Dear subscriber,
'Since having cancer,
I go out of my way to enjoy things'
Christmas is often a time filled with cheer, but it can also be an emotional time when we reflect on ourselves, our childhood and our loved ones. If you’ve been affected by cancer you may be anticipating a different Christmas experience. We asked three of our Cancer Survivor Champions what the festive season means to them.
"Christmas excites me more now than it ever did. Since having cancer, I go out of my way to enjoy things as much as I can. I only told a small group of people about my diagnosis so now people are confused about my sudden excitement – all in all I feel very lucky to be here.”
 “Christmas was a particularly tough time for me as I usually do 'the works' but no longer had the energy to do so. I was pleasantly surprised by how much my family and friends helped, even people I hadn’t spoken to in years. You can’t help but think about the possibility of it being your last Christmas so there were some sad times, however, to my surprise that was a very shortly explored thought on the day itself.”
“I finished my final chemotherapy session a few days prior to Thanksgiving and I was so excited to be around all the family that would be visiting for the holidays. I tried to 'get back to my normal self' as quickly as possible, but didn’t anticipate how difficult it would be. It wasn’t as if I’d finished chemo and suddenly felt well again; it was a process, but my family was so supportive. Even though I couldn’t do the things I normally would during the holiday season (eating copious amounts of mac and cheese and singing and dancing to holiday music), just being around my family made everything I had endured worthwhile. I tried to focus on that aspect, and I realized it was a very special holiday indeed.”
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