Life is like a roller coaster ride.

Cancer:

Having diagnosed with any kind of terminal disease changes your life - whether that change is positive or negative is up to us. I have been diagnosed with cancer many years ago. Even though, I have been told again and again 'cancer' does not mean a death sentence any more, that is exactly what went through my mind. All of a sudden my illusion of living forever, OK, even a long life was destroyed. As much as I wanted to run and hid from it, I realize that it is one reality I cannot run from. From the first time I was diagnosed to the time I started treatment, a lot has changed in my life.
It is said, again and again, that cancer is no longer a death sentence  but you will not be able to see it any other way when it happened to you or to your loved ones, at least not at first. No matter how much you think you are prepared for it, when you heard the word "cancer," you panic. You feel suffocated  as if the very word is going to chock you to death - no pun intended. It is hard to believe that it happens to you or your loved one.
At first, I did not want to share the news with family and friends but eventually the news leaked out. Looking back, there were so many things which were going through  my mind and I want to understand and accept my sickness before I share the news with others. I was struggling to come to terms with my own immortality to give any thought to anybody else's feelings.
 In the past, I had no problem of praying about anything but that day, I could not pray. Even though a lot goes through my mind, the words refuse to come out of my mouth. I needed God's help desperately, yet, I could not find the words to express it to Him. All I can do is hold the HOLY SPIRIT to His word to pray for me.
At first, I did not want to tell people, but the news eventually leaked out. People send flowers,food, money, cards, encouraging words, prayed for me, prayed with me. Yet, they did not know what to say to me.  It felt like a wake, except I was still breathing. Something in me had died that day, but I was too numb to recognize what passed away. Later, I would learn that my life as I know it was over. A new life was a beginning.
Cancer sets me in a journey that would lead me through physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. It was a roller coaster ride. Along the way I met fascinating people and discovered God in a ways that I had never thought possible. It was a journey I was not prepared for but in the end, a journey I am not sorry I experienced.
Each person's journey is unique, whether you have been diagnosed with cancer, or whether you are trying to understand the experience of a family member or a friend who has been diagnosed with cancer.  It is not an easy journey but it is an enlightened one. And it would lead you into secret places in your heart, mind, and soul, you might never have known exist.
In general, life is like a roller coaster. The only requirement to get on the rid is to be born. Once we are get on the ride, we only have two choices. We can feel trapped, sick, terrified of every bend and cannot wait to get off. Or, we can believe that the track is our destiny and that God is in charge of the machine. Or, we can be left wondering if we might have been better off if we stayed and ride the carousel instead, which goes round and round on the same spot.