I am so honored to be the guest editor of the inaugural issue of long-term survivorship stories.
I found the WILDFIRE community in 2018 after I had completed 14 months of breast cancer treatment and was feeling utterly and totally shattered. From the moment I read my very first issue, I began to realize nothing was “wrong” with me. My feelings of intense sadness, confusion, and loneliness were normal after such a traumatic and life-changing experience. I was neither ungrateful to be NED (no evidence of disease) nor was I crazy.
This magazine and the women I met by reading their articles were instrumental (and continue to be) in my healing process. Each and every issue of this magazine that I have read since has been something I eagerly anticipate; I make a date with myself, cozy up with a glass of wine or a cup of tea, and devour the stories within. So moved by the tenderness and raw emotion expressed within the pages I am not afraid to shed the tears I know will fall, I welcome them. After reading each subsequent issue, I feel even more deeply connected to this gift of community. This magazine – this family – is LIFE CHANGING!
I am so grateful to be a part of the creation of this issue. As an early-stage survivor working closely with women living with metastatic breast cancer through my nonprofit Infinite Strength (infnitestrength.org), I am especially grateful to April for making sure WILDFIRE features MBC survivorship stories too. Women who have learned to live with cancer have so much to teach us about living life!
Let this issue about survivorship bring you both smiles and tears. And when you turn the last page, I hope you feel not only more hopeful than when you first opened the cover, but that you also know you are loved, supported, and never walking this path alone.
