I'll never forget that day in the biopsy room, almost a year ago when I discovered that I had breast cancer. I broke down in front of the nurse and asked despairingly, who would take my place and care for my four children and my beloved husband. I will never forget the words of that dear nurse as she said "till now you have been there for everyone else, now it's your turn for them to be there for you". Those whom are familiar with my first blog post, which is the first letter I had sent to all my acquaintances and family, I hated this new role and the fact that I would be now a source of concern and annoyance.
In retrospect, I'm glad to have been in the centre of the drama, and yet I avoided turning it into a huge dramatic situation. I'm glad I was able to be a source of strength and encouragement to others. At the end of the fight, looking back, I realize that what Iv'e derived from this chapter in my life, that I prefer more to think of as an experience, was mostly a positive added value.
And because I was privileged to know wonderful women that come my path, I know that my feelings are not unique and that other women share similar experiences due to their illness. I know that like me, they have found in themselves power and skills that would have not be revealed without passing through this ordeal.Returning to ordinary life, I discovered that comparing to the professional and wonderful medical health care we receive in our country, the road ends with a missed opportunity. Female survivors who are not the same women they were before the illness, feel the need to make a profound change in their lives. Unfortunately, the stage of recovery is characterised mainly by talking about the feeling and need for a change, yet the chasm between words and actions is not easy for any of us, whether sick or well.
As many of the wonderful things that happened to me lately, I happened to be at the right time and place - Google campus Tel Aviv, where I first heard of a program called - Google campus for moms. An Initiative that enables women on maternity leave, to learn how to bring ideas to the level of presenting it to investors. And after a series of another extraordinary sequence of events, I found myself participating in that program to try to birth and execute my idea - to build The Pink Strartup School - in order to teach breast cancer survivors entrepreneurship skills.
Women with breast cancer do not undergo pregnancy during their struggle, but upon recovery, many of them feel as if they were reborn. Like women on maternity leave, they find themselves recovering with a significant amount of free time, which could be used constructively.
I truly believe that a proper training program could bring great blessing to many women in their recovery period, and hope to continue to like minded believers until we see it coming into fruition.
While embroidering my pink dreams, I found myself this weekend in another dream, one that came true for a young couple who had decided to have their wedding party no less than on a ship in Eilat. Many thanks to Noga and Jonathan who invited us to participate in their exciting and extraordinary wedding cruise.
Special thanks to grandparents Yossi and Michi that had seized the opportunity and extended the event into a family holiday weekend , which was just perfect timing.
