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The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.
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The Elephant in the Room is Cancer. Tea is the Relief Conversation Provides.
I was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 32 years ago. That day was almost 10 years ago.
I stopped thinking about the future and a life I may get to have because I was convinced I wouldn’t live past 5 years with a cancer diagnosis, let alone 1 year. I had no plans for year 10 of survivorship, because, well, as I stated, I didn’t think I would get to see it. So, 2020 is the 10th cancerversary of my diagnosis. I needed to make it a big deal but had no clue how. Then an idea hit me. What if I told my cancer story in 10 words to celebrate the 10 year cancerversary I would see this year. It took me less than a minute to come up with my 10 Word Cancer Story:
“Diagnosed with fear that always chases, a constant anxiety companion.”
Those 10 words said it all. I’ve had fear on my tail for almost 10 years. It feels like a constant companion that I keep trying to lose yet always keeps pace. I immediately liked the idea of 10 Word Cancer Stories because I felt that I didn’t get lost in the fears of cancer as I heard someone else’s story. I thought the idea might be useful for others to share their cancer stories too.
Just about everyone is affected by cancer one way or another whether they are a survivor, caregiver, friend, family member, etc. I started sharing my idea with people I know and the stories I have collected so far have been unbelievable. Everyone has a different perspective on the effect of cancer in their lives and the way people have put together their own 10 Word Cancer Stories has left me speechless so far.
After I was done with my active treatment, I started a nonprofit website called The Dragonfly Angel Society – Cancer Survivorship that shares resources on survivorship, survivor stories, blogs, and now 10 Word Cancer Stories. I’ve been sharing each story with a picture shared by the story teller on The Dragonfly Angel Society social media pages. The goal is to share 1000 of the 10 Word Cancer Stories throughout 2020. What I started as my own 10 year cancerversay story, I now hope to turn into 1000 cancer stories of all those affected by the disease.
If you would like to share your 10 Word Cancer Story, you can submit by:
All of the posts written for Elephants and Tea are contributed by patients, survivors, caregivers and loved ones dealing with cancer. If you have a story or experience you would like to share with the cancer community we would love to hear from you! Please submit your idea at https://elephantsandtea.org/contact/submissions/.
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Elephants and Tea is a trademark of the Steven G. Cancer Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit under federal tax guidelines.
Dana is our daughter… it’s been a wild and crazy journey, but she is the inspiration that makes each day a privilege. Dealt some pretty rotten lemons and made some pretty sweet lemonade…our gratitude is unending!