What does survivorship mean to me? That is a great question with a complicated answer. Survivorship means that each and every day I have to battle to survive. Somedays it is a mental battle and other days it is physical battle. But every day of my life, since my diagnosis, has been a battle to survive. Some days the battles are relatively easy, where just a reassurance from either my Mom or Dad or even my doctors is enough for me to beat back my worries. Other days, it is just much more difficult to adjust to the struggles of surviving cancer. Surviving cancer means each and every day I have to pay attention to what I am doing so I don’t help cancer fight back. I have to not only stay mentally tough but I also have to make sure I eat healthy and exercise so I don’t give cancer a reason to come back.

Fortunately, I have a very strong support group from my family to the community at my high school, that help me to understand that cancer is no different than a bully. And when you stand up to cancer you can win. I have learned through my dealings with cancer that as much as you might want to you can’t change events in your past, those events just help shape you as a person. I relate surviving cancer to the something as surviving a bully. You can beat cancer just like you can beat a bully. It isn’t easy and it is extremely scary, but it can be done. If you show a bully you aren’t afraid of them and stand your ground, most of the time they will walk away and try and pick on someone that is weaker. Sometimes though, as much as you don’t want to and as scary as it is, you have to fight. You have to show bully’s and cancer that it can’t pick on you. You have to find the strength, the inner fire inside, to be brave, be strong. Surviving cancer means to me that you have stood up to the biggest bully on the block and you won.