The beginning of a new year is a
time for reflection, and as women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer,
thinking about the year ahead can remind us of our vulnerability, though our
fears may be unspoken and we also find ourselves wondering what we can aspire
to, our dreams, our hopes and what we want to achieve in the coming year.
For some of us, the future is
anxiety-provoking and when we try to be hopeful and think of all the amazing things
that could happen, the picture before us becomes blurred and we find ourselves
wondering whether we dare to dream. For those of us living with secondary
breast cancer, the over-riding hope is for stability in our health, for
treatments which continue to keep disease in check, and a sense that the
here-and-now is what matters most to us. Some of us shared our dreams to make
career-changes, travel, celebrate significant milestones, support our loved
ones, take up new interests and give something back to our communities.
For women living beyond the most active phases of
treatment (surgery/chemotherapy/radiotherapy), there can be a huge impetus to
treat cancer as an event we can put behind us. Naz told us that the past
prepares us for the future and gives us the solid foundation in which we can
build resilience, a spring board to fly from. To forget the past is to break
that foundation, but if we can use it to our advantage, we can make the future
an achievement.
Our debate highlighted our rich
and varied hopes and reflected our individual interests and aspirations, but
what we had in common was our wish to live our lives meaningfully, according to
our values, and yes, for some of us our steps forward are faltering and
uncertain, but forwards we must go, with curiosity, with love and with hope.
#ResilienceDiscussion
Many thanks to Sally for allowing
us to use this photograph.
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