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The breast cancer sisterhood

There’s a special club you join when you get diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s the breast cancer sisterhood. You’ve probably never heard about it until now. I know I hadn’t before I was diagnosed.

People come out of the woodwork to let you know that you are not alone in the fight.

Most recently, I got a letter from my husband’s aunt. It was a handwritten letter telling me of her breast cancer fight over 20 years ago. It was full of inspiration and caring…just out of the blue and in my mailbox. I’m so incredibly touched that she would do that because I’m practically a stranger to her. We get along just fine but we only see each other at the obligatory family Christmas get-together.

And yet, she took the time out of her busy day to write to me. And it wasn’t a quick email either!

Even though it sucks to have breast cancer, I’ve become a card-carrying member of this group of amazing female warriors who are strong, compassionate, and wise beyond their years. They’re a source of strength that I never would have known existed.

Don’t get me wrong. Of course, I knew these people existed and I admired them but it’s different when you have a shared experience.

They’re the reason why I decided to talk about my cancer journey on this blog.

Sharing the breast cancer journey

Initially, I didn’t want to write about it because I thought it would be a downer (I know, it still is), and I thought I just wanted to put it all behind me. But I’ve found so much peace of mind reading other people’s journeys on what happened during their fight against cancer.

When I got diagnosed, I scoured the internet, reading as much as I could about breast cancer. Then I turned to personal firsthand accounts. It’s just story after story (some with happy endings and others not so much).

But it just made me feel less alone in having cancer. It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed at times because things happen so quickly and you have to deal with this on top of being a wife, mom, a job, and whatever else you’ve already got going on.

You’ll quickly realize, as I did, that you’re now in this sisterhood. And that’s a really powerful thing. No matter what age, race, religion, or anything else, cancer doesn’t discriminate. We’re in it together.