26/07/2026
That is why it is so IMPORTANT to have THE SURVIVORSHIP session with your COUNSELOR!
The world expects us to get back to normal after cancer.
To return to our routines, pick up where we left off, and live as though nothing ever happened.
But there is nothing normal about living a life that cancer has touched.
I try to smile every day and keep moving forward.
I try to go with the flow.
I try to laugh, make plans, take care of the people I love, and participate in life like everything is okay.
I try to act normal because sometimes pretending life is normal is the only way to keep living it.
But there is nothing normal about cancer.
There is nothing normal about hearing a diagnosis that changes the way you see your body, your future, and the life you thought you were going to have.
There is nothing normal about becoming afraid of your own cells.
Nothing normal about watching your body endure things it was never meant to endure, then being expected to simply return to life when treatment is over.
There is nothing normal about clear scans bringing relief and fear at the same time.
Nothing normal about feeling grateful to be alive while grieving the parts of yourself, your health, and your sense of safety that did not come through it untouched.
So I smile.
I laugh when I can.
I make plans, even when I am afraid my body will not cooperate.
I keep showing up, even when it takes more from me than anyone can see.
But I am not living as though cancer never happened.
I am learning how to live after something that changed everything.
And some days, what looks like moving forward is simply me doing my best to carry an experience that will never feel normal.
Jessica's Healing Journey đź’™