Monday, February 4, 2019

Will I Reach My Goal? Pondering Life as a Cancer Survivor

However, if we are honest, I think most of us wonder deep down if we are going to live long enough to see the next grandchild, to attend an important wedding or anniversary or to finish a project.


PUBLISHED February 03, 2019

Jane has earned three advanced degrees and had several fulfilling careers as a librarian, rehabilitation counselor and college teacher. Presently she does freelance writing. Her articles include the subjects of hearing loss and deafness, service dogs and struggling with cancer. She has been a cancer survivor since 2010.

She has myelodysplastic syndrome, which is rare, and would love to communicate with others who have MDS.
I have met many fantastic cancer survivors who have truly inspired me on my journey. When we first meet, we may briefly say how long the doctor’s prognosis is for us to live. Then we casually move on to, “But I am going to beat those odds.”

However, if we are honest, I think most of us wonder deep down if we are going to live long enough to see the next grandchild, to attend an important wedding or anniversary or to finish a project.

I wrote about Viktor Frankl in another article titled “With Cancer, There Is Always Hope.” He was imprisoned in four terrible Nazi camps during the holocaust. In his book “Man’s Search for Meaning,” he writes that the people who survived the horrible conditions were generally the ones who had a reason for living such as loved one, a career or a goal. His goal was to write a book, which he did. I think it is no coincidence that every cancer survivor I have met talks about a family, friends, jobs and a reason to keep going.





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