Monday, December 7, 2009

This is what breast cancer looks like

I often intersect with people, mostly women,
who tell me how good I look.
I think I look the same,
but this is what breast cancer looks like.

Watching last night's rebroadcast of CNN's "Black in America: 2"
reminded me that I wasn't just looking at a three-time, breast cancer survivor.
I was seeing a beautiful soul, with an abundance of grace, courage, and dignity.

To the casual observer, she may have looked like a slightly overweight,
middle-aged woman with sparse, wispy hair.
To me, she was radiant through the pain.
I thought:
This is what breast cancer looks like,
and she's amazing!

One day soon, possibly this month or next, I'll look in the mirror and see a woman,
heavy (from steroids),
bald (from chemo), and who knows what else.
But I also WILL TO SEE something greater than my former self:
a beautiful soul, with an abundance of grace, courage and dignity,
with joy that radiates beyond the disease.

I want others to recognize
This, too, is what breast cancer looks like.

2 comments:

  1. This SUCKS.

    I'm waiting for MY results as I write this. i did the nuclear med scan ( 2 days, 2 hours each), and ct scan (mine tasted like banana; i still hate bananas!) and a ton of blood tests and now I'm waiting to see what they find.

    You, too, are a beautiful soul. And what an attitude.

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