Priyanka Sharma, SAP SuccessFactors Consultant at Accenture, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“October has been a special month all my life. It’s my birthday month, but it has also witnessed some of the most personal, life-changing moments of my journey.
My surgery was planned in October, and my treatment finally ended in October 2020.
October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, something I had never even known before my own diagnosis.
And somehow, six years later, I found myself in Paris on 30th September, witnessing the Eiffel Tower lit up in pink, marking the beginning of Pink October and symbolising breast cancer awareness.
Standing there, just two days before my birthday, felt unexpectedly emotional.
Life has its own way of connecting the dots, sometimes in ways we only understand much later.
I was born in October. My treatment ended in October. And six years later, I was standing in Paris, watching the Eiffel Tower turn pink, connected to a month that became so deeply personal to me, even though I knew nothing about it before my diagnosis.
Maybe it’s just a beautiful coincidence. Or maybe life has its own way of bringing us back to moments that carry a deeper meaning.
For me, it felt like a full circle, a quiet reminder of how far I have come, and perhaps a reminder that some of the hardest experiences in our lives can also teach us something and give us a reason to create awareness for someone else.
It’s my birthday today. And while I absolutely want to celebrate, I also want to pause and reflect on my healing journey and use this moment to talk about something that matters deeply to me, the importance of awareness and early diagnosis.
Breast cancer can affect younger women too, and I believe we need to talk about it more openly. Awareness should not begin only when something feels serious. It should become a part of how we take care of ourselves.
So, to all the women and to men, please be aware of your bodies and what they may be trying to tell you.
Pay attention to changes that persist. Don’t ignore something simply because you think you’re ‘too young.’ Know your normal, and seek medical advice when something doesn’t feel right.
Sometimes, awareness can be the difference between noticing something and overlooking it.
This birthday, I’m grateful for life, for healing, for the journey that brought me here, and for the opportunity to turn a deeply personal experience into a reminder for someone else.
Here’s to another year of life, healing, awareness and hope.”
You can also read: Vanessa Trump’s Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Surgery, Treatment Updates, and What Remains Unknown
