Winter Storm in the Middle of Spring: My Story With Breast Cancer Introduction and Dedication

Winter Storm in the Middle of Spring: My Story With Breast Cancer 

Introduction and Dedication

Dedication

To my precious mother, who was hit by a winter in her late spring, and whom death stole from us.

To every flower who faced  a winter in the spring of life. Do not despair. There is a spring coming after winter. I dedicate my words from the bottom of my heart.

Introduction

During my annual ultrasound, and nearly fourteen years after my cancer diagnosis , in October 2018 (the month of Breast Cancer Awareness that catches me every year), I decided to write the story of when I was hit by a winter in my spring. 

 I put off writing all these years for several reasons. Maybe I did not have enough courage. I had hidden this from my children Omar and Ahmed, feeling that they were too young. There were also other personal and social considerations.

However, recently we have seen an increase in young women’s cancer diagnoses. Perhaps this is due to environmental damage, certain foods, stress, not enough exercise, etc. This increase was a strong motivator for me to write in support of all these young women. During my illness and treatment I wished there were more books to support me in my journey, especially at times where I had no social interactions for days.

Occasionally young women I know who develop cancer connect with me, looking for support and asking to hear my personal experiences. I am very happy to do this for them, and see the positive impact this has on them. So I asked myself, what if I expanded this support to reach as many people as possible? I hope it will be helpful, God willing.

After I decided to write this story, I was aware this month of some symptoms  that made me and my doctors worry, still doing my medical investigations and hoping that everything will turn to be fine. I am currently living caught between moments when the heart swings from hope in God to fear, sadness, and anxiety. Perhaps God arranged  these conditions to motivate me to write with stronger feelings and more honesty. Either way, it is my hope that this blog will be a source of strength and inspiration to both me and those who experience these circumstances. I will write my story in weekly episodes in the section Winter Storm in the Middle of Spring.

I was very impressed by the courage of Dr. Samia Al Amodi, my mother’s colleague and a survivor and a leader who raises breast cancer awareness and she is a public figure and speaker as well;  Ms. Hana Hakim, who is also a survivor and public speaker; and my dear friend Noor Al Bar May God shower her soul with mercy, who passed away after being so brave. Their stories inspire me. I looked for such a support in my sick days and I decided to follow their steps.

Finally, I would like to thank all those who supported me and encouraged me to launch my blog and write my story, and to anyone who helped me to check, correct, guide or advise. I cannot mention everyone, but most notably Mrs. Iman Khatib, Dr. Najla Kurdi, Ms.Fatima Bajbir, Dr.Samia Al Amoudi, Ms.Hanaa Hakeem, Dr.Hatoon Kadi, my dear friend Abrar Al Bar, Amal Abdo and Dr.Arwa Khumais.

A very special thank for my dearest friend Dr.Laura Morlock, who worked so hard with me in a very short time to write and edit my blog in English. It is fair to have an English version of my blog, as many of my friends who were part of my story and support system are non-Arabic speaker.