By Lisa M. Belisle, MD, MPH
Originally published October 2, 2008, The Maine Switch

My Irish-Catholic grandmother had little patience for whiners. Complain to Nana and you would likely hear, “At least you have your arms and legs.” This meant: your life could be worse. Quit moaning.

My siblings and I always thought Nana’s anti-moaning admonishment was a little extreme. Of course we still had our arms and legs. Our limbs seemed a silly thing to be grateful for.

Lately, I’ve been very grateful for my arms and legs—and especially grateful for my cancer-free breasts. I recently spent the morning with Meg Wolff, a cancer survivor and author of Becoming Whole (Flow Books, 2006). Meg was diagnosed with bone cancer in 1988 at age 31. Ten years later she found out she had breast cancer. In the course of her cancer treatments, she had a breast and a leg removed.

Meg is now cancer-free. She changed her diet radically, embracing a macrobiotic approach (mostly grains, vegetables and beans), which she believes saved her life. She details her experiences in Becoming Whole, and advocates healthy eating on her blog. Meg just released her second book, Breast Cancer Exposed, available at www.megwolff.com.

Last year Meg was awarded the Spirit of Life Award at the Maine Cancer Foundation’s Cure Breast Cancer for ME Luncheon. This luncheon raises money for the Women’s Cancer Fund. Meg will be there again this fall, advocating a healthy diet and breast cancer awareness. This year's event takes place on October 1.

In addition to recognizing breast cancer awareness month on October 1 with Meg, I will be celebrating my son’s fifteenth birthday. Unfortunately, Campbell is very familiar with breast cancer. In the past six months, two of his high school classmates and fellow soccer/baseball players have watched their mothers undergo treatment for this disease. Prior to that, one of his classmates lost her mother to breast cancer, while another classmate/fellow soccer player lost his mother to ovarian cancer.

In the face of this sobering reality, I cannot help but be grateful for my own cancer-free life. I have two arms, two legs, and two breasts. Nana is no longer with us, but her spirit lives on.