Dare to Be Great in the Breast Cancer World

I suppose that most people when faced with such an idea would immediately think about those who have made a significant mark in history. The great people written about in our history books have changed the world because of what they have done as presidents, martyrs, religious leaders and scientists . The have invented things that improved our lives and provided goods and services that have exceeded the imagination in their own times. But, if we limit our beliefs to only those who hit the headlines, then we are very closed-minded in our thinking and missing out on the greatness of so many people that are right around us.

“We can all dare to become great if we look outside of ourselves and create opportunities to help others. And the results that we create may just be beyond what we could have ever imagined.“Barbara Jacoby

I know a breast cancer survivor who was diagnosed with one type of breast cancer in one breast, a different type of breast cancer in her other breast and lung cancer (not metastatic breast cancer) in one of her lungs. She had to have each cancer removed in separate surgeries. She has endured a full-range of chemotherapy infusions that caused nausea that wasn’t helped with the medications given to reduce it. That was followed by a long bout with a sinus infection because she didn’t have enough white blood cells to fight that infection. And she returned to full-time work during the radiation treatments and now completed her  first 5K walk to raise funds for cancer research and she is not someone who has ever trained to do such a walk.

My spouse was the caregiver for me through my lumpectomy, my double mastectomy, my breast reconstruction surgery, my areola and nipple replacement surgery and a parathyroid/thyroid surgery necessitated by a problem discovered during tests conducted in connection with the breast cancer. But, he didn’t stop there.

Being concerned with the mental toll that breast cancer has upon a person, he convinced me that I should write down my thoughts in a weekly blog and he would create a website that would house those articles. Now, more than 15 years later, he has spent countless hours creating new features, keeping up to date on the latest social media platforms, finding how best to share the information on each of them and finding additional new ways to share out the info. and all were self-taught He would never give a second thought to doing things in a way that was not his very best and in a way that does not best serve the needs of those who come to the site for help.

I know of a doctor who has become a researcher in pursuit of the answers to find the cure for breast cancer after having lost both her mother and grandmother to breast cancer. She is not in pursuit of the almighty dollar in her work, as we all know that she could use her medical training and expertise in so many other ways that would create an incredible amount of financial rewards for her..

Each of us has the opportunity to make choices that dare us to be great in our own lives. We are not limited by education or the amount of money that we have. The areas in which we live or the backgrounds from which we come do not limit us. Our age, religion, sexual orientation or political beliefs are not limitations. We can all dare to become great if we look outside of ourselves and create opportunities to help others. And the results that we create may just be beyond what we could have ever imagined.