Enjoying the Holidays as a Cancer Warrior
- Cancer survivors and warriors like country star Ashley Monroe, General Hospital actor Cameron Mathison, Girl-Scout-Cookie-selling phenom Lilly Bumpus and Illusionist Criss Angel’s Son, Johnny are all enjoying the holiday season in their own way. And despite everything they’ve gone through recently, they all seem to be embracing the holiday spirit.
- The holiday season can be challenging for cancer survivors who struggle mentally around this time of year and also cancer patients who may not want their cancer to be the focus of holiday gatherings.
- Dr. Marianna Strongin, a licensed psychologist, recommends focusing on being your "authentic self" and explaining to family and friends why you don't want to focus on your cancer during this joyful time.
Ashley Monroe
Country music star Ashley Monroe shared the news of her non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosis over the summer, but recently she announced she completed her chemotherapy treatments.
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“Make you blue â¤ï¸ðŸ’šðŸ’™ Thank you to everyone who tuned into the Pistol Annies 'Hell of a Holiday' special last night. The performances will still be up on @pistolannies Facebook page if you missed it!” she wrote on Instagram.
Cameron Mathison
General Hospital star Cameron Mathison is a kidney cancer survivor who not only knows what it's like to overcome cancer, but also to lose someone to the disease. He lost his mother to brain cancer in October.
But despite all the heartbreak he’s had this year, the resilient cancer survivor is determined to have a great holiday and enjoy quality time with his family as they ski and enjoy the snow in Vail, Colorado. He’s big on Christmas traditions, and the 52-year-old actor is making sure one of his favorites honors the legacy of his mother, Loretta.
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"We bake sugar cookies every Christmas," Mathison told Soap.com. "My mom was a kid growing up with her mom and she did it with me and my brother as kids. And now, my kids do it. There are so many traditions that we do."
Lilly Bumpus
Lilly Bumpus is a 9-year-old Girl Scout who survived pediatric cancer and has a whole lot of heart. She was born with Ewing sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that is often found in children and young adults, and still deals with treatment side effects today. Even still, she didn’t let that stop her from breaking the Girl Scout cookie sales record for most boxes sold in a single season. She ended up selling more than 32,000 boxes of cookies this year despite operating in a world ensnared by the pandemic.
"My favorite thing about Lilly is that she never gives up," her mother, Trish, previously told SurvivorNet. "So, Lillybug got to 10,000 boxes one week into Girl Scout cookie season. Never, ever has that happened. So we went from there. I then approached Girl Scouts and said, 'What happens now if she sells 20,000 boxes?' And they said, '20,000 boxes, yeah, okay.' So we said, 'Game on.' So then we sold on and sold on, and she got into 20,000 boxes."
"And then we went to 32,000," added Lilly.
So, what is our favorite Girl Scout doing around the holidays? Fostering another kitten. She’s been known to foster many, more than 30 this year to be exact, but something seems so special about giving your time and energy to somebody or some kitten in need of extra help this holiday season.
Criss Angel’s Son, Johnny
Another childhood cancer warrior enjoying the holiday season is Johnny Christopher the eldest son of famed illusionist Criss Angel and his wife Shaunyl Benson. Johnny, 7, was just 20 months old when he was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, in October 2015. After three years of treatment, his cancer went into remission.
Then, in December 2019, Angel announced that his then 5-year-old son had relapsed and would begin chemotherapy treatments again. Now, with the end of his treatments drawing near, Johnny has a lot to celebrate this holiday season.
"He goes into hospital for his last immune therapy hookup next week, just in time for Christmas," Benson wrote in an Instagram caption. "God continues to give our family strength daily, and I know this incredible boy will change the world, just with his story alone."
And despite the fact that Johnny’s been battling the disease for so much of his young life, he always seems to know how to keep a smile on his face. In the spirit of Christmas shenanigans, Johnny decided to play a prank on his little brother by dressing up as Bigfoot and surprising him.
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“So Johnny Crisstopher decided to create and direct a video. He came up with the entire content himself and wanted to share it here with you all 😂ðŸ˜,” his mother wrote on Instagram. “We are so proud of this little boy and who he has grown into. He has the purest heart and kindest soul, and he is full of love and positive energy. He truly is a special warrior of God… 2022 is a huge year for Johnny Crisstopher! Bring on the bell 🔔 🎗🎈”
Celebrating the Holidays as a Cancer Survivor
There's no denying that the holiday season can be tough for people with cancer. Clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin explains that the holidays can be more intense than other times of the year, and that they tend to serve as a marker where cancer patients are currently in their lives and in their cancer journeys. So, if you're having a hard time remaining positive during this season that's supposed to be filled with so much joy, consider the advice Dr. Strongin previously shared with SurvivorNet.
"For patients who are going through a difficult moment, it becomes a real lens into what's happening for them because they can remember the holidays the year before or even the year before that," Dr. Strongin said. "And it becomes a sense of reality when they know that this is going to be the year that's marked by this (a cancer battle or diagnosis)."
The holiday season can create challenges for people fighting cancer, says Dr. Marianna Strongin
If you find that you identify with what Dr. Strongin is saying, she tells us that she has a challenge for you this holiday season.
"I really challenged (cancer patients) to kind of take this holiday as it is, to find the joy in it, to find ways to accept the reality of where they are in this time and space," she said.
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