Comments from survivors about physical image and health

"I have learned that looks don’t have anything to do with who you are. I had a dent in my head. I hated that dent. I hated kids asking me about it. I had plastic surgery on that dent and it turned into a nightmare. Over the next three years, I had 65 more surgeries. But now I know that the dent was no big deal. It was just part of who I was. I look in the mirror now at the plastic surgery flap on my head and it looks worse than the dent ever did but I know that I am just fine the way I am. I am me and anyone who looks at me and judges me by my flap or scars I don’t want to know." Kaitlyn, 18

"My piece of advice to you is to do everything in your power to keep your body strong. This means that you must stay physically active and eat foods that will fuel your recovery. During my experience with cancer, I tried to eat healthy foods that were packed with nutrition such as protein smoothies. Foods like these helped to keep my immune system strong and my body feeling energized so that I could focus on battling my cancer. Exercise played a vital role in keeping my body strong during my battle with cancer. I found that if you can keep your body physically strong, it can help keep you strong mentally, warding off some of the degrading feelings that can arise from the loss of strength caused by cancer treatment." Alex, 18