CANCER STRONG! CATHY STRONG! MOM STRONG!
BOSTON STRONG – Anyone reading or hearing those words cannot help but remember the terrorist attack on the people of the City of Boston and how the citizens and First Responders rose to the occasion to find the terrorists. That was what the Boston Strong slogan was all about in those early post-bombing days—recognition of victims' and first responders' courage, as well as, a unifying rallying cry. Others have used the Boston Strong slogan to encourage strength and unity in their communities in the face of a public crisis and challenge, Las Vegas Strong, El Paso Strong, Dayton Strong, and so on.
There is another group that exemplifies even more the meaning of resilience, courage, and purpose that underlies Boston Strong, and those who are facing cancer and cancer survivors. Many of us have a family member, a friend, or a loved one who has faced or is facing the life-altering event of a cancer diagnosis. This resilience and courage are not something they exemplify one time, it is something that they exemplify each and every day.
Cancer Patients and Survivors are CANCER STRONG!!
CANCER STRONG is the strength and courage to get up every day and take on chemotherapy or radiation treatments, treatments which kill cancer by poisoning your body just a little less than it takes to poison and kill cancer. CANCER STRONG is the strength to face the side effects of bombarding your body with radiation to kill cancer cells. For some, the strength to take on experimental treatments and the unknown medical outcomes to try to help a person fight against the disease but, just as importantly, to help others gain a positive foothold for the future to overcome the disease.
CANCER STRONG is looking at the hair in your brush that is falling from your head, knowing that you will soon be bald, and not by choice. CANCER STRONG is forcing yourself to undertake physical therapy to help build motor skills and the strength taken by the chemo and radiation treatments.
CANCER STRONG is trying to help your loved ones and friends not worry about what you are going through and the uncertainty that the future holds.
My mom, Cathy, aptly was from Boston. She had cancer for over two decades with numerous recurrences, surgeries, radiation, chemo, and experimental treatments. She was always positive. She was always there for her family. She was an amazing mom. She was a role model. She epitomized being CANCER STRONG.
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