The ultimate wake up call

Receiving a diagnosis of Breast Cancer has been the ultimate wake up call for me. As soon as I heard the words come out of the doctor's mouth, I immediately thought I'd just been given my death sentence. I was frightened beyond words.

I'm a realist and I know we're all going to die sometime. The question is not "if" but "when." For Cancer patients sometimes the "when" becomes an immediate issue when in all actuality, we should be focused on this issue every single day. There's a popular song out right now called "Live like you were dying" but how many people do you know that really live that way? I don't know many myself, in fact most people I know take every day for granted. They get into a regular routine and just assume they're going to wake up the next morning. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow. I'm choosing to "live like I was dying now."

Life is precious and not to be wasted. Why then do we fill up our lives with meaningless, trivial details? Why do we waste time worrying over insignificant events and lose sight of the real issues of life? Why do we focus on things we can never change? Why is it so easy to focus on all the negativity in the world? We need to learn to live enthusiastically. We need to learn to live with optimism and hope.

The word enthusiasm comes from two Greek words meaning "God within." We are the conduit of His love and when we live enthusiastically, we allow His love to permeate our being. Cancer patients are often told that positive thinking will affect the outcome of their treatment in a good way. It's hard to be positive and enthusiastic when dealing with side effects from toxic chemicals swimming in your bloodstream, but it can be done. I know several women who've done it.

Let me tell you about one of the women I had the honor of knowing. Her name was Rachael. Rachael was in her late thirties and was the mother of two young children. When she was first diagnosed with Breast Cancer, she knew she was in for the fight of her life. She not only wanted to live for herself, but for her husband and her children. Rachael fought valiantly. She did everything the doctors told her to do. She changed her diet, exercised, followed the prescribed treatment plans, and did everything right. The doctors didn't give Rachael a good prognosis. In fact, they told her she didn't have long to live, but Rachael proved them wrong. With her deep faith in God, her positive outlook on life and great enthusiasm; she did all she could to beat Cancer. Rachael lived about 5 years longer than expected and in that time, I never saw her complain. I never saw her depressed. I never saw her be angry. Her will to live was strong. She loved God and always showed love for others.

I want my life to be like that. Getting diagnosed with Breast Cancer has been an ultimate wake up call for me. I don't look at things the way I did in the past any longer. I don't take things for granted. Every sunrise is a gift to me. I am choosing to live my life differently now. Instead of dwelling on problems or stressful situations; I'm learning to live in the moment. Like Rachael, I'm choosing to allow my faith in God to be what carries me through this difficult time in my life. I will cling to hope.

I am not ready to die. I am not willing to accept a death sentence. I'm not going down without a fight! I'm going to do whatever it takes to beat this disease and when I come out on the other side of it, when I can truly say I'm a survivor, I'm going to shake my fist in Cancer's face and say enthusiastically "you thought this was going to be an easy victory didn't you, but you were sadly mistaken." I am positive that I will be victorious because Christ lives inside me and the victory has already been won!

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