Living Forward: Reflections on Cancer Survivorship
This National Cancer Survivors Month marks two years since I completed my year-long active treatment for triple-positive breast cancer—a diagnosis I received, very unexpectedly, at age 42. It feels like a lifetime ago that I was in full cancer-patient mode: undergoing regular infusions, navigating endless screenings, and celebrating the first tiny shoots of hair beginning to grow back. So much has changed since then, and yet I’m still learning every single day how to live as a cancer survivor.
One of the most surprising lessons I’ve learned is this: while many people assume that once treatment ends, the worst is behind you—that it’s “over.” But survivorship is not about what’s behind you. It’s what lies ahead. It’s something you carry forward, day after day. You continue to process it, to recalibrate, to grapple with the emotional and physical aftershocks. You learn to absorb it, to acknowledge it, to live with it.
Survivorship brings its own set of challenges. There can be difficult reactions to maintenance medications, unexpected complications that take time to resolve, and, of course, the ongoing work of managing fear of recurrence. There’s also the quieter, more internal work: learning how to hold onto gratitude—not as a way to gloss over the trauma, but as a way to widen your perspective. That kind of mindset is an art—and it takes time to master.
For me, having had no close examples of survivorship in my personal life, the Sharsheret Peer Support Network became a true touchstone. I’ve been fortunate to experience the program from both sides—as a mentee and as a peer supporter (a Sharsheret “Link”) and a peer supporter. Each role has been vital in helping me navigate life after diagnosis. As a mentee, I found guidance, reassurance, and a sense of possibility. As a mentor, I’ve discovered the profound, life-affirming gift of using my own experience to lift others up.
You never fully move on from cancer—but the power and the beauty in survivorship is that you learn to move forward.