Cancerversary Time | Dee Sparacio
I don’t know who coined the term cancerversary but I have been using it for a few years. For some survivors, their cancerversary is the anniversary of the day they were diagnosed with cancer. Yet for others it is the anniversary of the day they finished treatment.
I celebrate my cancerversary on the day I was diagnosed. I remember that day quite vividly. I also remember the words my gynecologic oncologist said to me in the hospital recovery room. It was around noon on Friday, July 29, 2005. “Dee, I am sorry,” she said. “I found ovarian cancer. You are stage 3B.” Then she went on to say, “But I will do my best to make you well.” And that is what she and her colleagues at my cancer center have done. They made me well in 2005 and again in 2008 when it recurred on my liver and spleen. They continue to make me well to this day, helping me deal with the side effects of chemotherapy and the fear of recurrence. They are my lifesavers.
Since I recently celebrated my eighth cancerversary on July 29, I want to thank my gynecologic oncologists, Darlene Gibbon, MD and Lorna Rodriguez, MD, PhD of the Rutgers Cancer
Institute of New Jersey and all gynecologic oncologists who provide such outstanding and compassionate care to women diagnosed with gynecologic cancers.
Every Day is a Blessing!