Sally Wolf: The fastest and slowest 9 months I’ve ever known

Sally Wolf, CEO & Founder, LightWorks, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“There is a part of me that will probably always associate the week after Labor Day with new beginnings, and this year is no different. Although 14 years have passed since I last went back to school, this time of year still always feels ripe with promise, opportunity, growth and spiritual rebirth. And no year has that sentiment resonated quite as deeply with me as 2016.

The past 9 months have simultaneously been the fastest and slowest I’ve ever known.

December 1st it was suspicious.
December 10th it was biopsied.
December 17th it was cancer. Breast cancer.

Everything that followed is admittedly still a bit of a blur, but one thing that was clear for me from the outset was that I needed to live this journey offline before I could share it online. I also knew that, when the time felt right, I wanted to share it more openly.

Today is the eve of the annual Komen walk in NYC, an event that has become an annual tradition with my sister and our now 27 year survivor mom. I vividly remember the myriad of emotions I felt when we first participated almost 20 years ago, seeing the signs on nearly every walker’s back that honored or remembered loved ones. Never could I have imagined last September that I would participate in my next walk, tomorrow, for the first time as a survivor myself.

This year has simultaneously been the most challenging and most beautiful I have ever known. I felt tremendous fear, anxiety, sadness and even loneliness in my fight, but I never felt alone. It truly takes a village to fight cancer, and I have been humbled by the love and support of family and friends, as well as an incredible team at the Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai. And for that I am incredibly and immeasurably grateful.

I hope to write more about experience and the many lessons I’ve learned along the way soon. For now, though, I am realizing this is already my lengthiest and most personal social media post yet, and in the spirit of baby steps, this already feels incredibly vulnerable. But it also finally feels necessary.

Brene Brown, one of my favorite authors and speakers, has said: “When we deny the story, it defines us. When we own the story, we can write a brave new ending.”

So here is to brave new endings, and brave new beginnings too, as I more publicly share my journey as a cancer survivor. Life won’t ever be the same as it was before, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be better!

***

I reposted this now as most of you began following along here long after this moment I “began.” I was so nervous to post, and then so grateful I did. Looking back now, I believe there is no singular right time to start, just that moment your heart says it feels right (which was easier for me to honor than “ready”!). What do you think?

photo: My “love” necklace is exactly what I felt from all the post replies!”

Source: Sally Wolf/LinkedIn