Introduction

Cancer is the “C” word that we dread to hear from our doctor.  After denial, anger, depression (not necessarily in that order), to heal and survive we need to adopt a determined and positive spirit.

Below are the courageous stories of three Stanford undergrads, who despite having cancer before getting admitted to Stanford, decided to enroll in Stanford anyway – making cancer part of their undergrad experience.  Their stories are a beacon of light for all who have cancer.

Their courageous stories are from The Stanford Daily article entitled “Confronting Cancer” (by Ryan Mac).  Highlights from the article are below.  At the end are a place for sharing comments and stories, and a link to article.  The reader is encouraged to read the article for more details – and share this article with friends and loved ones who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Common Trait: Determination

While they were robbed of years of high school and the privileges accorded to relative normalcy, [Sarah] Adicoff, [Kate] McGrath and [Myndi] McDonald managed to maintain fundamental control over the trajectory of their lives. All eventually ended up at Stanford, not because of their conditions, but rather because of their individual determination.

Meet Sarah

About Cancer: “Now on her third round of treatment for Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the body’s soft tissues, [Sarah] Adicoff battles her condition daily, after having relapsed twice — most recently last February, following her first full quarter at Stanford.”

About Coping: “I don’t generally plan too far ahead, that’s definitely a big part of it,” she explained pensively. “My motto is like ‘day by day’ and ‘take one day at a time.’”

Meet Kate

About Cancer: “I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia when I was 15 years old, when I had just finished my freshman year in high school,” said Kate McGrath ‘10, a cancer survivor…. I think the last words you expect to hear when you’re that old are the words, ‘You have cancer,’” she added.

About Coping: “You have to work with what you have,” McGrath said. “Control is more and more of how you choose to deal with things yourself. There is nothing in life you have ultimate control over. It’s like, here is a life situation: How are you going to deal with it?”

Meet Myndi

About Cancer: Myndi McDonald ‘12, now in remission since the summer before her first year of college …. She recounted weeks where she was forced to miss multiple classes, eventually returning tired, wrapped in scarves, to the questioning looks of peers.

About Coping: “You still have to look at the future as if it’s still going to be there,” she said. “It’s a balance between knowing that I should continue doing the things that I love to do and knowing that I could totally still have a future.”

                              ***** Share Your Story ******

(1) Would you share your story?

(2) How did you overcome your denial, anger, and depression?

(3) How did you keep your mind and spirits positive?

(4) Did you join a cancer support group – and what role did it play in your surviving cancer?

(5) What was the most important thing you did that helped you to survive cancer?

(6) What books or practices were helpful to your surviving cancer?

(7) What advice would you give to those going through cancer treatments?

 

                                         ***** Link To Article *****

Post your story and/or comments. ….. Read more in the article entitled “Confronting Cancer” – by clicking on the article title.

 

*****  Poem About Cancer  *****

This poem may be helpful to those coping with cancer.  It’s about not allowing cancer define your life and who you are.

CANCER IS SO LIMITED

 Anonymous

 

They’ve sentenced you with tiny cells that secrete

themselves deep in body recesses and multiply.

Lymphonic capture of vital functions.

 

Can cancer conquer you?

I doubt it, for the strengths I see in you

have nothing to do with cells, blood, and muscle.

 

For cancer is so limited.

It cannot cripple love, it cannot shatter hope.

It cannot corrode faith, it cannot eat away peace.

It cannot destroy confidence, it cannot kill friendship.

 

It cannot shut out memories, it cannot silence courage,

It cannot invade the soul, it cannot reduce eternal life.

It cannot quench the spirit,

It cannot lessen the power of resurrection.

 

Can cancer conquer you?

I doubt it, for the strengths I see in you

have nothing to do with cells and blood and muscle.

 

                           **** Guided Imagery Meditation *****

For those who  find “meditation” helpful in coping with cancer, Belleruth Naparstek, a psychotherapist and guided imagery pioneer, has written a book entitled “Staying Well With GUIDED IMAGERY” explaining guided imagery meditation techniques.  Available online are CDs of her guided imagery meditations for cancer and chemotherapy –  as well as for other health conditions.    

 

       ***** Relevant Cancer Article Previously Posted On MicahsCall *****

(a) “I Love Your Bernie Siegel” is a review of the best seller “Love, Medicine & Miracles”  written by Bernie Siegel, who is an M.D. and a cancer surgeon.  The book’s subtitle is: Lessons Learned About Self-Healing From A Surgeon’s Experience With Exceptional Patients. To many with cancer, Bernie’s book has literally been a lifesaver! Those with cancer are encouraged to make Bernie’s book a must read.

 

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