33 inspiring cancer quotes from survivors

There was a lot for Julie Barthels to hate about cancer, considering she was diagnosed with three different kinds (kidney, skin and breast). But she realised three things: First, hating cancer would give it power; second, that she would do everything in her power to survive; three, her disease had something to teach her if she let it. And that’s what happened. Despite all of the challenges she faces, she lives a meaningful and intentional life with grace and gratitude.

When Sheila Anderson was diagnosed with thyroid cancer three years ago, she braced herself for the fight of her life – but she didn’t spend too much time pitying herself. “Instead, I focused my energy on going through it and not stopping and getting stuck in the negative aspect of the diagnosis and treatment.”

“There are good times and bad times after surviving cancer,” notes thyroid cancer survivor, Roberta Perry. In her case, the good is what she considers the prize for “slogging through the chronic harshness of living without a thyroid. The bad makes the good all the more precious.”

Ilse Anderson survived oral cancer by reminding herself that she was going to come through it stronger and better. One of the tools in her arsenal was meditation. “Through my daily practice, I nurtured my positive attitude and learned to let the negative go. I found I had to be patient with myself. Consistency is more effective than speed. Sometimes I didn’t walk as far as I had the day before, but I rose up and kept walking.”

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“At 40, I’ve spent more than half my life as a cancer survivor, and that’s awoken in me a desire to change the world, says Doug Ulman. “A far as I’m concerned it’s the obligation of the cured.” Doug’s cancer journey began when he was 19. Over a 10-month period, he faced three cancer diagnoses. It was frightening, but he got through it, and now through good works – such as Pelotonia, a cycling-oriented fund-raising site for research on cancer – he’s on a mission for a “cancer-free world.”

This may be less philosophical, but health experts love the sentiment: Anne “Annie” Appleby, founder and CEO of Yoga Force LLC, has survived three rounds of skin cancer.

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Christine Handy loves who she is now that she really knows who she is. She believes that never would have happened if she hadn’t had a life-threatening bout with breast cancer. “I love the new me and I have devoted my life post-cancer to helping and inspiring others.”

As a cancer survivor of ten years, Robert Zembroski adopted a whole new mindset that went far beyond survival. A functional medicine specialist, Zembroski treated his victory over non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as a call to educate and motivate others and to give hope to those who think there is no hope.

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Paige Davis, a breast cancer survivor, found that her cancer journey invited her to “take a pause,” rather than powering through. “Physically my body won’t allow me to go into autopilot,” she says, “and if things feel forced, it’s a sign to stop. I’m learning to be ok with the stillness and softness of the pause. This doesn’t mean I’m not a productive person, it just means I’m more mindful of where I’m spending my energy.”

Author, editor and writer, Edith G. Tolchin, survived her 2005 bout with papillary thyroid cancer – and she chuckles at the notion that it’s known as a “good kind of cancer” to have. “People might not realisze how difficult it can be to adjusting to life without a thyroid,” Edie tells Reader’s Digest. To get through it, she has had to accept her “new normal,” which has been both a humbling experience and an experience to grow as a person.