Ten months have passed since I wrote my last blog. February 13,2013 seems so long ago. It is a long time ago.

In this time away from blogging, I wondered if the blog’s only purpose was a cathartic one as a way of journaling my experience of living with cancer and sharing the story with friends and family who joined me in this journey. With cancer treatments and rehab behind me, I thought that perhaps no one would be interested in continuing to read a cancer survivor’s blog. Apparently I was wrong.

It is with encouragement from family and friends that I return to writing this blog. They have told me that they periodically visit the blog and haven’t seen any updates. They are wondering what my life is now like post treatment, so I will resume writing this blog and will share with you how my life continues to evolve as a cancer survivor.

Many things have happened since February. Some good. Some bad. Only now in looking back, do I realize how much has happened since my cancer diagnosis of March 2010. 

It has been nearly three stormy years since that life-changing diagnosis day.  I can now say, that I have recently started to live my life with profound peace. Interestingly enough, this peace coincides with the Advent season.

My Christmas gift this year is the return of peace in my life and being able to live
joyfully each day.  It has been a long time coming.

The experience of diagnosis, treatment, and surviving feels like a bad dream, but the scars on my body, my radiation tattoos, and taking of a potent daily drug (for five years) to keep cancer from reproducing are reminders that it was, and is, real.

My last post talked about post-surgery jaundice and an unknown cause. After tests and scans and a few visits with a nephrologist, no definitive diagnosis was ever found.  An unusual and unexplained occurrence I’m told, that still requires yearly monitoring of some small lesions because of my cancer history with the liver being one area where breast cancer can metastasize. I am still far away from the five-year mark of living without evidence of cancer, so these precautions are warranted.

Our son Josh and his wife Jill eloped in Honolulu in July and called to tell us later that evening. We happily celebrated after their return, by hosting a backyard luau reception in their honour. The weather cooperated as family and friends brought well wishes and their celebratory presence. It was so much fun meeting their friends and spending time with them as they honoured the newlyweds.

In July, one of my dear friends of almost 30 years died of brain cancer. I was with her during the last few days and saw her only hours before she passed. I relived being a cancer patient all over again with the gamut of emotions that comes with it. As she was only a handful of years older than me, I could clearly visualize that it could have been me that was dying. I miss her and always will remember what a gift she was in my life.

In October 2011, I was appointed as an Executive Sponsor to the Manitoba Cancer Partnership Steering Committee by CancerCare Manitoba and Manitoba Health, as a patient advisor. I work with a Co-Executive Sponsor, another cancer survivor on the steering committee. In addition to this, we co-chair a six-member cancer patient advisory committee. 

I have never worked with such a group of dedicated and determined people who want to make a difference for other cancer patients in Manitoba. It is rewarding volunteer work in advocating for other cancer patients to improve their journey through the healthcare system. Our voices are being heard and we will continue to push for positive changes for cancer patients.

We recently completed our first year of a five-year term on the steering committee and are starting to see some positive changes to make the cancer treatment journey better for patients and their families. I will write more about this in future blogs.

Returning to work as a cancer survivor has been difficult. It was far more difficult than I could have imagined.  Fighting cancer and surviving has changed me as a person. It has changed how I want to spend my valuable time because each day is a gift. It has also taught me what is important in life, and what I value each day.

This past fall, after working for 11 years with my former employer, I left my position.  I needed to follow my heart in a job where my spirits could soar. I wanted to return to the not-for-profit sector.

I found a new job quickly.  I had applied for three positions in early fall, had three interviews, and two job offers. The job I really wanted was offered to me, and is one where I joyfully go to work each day and follow my heart. 

My new employer is a non-government organization that I was acquainted with in the past as a corporate funder. It is so satisfying to work each day in a job that serves the poor. At the end of next month, my new job will take me into the field as I visit projects we are involved with in Ethiopia. It is a trip of a lifetime as Africa is a place I have wanted to visit since I was a child.

Life is good! Cancer taught me to live one day at a time and I still do so. I don’t look too far into the future and live more in the moment. I greet each day with a new sense of purpose, and I do so with Strength, Courage, and Determination.