Even though it’s been a few years, I can still remember the day of my biopsy like it was yesterday. I guess that’s the funny thing about going through breast cancer, as much as you move forward once you’re past it, it still is part of you. No, it doesn’t define me, but it changed me and will always be a part of me. There were so many lessons to learn about myself, yet they all brought me to this place, this day, this point in my life…and I couldn’t be happier.

Yet, I still remember, and always will remember every detail of that journey with breast cancer; and I know it all happened to me for a reason.

“There it was on the screen, that damn tumor. I wanted to see this “thing” that invaded my body without my consent. It looked huge to me, yet they told me it was magnified on the screed. I watched as she inserted the needle in a few different positions, hearing the “click” of the instrument clipping pieces of my tumor. I heard about six clicks, and after that, I stopped counting…and I stopped listening.”

“I’m now wearing my old workout tank top to compress the area and the bandages are sticking out from the top, not a pretty sight and a bit scary for anyone seeing it. Colleen said we should take a picture together of this day; that I’m wearing my “badge of courage.” And we did. She dropped me off home, and as the lonely night wore on, the emotions started.”

~an excerpt from “Waking Up” copyright 2016

There’s a reason that everything, good or bad, happens to us…and with each new day I wake up to, I’m understanding the reasons even more.

Wishing you love and light,

~Anne Dennish~