In honor of National Cancer Survivors Day 2021, I wanted to share a few thoughts that, as a survivor, people should understand. Life after a cancer diagnosis is never the same and the experience is different for everyone. Regardless of how it’s different for each cancer survivor, there are some common things that are true for most.

1. We want you to know we aren't broken. We might have had an often deadly and scary disease, but we are alive and that is the direction we want to focus on. We aren't sick or fragile or scared of failure. In fact, we looked death in the eye and beat it so there isn't a lot that is going to scare us. We don't want sympathy or pity. A survivor will likely not complain about their struggles, but know that they are probably there, especially, in the first five years. Be patient, be kind, be compassionate with them; they will need it. That is a good rule for life in general.

2. The hardest part for survivors is finding a new normal. During chemo, this is the part that people focus on in terms of helping you. However, after the treatments are over, the survivor has to come to terms with the question "what is next." Every survivor handles that differently, but it is often the toughest time and the hardest to get a grip on. Also, your hair is growing back in and for women this can get awkward. I went from weighing less than a 100 lbs to gaining 40 lbs in a little over a year. I didn't feel like myself; it was a tough time.

3. We look at life differently. If I didn't have that experience, I am not sure that I would see life through the lense of gratitude that I do today. I am genuinely grateful for each day. That isn't just a cliché phrase, and I know plenty of others that say the same.