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To Whom It May Concern:
Have you ever been triggered by something that happened in a fellow cancer thriver’s journey and then you start to spiral into the dark hole of fear?
If so, I have 4 words that I want you to remember: WE HAVE DIFFERENT DNA.
For example…
Someone else’s outcome may not be your outcome.
Someone else’s side effects may not be your side effects.
Someone else’s lifestyle may not be your lifestyle.
Someone else’s genetics may not be your genetics.
The list goes on and on!
There are so many different factors and variations when it comes to a cancer diagnosis.
Since we have different DNA, we have different journeys. Therefore, the comparison game and the what-if game serves us no purpose.
When I was in the thick of it, I used to get triggered a lot and reminders like this would go in one ear and out the other because my emotions were all over the place. I remember having a lot of days when I just didn’t have it within me to remind myself of these things.
I think the key to this is practice makes perfect.
Also, there’s more to this than just remembering these 4 words.
I personally have to push myself to stop what I’m doing, take a deep breath, shift gears, and say these 4 words over and over again until they lock in.
Here’s a broad analogy that I want to share to get my point across:
The first peak of the covid-19 pandemic was back in 2020, and most of us have encountered friends and family members who either received the vaccine or tested positive. It’s commonly known that different people – even family members – experience different side effects from the vaccine and different symptoms from the virus. Why? Simply put, we have different DNA.
Next time you get triggered by a fellow cancer thriver’s health scare, recurrence, or overall journey, I hope you remember these 4 words: WE HAVE DIFFERENT DNA.
Breast regards,
Michelle
P.S. The 8 episodes in my F*** Cancer F*** Fear series are linked below:
Episode 3: We Have Different DNA
Episode 4: Your Doctor and the Red Devil
