The part I found most touching was Sandy Kugelson talking about her stage IV status urging people to stop with the fighting warriors mentality because of what it says to those who die. It's not fair to call those weak or losers or quitters, and worse to hold them responsible for their disease.
shareExactly. When words like "fighting warriors" are used, it's a red flag to me. It's so over-the-top war mentality. These women are not battling fighters, they are loving mothers, wives and daughters. "Fighting warriors" makes me think that person is coming from a place of confusion and it's tough to try to keep my mind open to their having much of intelligence to say.
shareI've been wondering for a while now what's the best sort of description or metaphor to use--not just with breast cancer but with cancer in general. It's such a slap in the face to say someone lost their battle with cancer when they have been living with it for years or however long--no one says "such and such lost their battle with death" when they die of natural causes or that someone lost their battle with traffic if they die in a car accident--maybe it just means changing the rhetoric around cancer in general. They died but they lived a beautiful life and will leave behind a memorable legacy, completing removing the power (and fear) associated with cancer and the cause of their deaths.
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