For Hope Sake

This journey is a crazy one.  It can be mentally draining as it is physical. On one hand I hear the statistic of the mean life expectancy of 2-3 years.  I am at my one year mark.  SO I am Hopeful to be alive and NEAD but doubt creeps in, to think about the stats. Do I only have less than 2 years? 113 people day every day from metastatic breast cancer. When will I join the statistics? How do I live with all these thoughts swimming in my head? For me, I pull out my notes from a conference that I watched online through the Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC). Dr. Mariusz Wirga, MD was the speaker, here are some of the little bits of golden nuggety treasures that I saved from his talk.  I hope they may be as calm and centering to you as they are for me. It also reaffirms God's promise in the bible. Hebrew 6:19

• First, STATISTICS are for a population not an individual
• Statistic apply to the past
• Did you know there about 2 new medications coming out each month
• The longer we live with MBC your mean moves so that you are gaining more time.
• Most important: "Don't focus on the answer to how long will you live. Focus on what you have now. Do not wait for a cure or a new med. Apply what you know now to feel better, to help yourself today. Focus on how you will live today, the central answer is HOPE."

• Hope is the belief of what is desired is also possible even when the probability is small
• Healthy Hope: "I can be that outlier, I might not be, but I could be."
• Always save space for Hope.
• Be mindful of where you are and where your Hope lies
• Protect your Hope
• I Hope to get well, but I can't control it. I have influence but I can't control it.
• Worries and doubts are not wrong
• Illness and death are a part of life, they are NOT failures
• Remember to have Faith to believe in what                                                           you do not see
• Finally, recognize that it is okay to be 'nonattached' to the outcome. This is not being detached. But instead you are engaged on what you can do now.  Plan for the most desirable outcome (living to be 100) and being prepared for the least, see my blog Fall Out Shelter to see my plan.

What can you do now: Stress reduction, manage depression, healthy diet, good night sleep, and movement.  See my blog post My arsenal: a little bit of this and that to read about some of my complimentary therapies.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 (NIV)