At Beyond Boobs! we celebrate every single day, but there is something truly magical about the first day of a New Year. We have so much to look forward to in 2016 and that got us to thinking about what another year means for our Boobers! We turned to Facebook to ask “As a breast cancer survivor, what does beginning a New Year mean to you?” Numerous Boobers! talked back and we are excited to share their responses here on our blog. Happy New Year!
Beginning a New Year for me means new possibilities. Another door has been opened and I'm looking forward to the blessings to come in the New Year and celebrating each day with my children and loved ones.
Jackinah Andrews
The title of my book says it all - I Lost Both Breasts and Gained a Brain - and I'm ready for my now! Just blessed.
Carol Clark
A New Year means another year that I'm here. Another year with my family. Another year for new experiences and enjoying the beautiful moments, big and small.
Michelle Fall
Another year that I get to share my story and hopefully bring peace and light to someone else.
Raquel Gilbreath
The New Year means another year out from the dreaded diagnosis and treatment! Another year that I get make a difference in someone's life! Another year to love and be loved! Another year to be uniquely ME!
Rhonda Hahn
Beginning a New Year? It means soaking in all the love!!
Joanna Henk
Every day I have survived is a gift and a blessing, so a New Year means I have an empty slate to write a new life upon! I am grateful to God for saving me, and I look forward to helping and serving others.
Donna Hull
A New Year means I get to celebrate the fact I've just survived another year cancer-free! Time to continue moving forward with a positive outlook on what our future holds.
Rashida Mahoney
Beginning a New Year means that I'm still here and kicking!! The Lord does perform miracles every day and sometimes multiple miracles to a single person.
Donna Matherne
Another year of new adventures, surprises (could be good or bad), and milestones! Breast cancer taught me a lot of things, but especially to "roll with the punches" and learn from the past, move forward, do what makes you happy, and cherish every special moment with those you love.
Crystal Marie Silins
New opportunities and new surprises are waiting for me for another year. I am that much farther away from my diagnosis and that much closer to being on the other side of this disease. I have a lot to look forward to, including the BB! retreat!
Lisa Williams
It's so hard to believe that two years ago I got that call, the call I never expected to hear. Never wanted to hear. Never believed I would hear. But I heard those words: "Ms. Yepez, I'm sorry. It's cancer."
The devastation of dreams shattered, a life lost, an end to my story, almost broke me that day. And yet, it didn't actually do any of those things at all. Instead, that call gave birth to a dozen new beginnings I never imagined I would have. New outlooks, a new Beyond Boobs! family of sisters, and an entirely new way to hope. To feel. To live.
Such a dark anniversary should fill me with heaviness, and yet I can't feel that way. Instead I laugh at my friends’ jokes and think of how we came together through disease. I groan about little problems like traffic as I remember the pain of my earth shattering around me. I watch the sun rise up in the sky as I relish how mine hasn't yet set.
Call me lucky, call me naïve, or anything in between. All I know for sure is my life is beautiful, and not even cancer can take that away. And that's just how I want it. I will start 2016 sure of how far it is that so many of us have come, and at absolute peace with how far we still have to go. This is my story and I'm grateful for every word."
Michelle Yepez