Poems

This I Believe

A.N.- I wrote this for my English class, and I know it's not a poem, but I honestly love it so much. It makes me feel so strong :)
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I am 15, and I do not know how much time I have left. Everybody goes at some point, but not all of them have a nagging fear hanging over their heads. They have never experienced cancer like I have. Cancer isn't just a disease, it is much more than that. It is a killer.

Six years ago, my uncle got consumed by cancer. He could not even walk, and he woke up every morning one step closer to death. He suffered everyday, just to stay alive. I am upset that he is gone, but I would rather have him gone than have him live every day just to suffer.

So when the doctors told me I had to get a surgery to remove my cancer, I knew I was going to die.

When you find out you have cancer, you panic. No matter how severe, how large, or where it is, it is still all cancer. When you have it in your head like I did, it is even worse. You live every day knowing that you could die right then and there.

Getting surgery is the scariest part. You can't sleep for weeks, scared you will never wake up. When they put the IV in your arm, you don't know if it is the right amount of medicine or not. When you look at your mother and father before they wheel you away, you don't know if you will ever see them again. When they lay you down on the operating table, you count your blessings, because that could be it. When they remove the cancer from you, you don't know if it is really all gone.

Whenever I wake up in the night with blood on my pillow from the surgery scars, I sit there and cry. I think, "Is this really it?"

You have to live every day like its your last, because you never know if it really is.

I am here today, writing this for those who weren't as lucky as I was. My cancer was removed about four months ago, and until then it never really hit me how valuable life really is. I went through a surgery that left me on bedrest for a week, and that was it. I never had to go through chemotherapy, never had to get a follow­up surgery, nothing. I am one of the lucky ones. I am now living cancer­free, with little chance of it ever coming back. People like my uncle, however, didn't get lucky like I did.

Enjoy the life you have, because one day, it could be gone. There is much more out there that can kill you, rather than just cancer. But, you can't live in fear of these things. Living a life in fear really isn't living at all. Every day you should wake up ready to take on whatever the world throws at you. When I found out I had cancer, I was upset, but it never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do with my life. Never give up on life, because it is the most valuable thing you'll ever have. This, I believe.