Several friends have emailed me, since learning of my bout with breast cancer, to tell me they find me strong and inspiring. I finally wrote to one that I just didn’t see that.

“How can that be?” I asked. “I’ve cried buckets of tears, railed against my fate, been alternately petulant and angry. How is that inspirational?”

My friend wrote back that I’m fighting, which is huge. And I’m sharing my experience, which is inspiring. Hmmm. I guess I have to ponder that one for a while.

I keep thinking of an exchange in German that goes something like this: One party will ask, “Wie geht’s (how goes it)?” The second party, if feeling particularly beleaguered, will say, “Es muß gehen (it has to go).” That pretty much sums it up for me. One step at a time. One day at a time. Things have to move forward.

I can’t imagine folding my tent and deciding not to fight for my life, especially when so many doctors, nurses, oncologists, and physicists are working so hard to save it. Not when so many loved ones are pulling for me and encouraging me.

My husband’s physician told me, back in October 2009 when I was first diagnosed, that I was in a war. I understood it then. But I really see it now. It takes commitment, stamina, and a strong will to withstand all the body must go through. I guess that’s why God visits breast cancer on women. We embody all of those things and so much more!

Be sure to give the strong women in your life a special hug today.