Live

For me, having a brush with a life-threatening situation, brought me a greater awareness of how much I valued life.

Nearly three years ago, I went for my first mammogram. This was done under protestation on my part: I was bullied into it by my daughter, who is a registered nurse. It turned out that some irregular cells were found and I had to go back for them to take a closer look. They found what was called a Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (a small group of precancerous cells developing in the breast tissue). The outcome was a minor operation then two months following that, three weeks of radiation therapy.

The strange thing about it was that, in the past, I had vowed and declared that if I was diagnosed with cancer, I would refuse any operation or therapy of any kind. I had watched a friend and some relations suffer with the effects of chemotherapy and knew that wasn’t for me. Now that I was placed in this situation myself, I found my rationale had changed. I wanted to stay around to watch my grandchildren grow up, and I would do whatever it took to ensure that I was!

So I plugged on and went through the treatment (side effects and all) and came out on top.

It made me see things more clearly… I LOVE life!

I love so many things about MY life: My husband, my children, my grandchildren, my extended family, my friends, this beautiful world, the gospel… I realised I had so much to live for, so much to do and I was too young to give that up.

Life IS good!

Even with trials and tribulations, whatever kind they may be.

If this life is a test…I want to PASS it!

By Toni Paton