Blessed
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
By: Candice Boxshall

The experience of having been diagnosed with breast cancer and surviving has created feelings of being scared silly and blessed relief.

Six years ago I got the news on the phone that I needed to follow up an abnormal mammogram. I can still feel the sensation of all loss of energy and immense dread when the oncologist confirmed that I had cancer. But, I learned many things from my experience, most of them good. I learned that there are many good outcomes. I learned that the human will to preserve dignity and stand up to this unwelcome visitor exists in all of us. I learned that I had a gift that allowed me to provide comfort and hope to those not quite as strong or who were facing greater debilitation than I.
Most of all, I had the privilege of coming to know the quiet courage, the grace, and the unspoken connection that comes with a deep sense of "knowing" among the sisterhood of women with breast cancer.