HAVING CANCER
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“When we create peace and harmony and balance in our minds, we will find it in our lives.”
― You Can Heal Your Life
Two remarkable things happened to me in June of 2001, I
discovered I had stage one colon cancer, and I got back into theatre.
I had begun noticing a little bit of blood in my
stools. When I shared those same
symptoms with a friend, an operating
room nurse, she suggested I get a Sigmoidoscopy
to check if I had colon cancer. It turns out that I did have a small
cancerous tumor growing at the very end of my colon. It turned out to be stage one, but before I
knew that, I studied all I could about the disease.
The internet told me there were four stages. Louise Hay in
her book, You Can Heal Your Life, shared that perhaps a person with
cancer had stopped doing something that they enjoyed doing. I thought about
what that might be, and the answer came, acting. I was a teacher who had let go
of my drama classes to teach speech, and I had not acted in a play for nearly
ten years.
I looked in the paper and discovered a nearby community
theatre was holding auditions for, Love From A Stranger. I looked at the
play and saw there was a part that was perfect for me, Aunt Loo Loo. She was
the comic relief in a dramatic play, a crazy old English Aunt. I tried out, and
the next day I received two phone calls, one asking for me to come to call
backs, and the other from the hospital, telling me that my operation was
scheduled for next week.
The next week I went back to the theatre with the intention
of telling the director why I couldn’t be in the play. When I walked in the
door, she immediately had me read again for Aunt loo Loo. Then she pulled me
out in the Lobby to offer me the part. I told her about my upcoming surgery, and
she asked how long I would be out. I
said, about a week, and then she said, “we can wait for you, you are so right
for the part”. The surgery went well, the oncologist said that I needed no
radiology or chemotherapy, they had gotten it all. And best of all, I went back
to teaching Drama.
"Love, laugh, and be well while finding the good in each and every situation, and you will see shift happen almost effortlessly." Sandra Lindsey Smith, Life's Garden of Weekly Wisdom
What insight have you gained from a challenge you have been through? Have you been in an accident, suffered through a tramatic incident, or had the experience of a healing journey through a health issue? For me, those situations are the road to appreciating life and all of it's real life miracles.
Love and light,
Sandy Smith
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