Cancer and Cake
Cancer and cake? Yes. I can have cancer and eat my cake too! I am blessed to have my 7 grandchildren join me soon for “Coco Conquers Cancer” parties after my weekly chemo treatments.
I recently shared a touching moment with two of my older grandchildren, explaining how Coco will soon "glow in the dark" from her cancer treatments. (I'll find a way to make it happen!) They thought that was cool! They already knew cancer makes your hair fall out. So, I let them know yes, my bald head will be wrapped in various scarves or covered by caps soon. I described my chest-embedded port, implanted today, will make me ready to plug & play the cancer-fighting game, but will also reduce some of our playful antics for a time, and I informed them that Coco has to give her cancer cells some strong medicine that might make her feel a little sick too. “I have to stop cancer from partying in my body. Every week I have to crash the cancer party with nuclear force, and make my misbehaving cells get back to their proper jobs!” Hudson, my 9-year-old, said "We can have cake and let cancer know our party is better! Cake always makes me want to celebrate.” And so we shall celebrate as Coco Conquers Cancer one weekly nuclear bomb drop at a time!
Hi friends and followers. I’m just taking a blah-blah blogging moment to remind us to move through life’s ups, downs, twists and turns with a keen awareness that we’re all experiencing exactly what we need to when we need it. With every UP, we NATURALLY thrive. Mountaintop experiences are awesome! Celebrate these! With every DOWN, however, well - it’s not easy but there’s something SUPERNATURAL in those valleys for us! Let’s call them green pastures. Give thanks for those valley lows. After all, it’s only called a valley because there’s another high point on the horizon. Life is dynamic this way. Our hearts have upbeats and downbeats. Even nature reveals new life after a seasonal death.
I have Stage 3 cancer. While I feel scared and unprepared for the challenge of my lifetime, my faith reminds me, as a child of God, that I am, just for the asking, filled with my Heavenly Father’s grace, mercy and strength that renews every morning. We all can claim this almighty renewable resource for THIS day. Tomorrow is not ours to claim - yet.
For me, I know, God’s in this with me. Fighting for me. Working through me. So, if He’s chosen not to remove cancer from me, then there’s something good in all of this challenge for me - and you too, with the various challenges you’re facing, if you’re reading this.
We all can only live one day at a time. I don’t have to know my future to step boldly forward into this challenge by faith. So, while uncertain, I look forward to my certain transformation. I know I will become more of the woman God created me to be through this cancer journey. If life is our “journey,” then aren’t we all simply here to walk each other home? Thanks for this perspective Rumi! What a privilege it is then, to be challenged along the way! Challenge creates change. No flat-lining through an idle life for me! Yet, that doesn’t mean the bumpy navigation is easy.
Let’s embrace those difficult opportunities life’s downs inevitably bring rather than resist them. They hold a special significance for us if we stay the course. Let’s share our stories. By doing so, we can inspire one another and strengthen our communities with compassion. We are all here to learn and live out our unique purposes and passions together.
For those who may have some understanding, my cancer is the rarer and resistant “triple negative.” It even sounds a bit more ominous! Genetic testing revealed I inherited the BRCA2 gene. It’s spiraling within my DNA. Because of this, my genotype always held up to an 80% chance that I’d get breast cancer. Unfortunately for me, this predisposition has become 100% accurate. My sisters, daughters, granddaughters now have this information so they can get tested and take preemptive measures as needed. By the way, I inherited this gene from my paternal side of the family. So, my breasted friends, look both ways!
I’ve been repeating my same “Namaste” salutation at the end of my yoga classes for decades. I say what I say to offer a blessing to my students that holds significant meaning to me as my yoga practice evolved into my career. And now, it’s as if this same language in my body is speaking even more earnestly to me. I close my yoga classes by giving thanks along with the affirmation that we are all uniquely and divinely created, woven and knit together for a purpose and a plan, by the hand of God.
This season in my life is no surprise to the One who formed me in my mother’s womb, and knew me before I was born. I learned these truths in Sunday School. Now, it’s a real life application. Admittedly, it’s easier to embrace my inherited brown eyes from my genetics, rather than triple negative cancer for sure!
"Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared. before I'd even lived one day." Psalm 13 :13-16 The Message
My treatment plan begins soon. It’s more aggressive and longer, but it’s all temporary. If you’re in this sorority or fraternity no one ever pledges to join, take my hand. I’ve been initiated for membership into this chosen group. We can create that supernatural “Northern Light” from our cancer-fighting energy together!
Prayer infuses new life in the spirit of those who are afflicted. Your prayers for me are cherished. So, let’s breathe deeply in and out when we feel challenged. This will calm and clarify our minds and fuel our spirits. Let’s give thanks even though we’re unsure, disappointed, or overwhelmed. FAITH really does overcome all FEARS. We just have to mindfully choose the right F word. Let’s practice our best RBF - Resting Blessed Face, until the Light breaks through to guide us to our next step.
Mountains and valleys. We all journey up and down them. Stay on your path. Give thanks and eat cake along the way - especially in those valleys! Trust in the God of the universe and your purposeful unique creation. There’s more… KC
"I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 The Message
