Personal Narrative: Living With Cancer

Everyone hears the word “Cancer” and automatically thinks death? Imagine being told you have cancer a month before Christmas and having to start chemotherapy right away. That was me at age 16 barely a junior in High School, they say high school is supposed to be a great experience. And it was at the beginning which was my freshman and sophomore year. I was that girl athlete with lots of friends who went day by day not caring about my health I would eat lots of junk food and stay up late at night. I come from a Hispanic family single parent my mom and 4 siblings 3 girls and one boy. Two had already gotten married and there was only 3 left at home including me. My mom would work out in the fields so sometimes she 'd come home late, therefore

You never realize how evil cancer truly is until it affects you or your family. I was four when cancer first affected me, stage four leukemia. My two year old cousin Conor was on the verge of death, and I had absolutely no clue. For the first nine months of his fight all I knew that he was sick, I assumed he had a cold, not fighting for his life. When I was five my mom sat me down to tell me that Conor was not going to make it, and that my brother and I were going with her to Albany to visit him. His bones were sticking out, his head looked like a bowling ball, and his skin was a pale blue. He looked like a child in a concentration camp during World War II. Honestly if you were to think of what a dead child looked like, that was him. That was the first time I realized that my mom was right, and that Conor was not going to make it.

Cancer has one of the biggest effects on the patients mental health but also the patients loved ones and friends. It is one of the hardest things to get a grip on when the doctor tells someone that they have cancer and a fifty-fifty chance of making it. "The disease can bring many changes-in what people do and how they look, in how they feel and what they value" (Dakota 4). It makes people look at the world and their lives in a different way, valuing now what they took for granted and seeing the bigger picture in every scenario. It is something that no one can actually brace, even after the doctor tells them. Through it all though, the person must remain strong and optimistic because the cancer can affect the person's moods and in return affect the outcome of the person and the chances of their making it

My husband and I were married for less than eleven months when our world collapsed around us. I’ll never forget what the doctor said, “Much to our surprise, it was cancer.” Seven words that changed our lives forever.

“We can’t go out tonight. I already told you that.” Cali told her best friend Caleb now very annoyed.

Five years ago in 2012 my Aunt Mary died from cancer. Cancer had consumed her whole body. It started in her liver and spread to different organs and even reached her brain. When she found out she had cancer she was told she only had a few months to live. I had just seen her on a trip we had before we found out she had cancer and that was the last time I saw her.

There is nothing anyone could have done. My sister didn’t mean to get cancer, and she couldn’t have stopped it from growing. I just wish things had happened differently and that my entire family wouldn’t be turned away from me now.

When I was in 6th grade my Aunt Dana was fighting cancer, and had been for 3 ½ years, I supported her all the way through it. So we held a rally in Thompsonville to support her and show her how much she meant to all of us, and that if she could fight cancer and get up every morning knowing it could be her last than we can get up and fight our battles. She was my light in a very dark tunnel.

Have you ever feel like luck is not by your side.? That’s how I felt for many years. The environment in which I was raised shaped me into a resilient person and I’m thankful for that because I survived both cancer and my parents’ divorce.

I sat there cold and motionless, not even the sun on that warm summer day could bring me to life. “There is nothing left to do. This is the end.” The words played continuously in my head like a broken record. I had to find the willpower to stand, walk back into the hospital, and say my final goodbye to my mom.

Have you ever felt so broken and lost that you believed you simply couldn’t keep going on in life, as if the barriers of your life caved in and suffocated the very existence in which you lived? This pain was all that I knew in the months following my grandfather’s loss to cancer in July of 2008. Fighting until his dying breath, it was a moment in my life that rocked and shattered my heart like fragile glass. His death required me to adapt to and appreciate life and showed me that no obstacle is to big overcome if you maintain hope and a positive outlook.

Everything in life can be associated with a color, happiness is a bright and inviting yellow, while sadness could be a dull and dismal grey. One afternoon, my twin brother, Chris, and I were sitting on the couch, smiling and laughing with one another. Vibrant shades of yellows and oranges surrounded us and made me feel safe and at ease. Our parents walked into the living room with somber looks on their faces, my mother looked upset. That was the day I found out my mother had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. The Russell’s lifestyle was challenged now with a horrible plague my mother was burdened with. The prominent color present in the house went from a warm red to a darker shade, a color I associate with the threat of death. Something about that didn’t sit well with me.

With three members of my family having breast cancer, it is believed that getting genes tested for mutations would be a intelligent decision. Due to breast cancer being a common disease in my family I decided to investigate scenario three into further detail. I feel it would be beneficial to get my genes tested to determine if I have a chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer in the future.

A little over a year ago my boyfriend and I learned the terrifying news that his grandfather, Pepa, had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Pepa, a good friend to me, had been suffering for months with extremely painful symptoms that severely decreased his quality of life. Finally, after months of ineffective doctors visits, the cause of the pain was uncovered. The normally vibrant and entertaining character was facing a life changing plight. Being the profound, locally acclaimed musician and song writer that he is, regret of this devastating diagnosis echoed throughout the community and beyond. Although his body was aching and his spirit put to the test, Pepa continued to write emotionally-charged music that continued to please the crowd. Weaving a poetic web of hundreds of pages of bluegrass and folk songs and drawings, Pepa commemorates the natural charm of his home state of Kentucky, paints colorful anecdotes of friends and acquaintances and recounts historical tales of wit, gallantry and often comedy. My fears of his artistry

There were three experiences that shaped my response to my topic, two of which I have described in detail in my planning document. As for the third experience, it occurred quite recently, hence why I haven’t addressed it, since I still need time to organize my thoughts on what had transpired. As I am no expert, I researched prior to writing my poem by reading through survivor stories and combining it into one, with my personal exposure with cancer to aid it. Overall, I would say that despite the fact that I knew very little, however through writing this poem I have learned considerably more.