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12 Lessons in 12 Years: Honoring My Cancerversary

Amy English

December 2, 2013. Twelve years ago, I got the phone call that changed my life: breast cancer. Every year since, I’ve marked this day as my cancerversary. For me, it’s a day of reflection, gratitude, and honoring the journey.


What I didn’t realize at the time was how much this diagnosis would also shine a light on my relationship with food. In the chaos of treatment and fear, I saw clearly how often I turned to food for safety and comfort and how much shame I carried because of it. That realization was pivotal. It opened the door to healing not just my body but my emotional eating habits, and it planted the seed for the work I do today.


Last year, I shared the story of how it all began, the pimple, the lump, the diagnosis, and the way intuition carried me through. This year, I want to share something different: 12 lessons I’ve learned in 12 years. These lessons came not just from cancer, but from the healing, the cycle‑breaking, and the living that followed.



Lesson 1: Trust Your Intuition

My story began with something as small as a pimple. Listening to that whisper saved my life. Intuition rarely shouts—it nudges. Trusting my intuition didn’t just save me once; it has guided every decision since.


Lesson 2: Fear Doesn’t Mean Stop

Fear is information. It’s a signal that something matters. When I felt panic at the radiologist’s words, fear didn’t mean freeze—it meant act, gather support, and prepare myself.


Lesson 3: Your Body Is Not the Enemy

For years, I treated my body like a project to fix. Cancer shifted that. My body wasn’t betraying me—it was asking me to listen. My body is my partner, my home, my teacher.


Lesson 4: Food Is Not the Problem; Disconnection Is

Food was never the enemy. Disconnection was. Healing meant reconnecting with my feelings, my body, and my truth.


Lesson 5: Stress Eating Is a Signal, Not a Failure

After my diagnosis, I turned to food for comfort and quickly gained 30 pounds. At the time, I thought I had failed. What I’ve learned is that stress eating isn’t weakness—it’s communication. It’s your body saying, I need safety, I need comfort. When we shift from judgment to curiosity, we discover that food is a messenger, not the enemy. That realization became the seed of Fat2Fierce®.


Lesson 6: Healing Is Not Linear

Recovery came in waves—progress, setbacks, breakthroughs, pauses. Healing is messy, unpredictable, and deeply human. Don’t expect perfection. Expect process.


Lesson 7: Advocacy Starts with Honesty

I didn’t set out to be an advocate. I simply told the truth—about cancer, food, and intuition. Honesty opened doors for others to share their truth too.


Lesson 8: Legacy Matters More Than Perfection

Perfection is a trap. What matters is legacy—the impact we leave, the courage we model, the stories we tell.


Lesson 9: Community Is Medicine

Friends, family, coaches, healers—community carried me when I couldn’t carry myself. Healing is collective, and community is medicine.


Lesson 10: Cycle‑Breaking Takes Courage and Repetition

Breaking cycles of shame and secrecy isn’t a one‑time act. It’s daily courage, practiced again and again. Every time you choose differently, you rewrite your story.


Lesson 11: Success Is Alignment, Not Achievement

For years, I measured success by numbers—pounds lost, goals achieved, boxes checked. Twelve years later, I measure success by alignment. Am I living in truth? Am I honoring my body? Am I aligned with my mission? That’s success.


Lesson 12: Listening Saves Lives

If there’s one lesson that ties all the others together, it’s this: listening saves lives. Listening to my body, my intuition, my story. That small whisper—the pimple, the nudge—was all about listening. Twelve years later, I see how listening has carried me through every cycle I’ve broken and every truth I’ve told. Listening is more than hearing—it’s honoring. And sometimes, the smallest whisper is the loudest truth.


Honoring the Cancerversary Journey

Twelve years later, I’m still here. Still listening and still following the breadcrumbs. Cancerversaries remind me that life is fragile, but also fierce.


I wanted to share these 12 lessons as reminders for myself and for anyone who finds them helpful. May they help you trust yourself, honor your journey, and keep listening to that quiet voice inside. Because sometimes, it’s the whisper that saves us.



xo,

Amy


Amy English

Life Coach | Fat2Fierce®


Break the Overeating Cycle. Build Self-Trust. Be Free in Your Body.

 
 
 

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