on my own " type of person. Talk
about being stopped in my tracks with
a strong dose of reality. You see, I knew
I would need help, but it was up to me
to ask for it, so I did.
Was it scary? Absolutely, this is why
it is so important to have a tight circle
of friends who respect, and love you
without ulterior motives. These friends
will not allow you to deceive yourself
but will tell you the truth, even when
it hurts, and will stand beside you and
walk alongside you, just be there. My
family and friends would not allow me
to be isolated, instead they would call
me daily (sometimes it was annoying
because I did not want to talk to them),
42
MY LIFE MATTERS
EMPOWERED | SPRING 2024
text me, send deliveries of food to my
home, FaceTime, etc. Looking back, I
am so happy they did. I did not know
how important this was for my mental
and emotional health.
During this process I had to forgive
myself. Yes, I had to forgive myself for
not following up on my gynecological
checkups. I had to destroy the negative
thoughts that wanted to creep in and
say, " This is your fault, " amongst other
things that you can use your own
imagination about. When sharing this
with my gynecologic oncologist and
radiation oncologist (Dr. Gockley and
Dr. Chin at New York Presbyterian/
Columbia), they said, " OK, so there
are women who have not had exams
in 20-30 years, the most important
thing is for you to come back and be
treated. We will not leave your side,
this is curable. "
Their words and my own narrative
(and God's mercy) allowed me to go
through my cancer journey with resil
MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MY LIFE Matters - Spring 2024
