Katie cancer journey
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Dear Katie,
Today marks one year since the day your life changed forever.
There was no lump.
No pain.
No warning.
Just an ordinary appointment that became the day your world stopped.
I can still hear your surgeon saying,
"Katie... you have two types of breast cancer... and it's curable."
But the truth is, you never heard the word curable.
All you heard was...
"You have breast cancer."
Everything else disappeared.
The room faded.
The conversation faded.
The future you thought you had faded.
The first words you found were, "Holy shit... I'm a solo mum to two boys who need me. I don't have time for this shit. Just get it done."
People might call that strength.
I know it was fear.
Not fear for yourself...
Fear that your boys might one day have to live without their mum.
I'll never forget how lucky you were to have Francesca Garratt sitting beside you that day. While your mind went completely silent, she became your voice. She asked the questions you couldn't.
"Will Katie need a mastectomy?"
"Will Katie need chemotherapy?"
Fear stole your words.
Fran gave them back.
That is something I'll always be grateful for.
That afternoon you wrote:
"A new chapter. Diagnosed with two types of breast cancer today. Don't know what I'm feeling... it's curable. I'M A WARRIOR! I've got this. 
"
"Reading those words today breaks my heart.
Because you had no idea what was waiting for you.
The surgery.
The radiation.
The tears.
The fear.
The endless hospital appointments.
The injections.
The infusions.
The daily medication you'll take for the next five years.
The side effects that quietly become part of everyday life.
People think cancer ends when treatment ends.
It doesn't.
It changes the way you think.
The way you love.
The way you hold your boys.
The way you look at tomorrow.
Cancer didn't just leave scars on your body.
It left scars on your heart.
If I could tell you one thing, it would be this...
You don't have to be brave every day.
You don't have to have all the answers.
You just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
One year later, you are still here.
Still healing.
Still carrying fear some days.
Still carrying hope.
And still being the incredible mum your boys need.
Cancer changed you forever.
But it never took away the love you have for your boys.
And in the end...
Love was always stronger than fear.
Love,
Katie
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