Life hands each of us the occasional nasty surprise.

 “Shooter on Campus” was a required training video for my job as a community college writing tutor. After avoiding the assignment for several days, I watched with another tutor during a slow period, and bit my fingernails during the scary parts. Welcome to 21^st century reality.

The video focused on developing a Survivor Mentality, so you can react efficiently and effectively when crises arise. You can apply a Survivor Mentality to many life events.

Worrying constantly about threatening intruders isn’t healthy, so we protect ourselves the best we can, put up mental walls, and try not to dwell on negatives we can’t control. Denial helps us sleep at night.

But in a scary situation, denial and the fear-mone rush of panic can prevent untrained people from responding well. Someone trained with a Survivor Mentality recognizes the threat quickly, and feels anxiety, but does not panic. (S)he:

For instance, a classroom of students can spread out, throw things at a shooter, and overwhelm the intruder with their collective power.

I didn’t realize how quickly I’d need my Survivor Mentality training to face a panic-inducing health threat. But I worked hard not to panic after my breast cancer diagnosis, and relied on friends and experts to help me assess the situation and decide the best course of action.

Breast Cancer was not my first tough challenge, and will probably not be my last. But I see my early stage survival as an opportunity to use my writing ability and share this experience – to increase awareness among others, to give hope and thanks, and to help me process this journey and make the most of it, as a human and as a writer. I had lessons to learn, lessons I want to share, and lessons my friends learned from helping me through this. Suffering can build character and compassion, and the world can always use more of both.

Within a week of diagnosis, my husband and I were introduced to the cancer team at Wesley Long hospital. They had already assessed my biopsy and mammogram reports and could give me a diagnosis and plan for treatment. New 3-D mammogram technology had discovered my first lump before it could be felt by me or the doctors, and it did not appear to have spread to my lymph nodes. (The second lump would surprise us a few weeks later.) More than 80% of breast cancer is now diagnosed in early stages in the US, and we have many treatments. My cancer was less life-threatening than life-altering.

A physical therapist named Marti Smith was the last team member to visit me, and she described another therapist as a ‘survivor.’ I asked when I could call myself a survivor.

She smiled and said, “You are one now.” 

Originally published on A Shepard’s View on BlogSpot, October 10, 2017