Thursday, April 06, 2006

Celebrating Birthdays

I turned 40 recently on March 2006 and am i so glad of it. Why?

Because it has been year after i had my mastectomy done on my left breast which was last Valentine's Day. For me Valentine's Day will always be "LOVE" for life.

Previously i did not make a big deal of birthdays. Like most people i will mourn that i am turning a year older but try to console myself by saying ......."young at heart" is what matters.

This year i celebrated my birthday with my collegues. I wanted to celebrate my birthday, it is a year as a breast cancer survivor and it would be a celebration of life. I ordered lunch for everyone in the office and they got me a birthday cake. When my collegues only wanted to put one candle on the cake....i said " Hei put 4 big candles...I am forty you know".

I am glad i did it as i was really happy that day. I personally think that is it important to celebrate important events...and at the same time to look at the brighter side of things. That is was the the BC has taught me.

From now on i have decided to celebrate birthdays...a happy reminder that i have enjoyed and been blessed with another year.

Of course it is not easy to be positive all the time. When i feel low for that day, I would tell my self " Come on girl ..you have gone through an operation, chemo, and radiotherapy... and you are out of it....so cheer up."

But sometimes with all the treatments, you knew and prepared yourself for the side effects it. But now "the fact is, will i make it for years to come" the statement comes knocking in my thoughts often.

Well i just have to learn as all the survivors of many years have shown me .............enjoy each day as they come along. And so i will look forward to many more birthdays to come.