Heather's Race for Life

Cancer is dick. Can I say that on here? Either way, its true. It created a roller coaster of highs and lows in my life, and even more so in my Mother's. She survived breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. Later, she had a full gastrectomy in an attempt to stop the cancer in her stomach. Despite being told the surgery had worked and she was clear, it later turned out that this was wrong. She was taken suddenly from us. I hate the term cancer 'survivor'. It implies that my mother lost the battle. It makes her sound weak, or that she didn't try hard enough. This is a lie. She fought harder than anyone I've ever known. Sometimes, cancer creates a battle that can't be won. It wasn't even a battle in the first place. The sides weren't equal. She didn't stand a chance. I'm doing this race not just to raise money to help equal the sides, but also as an acknowledgement to my mum. Many of you reading this won't know this story. I keep it close to my chest. I find it hard to talk about it, and impossible to accept. I've lost friends, held back on opportunities and struggled with my emotions and mental health following her death. This race is a chance for me to begin accepting what happened. A chance to come out to my friends, to be the one with a dead mum. But that's not what she is to me. To me, she is a survivor.