Colon Cancer Helped Me Become Who I Am Today

Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” This quote exemplifies how I view my journey in life after being diagnosed with colon cancer at age 34. I would have never imagined that living with this illness and surviving it was going to encourage and inspire me to become my highest, truest expression of myself. I knew in my heart that God had given me a second chance in life with the sole purpose to make a difference in this world. Therefore, I took the determination to become the woman I was meant to be.

Throughout my life, I have had challenges with my health. I had multiple surgeries that focused on my diagnosis of amblyopia (poor vision in one eye) and mild scoliosis (sideways curvature of the spine).

However, on Feb. 24, 2020, I had the most important surgery of my life, which was to remove the cancerous mass from my colon. I remembered waking up in my room wondering if the surgery was a total success. I had to make a decision on how I was going to respond moving forward during the recovery of my surgery. I realized at that moment that if I wanted to impact the world in a positive light, I had to be the change that I wanted to see in order to inspire others: if I can do it, so can they.

For this reason, I began my path in setting an example for my family. One of the traits that I desired to display was self-discipline. I started to set short-term goals that I wanted to achieve. An example was gaining weight. During that time, I weighed 103 pounds, the skinniest I have ever been. My goal was to gain at least 10 pounds in three months. 

This consisted in changing my diet completely. I began to eat a minimum of four meals a day and drank weight gain protein shakes daily. I incorporated fruits and vegetables between the main course meals. I also exercised three to four times a week. Within six months of being consistent with my diet, I gained 13 pounds, which resulted in weighing 116 pounds. I was extremely proud of accomplishing my goal, as it was a total success.

In conclusion, by setting short-term goals, it motivated me to change certain areas of my life. I was able to demonstrate that with self-discipline and applying self-care, you can have a positive impact towards yourself along with those around you. My determination, as well as resilience, have given me the power to become the woman I always wanted to be. As always, I would like to end my blog by sharing this prayer with you:

Dear Heavenly Father,

I want to take this opportunity to tell You how much I love and respect You. Thank You for giving me the strength to overcome my fears, challenges and obstacles, Thank You for Your devoted love. I am grateful and happy to call You my Father in heaven. Today, I pray for my continued strength, wisdom and inner peace. Let there be light. Let there be unconditional selfless love. Let there be harmony, hope and faith in my heart. Please protect me from any harm or negative auras that are around me. From this moment on, I draw and receive vitality, prosperity, love, victory, health and joy into my life. Thank You for ALL of my blessings. FOREVER BLESSED!!!

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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