Everything was fine, perfect even-until it wasn’t. My parents were sitting next to me, scrolling through their phones without a care in the world, which is exactly how it should’ve been. Hearing my mom’s name called, we all stood up and walked into an office. I got a weird feeling from the minute I stepped through that door. Sensed something bad coming deep down inside me. The doctor came in and little did we know he was about to drop the floor from under our feet, my feet. He turned to face my mom and I grabbed her hand, shaking. Then, my life shattered. “Well, you do in fact have cancer.”
Experiencing cancer within your family is one of the hardest things to go through, and I completely understand. I've been there. Hearing this kind of news can completely change your life, like it did mine. The unknowns can cause so much agony and make you go insane. What's going to happen? Will my loved one be okay? How do others have so much strength while I feel as if I'm going to crumble at any second? I frequented the question "Why my family? Why my mom?" Over the time she was going through radiation, I realized there is no answer to this except that life sucks. It's just plain unfair.
If you know someone who has lost their life due to cancer, I pray for you and your family. The only simple way to put it is to say it hurts. Bad. There is no denying that. No one ever truly understands this until they're faced with the same situation. If you don't know what this feels like, you are very lucky and I pray you never have to know this feeling.
In my case, my mother beat her cancer. I know not everyone is as fortunate, but we can all agree on one thing- be thankful for the life you were given and show others just how thankful you are. Know that it's okay to be upset and that it's okay to be mad at the world. No one should have to go through this, but a lot of us do. Come together. Strength is contagious, so be strong, and love hard. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you every chance you get. Stop and smell the roses while you can and don't let any moments pass you by.
