Cancer Survivor Determined To Succeed

Hello Everyone,

My name is Jamie, I'm 23 years old and I am a Cancer Survivor. I'd have to say it all started in 8th grade. I had begun gaining weight. I played sports and I didn't over-eat, yet I kept gaining weight. I suppose I didn't really know how to voice my concerns. I was just a kid, a confused kid at that. As a kid I was just upset with what the kids were saying on the playground. Fast forward to High School, still gaining weight. I tried to explain to people that I didn't know why I was gaining weight and was always met with the "Perhaps you need to exercise more" or "Are you sure you're not eating more than you say you are?". I soon became discouraged. Doctors kept testing my blood pressure, but it was perfectly normal. Then they wanted to test for Diabetes which came back negative. I've always been Outgoing, Funny, Nice, and just an all around Awesome person to be around. I'm also Modest too lol. But underneath everything, I was unhappy with my life because I felt like the people in my life just thought I was making excuses and I was actually just lazy, rather than there being something wrong with me. I graduated High School in June of 2007, and in March of 2008 (a before my birthday) I was told I had Cancer. I was finally told the words I longed to hear for so many years "It's not your fault", but I couldn't even enjoy it because it came at a price. I had to put College on hold, and everything became about fighting for my future. When you have to fight for your future you truly gain a sense of how precious life is and easily it can be taken from you. Fast forward to now, I've gone through treatments, radiation and surgery. I am now in remission and I want the life that was supposed to be mine. I will not accept that I have to live this way. I will not be stopped. I will not be defeated. As long as I am breathing, I am motivated. Sorry I wrote so much. To those of you who read the whole thing, I should send you a T-shirt or something lol.