All my innocence and naïveté about life has been lost. But, I think I have a love of life, an appreciation of life that I’ve always had but am much more aware of it in the everyday. I’m so grateful to be alive. I think that’s generally my personality, but having had cancer has made that much more apparent—how amazing life is, how delicate our bodies are, how that can all be taken away from you really quickly.
When I was going through treatment, there was not a second of any day that I didn’t think about breast cancer. Now, three years out, I wake up in the morning and it’s not the first thing that I think of. It is very much a part of who I am, though. It doesn’t really change who you are. It accentuates you, and brings out the best. It makes you realize who your friends are, what your priorities are. You lose fears about things that are completely irrelevant. So I really feel that I’m exactly the same person, but everything is in much sharper focus than it was before.
I’m grateful for my life. I’m grateful for today. I’m grateful that this experience opened my mind and my heart to be present in my great life.
– Jessica Galloway, UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center Patient.
