My Journey

The Alien – A Journey

I was talking to my friend Desi from my support group who calls cancer The Alien. You can read her blog at http://desijagger.com/blog/ Now I want to share the story of my Alien.....

It was September 10^th 2017 when I was informed that I was not alone. A stranger – let’s call him– The  Alien was living with me inside my body and trying to make it his home. I was scared. I felt like my body was suddenly not mine anymore and an Alien was going to take over my life. It was a terrifying thought. It took me a little while to realise that while the  Alien may be trying to make my body his home, it was still my body and I had to do whatever it takes to make sure that this invader was shown the door. I also realised that if everything in life has a purpose and a meaning, the Alien coming into my life was no coincidence. He was here to teach me a valuable life lesson, make me stronger and make my life more enriched.

Treatment began and I started to make new friends!  My first friend was Chemotherapy. My relationship with chemo was rocky at the start, it played havoc with my body, but eventually as we got used to each other the bickering and complaining stopped!  This to me was the ugly side of you Alien. I worked around this ugly side and let chemo do its job. I realized that chemo was only helping me, using its powers only to push you far away from my body. The closer chemo and I got the further we pushed you away.

After 5 ½ months chemo and I parted on good terms! It was time once again to make a new friend – this time Radiation!!!  Radiation and I got along from day one! Smooth, easy, no complaints.  We are working well together and before you know it, you are going to disappear from my body completely. Radiation is helping me win my battle with you like a warrior.

 However tough this phase has been, through you I have learnt to love and respect my body – feeding it nourishing foods and give it the love it deserves.  You have helped me to love and approve of myself more and more every day, to be proud of the way I am handling my relationship with you and my relationship with ME.

My healing is already in progress. Thank you  Alien for helping get the negative garbage out of the way. I am strong and I have the power in this relationship. Thank you for all the lessons you have taught me and continue to teach me. You make me appreciate my life much more than I ever have. Thanks to you my life today is filled with love, good wishes and blessings in abundance. Thank you for showing me what’s important.

You have taught me to brave the wilderness of fear and vulnerability. You aren’t a death sentence; you are a tough lesson which I will never forget. I respect and understand why you came into my life, but now it’s time to leave - your work here is done. The stronger and more positive I am, the further I push you away.

My body filled with medicines, my mind filled with determination, my soul filled with hope - making sure you have no place in my life.

I may not be where I want to be, but neither am I where I used to be. I’ve come a long way from September 10^th 2017!! I am braver than I believe, stronger than I seem, and twice as beautiful! I accepted the reality, embraced the pain and found courage to move forward one day at a time. You never know how strong you are, until being strong is the only choice you have. Thank you  Alien for the wakeup call and all the lessons you have taught me thus far.