We have to find light in the darkness of cancer not just for ourselves, but for those that will come after us.
BY Sarah DeBord
PUBLISHED May 27, 2019
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 was having a conversation with fellow survivor Truitt Taylor after he interviewed me for his One Percent Podcast last year. We were talking about my optimistic view toward life with metastatic cancer, and how I've been able to stay "so happy" despite my dismal diagnosis. I give most the credit to my temperament and a naturally balanced emotional state, but I also credit to the things that inspire me to get out of bed every day not just to live, but thrive despite disease.
I give the rest of that credit to finding purpose in my life after (or rather thanks to) cancer. I'm not appreciative of cancer for taking me down the path it has, for I would gladly return to the mundane if it meant getting to wake up every morning feeling normal and looking forward to an average life expectancy. Though cancer may get some acknowledgment for changing the trajectory of my life, it gets no appreciation for the havoc it has created along the way.
As I described some of the ways cancer has given me an unorthodox raison d'être, Taylor said something to me that made everything I was trying to put into words clear – “With purpose comes peace.” Not that I didn't have purpose before cancer, but I have a deeper and more meaningful purpose now. Cancer forces one to do a complete life assessment, shift priorities, stop staring at the stock photo of a tropical beach on their desktop and book the vacation to go sit on it. That purpose and subsequent peace is what helps maintain happiness in the middle of this disaster zone.
I give the rest of that credit to finding purpose in my life after (or rather thanks to) cancer. I'm not appreciative of cancer for taking me down the path it has, for I would gladly return to the mundane if it meant getting to wake up every morning feeling normal and looking forward to an average life expectancy. Though cancer may get some acknowledgment for changing the trajectory of my life, it gets no appreciation for the havoc it has created along the way.
As I described some of the ways cancer has given me an unorthodox raison d'être, Taylor said something to me that made everything I was trying to put into words clear – “With purpose comes peace.” Not that I didn't have purpose before cancer, but I have a deeper and more meaningful purpose now. Cancer forces one to do a complete life assessment, shift priorities, stop staring at the stock photo of a tropical beach on their desktop and book the vacation to go sit on it. That purpose and subsequent peace is what helps maintain happiness in the middle of this disaster zone.
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