LIVE!!!
When we are on our deathbed or faced with a terminal illness, none of us thinks about work and
regret missing that day off we did not take….
Sandra’s infectious smile and big personality cannot go unnoticed once she enters your space; “this is me” she says! However, her warmth and energy and the way she makes everyone who is fortunate enough to know her feel, is a perfect picture of true inspiration. Her journey has helped her to develop a deeper sense of appreciation for life since her experience with cancer 17 years ago.
Sandra first discovered a lump in her breast when she was only 26. This discovery later turned out to be benign. Nine years later during a self-examination, she discovered another lump which when tested this time turned out to be stage 2 cancer. This happened in November 1999. Sandra educated herself about the condition, then armed with the information she needed, she did the surgery – a partial radical mastectomy (removing her breast). She then went through the dreaded process of chemotherapy and radiation. Through it all, she found something that was far greater than cancer and its prognosis – and that was the increased appreciation of LIVING daily.
Today, Sandra does not pretend that her journey has been easy; she was very frank and transparent as she spoke about the challenges, especially when dealing with members of the opposite sex. She spoke of feeling almost afraid to share herself and having to ask herself – at what point do I tell them I have only one breast – the question of acceptance was not easily answered then and still not easy even now. She realized later as her emotions settled, that whatever she was feeling (when she was first diagnosed and then after), was really a form of self-centeredness. She had to accept that this was the new her, her new life, and her new norm and though accepting the new her was painful, it made life itself and relationships much easier for her to manage. She realized there were men who did not have a problem with women who have gone through the process.
Sandra is very passionate about living life on her terms. She laments that many women are laser-focused on their 9 to 5 jobs, fulfilling the needs and dreams of their bosses while their own dreams lie dormant. While this is important it is also paramount to make time to do the things that we care about and enjoy doing. She also believes that some people (for different reasons) are living their lives through the eyes of others – spouses, parents, children et al; she wants to send the message of LIVING for oneself; while life lasts, truly live and do not JUST exist.
We should not spend time dwelling on hurts or mistakes but accept each experience that life brings, acknowledge our part, and choose to do better the second, third, or fourth time around. The important thing to do she says is to live and do the things that matter, whatever that is to you. It could be spending time with family or spending time with friends, maybe even traveling, but whatever it is, you must understand the importance of truly living a regret-free life.
Sandra describes her sweet spot as the love of music, she calls it her drug of choice; she enjoys travelling and recalls when she and a group of girlfriends went to see Oprah in Miami. She nurtures every friendship and ensures that she celebrates the people in her life so that at the end of her life there will be no regrets.
Her parting words were, an encouragement to all women:-
…search for inner peace because once you have that nothing can shake you. Make the choice to be happy because it is really a choice and most importantly it is your choice. Live!
