"People were reaching to me, and by golly, I reached out and grabbed back."
Kim Czepiga
When Kim Czepiga was diagnosed with breast cancer, she found that gaining knowledge was the best way to feel control over the situation.
"When someone is sitting in their doctor’s office expecting a good report, and they hear ‘I’m sorry, you have cancer,' I think for anyone hearing that news, time just slows to a crawl. To get out of that dark bucket of slow moving time, to crawl out, for me was to gain knowledge, and when I gained knowledge, I felt like I was gaining some control. So I gained knowledge about just how to love up your kids when you’re going through a crisis, and I gained knowledge about the type of cancer I had, and what my treatment options were, and what were my outside-of-the-box treatment options. And I went through spiritual counseling – I needed that. And it is easier to weather the storm when you connect with others.
"I’m a bit of an introvert, it may surprise my friends, and my first reaction was to hole up in a room by myself to try and deal with it, but as a matter of fact, the most helpful and healing thing I could do was to reach back and grab the hands of friends and family that were reaching toward me. And that’s when I really felt my own health and attitude turn around. People were reaching to me, and by golly, I reached out and grabbed back."
A mother of four young children, Kim Czepiga was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. Today, she is living with metastatic breast cancer, undergoing regular treatments. Kim enjoys the outdoors and being active: hiking, yoga. “It’s amazing how motivational cancer can be.”
Kim believes that there isn’t a greater gift that she can give others than hope, but doesn’t downplay the horror of a cancer diagnosis. She would tell other cancer patients that knowledge is power, but it is also up to you if you want advice.
For more stories on cancer survival, visit WNPR's Survivor Stories.
