Working Hard to Succeed

 I’ve had many jobs in my life from blue collar to the corporate world. Who knows where I’d be today if I never got cancer but I know I was detoured because it wasn’t part of my plan.

Currently I’m raising two teenagers and I drive a school bus part-time. This is my job— for now. What I do for work is: finding ways to give back/pay it forward, learning new modalities in which to accomplish this, researching, researching and more researching, writing, reading and utilizing this amazing internal compass I have been blessed with.


My latest accomplishment—pictured below—is one that I take pride of for the mere fact that it has been on my bucket list since the year 2000. My children were three and six and I was a single mom enduring aggressive treatments for an aggressive breast cancer. I made the decision that I had to find a way to survive because I wanted to raise my children and help them raise theirs. Besides that, I had work to do!


When my therapist suggested Reiki I looked into it and while there weren’t many studies done on it, I somehow knew I needed it.


Reiki sessions were expensive and I had to find a way to come up with the money to at least try it. And once I discovered how beneficial it was in alleviating the side effects of my cancer treatments, I found a way to have a few more sessions.


Now fast-forward three years later to my most serious diagnosis of a very aggressive, rare cancer with very little treatment options and not much hope. I find myself once again seeking more Reiki and more money for Reiki. It just wasn’t fair! I wanted the Reiki because I knew it would make me feel better and help me through my treatments. I also felt that adding Reiki to my treatment protocol might just be the deciding factor in my survival. Maybe it was. In any case it was during this time that I decided that someday I would become certified myself so that I could make it available to others who need it— regardless of their ability to pay for it. That someday is here. That someday is now.


My success is not—nor ever will be— measured by how much money I have, but by the personal growth experienced by my audience and the number of people I can impact in a positive way.

Happy Cancerversary to me!

While in traffic the other day, a beautiful blue vehicle caught my eye. To my surprise and delight, the name of the vehicle was Compass. This word has such significant meaning to me and my existence and it seems to appear at key moments. I’ve always had a great sense of direction when it came to driving but I discovered that it goes far deeper than navigating streets, freeways and interstates. My internal compass has, essentially, saved my life.



Today marks my nine year anniversary from my diagnosis of a — very rare and difficult to treat— form of cancer known as Angiosarcoma, which is reported to have five year survival rate of 20%. Next month will mark twelve years since my diagnosis of Breast Cancer and Melanoma.


I am no stranger to cancer or many other forms of adversity and I’m often asked how I survived. There’s no easy answer to this question. The very thing that tried to kill me in fact saved me and redirected me to the path (I veered from on more than one occasion)—and purpose of my existence.


Since I was a little girl, I’ve always been someone who wanted to be of service to others and make a difference in this world. At some point, after completing my treatments, I decided I needed to write a book. Why do survivors feel the need to write a book? Is it coincidence that most of the people who have tremendous passion and advocate for a variety of causes are those who have overcome extreme adversity? What did these people discover on their journey that they might not have, if not for their being forced into the face of said adversity? Does illness, trauma, tragedy all contain potential to lead us to transformation or do they manifest for the sole (SOUL) purpose of direction? Do they serve a purpose and can we learn from them? -Yes!


Would we learn the lessons contained within these experiences without them?


I had to learn everything the hard way but what I’ve come to discover is: when all is said and done, it’s really not so hard at all, in fact it all boils down to fundamental basics and learning to use our internal compass.


I shall continue: Writing my book and blog, being a volunteer at the hospital giving Reiki to patients, advocating for my many passions, being there for all who seek my help and seeking ways to best utilize my potential.


Wisdom may come with age but begs to be sought.


Today—like every day—I celebrate life by giving back and paying it forward with hope that I’ve made a positive impact on others. I might just indulge and dream about owning a blue Jeep Compass with a moon roof too!