The Horseshoe

Cancer is a club you never want to join, but membership benefits still exist. The silver lining is that the club also brings you deeply authentic, vulnerable, and trusting people. 

Cancer patients and survivors often extend a listening ear, comforting word, or practical advice to lift others in the journey. They want to hold your hand as you walk through the dark forest, trying to avoid the branches of fear that trip you up.  They can’t always get you out of the woods, but they can clear the path and pull back the thorns. 

I recently sat around a picnic table with three women with similar diagnoses and mastectomy journeys.  We all understood the feelings of fear, uncertainty, and resilience.  Each of us was diagnosed in different years and stages of life, but the theme was clear.

There is a comfort in the vocabulary of cancer.  Expanders, drain tubes, and tamoxifen.  These are familiar words. I even learned a new word, “fboobs,” which is a shortcut to ‘fake boobs’.  Yes, all of us had fboobs.  :)

After a few hours of shared stories and soul-filling food, a bond solidified between us.  I had never felt so seen and heard. I ended up staying later than my usual bedtime. That’s how you know it’s a good conversation. 

Later, one friend posted about the experience and coined the perfect phrase.  It’s not a closed circle of trust.  It’s an open horseshoe of survivors.  A circle implies something limited only to those inside it.  However, a horseshoe is strong, circular, and open. A horseshoe also suggests luck. (Hey, there is a horseshoe in Lucky Charms, but don’t ask me how I know that).   

And I’m lucky to have this group of women. 

I want that for you, too. 

I’m officially welcoming you to this community called “The Horseshoe.”   We are all in this together.

If you are facing a mastectomy journey, I’m here for you. Download the “Top 10 Tips for Preparing for a Mastectomy” here.    

If you are on the other side of the mastectomy journey, share your story to support others here.