Collection of Quotes that Relate to the Cancer Journey

[Paula O]

"Being diagnosed of cancer comes with a lot of uncertainties. It comes with a baggage that is bound to test your very character. Cancer is not the end of your life; it actually marks a new beginning. You should not let this disease rule over your life. It has to be fought, not feared. It can be handled and it can be battled with. Many people have done it, many people have survived it, and so can you...you are not alone in this fight."

---Unknown author

Pink Responsibility: We are aware. We need a cure.

“I will live a hope-filled life every day. I will handle my problems as opportunities in a different, more effective manner, based on the power of advanced mathematics; “You + God = Enough”
–Zig Ziglar
...even MORE than enough...




“I hate the term ‘cancer victim’. It somehow implies cancer is the victor. It wins; we lose… While we can do little to choose whether we get cancer, we can do a lot to choose whether we are it’s victims. I don’t just mean whether we live or die. I mean how cancer affects us in the deepest parts of who we are. I believe cancer cannot conquer our spirit unless we choose to become victims .”
From the excellent book, “When God and Cancer Meet” by Lynn Eib


"They told me I had Stage 4 breast cancer.
They told me there was little hope.
They clearly don't know me."
--Bridget Spense (who is still fighting 7 years later)
--From Oct 2012 Prevention Magazine

"Don't tell God how big your cancer is instead tell your cancer how big your God is"


"Impossible is a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is an opinion, not a fact. Impossible isn't a declaration, it's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

--David Beckham in Kris Carr's Crazy, Sexy Cancer Tips

War Strategies That Can Apply to Fighting Cancer


1. “Wars are fought strategically. one battle at a time.
2 . Wars are fought on more than one front.
3. We must expect setbacks and defeats along the way.
4. When we lose a battle, we must get back on track immediately, so we don’t lose the war.
5. We will not win if we refuse to fight.”
——Carole Lewis

"If you can't fly, then run.
If you can't run, then walk.
If you can't walk, then crawl.
But no matter what, just keep moving forward."

---Unknown Author

"Believe That Life Is Worth Living, And Your Belief Will Help Create The Fact" By William James



"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."

“If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.”
– Eric Bentley

"When a thought of anxiety comes knocking on the door of your mind you must refuse it entrance. If you invite it in, it will have dinner with you, and if it has dinner with you it will quickly move in and want to spend the night."


"My Cancer Journey Has Never Defined Who I am, It’s Just Another Chapter in My Story."

“Live every day like its your last . . . one day you’ll be right.”



"That which does not kill us makes us stronger."
- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

“Have you surrendered to despair because of your past or the inevitable situations in your life? Stop it! The greatest days of your life are before you. The past is over. Stop living life looking in the rear view mirror. Look forward. Press on! The best is yet to be, God never consults your past to determine your future.”–Hagee

"Cancer is a word, not a sentence."
(Unknown)

“Women agonize over cancer; we take as a personal threat the lump in every friend's breast.” Martha Weinman Lear quotes

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand"

Woodrow Wilson

"I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. " Nelson Mandela


HOPE is the thing

with feathers,

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune

Without the words,

And never stops at all.
~ Emily Dickenson ~


"A hero does not have to win. A hero does not have to be larger than life. A hero can be an ordinary person who overcomes extraordinary events with dignity and grace."



IF PEACE IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, ASK YOURSELF,
WHAT STRUGGLE CAN I LET GO OF TODAY?
Robert Holden


WE ARE NOT AT OUR BEST WHEN WE ARE PERCHED AT THE SUMMIT;
WE ARE AT OUR BEST CLIMBING - EVEN WHEN THE WAY IS STEEP.

Sometimes we stare so long at our balloon in the sky we forget our ice cream is melting on our plate.

Enjoy your ice cream...................

