“Some maybe don’t really want to hear it, but I go boldly forward, believing that maybe my scar will make someone else take notice.”
“We know our own bodies best, and need to learn to trust those feelings and instincts. It could save a life.”
“I had no idea young people could have skin cancer. I thought it was an ‘old person’ disease. Now I know better and I’m passionate about educating others!”
“I love my scar because I kicked the butt of what silently tried to kill me. My scar shows me that despite fear, and inner, and outer pain I have tremendous strength.”
“I am incredibly lucky - For many years I had been incredibly stupid. I longed for that golden suntan and pursued it by slathering myself with baby oil and lying in the sun for hours. I would never wish cancer on anyone, but I am grateful for the way my life changed and still changes because of it.”
“At first my diagnosis meant impending and probable death… So I prepared for death. Now my diagnosis means that I’m supposed to do something great with my gift of surviving.”
“I’m a warrior! I intend to take the knowledge, experience and emotions that I gained from prevailing over melanoma and using it to assist others in their specific fight.”
“I never felt like a survivor because I never felt like a victim.”
“I feel like the sun tried to rob me of experiencing all the life I had ahead of me. But the sun lost and this life is great.”
“Do I feel like a survivor? Hell YES!! It took me awhile to think of it as a badge of survival. It reminds me that I am lucky.”
“My scar means that I won’t let cancer win. It represents a battle I will face the rest of my life.”
“I refer to it as my shark bite whenever anyone asks about it since I’m a surfer. It sort of feels better to give it a life of it’s own. It’s own personality.”
“I’m one tough cookie. Legs with scars that can still run … and run fast!”
“I like to think I’m a dichotomy: pretty and tough. Before melanoma, and after.”
“Strength. Overcoming bad times...proof that you are stronger than what tried to kill you.”