In my darkest days in the oncology unit, I promised myself that if I ever got into remission one day, I would become a stronger, healthier and better version of my precancer self.
Interpretation
This quote reflects a commitment to personal growth and resilience in the face of adversity.
Suleika Jaouad's quote embodies a powerful promise made during a time of deep personal struggle. It signifies the determination to not only survive but to emerge stronger and improved after facing a serious illness. The acknowledgment of darker days in life highlights the transformative journey of recovery and the resolve to become a better version of oneself, illustrating the strength of the human spirit in overcoming hardships.
In practice
In a speech about overcoming personal challenges.
After my diagnosis at age 22 with leukemia, the second piece of news I learned was that I would likely be infertile as a result of chemotherapy. It was a one-two punch that was my first indication that issues of cancer and sexual health are inextricably tied.
Just a few years ago, at the age of 22, I learned I had an aggressive form of leukemia. I needed intensive chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant to save my life. Back then, my doctors told me that I had a 35 percent chance of surviving my transplant.
When I was diagnosed with cancer at age 22, I learned just how much cancer affects families when it affects individuals.
I remember my first day of chemo as if it were yesterday, hanging up my favorite summer dress like an athlete retiring a jersey. Within a few weeks, my waist had shrunk to a double zero - the size it was when I was in the sixth grade. My cheek bones jutting out. Rings under my eyes. Skin the color of chalk.
Today, my brother and I share almost identical DNA, the result of a successful bone marrow transplant I had last April using his healthy stem cells. But Adam and I couldn't be more different.
I'll never go so far to call cancer a gift. It's a really terrible disease. It's taken the lives of so many of my fellow friends in the oncology unit. But like any life-interrupted moment, there are silver linings.
In 2005, a man diagnosed with multiple myeloma asked me if he would be alive to watch his daughter graduate from high school in a few months. In 2009, bound to a wheelchair, he watched his daughter graduate from college. The wheelchair had nothing to do with his cancer. The man had fallen down while coaching his youngest son's baseball team.
What difference do it make if the thing you scared of is real or not?
I was raised to believe that soldiers were strong and wise and brave and faithful; they didn't lie, cheat, steal or abandon their comrades.
To be neutral in a situation of injustice is to have chosen sides already. It is to support the status quo.
Just as courage imperils life, fear protects it.
Cowardice, as distinguished from panic, is almost always simply a lack of ability to suspend the functioning of the imagination.
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