Resources

Voices of Hope & Healing
for Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant

Wake-up Call
by Rosanne Kalick

Am I the same person I was before I dealt with cancer? I don't think so. Was I a terrible person before? No. It's that my "To Do" list, my map, has changed. Cancer sends shock waves through us. If we see cancer only as a trauma and not a wake-up call, we've missed a major opportunity in our life. The wakeup call need not mean dramatic life changes. It may be a decision to spend more time with friends and family. It may mean more time to play, or—as the cliché goes—"smell the roses." It may mean a return to a lifelong love of painting. It may mean reconnection to church or synagogue. It may mean becoming pro-active for a cause you always believed in. It has to mean something. As Arthur Frank writes, "…recovery is worth only as much as what you learn about the life you are regaining."

"Wake-up Call" from Cancer Etiquette, by Rosanne Kalick. Lion Books Publisher, 2005.

Back to Voices Main page