Transformational Experiences

I Survived the Cancer They Said Would Kill Me

25 years later and I’m still standing

Photo by Victoria Strukovskaya on Unsplash

“You get what you step into.” — Kyle Cease

In 1995, after a routine visit to my regular family doctor, I was referred to an oncologist for a biopsy.

Days later, I was sitting in their office, hearing a pronouncement that I had inflammatory breast cancer. And the prognosis was not good, and I needed immediate surgery.

That week was a whirlwind of activity. The tumor was huge, a breast and 32 lymph nodes under the arm were removed, and 28 were found positive for the cancer. It was a certainty that it was all over my body, floating around in my bloodstream, waiting to attach to other organs.

With a straight face, the doctor told me I had 6 months to a year to live.

My son, the zen master, was 9 months old at the time.

Conversations with a Zen Master