Life can be simple and straight forward; simple, not easy

By Kelsey Butler '13, '14
Published Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. When life throws you a curveball, you better swing for the fences.

Why is it when you have played all of the right cards and everything is in place that life seems to shake things up? Sally Anne Nisberg '04 '06 was grateful for the wonderful life she had, but with the flip of a switch the rug was ripped from beneath her feet. Her spirits crushed, hope dashed, and faith shrunk when she was informed she had breast cancer. She assures there is a reason for every curveball we are thrown.

To Sally, treating and fighting cancer is not the tough part, but rather the aftermath. Treatment had a plan – a start and a finish. Life after treatment was supposed to be the happy ending where life returns to normal. Sally said, “Having cancer is a transformative experience for many and leaves most survivors asking, ‘Now what?’”

Cancer causes a change, a real change, something deeper and more life altering than normal that allows survivors to work on their thoughts, language, and core beliefs.

Sally decided it was her duty as a survivor to help other survivors pick themselves up and find peace.  “Too many [survivors] feel an exhausting blend of confusion, anger, guilt, resentments, and overwhelming uneasiness – fearing the unknown.”  Realizing they are not in control of their own bodies and their own lives can leave them feeling alone.

Sally welcomes the survivors to the other side and helps them realize there is life after cancer. She strived to help survivors realize, “We all have the power to heal ourselves; to achieve a sense of renewal, purpose, joy, and genuine balance again.”