Every year I write something for breast cancer awareness month and I always keep it positive. You may read this and feel I've strayed from that way of thinking but it is all in how you perceive things I suppose so, please, bear with me.
This year I lost someone I both admired and respected to breast cancer. She was an amazing woman, mother, wife, friend, neighbor and daughter. She is missed by many every day.
I often cringe a little when people call me a breast cancer survivor. Perhaps it is because of survivor's guilt when I think of my friend or maybe because I recognize the sheer randomness of it all. Was I determined to kick cancer's ass? Of course. Aren't we all? Sadly, we don't... The best we can do is fight and, if we are lucky enough to win, be grateful for every day. Most importantly, don't let battles won, or lost, be in vain. I try to keep fighting every day for the women who can't and the women who have yet to begin their battles.
If you are lucky enough to be called a survivor please don't forget, not that most of us could, what you went through and do your part to keep others from going through the same. Whether it is changing policy, volunteering, participating in a 5K, doing charity work or just helping someone get to their appointments, every bit helps. The more we unite against this disease, the more funds we can raise toward research and, ultimately, a cure.
A part of me wonders every day why I am here and Sue isn't and I may never truly understand but I will do everything in my power to make her proud and to prevent the loss of other great women.