Dost thou love life?
Then do not squander time,
for that is the stuff life is made of.
--Benjamin Franklin


THE BRAVEST ARE SURELY THOSE WHO HAVE THE CLEAREST VISION OF WHAT IS BEFORE THEM, GLORY AND DANGER ALIKE, AND YET, NOT WITHSTANDING, GO OUT TO MEET IT" Thucydides



You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
C. S. Lewis


"I Cry But I Do Not Get Depressed" By S. Sambandam


THE LONGER WE DWELL ON OUR MISFORTUNES, THE GREATER IS THEIR POWER TO HARM US.
Voltaire

" There is something beautiful about all scars of whatever nature. A scar means the hurt is over, the wound is closed and healed, done with."
Harry Crews

The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.
William James

I have learned from experience that
the greater part of our happiness or misery
depends on our dispositions
and not on our circumstances.
Martha Washington

"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen." Elizabeth Kubler Ross


SET BACKS ARE ONLY OPPORTUNITIES TO REVIEW THE LESSON.



I WILL NOT BE ASHAMED OF MY SCARS. MY SCARS ARE THE BRUSH STROKES IN THE MASTERPIECE THAT IS MY LIFE.


"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." ~Jim Rohn

"THE ONLY REAL VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CONSISTS NOT IN SEEKING NEW LANDSCAPES BUT IN HAVING NEW EYES." Marcel Proust

Roger Bannister Broke The Four-minute Mile Record
On May 6, 1954. It Had Been Deemed An Impossible Feat.

The Record Was Broken Again On June 21, 1954 And Upon Knowing That It Was No Longer Impossible, 3 Years Later, 16 Other Runners Also Cracked The Four-
Minute Mile.

YES IS A WORLD

& IN THIS WORLD OF

YES LIVE
ee cummings

"Beware what you read in medical books, you might die of a misprint..."

"Cancer Is So Limited, It Cannot Corrode Faith, It Cannot Shatter Hope, It Cannot Kill Friendships, It Cannot Cripple Love, It Cannot Destroy Peace, It Cannot Silence Courage, It Cannot Suppress Memories, It Cannot Conquer The Spirit" By Unknown Author


"When you get to the end of all the light you know and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, FAITH is knowing that one of two things shall happen:
Either you will be given something solid to stand on, or You will be taught how to fly"






"Once you choose hope, anything's possible. " ~Christopher Reeve

Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway. ~Emory Austin


Here's a thought from Andi's sig line that I like and have quoted as a part of my running-list arsenal of "Cancer Fightin' Words" in my blog http://jpoliver.com/wordpress/archives/688

"EVERY DAY I BEAT MY PREVIOUS RECORD FOR # OF CONSECUTIVE DAYS I'VE STAYED ALIVE.."
--Andi


Nothing is a mistake. Well the docs' prognoses were -- ill-informed. I chose to survive, despite the dismal stats.
To dance with predetermination. To alter my outcome.
And you can quote me on this... --Andi

“You can choose to lift up your eyes to the heavens, pour out your tears, grief and anger and say “God, I have no clue what this is all about or where it is leading, but I resolve to trust You and praise You with all of my heart, unconditionally. (David Jerimiah)

"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation-some fact of my life unacceptable to me and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake."

"Some things are so important to God that they are worth interrupting the circumstances and health of His children in order to accomplish them."

"Don't look back. You're not going that way"

“Sometimes on the Rock I tremble
Weak of heart and faint of knee,
But the Steadfast Rock of Ages
Never trembles under me.”


"My response is my responsibility".
"...It's like a universal phrase covering a multitude of situations
and relationships, don't you agree? I see it easily be applied to traffic and road-rage. I see it fitting parent/child interactions. I see it applying to rude people's comments in grocery stores, being cut off in line....
Lately, I find myself thinking of it when I am faced with a defiant
child's attitude. I think of it when I have been up all night and do
not "feel" like being a gracious wife or mother, do not feel like
cooking a warm breakfast. I think of it when I come home to a messy house and I'm tired and I just want to go to bed. I think of it in respect to family situations. It doesn't matter if I have asked one of the kids to be quiet twelve times when their younger siblings are napping... It doesn't matter if I feel loaded with housework and childcare and my spouse is chilling
on the couch.... Whatever the situation, my response is my
responsibility...."
http://www.cultivatinghome.com/2009/...nsibility.html


-----------
Attitude
By Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of
attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important
than facts. It is more important than the past, than
education, than money, than circumstances, than
failures, than successes, than what other people think
or say or do. It is more important than appearance,
giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a
company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is
we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we
will embrace for that day. We cannot change our
past... we cannot change the fact that people will act
in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the string we have,
and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is
10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And
so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes."





Photo taken at a Relay For Life event by a friend of mine.