Dedicated to my deceased husband Hank, and the incredible staff at the Willamette Valley Cancer Center
Today, I’d like to talk about something I’m crazy passionate about.
October is breast cancer awareness month.
It’s personal for me.
Before I had breast cancer, there was no reason for anyone to doubt my happiness or success.
I was a top sales manager.
At one point I had my own award-nominated talent agency.
From the outside, everything looked perfect.
And yet, it was not.
The life I was living was sucking me dry.
And I knew that if I didn’t start healing my pain (both physically and emotionally), the unspeakable could happen.
And it did: breast cancer.
Here are 5 things I want you to know about cancer – from a survivor’s perspective.
As you can see – this subject is personal for me, and some of these ideas may or may not “resonate” for you – that’s ok.
1) Cancer Speaks Clearly: “Something Must Change”
I was 36 years old when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors told me that if I hadn’t found it when I did, I wouldn’t have lived for three more years.
It was a huge wake up call: priorities shift, values change – basically, everything.
But the surprising truth is, it’s not all bad.
And believe me, I am not trying to casually slap a “silver lining” on this subject.
“Surprisingly, in spite of great distress and anxiety brought about by cancer diagnosis, many cancer patients view certain aspects of their experience as positive or beneficial . . . Many cancer survivors attribute positive changes in attitude to having had cancer, including developing a new outlook on life and greater appreciation for life”
[Source: Patient-Perceived Change in the System of Values After Cancer Diagnosis]
Of course, you don’t need to get cancer in order to change your outlook on life and take good care of yourself!
When you get cancer, it’s decision time.
This probably sounds obvious.
You MUST (in some cases you must finally) deal with reality and take care of yourself.
If you are still reading this article, it is possible that your heart is trying to get your attention so that you can become unstuck, heal and liberate yourself into peace and happiness.
2) Cancer Invokes Fear. But In Every Moment, We Get a Choice: Fear – or Joy.
The American Cancer Society defines cancer as the “out of control growth” of cells in your body.
I am sure you knew that already.
Yes, cancer is scary. The possibility of death is scary.
But in each moment, we get to choose.
Do you feel fear inside your body right now?
What happens inside you when you read or think about cancer – how is your breath right now?
With practice, in each moment you can choose compassion, love and joy, to the best of your ability–instead of fear.
Breathe deeply and close your eyes.
Notice any tightness in your chest or shortness in your breath, and give yourself compassion.
Did you know that since 1991, cancer death rates have declined steadily, overall?
The American Cancer society reports that between 1991 and 2016, cancer death rates dropped 27% – due to factors such as decreased use of tobacco and earlier detection:
“Improvements in survival…reflect advances in treatment, as well as earlier diagnosis for some cancers.”
3) If Death Comes, It is Different – and Much More Beautiful– than You Can Possibly Imagine
After my first surgery, I had a near-death experience. These happen when someone dies, and is then brought back to life.
Many thousands of us who have come back to life report similar sensations and experiences. In the process, we’ve also lost our fear of death.
It was an experience that changed me forever, and made realize first hand that what comes after this life is beautiful beyond our wildest earthly dreams.
We now know what waits on the other side, and it is beautiful!
From a “soul-level,” there is nothing to fear.
Then, there was Hank’s death.
At the end of his life, my husband Hank wanted to come home. Dying at home was an incredibly beautiful way for Hank to leave this world.
He had everyone and everything he wanted around him.
In some ways, it was a celebration of everything we went through.
4) We All Have an Inner Light that Can Help Us Heal
Simply: we have more power than we know (if we are ready to accept it)!
When you put yourself last, and ignore the emotional healing work that needs to be done, your body can more easily become “dis” eased.
This is exactly what happened to me.
We have an inner light inside of us, and we can shine that light into our cells.
Try it now!
There’s no special technique required, other than send love and light to each one of our cells.
Please do not buy into the idea that anyone is to “blame” for their own sickness. Humans have this unhelpful tendency to judge and blame.
The idea that we can take our health in our own hands is bigger than judgement and blame.
5) We are Not Alone! There are Divine Beings Who Want to Help and Send Love!
After my near-death experience I was able to connect more directly with Angels!
Here is an example of one of the messages I received:
“One does not get disease in the body because they wanted it. We want to clarify this little piece here. It is not because you asked for disease in the body; it is that you wanted to expand at a certain time in your lifetime. Many times, we miss the messages, we miss the mark, we miss the turn, we miss the exit, if you will, we miss the easier road, if you will. We choose to take the road that is the rocky road, the bumpy road, the road less traveled, if you will. We as humans miss the greater exit that would have been the smoother ride.
“You, dear Stacie, you went through a lot of rough and tough things as we put it, but you did these things with an angelic presence throughout your life. There were tough times and there were some things that stuck within your physical being that had to be released. As these things are to be released, as these things come to a head, it, as we say, allows for the new road to open up for the detour to be released—the barrier to be moved away, to be moved aside.”
– Message from Archangel Chamuel, excerpted from Angel Kisses No More Cancer
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading these truths I learned from surviving cancer (and thriving)!
- Cancer speaks clearly about the need for change.
- Cancer invokes fear, and yet we have a choice.
- Death is different – and more beautiful – than we think. It is nothing to fear, as I learned first-hand during my near death experience.
- We all have a beautiful light inside us that helps us heal
- We are not alone. We have help! Angels are with us.
I’m Stacie Overman. If you need any support working through some of the challenges that life can shovel, I am here to support you!
Please reach out and apply for a Discovery Call with me here: https://stacie-overman.squarespace.com
Stacie
xo