I don't know why some people get cancer while others do not. You can look at risk factors and genetics long and hard, but the truth is some people with all the risk factors and genetic mutations still don't get cancer. In my mind, we're just "chosen"--plucked from our daily routines and placed on a different path. Once we are selected, we have a lot of questions to ask and decisions to make. 

If you choose to fight, you'll want to make some changes in your life. The harsh reality is, something you are ingesting, breathing, eating, or doing is hurting you. I see the commercials, like you do, about various products we've used our whole lives that now are known to cause cancer. What the heck?! Now that you know that your world around you or your lifestyle is making you sick, we have to find some alternatives. 

One of the most important things you can do is choose the right attitude. I know this is hard initially, but I promise it get's easier. The monthly boxes are "packed" with activities, ideas, stories and inspiration designed specifically to help cultivate a healing attitude. It's truly Sampson & Grace. Some days you can be strong while others you have to give yourself a little grace. 

Making Fun Changes

When I finally got around to thinking about all the chemicals we lather on our bodies every day, I realized this was an area where I could make some changes and still have a little fun. I set out to find "natural" skin-care products that I could feel better about using. I found some that eased my aches and soothed my dry skin. I also found some that just smelled good and made me feel like a beautiful bald woman, grin! I'll share some of my great finds every month in the boxes because I want you to feel good through this fight. 

Of course cancer sucks. I think of it like a full-time job. It's demanding and you have to think. You have endless appointments to get to and it sure doesn't help that sometimes you can't walk from one room to the next without getting winded. 

Here's the real truth. You can do it. You've got it today. You're beautiful. You're brave. You're an Ovary Jones maverick. You've probably been a "giver" all your life and so many people have been blessed by you. Today, it's time to receive. You're an amazing fighter...let's focus on today. 

Sure. We all know it's important to have a positive attitude. I can do that when the skies are blue, the sun is shining, and the temperature is perfectly in the mid 70s. With a little effort, I can choose a healthy attitude even when things are a little skewed. You know, maybe it's a bad hair day and the roast got a little overdone. I know straight up finding the silver lining is far more challenging with no hair, a body that went on strike refusing to make enough red blood cells to distribute any oxygen, and the uncertainty of it all. It seemed like every time one thing mended another one broke. First it was a tumor compressing my spinal column, next it was an enlarged kidney, then came a spiked heart rate and on and on. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. People checked in on me, thankfully, but I just wanted to be able to say "All good! False alarm! I'm fine." Instead, the cancer saga never ended. Maybe you can muster up a happy-go-lucky demeanor one day but the next day you're gagging over the porcelain queen. How do you keep it all in check? Truth is, it's not a one and done. It's something you have to work on every moment of every day. Some days you'll do better than others...but that's okay! I think we get ourselves in trouble when we think of it as a binary switch. Either you're "good" or "bad". First, we don't need to judge ourselves as "good" or "bad". We need to accept that sometimes we will be better in the emotional fight than other times. It's all part of it. We also have to realize it's a marathon. I was looking forward to getting my last chemo treatment in my rearview mirror. Mentally, I was prepared. I had plans to celebrate the milestone. Then my doc popped my balloon. She told me we couldn't treat today because my platelets were too low. I was disappointed. I also understood if they treated me I'd likely end up in the hospital and I didn't want to check into that particular hotel anymore, so I quickly moved on to figure out the next step. She said, "Wow, you took that really well. I had to tell a patient that on Tuesday and she threw a chair." (I was instantly jealous that somebody in my condition had enough energy to pick up a chair.) While I chuckled at the thought of reacting that way I also realized it's a "side effect" of the mental game of cancer. There's a lot to process and we have to afford ourselves and each other the grace to get a grip on our emotions. Just like it's a marathon for our bodies, mentally it's an emotion-thon. The late, great Zig Ziglar was a motivational speaker that used to say, "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily." Truly this is why we started the monthly boxes. The evening after I finally got that last treatment in, I was at a banquet and coincidentally I asked the man sitting across from me what he did for a living. Imagine my surprise when he told me he was an oncologist. We got to talking and he commented on my positive attitude and then told me how the mental game impacts outcomes. I challenged him on that and he double downed. He told me it absolutely makes a big impact on the patient's success and the day-to-day journey. Nobody told me about the importance of the mental game. I'm determined to help as many fighters as possible throughout every battle.