Cancer. I call it The Big C. But I am sure it goes by many names, some not so nice either. It first directly entered my life at the age of 16. And since then, it’s been constantly in the background. Sometimes taking centre stage, and other times shifting more to the back seat. But now it’s always there, hanging around somewhere.
Calling it The Big C has been one way for me to cope with it, and has allowed me over time to accept it, and also reduce the fear aspect of what it is. Does that make sense? Is it childish, I don’t know, but it’s worked for me.
The Big C is something that creates intense fear for so many. Cancer. We all know someone who has had it and recovered, or someone who has not survived from it’s clutches.
There have been times when The Big C and I were not on speaking terms. And there have been other times when we were just merely acquaintances. No matter what the relationship, it’s always just sitting there.
The Big C and I have been in a head-to-head battle twice. With a third time being in a stare-down and a close shave, but no battle. In some ways that has made me a bit less fearful of it. Maybe like I know your secrets and you don’t scare me. But also I know your secrets and that makes me very cautious. So steer clear of me.
My decision to call it The Big C doesn’t take away from the seriousness of what cancer truly is. Cancer is very serious and needs to be taken seriously. But we all have different ways of coping through difficulty in our lives. This has been one of mine.
What about you? What is your response to The Big C? Does it terrify you? Does it bring you pain? Or maybe sorrow?
My life choices through the years have made The Big C just a little bit smaller. Maybe more like only The Medium C. I relied very heavily on my personal faith to shrink down the size of The Big C, and I made changes in my health choices to make a difference.
The power and size of The Big C is easily reduced in size when you take hold of your personal choices. We have so much power in the choices we make. I chose to not allow fear to hold me back. Or have power over me. I have relied on my personal faith in God as much as I could. And eating some good healthy food for good measure. I make decisions every day with what I eat to combat cancer returning. Taking over the power of choice every day reduces that fear for the future.
Some people battle with The Big C when they support a family member or friend walking through their journey with cancer. That means their relationship with The Big C looks very different than mine did. Much more of a supportive role, and most likely feeling a complete loss of power and control. As humans losing control can be so difficult for us.
There are more and more people like this. What about you? Does this describe you and your experience with The Big C?
And there are far more people in the group who fear The Big C. It has such immense ability to control and cause great fear. Even if the battle never ends up happening, that weight of the fear can be so great. But the power that fear has to control us, and what we think and feel is only the power that we hand over to The Big C. It can only control our fear if we let it.
This is a very personal question but I am going to ask it anyway. Are you afraid of cancer? What is your relationship with The Big C? If that fear has control of you today, I want to encourage you to speak to someone you trust to share that burden. Fear is a powerful enemy that can destroy us from the inside out. Please go talk to someone to help your share your burden and ease your fear.
Friend, I am praying for you in this. If I can help in any way please message me.
Comment below with your comments about cancer. I would really like to hear your story. Shoot me a personal message through the contact form on the site. I would love it if you like this enough to share it with others. Please SUBSCRIBE in the box above, it helps you know more of what’s going on.
Melodee Glassford 