CARPE DIEM

Cancer was the journey, survivorship is the destination. This is a mantra that I live every day as I reinvent myself as a wife, mother, friend, teacher and human being after my cancer diagnosis.

I lost my father when I was young and my brother died from a brain tumor the year before I was diagnosed, so I had already learned the lesson “life is short so seize each day” before I was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer in 2009 just after my 50th birthday. I had planned on climbing Mt. Rainier to celebrate the landmark birthday, but instead I ended up recovering from my debulking surgery and starting chemotherapy. Shortly after recovering from this ordeal, I lost my job and then my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

So I have had a very heavy basket to carry. I have used my sense of loss to reconnect with myself, explore ways to be an advocate for ovarian cancer research and survivor care and to spend time doing the things that I love such as gardening, reading, cooking, spending time with my family and teaching yoga. Being in the present moment is what brings me joy and helps me spread compassion to others. The journey continues….