More Blessed Than Brave

Port Aransas, TX

I'm feeling a little sheepish about all the sweet comments I've had from dear friends and family telling me how brave or strong I am in dealing with this breast cancer diagnosis. Yes, I am trusting in the Lord and I sense that He's giving me His peace. And, yes, I have been pretty calm about this so far, but that really isn't because I'm brave. I know this is not predictable, but come what may, I have it much easier than many women and I want to respect those women as I talk about my own experience.

My children are all grown up. I did not face a breast cancer diagnosis before having children, before experiencing breastfeeding a baby, or while raising my family. Many women are diagnosed younger in life and that would have been so much harder.

My cancer was caught at stage one, well maybe bordering on stage two based on the latest info from the MRI, but it's still very early. And it is not inflammatory, which is the very aggressive, truly scary type of breast cancer.

I have a loving, steadfast husband to walk through this experience with me, providing emotional and practical support. My son is in town and willing to help in any way that he can. My daughters, although they live out of town, are loving, supportive and faithful about keeping in touch with me and praying for me. I am aware that not every breast cancer patient has these kinds of loving family relationships.

I have wonderful friends who have been through breast cancer and are open with sharing information and their own stories with me. I have a loving extended family and a loving, supportive, praying church family.

I am well established in my job, have sick time accrued, coverage for short term disability or FMLA if I need it, plus good employer sponsored health insurance.

I'm not exactly looking forward to lumpectomy, radiation treatments or taking estrogen suppressing drugs with all that entails, but I am going into this experience with countless blessings and advantages. God forbid that I would take those blessings for granted and fail to thank Him, the Giver of every good gift. I pray that I will be faithful to trust Him who has shown Himself to be trustworthy in every other trial I've faced in life. 

And I pray that I can talk about my experience with breast cancer in a way that respects and honors women who've had it so much harder than I probably will.