There are so many thoughts that come to mind when I think about survivor and what it means to me. My definition in relation to myself is that I am a survivor because I have learned how to make the best…
life I can after having fought my way through Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. I overcame many things in my journey but I look at it as a whole experience rather than each small moment. When I was cancer free is when I really considered myself to have achieved being a SURVIVOR!
But my definition of survivor is very different when it comes to others in my life that are dealing with cancer. I believe they are survivors from the beginning, they have survived the terrible ordeal of getting a diagnosis and the process of getting to that point, they survived that days’ worth of treatment, they survived a secondary infection due to a low immune system, they survived the general emotional ups and down that are cancer, etc.
Being a survivor is my badge of honor. I wear it proudly and let everyone know how much stronger I have become because of it. I also include my entire support system under the term survivor because they have been through just as much as I have. They too survived everything that I went through but in an entirely different way. I say survivors unite!