26 Quotes by Brett M. Cordes

Fighting the disease is hard enough, even when you are completely focused on just that. Extra time and effort spent worrying about the situation can be detrimental to your body's physical health.

Cancer represents a very specific, emotional uniqueness of your body failing you, generally through no fault of your own. But please know that no matter how hard or bad you believe your situation to be, there is somebody out there who's got it worse.

When I was initially diagnosed with cancer, I questioned God's reasoning for giving me such a debilitating disease. But then it dawned on me: He chose me to give this disease because He knew that I could handle it!

I had been looking forward to actually beginning to fight this disease, this foreign invader that had kidnapped my spirit and ransacked my body )like the Dothraki in Game of Thrones would have certainly done.)

But every time I felt upset, depressed, or plain pissed off, I remembered a piece of advice a former English teacher had give me: "Why wait until tomorrow to feel better?" This made complete sense to me when I'd thought how many times I'd thought, "Well, tomorrow will be another day... a new day!" What's wrong with today? What's wrong with right now?

See, what had happened was that the Versed had caused retrograde amnesia, the side-effects of the Morphine disappearing caused my bowels to start moving again, and the alcohol I guess had just prevented my mind from appreciating these facts until the last possible second ...or not. Good times.

My name is Brett Cordes and I just want to let you know that I'm standing here right now because you saved my life 12 years ago." There. Was. Silence. "I know who you are," his voice quivered just above a whisper as he walked over to the bookshelf and grabbed my father's letter. "Your father wrote me this letter about a year after you finished treatment, and I've kept it ever since and show it to all my residents and fellows ...to show them why we do what we do.

It was in that moment that not only did I experience my lowest point through my cancer journey, but as I look back, I realize that I also experienced one of my most empowering.

As it turned out, everyone knew that I had cancer. That is, everyone except me.