be, do, accept and receive

I posted a note a few weeks on Facebook that we started a Compassion Fund for a young woman with metastatic breast cancer. This is Renee. She was 32.  If you find her page on Facebook, she was beloved by so many people. The notes to Renee and family are heartbreaking and full of love, yet hopeful for a perfect stillness in the space of this loss. I never got to meet her but I am forever changed because our lives crossed in a peripheral way.

There was the loss of another bright light last week as well. A member of the Komen 3 Day for the Cure/Event 360 family, Bridget Spence died after 9 years of living with stage IV breast cancer. She was 29.

Then, there is Jennifer, the sister of a very special friend. She died last February after living 10 years with metastases of breast cancer to her liver, lungs, bone and brain. She was 43. 

There is a sadness I hold for the loss of these women, and the loss of a dear family friend to prostate cancer last year, that is so palpable I taste it in the back of my throat, making it hard to swallow.

So many beloved people gone, way too soon.

The loss of these beautiful young women, and the other 109 people who will die from breast cancer today, is a loss for us all. We ALL lose out. Whatever contributions they would have made in their lifetimes are lost. What promise would the world have held for them? Those who loved them will never get to find out and that is tragic.

There are tears today, but more than the tears I feel a swelling of deep frustration at the status quo within the breast cancer industry. I hope to personally light the flame in others with a new resolve  and full-force dedication to helping all people who are living with breast cancer gain access to quality care and services.

These women’s short lives deserve our best efforts to move into a new era of cancer prevention, strict regulations on cancer-causing toxins, and funding research which would make a cancer diagnosis more survivable. We can eradicate cancer as a life threatening disease, I really believe it.

Let’s make a commitment today be present and engaged in the moment (put down your cell phone!), tell the people we love that we love them, be kind, be generous, laugh every day, and let’s give of ourselves expecting nothing in return – let’s live this life fully and zestfully. This is the best way I know to honor the loss of these beloved people, and countless others.

Note from Renee’s Sister:

On Thursday, April 11th 2013, at 3:30 a.m., Renee Heidtman, my best friend and beautiful sister left this world for another. At 32 years old, she accomplished so much. She was a teacher, a lover, a model and a pillar of strength for others. In her short life, she has touched and loved so many around her. She died in the presence of those who loved her. Memorials will be planned for both Michigan and San Francisco. Invitations will be sent for late May. May peace be with all of you during this difficult time. Renee taught me to be, do, accept and receive love. So be, do, accept and receive, and you will carry her close in your heart.

The funds we collected for the Compassion Fund, almost $5,000 in 24 hours, will be put to use by the family.