In October of 2012, I was shocked to be diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer. After the initial diagnosis, all of the news I received was promising. The theme at St. Luke’s for 2012 was the Year of Gratitude and I realized early on that I had much for which to be grateful. Although I was confident that God had not caused my cancer, I knew He would give me the strength to face this challenge. I was also surrounded by a rich network of people who were already in my life, prepared to help me on this journey.
After my surgery, I remember one lady asking me how I could stand waking up everyday knowing that I had cancer and continued on to say that she just couldn’t do it. I looked at her in disbelief, knowing full well when you receive the news that you have cancer, suddenly the events on your calendar take a back seat to the task of getting well. Part of my treatment was 6 weeks of radiation therapy and the cancer center I chose was about 20 minutes away. My treatments were to begin just before Thanksgiving and continue past the season of Advent…. not an ideal time for sure. On top of that, both our daughter and daughter-in-law were expecting babies within the next four months. The task was great, but I would continue to live life to the fullest and was up for the fight!
My treatments were scheduled for the same time each day, so it didn’t take long to develop a routine. One of the unexpected blessings of my daily drive was having time to pray along the way. I would begin my drive with the song I Hope You Dance by Leann Womack. I have loved it from the moment I heard it and Paul and I danced to that song at his wedding. Now the words became a bridge of hope for me each day as I slowed down and prepared my mind and body for the treatment I would receive that day. The rest of my drive was spent in prayer, giving thanks for living in a place where treatment was available to me and asking God to help my body respond.
As the song says:
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
As we revisit the year of gratitude this year, I pause and reflect on the past four years and know for sure I have even more for which to be grateful. Those two new grandbabies are now turning four and I have celebrated four years of being cancer free. Hope is a wonderful gift and I invite you to join me in The Dance!
Marsha Long, Director of Hospitality Ministry
