LIVE EACH DAY LIKE IT'S YOUR LAST- Erika

Live life one day at a time. Never expect your life to be "perfect" because you never know what can happen. From one minute to another you can easily go from thinking you have a nice life to zero. I'm not talking about money which is something that many people only think about, I'm referring to one's health. Being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 14 and now a survivor, I can only say that one's health is by far more important than money and anything else. Before being diagnosed I never paid attention to the fact that I was a healthy person but once I got my diagnosis it was a real eye opener for me. At such a young age I realized that no one has a "perfect life" and whoever says that must be lying because big or small, everyone faces difficulties in their life. 

When I was first diagnosed the doctor walked in, looked at me, and said three words that changed my life. YOU HAVE CANCER. I was scared and I didn't know what to expect, my first reaction was crying. A few weeks after my diagnosis I came to the realization that no matter what I had to do whatever I was told in order to try and save my life. I was told that I wasn't going to be able to attend school and I would have to take chemotherapy. Sadly I wasn't  able to experience what other teenagers experience when they are going to high school for the first time ever, but I didn't care because I had something more important to worry about, MY HEALTH. 

Going through chemotherapy is by far the hardest thing I have ever been through. Before  my diagnosis I would never go to the doctor so often until then. Visits to the hospital became part of my everyday life and I began to get used to everything as if it was something  normal. Chemotherapy made me feel nauseous and very weak. My blood counts would be very low because of the chemo. WORST part of all, my hair began to fall. Being a girl and seeing your hair fall off is something that can really affect you but you have to realize that hair grows back and that isn't important. The only important thing in life and the only thing you should care about is your health. 

I am now 20 years old, I have been a cancer survivor for 5 years now. I have learned many lessons about life that taught me that nothing in life is important if you're not healthy. My only advice to everyone is that whether you are facing difficulties in life right now or not, LIVE EVERYDAY LIKE IT'S YOUR LAST BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN.