Cancer Taught Me: Clare’s Story

Full disclosure: I am not a cancer survivor. I am a nurse and therapist. My career has given me the unique opportunity to be with patients and their loved ones/caregivers when a cancer diagnosis shatters their lives and to be with them when they come to the acceptance of living with cancer -- and for some, the acceptance of dying with dignity.

My patients have taught me the strength of the human spirit.

These meaningful relationships have changed how I live my life. I believe that life can be short, but we can choose to make it wide. How we live is a choice. In spite of cancer diagnoses or other misfortunes in our lives, we get to choose how we live each day.

Cancer has taught me that life is precious and there are no guarantees. I choose to live one day at a time with attention and intention. I choose to be grateful. I choose to live a wide, joy-filled life.

- Clare Wilson, RN, MS, Cancer Care Coordinator
Tunnell Cancer Center