Excuses

One day while having one of many conversations with a co-worker/friend who did not know me before or during my cancer battle, I decided to share my cancer battle story with her. After I finished giving her a brief summary of what I went through she asked me “why are you not sharing your story with others?  I was surprised and puzzled by her question.  She continued on to say, “your story is one that many people can relate to. You had many challenges that you overcame.  You also built a relationship with God and sought spiritual guidance through your cancer battle.  I think it’s important that you share your story with others and don’t keep it to yourself.”  As she was talking, I was thinking to myself, “well actually you’re the first person that I ever shared my story with, so does that count?”  

Of course, there was an endless list of reasons why I didn’t want to share my cancer journey with others. First, I did not want to share my cancer journey with others because of the stigma of having had a medical condition such as cancer.  Cancer is classified as a disability by medical insurances and for that reason some employers would not like to hire someone with this type of pre-existing condition.  Also, some people think of you differently and whisper behind your back.  Other people think that you did something wrong because you had cancer.  Despite all the medical advances, the word Cancer is still perceived by many in a negative cogitation.  The bottom line is that fear of rejection and discrimination are the main reasons why I did not share my story with people and that was that.

As people all over the world have been experiencing, this very traumatic event of the pandemic that brought new awareness to the forefront about our mortality and changed the way we live our daily lives.   It made me realize that I was just using excuses to not share my cancer journey with others. Therefore, I decided to get rid of the excuses and start a new chapter in my life by sharing parts of my story with each post on this blog.  I want to let others know that they are not alone.  I also want everyone to know that with God anything is possible.

Thank you to all who are sharing their stories, literary skills, cooking, spiritual, health, fitness, finance, business and so forth through their own blogs. I have learned so much from others through reading all these blogs. Reading other people’s blogs broadens my horizons and inspires me every day.

#Inspired