We talk about the importance of a positive attitude a lot at SurvivorNet, but the reality of this disease is that a lot of people do have positive attitudes, and they still don’t survive.
MaryElizabeth Williams is a metastatic melanoma survivor. She understands the desire to look at someone who has cancer, and tell them everything is going to be OK. The natural instinct to be positive certainly makes sense — but it’s not always helpful. “You can want to live, you can say I want to be there for my kids. You can say I’m not going to let this get me down. And cancer really doesn’t necessarily care.”
MaryElizabeth wants to make it clear that she’s not cancer-free today because she had a better attitude than other people who didn’t make it to the other side of their cancer journeys. “I have watched people I loved who were as healthy as I was, who were as motivated as I was, who were as loved as I was not survive. That’s the truth about cancer.”
She certainly appreciates that she doesn’t have cancer right now — but she also acknowledges that she herself did not beat it. She credits science, medicine, and good luck with her recovery.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
We talk about the importance of a positive attitude a lot at SurvivorNet, but the reality of this disease is that a lot of people do have positive attitudes, and they still don’t survive.
MaryElizabeth Williams is a metastatic melanoma survivor. She understands the desire to look at someone who has cancer, and tell them everything is going to be OK. The natural instinct to be positive certainly makes sense — but it’s not always helpful. “You can want to live, you can say I want to be there for my kids. You can say I’m not going to let this get me down. And cancer really doesn’t necessarily care.”
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MaryElizabeth wants to make it clear that she’s not cancer-free today because she had a better attitude than other people who didn’t make it to the other side of their cancer journeys. “I have watched people I loved who were as healthy as I was, who were as motivated as I was, who were as loved as I was not survive. That’s the truth about cancer.”
She certainly appreciates that she doesn’t have cancer right now — but she also acknowledges that she herself did not beat it. She credits science, medicine, and good luck with her recovery.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
