Truth Tuesday: Cancer
When I started Truth Tuesdays, the idea was to be completely candid about things happening to me or around me. I never realized how tough this honesty would be. My very best friend, my mom, has been diagnosed with breast cancer. My thoughts have been jumbled, and I'm so terrified, I didn't know what to do. Writing has always been an outlet for me to express my feelings, which means more to me now than it ever has. I wrote down what I was feeling because I didn't know what else to do.
"Cancer."
My mouth curved around the edges of the word, whispering it, testing it.
It doesn't feel real. It is the nightmare that I can't wake up from. When my mom told me it was breast cancer, I said, "No, it's not."
But it is.
It's cancer.
Cancer.
The word that has been on the tip of my tongue, in the back of my throat, and on the top of my head for the past week.
It's the first thing I think of when I wake up, and the last thing I think of before I go to bed.
It's cancer.
C-A-N-C-E-R.
A six-letter word has jolted my world. Two syllables cause me to suddenly break down and cry in the middle of a perfectly good day. A single word makes me feel sick to my stomach, unsure of the future, wanting to pack my bags, move back to Michigan, and crawl into bed with my Mom. A word has broken my heart, and changed my life forever.
I have asked myself why, I have screamed and cried, I have tried to make sense of it all. I have tried to prepare myself for this, but I can't. Nothing will prepare me for this. But we will get through it. Somehow, our family will make it through this.
My mom has breast cancer. But she is the strongest person I have ever known, and she will fight this. My mom, my best friend, my favorite person to spend the day with, my crafting buddy, my biggest cheerleader, the one with a tattoo matching mine, my go-to person for anything and everything, has breast cancer. But we will fight this. Together, we will fight this.
She has been by my side through everything, and now I will stand by hers.
Mom, I love you more than you could ever imagine. Now let's kick cancer's butt.
My mom is not the only woman suffering from breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. To learn more about breast cancer, click here. To donate to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, head here.
