Most people who know me in meatspace do not know that I ever had cancer. I intend to keep it that way.
If you do know me outside of the internet... I can explain please keep it our secret.

2020.10.07 was the day I had the surgery that gave me yet another lease at life.

I had a simple celebration at home with my mum and aunt (as we are currently living with my aunt to keep her company.) We had strawberry chiffon cake and some New York-style pizza. Most places don't get NY pizza right, but this one place does. (I haven't actually been to New York, so I am not the best judge of that.)

The funny part is, I never bothered to celebrate the anniversary of being resuscitated after going into cardiac arrest, roughly seven years ago. I was very nearly a table death that time. Of course, having suffered that changed my life in fundamental ways -- my tolerance to exercise was reduced, and my previously benign cardiac arrhythmia eventually became a full right bundle branch block.

I was in denial when I first received confirmation that I had cancer. I knew I had it as soon as the masses grew larger and started to cause me pain, because I was already a medical intern at the time. Part of me did not want to believe that it was true because I was, in the words of my mentors, "too young to get cancer", and neither did my surgeon. It was probably for this reason that he asked my cardiologist to break the news to me.

Immediately after waking up from the six-hour operation, I immediately felt relief in two ways -- I was still alive (I've been depressed for many years, but I've made enough failed attempts to realise that I really didn't want to die whenever I tried,) and the pain from the masses was gone!

Sure, I felt numb and sore from having large incisions in my body, but I bore the pain for two years before the surgery, all because my mentors (who I consulted in my last year of medical school) told me to "just drink pain medications" and that I didn't "really need a biopsy taken for such a small mass" at the time.

This made me realise that despite the situation we're all experiencing right now, there's still so much for me to be grateful for.

If you know someone who has or had cancer, be there for them while you can. It is truly draining for both the patient and their loved ones, but having people around us really means a lot.

I can say this more than just because I'm a doctor, but because I also experienced cancer myself.