How Lung Cancer Helped to Save My Life

Prior to my diagnosis with Stage 3B Lung Cancer, I had spent many years reading self-help books. I worked hard, but never felt successful, or took pride in myself. Then the world started to emerge from the pandemic, and I realized God had given me a second chance at life. He had brought me back from a 30% chance of survival, and I knew I wanted my life to be worthy of His incredible gift. I am a different person today. My new normal is so much more rewarding, and I feel so much joy.

An ordinary day in my life before Stage 3B Lung Cancer included enough work in my tutoring business to pay the bills and save a little. I told myself I had to be kind and caring to everyone I interacted with. Although my expectations of others were reasonable, my expectations for myself were not. I told myself I needed to be available for my husband, adult children, step-children and grandchildren, and if not, I would beat myself up, even when I hadn’t promised anyone but myself. Was I living my life as my own worst enemy? Yes, all too often.

I was not happy. I wanted the students I tutored to always be successful; I wanted to be a good person, all of the time. I wanted to please the special people in my life, routinely.

Then I was diagnosed with lung cancer in the spring of 2018, and subsequently received treatment: Malignant tumors were removed from each of my lungs. The lymph nodes taken from my chest at the time tested cancerous as well, so I had chemotherapy, followed by radiation, and immunotherapy.

A month later I had a CT scan, and it showed my lungs were cancer free. I had reached remission!

I was so thankful, so grateful, and soon my lifestyle would change. I would start to learn to thrive, and slowly but surely, I began to experience more and more joy and fulfillment.

However, I had attained remission just two months before the pandemic would close down most of the world; I struggled throughout the COVID era with something similar toPTSD. I felt the need to push through the challenges of the pandemic in the same way that I had fought, long and hard, to beat lung cancer. In my first nine months of remission, I spent my time attempting to catch up on all I had fallen behind on while in cancer treatment.

But, in the fall of 2020, as the spread of COVID slowed down, I also slowed down, and asked myself, what are you doing? God had saved my life. My chance of cancer survival had been much less than 50%, and yet I was alive. If God had wanted me to have a second chance at life, I wanted to live a life worthy of His miraculous gift to me.

Since that day, I have focused on giving back to today’s cancer patients – by blogging for CURE magazine, as well as by continually increasing my involvement in my church’s cancer support group, St. Peregrine group. I’ve reduced my tutoring to six hours per week, leaving me with quality time to spend with my husband, children, step-children, grandchildren and even to make periodic visits to extended family members who I had only had minimal contact with throughout my life.

I still work a little too hard at times, but I feel so rewarded by my work, especially having made the commitment to serve those who continue to receive cancer diagnoses. I sense so much joy and peace as I go forward in my new normal.

This piece reflects the author’s personal experience and perspective. For medical advice, please consult your health care provider.

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