quote:
Originally posted by Fiftyandfine:
And I just hate to have people base their relationships with me on "poor me."
Fifty, I understand what you mean by that statement. I had a cancer when I was in my thirties and I got over it. Still people sometimes refer to me as a "cancer survivor."

I don't ever refer to myself that way. For one thing I figure I not only survived, I conquered and now I want to walk away triumphantly. For another thing, like you, I don't want to be known for what I have 'survived,' but for what I have 'achieved.'

'Cancer survivor' is neither what I am or all I am.

If you accept that title, everything you do is forever centered around that one experience. It's like someone saying "you look great." And about the time you begin to 'feel' great, they add, "for your age."

If you become known as a "cancer survivor," everything you do is measured by that and you have to live with it forever. I want to move on beyond it.

smile