The Upside of Cancer
August 22, 2007
• The 20+ pounds I have lost on the Cancer Diet :)
• Not having to worry about a “Bad Hair Dayâ€
• Having more freedom to say “Noâ€
• Wearing dangle ear rings sans hair
• The way the wind brushes my scalp
• The new outlook it brings
• The way my family and friends have rallied around me
• Did I mention the freedom to say “Noâ€
• The way my husband kisses my bald head
• Living each day to its fullest… even if it is from my couch ;)
Some of the secret joys of living
are not found by rushing from point A to B,
But by inventing some imaginary letters along the way!
-Douglas Pagels
Edited to add:
This is what came from my husbands work this afternoon…I was in my bedroom so I didn’t hear the door bell ring until Boomer (dog) barked madly, and by then he had already walked back to his truck and proceeded to drive off.
Imagine me running after the flower truck flagging him down sans hair…. :)
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Note From Heather: All comments are welcome, but I reserve the right to delete at any time. All comments are solely the opinions of the individuals submitting them and the publication of them on this blog does not imply my endorsement or agreement. By posting your comments to the blog you are granting me the right to use them. Your submission of a comment constitutes your acceptance of this comment policy.
In other words: Play Nice
46 Responses to “The Upside of Cancer”
I would love to hear from you!
LOVE IT!
You rock, Heather! I loved reading this. :)
You are such a cool person. That’s what came right out of my mouth this morning when I read your entry. Your hair may be your glory, but the glory of the Lord is so bright shooting out of those eyes… we don’t miss the hair.
there’s always lemonade to be made with those lemons!
God bless ya sweet girl! Have an awesome school day!
ps-Thank you for sharing your walk, your fears, your joys and your encouragement, your testimony. Bless you and your family! :)
Bree (Maine-I never had a chance to post a while back, I started reading way back when we were still in VA)
You are too funny! Glad to know chemo is having no impact on your sense of humor. By the way, I think Easton looks just like you. Well, except she has hair! No, seriously, she’s got your same gorgeous eyes.
Heather,
I see you are taking every “thought” captive :). Just stopped by to say hello and pick up a little inspiration along the way.
You are beautiful.
-michelle
Thanks for the reminder to look at all of our blessings! You are a beautiful woman!
I love that you made this post. I just love it. I’m glad it’s brought you a newfound freedom (even though it came - and still comes - with a high price). :-)
can I please borrow your totally awesome uplifting positive attitude????
Keep that sense of humor, Heather, it looks great on you, and amen to the upsides of cancer.
Have blessed day,
Hugs,
Norma
You’re the greatest!
Make sure you maintain each and every one of these things (even the bald head, if you want to!;0) after you’ve kicked this cancer’s butt to the curb!!
Blessings,
Karla
I just burst into tears when I read the one about your husband kissing your bald head. God bless him and then men like him!
You always have such a great attitude!
I love that you share things like this!! Thanks!
Heather,
People often say cancer can make a person more determined, a better person - no, cancer helps you realize your full potential inside and allows you - yes gives you permission to do it! You are allowing yourself to feel! What an awesome testimony. How often do we just run, run, run…and we forget to live. Thank you for your reminder that even in the tough times we can choose to live. It may have not been the path we would have chosen, but God chose it for a reason…
Many Blessings!
Paula
That is such an amazing outlook! You are so strong, even when you think you’re not. Keep sharing this spirit with us!
You have made me smile today. Thank you so much for your good outlook on life, it is very encouraging. :)
JoAnn
What a great post! You make me smile.
I wish I had a friend with your attitude. I ‘m so glad to have met you here.
God bless you, God is blessing me by finding you online. :)
Can you tell us more about the cancer diet?
Thanks for sharing your blessings with us.
Wow if you can find an upside to your situation then certainly an upside can be found in any situation!! Thank you for the perspective today!!!!
What a lovely list. You are always such an inspiration! Thank you for the uplifting perspective!
Beautiful flowers! Always praying.
I always enjoy reading your posts and today was no different. And how amazing your outlook- God Bless You!
Beautiful flowers too- I love yellow! :)
Heather,
I have not made a comment on your site before but felt compelled to send this to you. I receive a devotional called “Catch of the Day” by John Fischer and find him very inspiring.
I think he was talking about you today…enjoy this reading. I feel that you comfort so many others who really need it.
Your sister in Christ,
Susan Lee
Comfort to spare
by John Fischer
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Wow, that’s a lot of comforting going on there!
Now I am no expert in biblical languages, but I bet in the original Greek text this is a play on the word translated “comfort.” How else can you explain the use of the same word five times in a sentence except to make a point about being comforted by God? What he’s saying is that the comfort of God has it all over the troubles that come our way. The comfort of Gods drowns them out.
