Thirty-one years ago on the Monday before Thanksgiving (1993), I was a 31 year-old mother of six and ten year old girls; and I was undergoing bi-lateral mastectomy to treat my early stage breast cancer. Of course I could not have realized it at the time, but it would become one of the best things that ever happened to me.
I briefly asked, "why me?", but that quickly turned into "why not me?" I embraced the fact that I was NOT my body, but I resided in my body. It, in fact, was a biological structure and things go wrong in nature. What I WAS and always would be is Diane. I was my thoughts, my actions, my dreams and desires, the way I treated others and the difference I could make in the world. The only real control I had was how I reacted to what happened to me and nothing else. I had control of nothing else.
My breast cancer diagnosis put me on a new life path. It gave me a reason beyond myself. God led me to finish my Bachelor's in Communications so I could feel comfortable in speaking to audiences. It was my "job" to educate young woman about early detection and diagnosis. How to feel comfortable in know their bodies and trusting themselves with that knowledge.
I have spend the decades since my diagnosis working in varies different volunteer and paid positions where I have been able to educate and walk with several thousand woman who have experienced breast cancer as well as other cancers. It has been a glorious journey and I have been blessed beyond measure to have had the experience to truly appreciate and experience life. Diane