What I Would Say to Cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness Month has ended. My fundraiser for New York Oncology Hematology’s (NYOH) Community Cancer Foundation has ended as well.

As I look back on the last two years, I can’t help but think about the day this all started. I don’t remember much, but I know exactly where I was on the road when I called my mom and repeated over and over,

“I don’t understand.”

The journey that followed took me through breast cancer and a global pandemic, but also brought opportunities for me to be a voice for others.

It’s not lost on me that I was diagnosed in the middle of Breast Cancer Awareness Month - so the opportunity is two-fold. It’s in the giving, but it’s also in changing the narrative around how we give and, more importantly, who we give to.

And I’m reminded of one of my favorite Bible stories about a man named Joseph. He was given an opportunity as well, but that’s not how the story started.

It started when his brothers, jealous of him, decided to kill him, but changed their minds at the last minute and sold him instead.

And you think you’ve got family problems.

He was sold into slavery and then accused of a crime he did not commit and thrown in prison. It was one thing after the other for Joseph.

But after every catastrophe, the story says that God was with Joseph and caused him to have favor.

And then there was Joseph’s gift - he could interpret dreams.

One day, a couple of the king’s top guys got tossed into prison with Joseph and after he accurately interprets both their dreams, one of them tells him, “Don’t worry, I’m going to remember you. When I get out of here, I’ll put in a word.”

He forgot about the Joseph the minute he was released. Joseph sat in that prison for years after that.

I wonder if Joseph ever looked around and whispered to no one in particular,

“I don’t understand.”

Then one day the king has a couple dreams, and no one knows what they mean, until his right-hand man thinks of Joseph, “Hey boss, remember when you got mad that one time and threw me in the dungeon? There was a guy down there and he told me exactly what my dream meant, and he was spot on.”

“Get him up here!”

In an instant Joseph goes from the dungeon to the courts of the king and accurately interprets what’s to come. The land was about to embrace seven of the most abundant years they had ever seen, but immediately following would be seven years of famine and the loss of life would be catastrophic if someone didn’t come up with a plan.

“Ok, you’re in charge! Go figure that out!”

And just like that, Joseph goes from the pit to being the most powerful man in the nation, second only to the king.

And the king’s dreams came true.

During the bountiful years Joseph stockpiled food like it was going out of style so when the famine hit, they were prepared. Now everyone in the nation had to come to Joseph for food.

And then one day, in walk his brothers.

Suddenly, what happened to him at their hands feels like a lifetime ago.

And they don’t recognize him. He’s changed.

His experiences up to this point have molded him – he’s walking with a new sense of purpose.

He has come out the other side on a mission.

Joseph doesn’t reveal his identity right away, but when he does, his brothers immediately start groveling, worried about what they did, fearing the worst, offering to be his slaves in exchange for their lives.

And I love what Joseph says to his brothers.

Because he recognized they were just one chapter of his story, the same way cancer is one chapter of mine.

And while they may have done what they did, in the end God placed him there - on purpose, for a purpose.

It’s the same thing I would say to cancer.

“You meant what you did to destroy me. But God used it for good, to get us to this point and what’s being accomplished today, the saving of many lives.”

I’m not sure Joseph ever fully understood the hardships he suffered before stepping into his new role, the same way I’ll never understand cancer, but after recognizing that God carved out a destiny uniquely designed for him, after grabbing ahold of his new purpose with both hands…

Did he still need to understand?

With your help, I raised more than $3,000 during Breast Cancer Awareness Month for NYOH and local cancer patients. It may not physically save anyone’s life, but it’s going to bring much-needed assistance to many people. And I think this is just the beginning of the opportunities I will have to lessen the burdens of cancer survivors.

Thank you for partnering with me on this. You’re part of the new chapters God is writing in this story.