The harder I try to find my place among the well, and to live up to my expectations of the survivor’s journey, the more I experience a dissonance between what should be and what is. Even acknowledging this schism feels impossible: I’ve already put my parents through so much, and I don’t want to worry them with the challenges I am facing now. My medical team is focused on cancer, not its aftermath. Painfully aware that the struggles of recovery are a privilege many don’t get to experience, I’m afraid of sounding ungrateful—or worse yet, insensitive to those dealing with far scarier unknowns.
