Sunrise on top of Doe Mountain Trail in Sedona, Arizona

Surviving cancer is like hiking a mountain.

Your climb begins the day you’re diagnosed.

At first, a giant obstacle is all you see.

The challenge ahead seems impossible.

“How will I make it through this?” you wonder.

You don’t know how, but slowly you start putting one foot in front of the other.

Before long, you hardly recognize your surroundings.

Instead of counting by days and weeks, you start to measure time by the number of treatment cycles.

The life you left when you started this journey seems so distant now.

A series of uphill struggles led you to this point, but there isn’t always a clear-cut path.

Then you start to notice footprints scattered in the rocky dirt of those who came before you.

Although this journey can be lonely, knowing others have been in the same place and survived gives you hope.

You don’t know how you’ll make it to the other side.

The only certainty is you must keep moving.

This journey pushes you to your limits.

Bodily changes.

Emotional challenges.

Debilitating side effects.

You feel every emotion from grief and terror to a deep sense of determination.

You begin to question everything and every relationship in your life— especially your connection to God.

Many times, you feel like giving up.

But you keep showing up regardless of how you feel.

Surviving cancer is like hiking a mountain.
Little by little, you start making headway.
The journey down can be just as challenging as your climb.
Progress isn’t always obvious.
Sometimes, it’s a series of switchbacks that slowly direct you to where you need to be.

With the support of family and friends and knowledgeable doctors, you’ll find strength, courage and surprising beauty along the way.

You gain far more than you lose.

You earn a new perspective and foster a deep sense of knowing— you can face and survive— more than you ever imagined.