From the Preface It has been said that cancer is a name and not a death sentence. I agree with that assessment. In facing cancer I have learned to face my own fears, even my fear of death. If you are faced with cancer, one of the most important things that will determine your outcome is the kind of person that you are and how you respond. And until you face cancer, you never really know how you will respond.
Cancer has also been described as a wake-up call--this was indeed true for me. I have also seen that, as hard as it is to deal with cancer, it can be a blessing in disguise.
Cancer can also be a teacher--a hard teacher, perhaps, but if you are willing to humble yourself, cancer can teach you profound lessons. For me, cancer was and is all of these things and more.
Cancer is also a journey. Each person takes his or her own route, and there are many different means of transportation. And yet the path has been defined and is well-worn by the feet of those who have had to travel it every day, unwillingly perhaps, but often with courage and a fighting spirit that I have seldom seen elsewhere. The women I met in treatment traveled this road with me and have inspired me. It felt good to share our common experience, and they taught me a lot. Sharing what I learned from my own experience with cancer is my main motivation in writing this book.
From the time I learned that I had breast cancer, I felt moved to share my journey with others. The further I am removed from the diagnosis and the label of "cancer patient," the more I feel the need to share what I have learned. Only someone who has had cancer can ever really know what it is like. I especially want to share what I feel were the keys to my healing, things that I wish I had known prior to my diagnosis.
The first part of this book recounts my own experience with breast cancerday-by-day, week-by-week. It is painful at times. Certainly, it was when I was going through it. I am sharing it here with the hope that others may learn from it, as I learned so much from the experience of many others who faced cancer.
In the second part of this book, I have attempted to distill what I have learned about cancer and its treatment into some practical guidelines that others who are facing cancer can use in their own healing journey.
In the third part of the book, I explore and expand on the subject of cancer as a spiritual teacher and illness as a spiritual journey.
Breast cancer is not just a disease of the breast. It affects the whole person, and it responds best to an approach that treats the whole person--body, mind, and spirit. As patients, we do better if we actively involve ourselves in all aspects of our treatment. This book is the fruit of my active involvement in my personal fight to overcome cancer.
