Do you consider yourself a lymphoma survivor?

[LCAdmin]

Survivor has been used to describe someone that has won their fight against cancer. Although, some “Lymphoma Survivors” have said they don’t think ``SURVIVOR`` is the best term to use. What are your thoughts? And if not “Survivor.” What?

[vaughanreid]

Just a thought I’d like to share with you. Nobody I’ve ever talked to, who has had this disease and is still around, likes the term “survivor”. It’s become entrenched in the language of cancer talk but it’s not how we see ourselves. “Survivor” connotes something heroic. Personally, I just got sick & the combination of science and luck kept me around. Us “survivors” just got better, but we each remember the person who was hooked up beside us in chemo who didn’t. Only “survivor” guilt really applies. I wish I had something better to suggest (and I’ve given it a lot of thought) but I can’t come up with the right word. I wonder what other folks think? Is there a better word?

[Tinkerbellcgy]

I tend to think of myself as an "adversity winner" in that twice now I have dealt with adversity and come out the victor. When I was first diagnosed in 2008, I coined what has become my mantra which is - "I chose to face adversity with courage and positivity". It has carried me through and I am now a two-time adversity winner.

As for "survivor guilt" mentioned in the above post, I refuse to feel guilty that I have survived while others may not have. We are all unique and all different and what may have worked for me does not mean that it will work for everyone. My day will come when the next treatment won't work for me and I won't make it to be able to claim yet another title of adversity winner. I do not expect anyone to feel sorry for me or have any sort of guilt that their treatment is successful while mine may not be. It's the cycle of life and death and no guilt whatsoever should be involved in that.