My journey was about 'dancing together'!

In 2023 my world fell apart when I got diagnosed with thyroidcancer stage 2. The reason I went to my General Practioner was a small lymphnode in my neck. That was the only thing I noticed. So you can imagine I was quite shocked to hear it was cancer.

For the very first moment I heard this, I thought 'What does this want to teach me?, How can I learn from this?'. Instead of fighting it, I started dancing together.

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.
It's about learning to dance in the rain"

vivian green

Your life just stands still

Sometimes it only takes a few words to throw your life upside down. In my case it were only three: 'It is cancer'. In this journey I have faced a lot of scary things, but 'the only way out is through'. So I made the choice to take control and go through.

Maybe it doesn't feel like this, but you always have a choice and that gives you the control. So the only question that counts is:

'Are you ready to take control?'

My journey began..

I choose to take control. I choose to do the operation and the nuclear treatment afterwards. I choose to live!

Each night, lying in my bed, I fell asleep with the same question: 'What may I learn from this? What is the bigger meaning for me personally?'.

It took a while, but I got my answers. They were pretty mindblowing actually. It was about the way I wanted to live my life, it was about my relationship, for example with my parents. Mainly, it was about love being the most important thing in life.

"The meaning of life is to find your gift.
The purpose of life is to give it away"

pablo picasso

A journal for my journey

I needed to write, I felt to urge to write down everything I felt. All my question, all my doubt, all my emotions, all my everything are written down in a journal.

Once the words were there, it was real and I needed to face them. Although that was hard sometimes, the words weren't in my head anymore. The words I couldn't say out loud. I felt a relieve, they were out there.

Writing helped me through my journey. I think it made my journey bigger, better, deeper and it gave the journey more meaning. I came out as a better version of me.

More about the journal

Start dancing..

For me, I never ever thought about fighting. It kind of struck me, when someone wrote me a message with 'Keep fighting, stay strong'. I didn't saw the cancer as something I needed to fight against. I saw it as an opportunity to grow. I embraced it and we danced together, like this:

Dive deeper

Start asking yourself the question: 'What can I learn from this?', each night before you fall asleep.

Keep going

Have faith that the answers will come to you. Do not stop, keep going. It will come!

Reach higher

Zoom out and look at your life. See what you like and what you want to change. Set your goals as high as possible, because 'Ain't no mountain high enough'.

Love yourself

Love yourself, love everything about you. Love your body, give your body what it needs to heal.