Here are some things that I wish someone had shared with me while I was going through breast cancer.

No one, and I'm talking no one, knows how to behave with cancer. There is no training manual that tells you how to deal with this new level of “fear”. (Your emotions are running high, right off the charts.)

The guilt, anger, frustration; it takes a while to get your head around it. Give yourself. Don't be so hard on yourself.

If you do not behave like yourself, it's normal (Give yourself). If you are not appreciative of something, it's normal (Give yourself).

If no one can say anything right, it's normal (). I once said to someone very close, “It's not that you are doing anything wrong, it's that you are not doing anything right.” I really didn't know what “right” was. What was right to say or do to me on Tuesday was entirely different than on Thursday.

So maybe every now and then you might need to give someone else .

If you do not want to be around people you usually love being around, it's normal. (Give yourself)

If you just want to shut down, it's normal. (Give yourself)

If you are not feeling optimistic (that day, weekend, week). (Give yourself)

You can have as many individual passes as you need, and there is no expiration date, but never can you shut down & shut everyone out for more than 3 days.

If you know someone who is being hard on themselves and needs to know that it is all okay and let it go… give them a gift of...