Don't Quit, Especially Because You Can

(thanks Laurel for posting this great quote)

I went to visit my good friend, Kimmy today for a little lunch.  Kimmy finished chemo for breast cancer early last year.  Just when things looked bright, the cancer was back.  She is now on round two of her fight.

We were sitting in her kitchen chatting together with her mom.  Kimmy just had a birthday a few days earlier and there were at least three cakes sitting on the counter.  I was a bit too obvious and was caught eyeing them.  This led to Kimmy's mom telling me that Kimmy actually wanted to go on a diet. She told her mom, "Please no cake. I need to lose these pounds I have put on thanks to all of the drugs I am on!" 

Seriously?  With everything she is going through, the last thing she should worry about is not eating a piece of cake.  The diet can wait.

This led to her frustration with finally joining the gym again and not feeling well enough to even use it!  The gym can wait.

And then there were the doctor's orders that she cannot drive.  With all of her medication and the tremors in her right hand, driving is out of the question.  The car can wait.

She must be very careful picking up her baby because of her recent surgery to remove one of her breasts that ended up causing her severe pain.  Even her baby will need to wait (and don't worry, she huggles him plenty).
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Cancer has forced her to "quit" many things. Things that healthy people, like me, take for granted. I can diet. I can workout. I can drive. I can pick up my baby (he is 7...I only have a limited time left).  And I can quit (and do sometimes) at anytime...it really won't matter if I quit any of those things.

And then it hit me.

PEOPLE WITH CANCER CAN'T QUIT! AND THEREFORE...ARE NOT QUITTERS.  THEY CAN NEVER STOP FIGHTING CANCER...IF EVEN THEY WANTED TO....THEY CAN'T STOP FIGHTING! WHEN THEY ARE SICK, THEY ARE STILL MOTHERS, WIVES, SISTERS, FATHERS, BROTHERS, FRIENDS, AND WORKERS. PEOPLE WITH CANCER ARE THE OPPOSITE OF A QUITTER...THEY ARE FIGHTERS THROUGH AND THROUGH!

(Kimmy and I hanging at the Shamrock half marathon 2009)

And that is what I learned today.  I am not going to "quit."  And I know Kimmy isn't going to either!