A couple of articles that popped up in my newsfeed on social media that I think are worth taking a look at.

The titles are self-explanatory and both are US in origin, nonetheless they speak across cultures and cinditions.

"Death, The Prosperity Gospel and Me" is written by someone who has carried out empirical research on aspects of the prosperity gospel, including supernatural healing, and now finds herself living with Stage 4 (controllable but incurable) cancer.

"Lent in the Shadow of Cancer" is the thoughts of three women each having faced a diagnosis of breast cancer.  One is Stage 4, one is a NED and one is just completing treatment.

I am glad to see such honest writing starting to emerge rather than the saccharine stuff that I came across back in 2010 when I began to write about my experiences.  If I have contributed in some small way to a more honest body of writing, then that's got to be a good thing.

Here're a few extracts from what Anya, the young woman with Stage 4 breast cancer writes, that echoes my own sentiments, albeit I am older, contentedly single, and this far a healthy, happy NED...

"I no longer deny myself anything during Lent. So much has been taken from me: my breast, my ovaries, the blessing of having another child, the possibility of living to be old, the false sense of security and safety in which I used to live. I’ve chosen to celebrate Lent, instead, by doing something additional, primarily by trying to be more aware of others’ needs and more selfless and attentive toward others."

"To be completely honest, Easter is more difficult for me now than it used to be. The jump from the mourning of Good Friday to the happiness and abundance of Easter seems too quick for me. How can I be pastel and happy and hunting for eggs, when just a couple of days ago I was staring into the pit of death? What Easter means to me, since I still feel like I’m in the valley of the shadow of death, is that Christ is with me wherever I am; and that there exists a future after death when pain and suffering will disappear."

"All of my advice is very clichéd—try to experience the joy and miraculousness of ordinary, everyday life. Soak in all the happiness and love that you can. Don’t ask yourself “why me?” Ask yourself “why not me?” You don’t know what will happen to you, but accept your life for what it is. Know that you are not alone and that God will never abandon you. Do what you love to do. Read. Fill your life with peace and beauty."