If you have followed me, you know my story….I am a Brain Cancer Survivor! I was diagnosed with Central Nervous Lymphoma in November 2014. The diagnosis plunged me into an incredible journey, which I am grateful to have survived. What I learned is that when you are faced with a complex or catastrophic illness or injury, you are forced to face your mortality, and that is eye-opening as we take our life for granted.

Over the past few weeks, I have been spending a good amount of time with a friend who has stage four metastatic breast cancer that is progressing rapidly. I went to her doctor’s appointment yesterday, where she shared with her doctor the challenges she is having with fluid retention, shortness of breath, weakness, and other issues that come with this stage of her cancer.

The doctor was very empathetic. She shared her concerns and ordered a new diuretic to help remove the fluid and paracentesis of her abdomen to relieve the ascites. In the end, she said the treatment she ordered would help her be more comfortable but would not change the course of where she is with her cancer.

After we left, we went back to my friend’s home. She was able to eat some lunch. We talked about where she was physically, mentally, and emotionally. She realizes she is dying. I acknowledged this and asked her if she had her affairs in order. She said she does.

We talked about her Celebration of Life. My friend is a prolific writer and speaker, and I know she wants things done a certain way. I said I would help her create a plan for the event so it would be how she wanted it. We are going to work on this over the next week.

A saying I have heard recently reminded me, “We live every day, but we only die once.” This reminded me that we all need to prepare for health – even if we are in good health.

Let’s all commit to writing down things we want to happen as we live so that when we die, our work is done. It will help make sure the care we want is in place. Planning your celebration of life allows friends and family to say goodbye the way you want it to be. Having your affairs in order will also help our families cope with your passing and know they did everything the way you wanted it. This is empowering and gives us peace of mind.

Thank you for reading this week’s post. Please say a prayer for my friend…..Have a good week.

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