What a lovely Easter! If you follow me on facebook, you may have seen that I had beautiful times with church family and good friends on Sunday. Today I enjoyed a fun walk with my daughter in the morning, then my middle son tuned up my bike and we went cycling together – not super fast nor far, but I enjoyed the wind in my hair and the sun on my face. We went about 7km, which is a little over 4 miles, and it felt good to be out, moving this body and spending time with my son! This evening I let my oldest help with the taxes! 🙂
It was really good to celebrate the resurrection by being with people who I love and who love me, and being active in the beautiful spring weather! So much to be thankful for! So much joy! I can’t tell you how thankful we are for these meds which are holding back the cancer. We hope they will work for a long time!
Our church publishes daily reflections written by members of our congregation each day of Lent. This year I was given the honour of writing the Easter Sunday one, which I share with you below. We are resurrection people with much reason to rejoice and celebrate! I hope you are experiencing deep joy today and every day.
Easter Sunday, the Resurrection of the Lord Jill Hamer-Wilson
Isaiah 65:17–25; Psalm 118:1–2, 14–24; 1 Corinthians 15:19–26; John 20:1–18
I faced a terrible diagnosis in 2013. Lung cancer research means better treatments, and I grow healthier with each one. By the grace of God I am alive and thankful, and doing what I can to improve outcomes for people affected by lung cancer. I love people affected by lung cancer. If you know someone affected by lung cancer, please connect with me.
Isaiah paints a beautiful promise. God is creating new heavens and new earth, where there will be no more weeping. One who dies at 100 will be considered a youth! Everyone will live in houses and eat the fruit from their vineyards: no one, nothing will prevent God’s people from enjoying the work of our hands. God loves us and is making good for us.
Do you ever wonder if God hears you when you pray? Do you wonder if he hears when you cry out in the night? God says of his beloved children, before they call I will answer, while they are yet speaking I will hear.
Do you hear that? God is always listening, always ready and willing to answer when we pray. Listen to God, have faith, choose hope!
Hear the Psalmist speak praise and lift your voice to join in.
The LORD is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation. / I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. /This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
There is hope beyond this life. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. Through Jesus, the dead experience resurrection. Hope against hope, Mary saw the risen Jesus and was honoured to share the good news.
We can see God’s good work every day. Lord, open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our heart to receive your love and to love
They are beautiful and delicious! If you want one, you’d better pop in for a visit soon!
Five years ago I was feeble and fragile, just finished my fifth round of chemotherapy, having coughed for months before diagnosis, still coughing because although chemo helped, it didn’t really help that much. Facebook just reminded me of that time with a photo of some of the many gorgeous flowers that beautiful people sent to us to encourage us, because we all need encouragement, especially when we are travelling rough places in our road.
Another gorgeous gift!
Gerberas are the happiest flowers!
I could hardly talk, couldn’t do much more than lie on the couch looking at beautiful flowers. I pushed myself hard, not wanting to give up one millimetre to lung cancer, but even so, those were difficult days. Some of my friends are going through hard times like this now. Those were hard days, because no matter how tough I was or how hard I pushed, lung cancer kept pushing harder, and chemo sure wasn’t doing the job.
Thankfully lung cancer research made a difference for me. I’ve been on a series of targeted therapy drugs for almost five years now, and they have been -not without side effects- better than chemotherapy.
I’m alive and well, and now I’m still fighting! I’m not fighting for my life at the moment, but I’m fighting for others, including those who have not yet been diagnosed.
I’m thankful that I’m not fighting alone. Here are a few of my terrific teammates gathered in Atlanta for the AACR Annual Conference:
Lung cancer research has been neglected, and I can’t understand why. New treatments are game changers, so let’s keep going and make a great life and death difference for more people! Let’s find new targeted therapies to work for more of the lung cancer patients. Let’s turn more patients into survivors!
Lung Cancer needs a little more love, and a lot more research money. More research money means more survivors. Look at me! I’m alive and I’m living life! I’m celebrating life every day because every day is a gift to be celebrated!
A bunch of us -lung cancer patients and others- are walking the Ottawa Race Week-end 2K this May 25. Come join us! We’re going to have a great time! We’re getting tee shirts! We’re just getting started! Stay tuned for more details, and sign up to join our team please! We are “Lung Cancer Team Canada”, and we’re raising $$ for Lung Cancer Canada. Here’s the link.
People matter. People with lung cancer matter. Lung Cancer #ResearchMatters . Tell everybody!
This past week has been one of the best of my life! It has been enormously transformational: I will never be the same. What an honour to represent Canada, to represent lung cancer, and to help spread a little bit of the tremendous amount of hope which is available.
I come home a new person with a deeper calling. I have an even bigger love for people affected by lung cancer, a stronger passion to make things better, and an unbendable will to work hard toward that goal.
It was an honour and responsibility to represent Canada and to represent lung cancer patients at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. I worked hard to make you all proud.
Twenty-three thousand people dedicated to fighting cancer gathered in Atlanta, and I wish I could have met them all! Thank you MP Catherine McKenna and your team for the Canada flag pins! I gave out almost 100 Canadian flag pins, and well over 100 business cards, telling our lung cancer story every time. I was honoured by these cancer fighters, and met brilliant leaders in the field, people who cared and listened. They are dedicated to improving outcomes for cancer patients, and research makes a difference! More research means more survivors. I thanked them for their work, and felt honoured when they thanked me for mine.
On my way to share my advocacy story at my poster session
I have many stories to tell, many photo’s to post, and more video posts to come on YouTube. I have been honoured to bring hope to people affected by lung cancer and other cancers, living in Canada and around the world. It brings me tremendous joy to serve as a channel of hope for the lung cancer community. #ChooseHope! … and keep your eyes open for more
I’m so grateful for all I’ve been privileged to experience this past week. It was an honour to represent, and I will keep working hard for people affected by lung cancer.
Evening receptions were opportunities to spend time with stellar people
Through the Valley 