I get asked this irl too and literally long story short is pain. I had constant horrible bone pain that would get really bad at night.

My type of cancer has other symptoms aside of this pain that usually start once the cancer is more advanced, because my tumor was big when we got a diagnosis my leg looked really weird, I was limping and it was always hot on the area the tumor was growing.

Once we got to the second doctor, apparently everyone knew I had cancer except me 😔, I thought I had a bone infection up until the biopsy lmao, and even then my parents hadn’t told me exactly that they were doing a biopsy because I had a giant tumor. Crazy stuff.

When people hear the word "survivor," they often picture someone years out from treatment, someone who rang the bell, someone whose scans are clear.

But that's not where survivorship starts.

My story with cancer started long before the words "you have cancer" were officially spoken. It started in an X-ray room, when something wasn't right. It started before the biopsy, before the pathology report, before the treatment plan was written down, looking back now, I realize I became a survivor the moment I was diagnosed.

Survivorship isn't about reaching a finish line.

It's about surviving everything that comes with the disease.

Surviving the fear that comes when doctors find something concerning.

Surviving the biopsy.

Surviving the conversations no child, teenager, or family should ever have to hear.

Surviving chemotherapy, radiation, surgeries, scans, blood tests, side effects, uncertainty, and all the ways cancer changes your life.

Whether you reach NED, whether you're in treatment, whether you're living with metastatic disease, whether you're on your first diagnosis or your fifth relapse, you are surviving cancer every single day.

Cancer survivorship isn't reserved for the lucky few who get to hear the words "cancer-free."

It belongs to every person who wakes up and keeps going despite this disease.