Hope4Cancer: Day Fifteen: Lessons Learned

Leaving the clinic on the last day was like leaving your best friends on the last day of camp.

We started with songs and praise and discussed any final thoughts because we wanted to stay connected. We created a Facebook page and Hope4Cancer community: for all who are reading this book and need support and love because we don’t want to be in this by ourselves. We are a community. And through these three weeks, our deep love for each other and our prayers for health, healing, and hope have been such a humbling experience. Realizing that all of us have chosen to break new ground for recovery has been an awakening for me. It was way more than the therapies. It was definitely the connection.

Even the twice-daily visits from my doctor, just to see if I was okay, taught me how valuable it is to just do a check-in. And when I didn’t feel well, he would have the perfect words. I almost felt like Dr. Mel was bringing Jesus to me because I believed him when he touched me and said I’d be okay.

Hope4Cancer has created a new mindset for me. And I do know that it’s not cancer that will take me back to heaven. But now my call is to figure out how to take all these lessons, simplify them and share them because all of it has to do with faith, hope, love, and lessons because we all have something in common. At Hope4Cancer, we’re very driven, motivated, spiritual, faithful believers in love’s track, and our vehicle has to be strong to carry the spirit. So my hope for all of us is to figure out how we heal in the background while we make our life, love, and light shine in the foreground. But in those dark moments, we have each other. And God gave me Piet, David and Suzanna, and all my other friends, in the flesh, to hold me, hug me, and encourage me to say tomorrow will be a better day. And a special thank you to my sister Renee, who was my support person for this three-week experience, and who paid particular attention to my needs.

And it always is.

But I pray through our experiences that other people will know they’re not alone. Because I definitely don’t have a death sentence. This is a life sentence that makes you clearly realize that each moment is precious. And that is a gift. Let’s not waste one minute crying or feeling sorry for ourselves. In everything we do, let us give God the glory. Every day.

And the thing I know for sure is, that this life is about home. It’s about forgiveness and unconditional love, period. That’s what we’re here for. And to spread His light, period. Another awareness I gained is that as much as I love these people in the flesh, we are connected as souls; we’re never going to be apart—in our human form or in heaven. And that makes me feel safe.

There were so many moments when I had to stop and say, “Wow, this isn't about the treatment. This is about a life lesson. It’s about asking and receiving, so we can make all those diamond nuggets of wisdom shine through.”

Thank you, and God bless.