Feeling blessed

Lately I’ve been reading more blogs by fellow stage 4 breast cancer survivors. I’ve been using Twitter to find interesting people to follow. I’ve been reading Vederzwaar’s blog. She is a young mother who is very passionate about following others and helping others. Very inspiring. She also has links to other women’s blogs and suggested that I could participate in the Amazones, a website for young (at heart) women with breast cancer. When I was first diagnosed, I used the forum and signed up but I am sorry to admit I had not used the site much afterwards. Mostly because the posts that were interesting to me were from a long time back.

Looking at the site again and logging in I found a number of wonderful messages waiting for me, which I had not seen because I didn’t know how to get notifications (still looking). 

I’m also following #CaseofDees who is very active for Borstkankeractie (breast cancer action). A friend of a friend suggested that I could contact her. Through Vederzwaar I also looked at the blog DikkeRozePech (big pink bad luck), a very fitting title for the blog of another strong woman, who spoke at the seminar #hoopenvrees organized by the Dutch Breast Cancer Association (which I attended last year). It made me realize that there are a lot of women like me out there. But perhaps I have been luckier than I could have imagined because I actually can live a normal life, without pain. I even have work! Who could have guessed a year ago that I would be so lucky. Yes, I am truly blessed. Now time to figure out how I can help others with metastases. Since I’m doing so well, I wonder how I can even think to help others who are suffering so. But as Geshe Pema Dorjee says: to reduce the suffering of others, to make them happy, is to give meaning to our existence.