Cancerversary

Cancerversary (noun)

A date chosen to commemorate surviving cancer, a milestone defined by you (the survivor), which can be any of the following:

• the date of diagnosis.
I still HAD cancer then, so this doesn’t make sense to me.
• the date of the operation to remove the cancer.
Am not celebrating the addition of the plastic fantastic! Besides, this would be in September and way too close to the start of the school year.
• the date of the first chemo treatment.
Now THAT is a day I definitely don’t want to remember! Wish that chemo-brain would erase THIS day.
• the date of the final chemo treatment.

This one. I choose this one! Besides, it is in February which seems like a good month to have a celebration, don’t ask me why because I just don’t know.   

This makes my cancerversary the 5th of February and I hereby claim this date forevermore.

Whilst I do recall other dates, such as the day I found the lumps and the day I got the official diagnosis, these are not really dates I want to remember publicly.   These are more like dates for quiet contemplation and reflection and, to be honest, some silent castigation.

Here’s to a cancer-free future!