First, for all the afflictions and troubles that come our way, God is there to comfort us. But it doesn’t stop there because it doesn’t stop with us. The point is not only that we receive comfort, but the comfort we receive in our affliction, then becomes something we can pass on to others for whatever their trouble happens to be. In other words, the comfort we receive is specific to our need, but it becomes universal in its ability to be applied to someone else. This comfort stretches until it can cover others around us who need it.
I think the key here is that God’s provision doesn’t stop with us. The point is not just to get relief from my affliction. The point is to receive comfort in my affliction so that I can then turn around and bless someone else with the comfort that’s left over. It’s like a friend of mine used to say: “There’s more where that came from.”
“For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” (1:5) See what I mean? This is comfort overload.
We live in a society where everything starts and ends with me, and in that environment, it’s easy to apply spiritual promises to myself as if the end of the matter was my well-being and freedom from pain. It is not. It is only so that we can be loosed on the world with comfort to spare, because our need has already been met.
Forward this catch
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Copyright 2007 by John Fischer
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I can’t express what an inspiration you are!
You are a joy Heather what more can I say Prayer going out as always.
I love your attitude! I pray the rest of your day is peaceful and positive.
i l-o-v-e that quote. it really applies to several things my hubby and i are
wrestlingsorting through right now.shalom to you….
xo
You’re awesome Heather!!!! :)
It was nice meeting you last night!
Your outlook on things through all of this just amazes me. You are truly taking from this experience what so many of us should during our struggles!
Oh Heather!
I love your humor! And I love the positive outlook on cancer…because being sad or stressed just wont change it!
I had a dear friend, a mother of one of my students actually, who was bald because of treatment for breast cancer, and she always said that being bald was ok as long as she could still wear her dangling earrings!
Thanks for the quote. I’ll remember it when I get a little too crazy trying to get to point B. (Or trying to get my kids to get to point B)!
Loved the quote. Thanks for sharing that. It reminded me of my hubby. :-)
That freedom to say “no” is a wonderful thing. It is very freeing to be divorced from people’s opinions, isn’t it? Praise the Lord we can live to our audience of ONE.
Alesha
http://www.xanga.com/akconklin
I’ll try to remember those things when I start my chemotherapy! I’m twenty five years old and have thirty nodules in my lungs, some of them large. They spread from a recurrent giant cell tumor I had removed twice from my tibia, near my ankle. My biopsy showed that the tumors are still benign, kind of. They’re benign but acting malignant. So what, it’s like cancer lite?
It’s terrifying having a rare disease that no one knows how to treat. They want to try chemotherapy, but aren’t sure if it will work or even what kind of chemotherapy drugs to use. We’ll have to try one drug at a time. I can now add guinea pig to my resume! I like to make jokes, but I wish I had more answers, and I wish I knew where the line was between benign and malignant. I wish my line were more clearly defined. Maybe in the end, it doesn’t really matter. This can kill me.
I read your blog regularly and I love it. I’m so proud of you for being so courageous and graceful through all of this. It shows me that it is possible for me to keep on living through all of this. I am ready to fight, and I will overcome this. I don’t have a choice because I have my sweet baby to take care of!
Thank you for continuing to write and share. It helps more than you know!
You are an amazing person! I want to be like you when I grow up :) God Bless you Heather! I love the little ones first day of school pix too. Very cute!!
There once was a woman who woke up one morning,
looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.
Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today”, so she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
“H-M-M,” she said,
“I think I’ll part my hair down the middle today”, so she did and she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.
“Well,” she said,
“Today I’m going to wear my hair in a pony tail”, so she did and she had a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn’t a single hair on her head.
“YEA!” she exclaimed,
“I don’t have to fix my hair today!”
Attitude is everything.
Have a beautiuflly blessed night!
**Lots of Hugs**
Deborah
Hi Heather,
Reading your blog helps me along the way, it gives me hope that the Lord will be there for me in my decisions and my “thorn”. During the day you pop into my mind and I think if God is sooo big that Heather can trust Him, then I can too.
Praying for you Heather,
You Rock! As do those flowers you were sent!
God bless you, Heather.
Those flowers are gorgeous! What a lovely surprise.
(I’ve found that I never get frustrated in traffic anymore - cancer has a knack for giving us a certain perspective on things, right?!)
Take care, sister! :)
What an inspiration you are! I LOVE your blog to get your updates! You are beautiful!!!!!!!!
Love,
Angie xoxo
Hey RockStar!
Loving you.
me
You are so beautiful, inside and out. Love those flowers, btw. Awesome.
Sending warm drive-by hugs…..we’re praying for you at Pilgrim Pals….
It really amazes me the way some people just have the natural ability to look at the “good side” no matter what they are going though - your totally one of those ladies - and those flowers - BEAUTIFUL what a great hubby you have there!
“The way my husband kisses my bald head”
I think Jenna said it earlier in the comments but I, too, burst into tears upon reading this. You’re a lucky woman to have such a great man by your side (and I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that!).
Even though we don’t know each other, you’re frequently in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for sharing your journey with me.