Pink Is Not My Favorite Color

Being the third of four daughters, and having three daughters and four granddaughters, should make pink the top dog on my favorite color list, but actually blue is my favorite color. For the month of October, however, I give way to pink and allow it precedence for 31 days out of the year, because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. This October marks 15 years since my breast cancer diagnosis. I’m so thankful for this milestone in my life, and milestones are certainly moments that matter. I think it’s important to mark milestones, commemorate and remember the circumstances and events surrounding them, and to thank God for the lessons and opportunities they have afforded. As I mark this milestone in my life I want to share 15 ways God has used my cancer journey to shape and mold me and make me who I am today.

1. Having had cancer has given me urgency for living, loving and learning. It’s taught me the importance of making each day count.
2. It’s increased my faith walk. One thing I realized very quickly during the first few months of my cancer journey was, I am not in control, there is a higher power guiding my life--something I had been taught and believed, but had not yet been fully revealed in my life.
3. Cancer gave me a new appreciation for how blessed I am to have the amazing husband God gave me, a life partner who was, is and will always be committed to being there for me through thick and thin, a role he more than proved capable of during the most intense and painful days of my cancer walk.
4. Cancer showed me the strength that my daughters, then high school age, already possessed. They were then and are now amazing women and a great support and encouragement in my life.
5. Through my experience, my extended family, especially my parents and sisters, were there to make the road easier to walk. Then and today, they consistently exemplify the love of the Lord to me.
6. My diagnosis gave me a quick lesson on priorities. I don’t sweat the small stuff like I once did; I’m not in as much as a hurry as I once was, it taught me to slow down and to stress less.
7. Since my recovery I’ve learned not to put off trying new things or doing things I’ve always wanted to do but didn’t make time for. I have made a few dreams (like finishing my college degree) become realities.
8. Realizing that not everyone who is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness has the kind of support-system I do has given me the desire to serve those facing medical challenges. To encourage them in their journeys. Until recently I enjoyed visiting newly diagnosed breast cancer patients as a Reach to Recovery volunteer with the American Cancer Society and volunteering time as a media and corporate spokesperson for the ACS. Now 15 years out, the treatments and experiences of the patients are quite different (and better) than mine and so I have taken a step back from those roles, but the good memories and incredible women I met during those visits will stay in my heart forever.
9. Although I have always been proactive with my health, I am a more vocal advocate for taking control of one’s health and well-being and self-monitoring and educating in that regard.
10. I don’t take knowing my sons-in-law for granted. If not for these 15 years I would not have the joy of knowing these wonderful young men and seeing the partners God has chosen for my daughters.
11. I have learned that enjoying, every day, at least some part of the beautiful world God has created is important. I love animals, birds, plants, trees, the wind, the snow, the rain, still water and crashing ocean waves. What a shame not to drink it in, so many moments that matter are spent feasting on the beauty all around us.
12. Everything in moderation, lesson number 12. That means eating, sleeping, working, having fun, laughing, crying, in all things moderation and balance. Life isn’t as good when it’s out of balance.
13. Realizing these aren’t necessarily in order of importance, I can’t believe the mention of my grandchildren is all the way down in number 13. I am so aware of the joy and the blessing of my little ones. I’m glad I have been allowed to be here to meet them and to know and enjoy them. I’m also very aware of the responsibility grandparents have to impact the upcoming generations for good.
14. Having cancer has made me aware of the importance of striving toward my highest potential, finding my calling (which changes from life season to life season) and being the best I can be. I realize I might only have this day to make a difference or to grow more into the image of the God I seek to serve.
15. Finally, I’m a more thankful person. I’m thankful for all of it--for life, for the journey, for the opportunities, for the gift of being here one more day.

So there are 15 ways breast cancer has shaped and molded me since 1996. If you haven’t done so already please get your mammogram and have your yearly checkup. If you need reliable information on breast cancer, or any type of cancer, you may visit the American Cancer Society’s website www.cancer.org . The information is well written and dependable and they have many wonderful patient programs, including Reach to Recovery for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, which I have mentioned.

Hoping some of my lessons will be helpful for making your moments matter! So here’s to pink! Not my favorite color, but I’ll be wearing it proudly this month.