This year has put a lot of things on pause (travel, school, big family gatherings). But 2020 hasn’t stopped my passion for bringing those of you living with breast cancer inspiration—whether it be in the form of this column or messages of hope on Instagram. So I thought it fitting, in this holiday month, to bestow upon y’all the “Gift of Breast Cancer Wisdom.” It’s a compilation of responses I got from other breast cancer survivors when I asked them about moving forward in life and dealing with the uncertainties after breast cancer.

I was planning to include their answers in last month’s post, Living With Uncertainty: Life After Breast Cancer, but the number of the responses showed me that uncertainty after breast cancer truly resonates with so many other women. So much so that I had to share their real and vulnerable answers in its own post. Whether you’re newly diagnosed, a long-time survivor or even someone reading this article for your loved one who has been diagnosed, I hope you find it a refuge for when you’re feeling overwhelmed, and know that you can come here to get the solace and support you’re looking for—and that you deserve.

Worrying Is a Waste of Time

“You’ll either have a recurrence or you won’t. Don’t waste your life worrying about something that may never happen. Imagine if you let the fear of a recurrence keep you from truly living and you lived to be 80. Imagine wasting the rest of your life worrying about something that never happened. You will either 100% have a recurrence or you won’t. Worry about it if you actually have one. Otherwise, live life to the fullest.”
—Amy, 46, diagnosed at 41

Make sure to read the rest of these nuggets of wisdom at my column Tales from the Chemo Chair on HealthCentral.com

You can also check out my recent blog about about Breast Health: Getting To Know Your Normal here