The life of a creature is in their blood.\u00a0 Blood is the essence of who a person is.<\/p>\n
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By Georgia Coats \u2013 YAN<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By blood I am Greek<\/strong>.\u00a0 By nationality I am a U.S. citizen.\u00a0 By education I am a Spanish speaker.\u00a0 By cultural experiences I resonate with my Middle Eastern neighbors of Dearborn, MI. \u00a0By faith I am a follower of Jesus the Messiah.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n My whole life I have dabbled in multiple worlds, cultures, languages, and social groupings.\u00a0 I hover on borders, struggling to figure out where I fit in.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I became a language and culture learning coach.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That\u2019s why I have identity issues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Enter Cancer<\/strong>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n By blood I have a cancer diagnosis<\/strong>.\u00a0 More specifically, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is cancer in my blood cells.\u00a0 Ironically, the white blood cells that function to fight off disease have become diseased.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Someone advised me early on, \u201cDon\u2019t let your cancer diagnosis define who you are.<\/em><\/strong>\u201d\u00a0 That piece of wisdom has both haunted and inspired me for that last 20 years.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When cancer runs in your blood, how do you not let it effect who you are?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n To complicate things even more, I am on a cutting edge, super-effective, immunotherapy treatment.\u00a0 No complaints there.\u00a0 When I tell people I have cancer, they want to know: Am I a survivor? Am I in remission? or Am I still battling the disease?\u00a0 <\/em>YES!\u00a0 I dabble in all of those things.\u00a0 My treatment keeps me in remission, as long as I keep taking it, daily.\u00a0 Forever.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In my blood, disease moves slowly.<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s a lifelong chronic disease, which makes me a peripheral member of another group.\u00a0 The Chronic Illness Group.<\/strong>\u00a0 People with chronic illness spend a lifetime on meds, and suffer from their diseases for decades.\u00a0 There\u2019s no glory in chronic illness.\u00a0 To find support and strength in a chronic struggle, it helps to own it, and to identify with others who struggle in a similar way.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Blood-Related Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This summer I will travel to the Old Country<\/em>, Greece, with my parents, siblings, and kids, to share with my kids a sliver of their heritage\u2014of the identity that runs in their blood.\u00a0 We will kiss my aunties and meet another generation of cousins.\u00a0 We will eat great food and connect with the passion, grit, and generosity of my people.\u00a0 I will admit my shortcoming to learn, and to teach my kids, the Greek language.\u00a0 Relatives will look at me through the sympathetic cancer lens and say I look good, considering my health issues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While I don\u2019t want to be defined by the disease in my blood, I also cannot deny that it hasn\u2019t had a significant impact on who I am.\u00a0 Cancer brings definition to my character.\u00a0 And for that, I am grateful.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am not defined by my trials.\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n My trials are the unique tools God uses to <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n bring definition to my character.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thankfully, you <\/em>don\u2019t have to have my issues to embrace the wonderful beauty of your design.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Take a moment to celebrate the precious life God gave you.<\/p>\n Choose joy.<\/p>\n Seek beauty.<\/p>\n Admit weakness.<\/p>\n Chronically cling to hope, even when things don\u2019t make sense.<\/p>\n Let your struggles carve depth and beauty to your character.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And together let\u2019s learn to share in the struggles of others.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because, cancer or not, we all have issues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n