Surviving Cancer: A Personal Journey
In this 5-part blog series, Amber Havekost traces her cancer journey from diagnosis to her life post-treatment. As she shares her story, Amber also explores what she has lost and gained along the way. "Cancer isn’t just a detour. It’s a whole new way. It’s a whole new me," she writes. She also offers a message for other cancer survivors: "You matter. Your cancer matters. The changes you experience matter — big or small, many or few, and everything in between."
The Elusive Wonder of Foreverland
“Survivorship is in the whole cancer experience. It’s getting up and going to the next appointment, whether it’s appointment No. 2 or No. 282. It’s treatment. It’s surgeries. It’s putting one foot in front of the other even when the direction you’re going is unknown.” Amber Havekost reflects on the meaning of survivorship and the ways it has touched every step of her journey with cancer.
Cancer Defined. Me, Redefined.
In part 2 of a 5-part series that traces her cancer journey, blog writer Amber Havekost unpacks the word cancer, stripping the term of its vague meanings and abstractions and laying bare the difficult, sometimes painful realities it has unleashed in her own life. In the process, Amber also reflects on what she has gained because of it all.
The Enormity of 3 Small Words
When Amber Havekost learned she had breast cancer, her world turned upside down. “Time stopped,” she writes. “The picture of my life in my head suddenly turned blurry and void of color, now with the word ‘cancer’ in bright red, etched onto my mind’s eye.” Read on to learn more about Amber’s story and how she confronted the enormity of 3 words, “I have cancer,” with the belief that hope can permeate hardship.