Personal Narrative Essay: How Cancer Has Changed My Life

Cancer is a prescription for being called brave and strong, but everyone hits their breaking point; it is impossible to constantly be strong. Walking into DeVos Children’s Hospital for the first time, I was in shock – the patients were all bald, hooked up to IVs, and younger than eight. Even though many of the children diagnosed with cancer are living with an expiration date, they still smile and make the best of their situation. Even though I have not received treatment for years, I still have the children’s faces etched into my memory. No one ever said they died, but it was understood. Their attitudes never made their death easier. Watching the life fade away their eyes has killed a small part of me. After watching several children dying at a young age, it has driven me to help others live their life to the fullest and even go into a career to help advance the pharmaceutical industry. They did not experience the milestones set out for us. They did not give up, but life was taken from them. I do not want people to die with regrets, but want to help them if possible. …show more content…
As I was starting, they were ending. Every moment, I questioned why I was still breathing when a five year old was dying. One afternoon, I could not take it anymore. I was curled up in the fetal position on the couch with tears streaming down my face. After an hour, I finally reached for my phone and called my mom. Calmly, I told her I was done with everything – chemo, cancer, life, everything. I had decided that death was a better alternative than suffering through life. Even though I wanted to die, I did not have the strength to get off the couch. I was stranded. My grandma showed up a half hour later and found me on the ground next to the couch