Real life story: “I did not survive Cancer, I fought it”
How my battle with Cancer became a war against it.
When London-based entrepreneur S.L first felt a lump in her left breast in 2009, she believed it was a bruise from her recent hike, “ I thought it was a bump from the time I fell on the grounds at the hill”. She waited for few weeks, but it didn’t go away, and so she went for ultrasound and mammogram, and the results confirmed that a lump is present.
“The doctor informed me that I needed to have a biopsy taken from my breast on the same day, and I kind of knew it then, that I had cancer. It was just a feeling that overwhelmed me.” It took around 10 days for the results to come out, and during these 10 days she went through all stages of panic and preparation for the worst.
When London-based entrepreneur S.L first felt a lump in her left breast in 2009, she believed it was a bruise from her recent hike, “ I thought it was a bump from the time I fell on the grounds at the hill”. She waited for few weeks, but it didn’t go away, and so she went for ultrasound and mammogram, and the results confirmed that a lump is present.
“The doctor informed me that I needed to have a biopsy taken from my breast on the same day, and I kind of knew it then, that I had cancer. It was just a feeling that overwhelmed me.” It took around 10 days for the results to come out, and during these 10 days she went through all stages of panic and preparation for the worst.
Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and her intuition was right. “I couldn’t believe it at first, although I prepared myself for it. I felt my whole world collapsing, and couldn’t bear to think of the moment after that one, let alone my future. The doctor told me that only after the removal of the tumor that they would be able to determine the degree of the cancer. And I had already felt that my days were numbered.”
After her operation, she went through severe depression, and decided not only to quit her job, but also isolate herself from her friends and family. “ I decided to quit my life, and I wouldn’t even allow my family or friends to convince me otherwise, the operation was like a death sentence to me, and I didn’t think there was hope.”
The results of the surgery showed that she needed a second one to remove more tissue; to make sure it doesn’t spread all around. After the second surgery, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation. “ I was so sick all of the time, and would throw up continuously, and I think it was the lowest point I reached during this process. I still remember that morning, waking up to a nauseating feeling, and rushing to the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror, and I did not recognize myself. It was not the hair, or the paleness that scared me, but the weakness I saw in my eyes. I am not a weak person, and this was very strange to me.”
That morning, she decided to take a trip with her friends to the Tuscan hills in Italy, and enjoy couple of weeks of good food, weather and beautiful scenery.
“ I remember arriving to the small cottage we rented for our vacation, and jumping around from joy. The one thing that I kept saying was that I was alive; my friends were laughing and quite happy to see me like this after my long episode of depression. I was weak yes, but determined to fight Cancer till the last breath, its last breath not mine. And my journey fighting it has not stopped still.”
“Now three cancer-free years later, I changed my whole lifestyle. I quit the occasional cigarettes I used to have, and started exercising every day, and practicing yoga and mediation for my own well-being. I also reduced my working hours, started eating more greens, less reds and focusing on an overall better nutrition.”
S. L is now practicing to participate in London Marathon, she pledges to raise funds to the Cancer Research UK organization.
“Everyday is a new blessing, a new beginning, and a reminder that I won the war I waged on cancer. “
After her operation, she went through severe depression, and decided not only to quit her job, but also isolate herself from her friends and family. “ I decided to quit my life, and I wouldn’t even allow my family or friends to convince me otherwise, the operation was like a death sentence to me, and I didn’t think there was hope.”
The results of the surgery showed that she needed a second one to remove more tissue; to make sure it doesn’t spread all around. After the second surgery, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation. “ I was so sick all of the time, and would throw up continuously, and I think it was the lowest point I reached during this process. I still remember that morning, waking up to a nauseating feeling, and rushing to the bathroom, I looked at myself in the mirror, and I did not recognize myself. It was not the hair, or the paleness that scared me, but the weakness I saw in my eyes. I am not a weak person, and this was very strange to me.”
That morning, she decided to take a trip with her friends to the Tuscan hills in Italy, and enjoy couple of weeks of good food, weather and beautiful scenery.
“ I remember arriving to the small cottage we rented for our vacation, and jumping around from joy. The one thing that I kept saying was that I was alive; my friends were laughing and quite happy to see me like this after my long episode of depression. I was weak yes, but determined to fight Cancer till the last breath, its last breath not mine. And my journey fighting it has not stopped still.”
“Now three cancer-free years later, I changed my whole lifestyle. I quit the occasional cigarettes I used to have, and started exercising every day, and practicing yoga and mediation for my own well-being. I also reduced my working hours, started eating more greens, less reds and focusing on an overall better nutrition.”
S. L is now practicing to participate in London Marathon, she pledges to raise funds to the Cancer Research UK organization.
“Everyday is a new blessing, a new beginning, and a reminder that I won the war I waged on cancer. “
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