When I was first diagnosed, I searched for the stories that would give me hope in the darkness that surrounded me. Seven years later, I continue to pay it forward by putting my own story out there for the next person who needs it to find.
BY Sarah DeBord
PUBLISHED November 23, 2018
Sarah DeBord was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer at age 34. In the years since, she has turned her diagnosis into a calling, and become an advocate for other young adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer and parents with young families facing cancer. She works as a communications and program manager for the Minneapolis-based Colon Cancer Coalition , volunteers her time with the online patient-led support community COLONTOWN , and blogs about her often adventurous experiences of living with chronic cancer at ColonCancerChick.com.
I'm passing the seven-year mark since my diagnosis – one I was highly unlikely to make given the statistics I Googled once I could see straight after my diagnosis. The chances for surviving my disease beyond five years weren't pretty, and I immediately fell down a hypothetical ladder I've been attempting to climb up since I heard those fateful words.
"You have cancer," immediately sends anyone into a freefall akin to the opening credits for Mad Men, and when you finally do hit bottom and look up toward the tiny speck of light, you have no clue how you're going to get out.
No comments:
Post a Comment