Community Perspective: Best Friend Love
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This is CANSWER HIVE. Tips and insights shared directly from the Rethink Network (FKA: Rethink’s Young Women’s Network/RYWN).
Is there anyone in the world that understands you better than your bestie? The person (or people) who can pick you up when you are down, say the exact thing you need to hear, and show up for you on your darkest days? Our Rethink Young Women’s Network share words of gratitude for their best friends, supporters, and caregivers who have helped them through their toughest times.
Dear Erin,
I wanted you to know, you are so special to me because you were with me on the worst day of my life and you made it better. Cancer is so hard but you made it easier by always being just a text away and I love you for that!
XO Emily
Dear Flouncy Bishes,
I wanted you to know you are the most selfless group of women in the world because you go out of your way to make me laugh and cry when I needed it most. Cancer can fuck right off but you are heroes and I am beyond humbled. #teamalinastit #boobsvoyage #byebyetitties
XO Alina
Dear Diana,
I wanted you to know that you are the best sister anyone can ask for because you have sacrificed so much these last months and put me ahead of your children, your job, even your own health. Cancer can be scary but you are the bravest navigator and advocate and I am forever grateful.
XO Alina
Dear Melanie,
I wanted you to know, you are a dear friend because you have been the perfect combination of encouraging and understanding when I needed it most. Cancer can make having friends hard but you are the real deal and I would be a TOTAL party pooper without you.
XO Krista
Dear Monica,
I wanted you to know, you are an amazing friend because you are always there when I needed you the most and also during the times I push you away. Cancer can be scary and it really sucks but you are always there no matter what and you make me a better person and I love you for that.
XO Lesly
Dear Mom,
I wanted you to know, you are the most incredible person because you took early retirement and literally became my right hand when I needed it most. Cancer can try and take things away but you are always there reminding me what I have and I am forever grateful you are my first and best friend.
XO LeeAnne
Dear Tanya,
I wanted you to know, you are the most incredible selfless best friend because you were there for me, making me smile, letting me cry or rage, raising money and awareness while also recovering from a broken back when I needed my best friend most. Cancer can be so scary and isolating but you are the constant reminder to keep fighting and to enjoy life when I can and I am so proud to call you my best friend.
XO LeeAnne
Dear Trish,
I wanted you to know, I wished for a friend for life and my wish came true. Cancer has changed everything for me, but our friendship and your support is steadfast through it all. Love you, my dear friend.
XO Vesna
Dear Heidi and Tanya,
I wanted you to know that I want everyone to know how much your friendship means to me. ‘So what’s your story?’ And so begins a beautiful friendship in spite of this ugly cancer. We support each other, we cry together, we talk and text and text and text together, we laugh. Oh, how we laugh. Cancer brought us together, but every other connection keeps us together. Love you, my dear friends. Always.
XO Vesna
Dear Vesna and Tanya,
I want you both to know that meeting you has changed my life because you have been honest and vulnerable and wise and strong when I needed someone to get what I was going through. Always available to share thoughtful support sometimes without speaking a word just letting me know I’m not alone. Cancer can take us to the edges of ourselves where there seems to be nowhere left to turn but you both continue to show me the path to learn more about myself and push me to be better and kinder to me. I love you Sistas! Xoxoxo
XO Heidi
Dear amazing family and friends in my life:
I wanted you to know, you are AMAZING, INSPIRING, STALWART, FULL of LOVE, HOPE ENERGY and kindness. Because of you I have not been flattened or defeated by this disease, because all of you have been there when I needed reasons to take one step in front of the other. Cancer can be brutal- but you all are my reason to fight and stay strong. I love you all for helping to light my path forward. I’m also grateful to Rethink- for providing this forum for women to connect with one another and not feel so alone on this road. It has been said that gratitude is the memory of the heart. Thank you.
XO Sarah
Dear Chris (my unbelievably amazing husband),
I wanted you to know, you are the reason I can stand here today, bent but not broken because you loved me every day, unconditionally, when I needed love the most. Cancer can be isolating but you are always there, hand in my hand, every day even while we helplessly watched our parents succumb to this horrible disease and I never cease to be amazed by you and your infinite well of compassion.
XO Stacey
Dear Josh,
I wanted you to know that you are the reason I continued to smile during the most difficult time in my life because you wiped away my tears when all I wanted to do was cry, held my hand when I felt like the world was crumbling beneath my feet, and loved me even when it was hard for me to love myself. Cancer can be so emotionally and physically exhausting but you have been the anchor that has kept me grounded and the light in my life when the sun refused to shine and I don’t know how I would have ever made it without you by my side every step of the way.
XO Kim
Dear David,
I wanted you to know, you are appreciated because you always made time for me when I needed friendship and company most. Cancer can be so lonely and isolating but you and your family never forgot or avoided us, and I thank you!
XO Jill
Dear Toma,
I wanted you to know, you are a special man because you started dating me 2 weeks before chemotherapy knowing what is waiting for us and you told me it is ok to be weak when I needed to hear it most. Cancer treatment can be the toughest thing to go through but you are my rock today and I know I am gonna be okay no matter what.
XO Santa
Dear Mike,
I wanted you to know, you are the best husband I could ever ask for because you always take the time to make me feel loved and happy when I need it most. Cancer can try to make us break but you are my best friend and I could not ask for a better father for our children.
XO Julie
Dear Lisa,
I wanted you to know, what a truly amazing best friend and sister you are. From the beginning, you were fighting alongside me, always there, never letting me push you away. Cancer is surreal and scary, and being by my side means more to me than you’ll ever know. I want to be like you when I grow up, thank you.
XO Erin
Dear Mom,
I wanted you to know, you are the most giving and selfless person because you stood beside me and carried me (some days physically) through everything – pre and post surgery when I needed support, encouragement and love the most. Cancer can rock our world but you were/are the rock and support I needed and that allowed me to thrive and flourish forward.
XO Kathleen
Dear Janelle,
I wanted you to know that you were an incredible peer support mentor to me. You were kind, patient and understanding when I felt alone and petrified. Cancer can be all consuming but you helped me tackle one hurdle at a time and gave me hope that I would find the strength to get through this very difficult time.
XO Vanessa
Dear Judit,
I wanted you to know, you are incredible because you had so much compassion (and a huge chemo care kit) when I needed it most. Cancer can be so scary, but you are a wealth of information and have helped me through the worst of times because of your medical and personal experience. I am grateful you read my post on RWYN at Rethink and contacted me.
XO Shelley