“Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” ~ Anthony Robbins

A year and a half ago, my world changed with a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis at 37 years old. I had no idea what the days following would look like for myself and my family. The thought of having cancer was absolutely mind blowing and terrifying. 

Thankfully, I felt very supported from my medical team and my friends and family. My treatment plan was successful and throughout my experience, much support was also offered by other breast cancer survivors I met along the way. They were always willing to tell their stories and answer my questions, share a laugh and give advice. I kept promising myself, once I was through this, I would do the same to support others but wasn't really sure how that would look. Thankfully, two very dynamic health care professionals, who are a big part of Regina's breast cancer community, gave me the perfect opportunity. 

They told us about the Rethink group and gave us the option to start our own local chapter. The response from our "youngish" breast cancer community was positive and sincere. We all wanted the same thing : To support others with breast cancer while staying on top of our own health. We leaped at the chance to be apart of a successfully established support group and were eager to follow their lead but grateful to be able to focus it to our own specific needs.  Live. Laugh. Learn. Three words that now hold a special meaning for young breast cancer survivors in Regina and area.

As a committee member, I was pretty proud of our first session on Mindfulness presented by Joanne Frederick. Everyone took on a small role to have everything ready and organized and I think it all went so smoothly because each of us handled our responsibilities very well. It was especially nice to have Stephanie from Rethink join us to help with the start up and lead us through our launch.

As an attendee to Regina's first Live Laugh Learn, I left Sunday's session with a feeling of contentment and  a very positive outlook. Joanne, a good friend to the breast cancer community, always enlightens us and imparts useful strategies to help us be strong and practical during and after cancer diagnosis. I was very intrigued by Joanne's topic of Mindfulness. I took away two questions I can ask myself when I'm experiencing anxiety about my future and not living in the moment. The first is, "Am I ok right now?"  This helps to be mindful of the present and not get overwhelmed by the What If's..?floating around in my head. And if the answer to that question is "No. I'm not ok right now.", then I need to ask, "Can I handle it?"  If I'm in pain or overwhelmed and can't handle it, I need to surround myself  with whatever I need to deal with it. I can honestly say I've been using this technique since the presentation and it has made a world of difference in my anxiety levels. 

We also had some time to enjoy tea and treats while talking with each other. Although many of us were just meeting for the first time, we had lots to talk about and share with each other. The opportunity to be able to talk with women of a similar age that have also had a breast cancer diagnosis created a feeling of camaraderie and support that will only get stronger as we continue to meet. And thanks to Rethink, we now have that opportunity. We have a great group of ladies that are committed to being there for one another and to planning sessions where each of us can continue to Live Laugh and Learn for many days to come. Thanks to Tracy and Jenna for getting us started, and the Rethink team for being so welcoming and supportive. 😀