A bit about me

My name is Suzanne Moss. I was diagnosed in June of 2008 with double breast cancer. I am a Reiki master and received my certificate in 2005 from Lilydale.

Symptoms and diagnosis

It all started when I discovered a lump. I felt a little itch so I scratched, and I found a lump. My mother had breast cancer so I suspected it might be something serious. So I went to the doctor. I had a mammogram, and they did a biopsy. When I went back they told me that it was cancer.

Treatment underwent

I had already made up my mind that I was not going to do any conventional healing. So I just kind of left the doctor's office. My friend helped me do a lot of research into a lot of cures around the country. I started my journey holistically with the herbs and the other treatments.

Taking a holistic approach to treatment

My family was very upset that I decided to go holistically instead of just listening to what the doctors had to say. I felt very alone as if I was fighting my own battle. Most doctors definitely won't agree if you are going to do a holistic cancer treatment. They argued with me. A lot of doctors even refused to see me after that. So I ended up just going back to a family practitioner, whom I had known my whole life. But now doctors are coming around and some of them are actually wanting to know what I did, which is amazing.

Support system 

My father and a few close friends were my support system. I have a great group of friends who are in the Reiki community. I didn't join any cancer support group or anything like that. 

Lifestyle changes

Mostly, I can see my lifestyle changed in a way like healthy eating, but my attitude changed tremendously. I mean, every day is a new day. Every day is to start over, and a chance to forgive and to spread love as much as you can. I have realised that life is short so you don't know how long you have. And when doctors put a time limit on your life it is so wrong because, in the beginning, they told me that I wouldn't even make it past a year and a half. But it will be 14 years this year.

Positive changes

I can get up with a smile every day because I know it's not going to last very long. I have started to count my blessings and appreciate what I have. This keeps me going and helps me to believe that I am going to make it. 

Message to the survivors and caregivers 

I want cancer patients and caregivers to never stop believing in themselves. Never stop believing in your treatment. Always remember that you are going to be fine because you can't let doubt creep in. After all, that will just create havoc on your emotions. You should try to stay stress-free and keep believing. You should believe someday everything is going to be fine. 

Cancer awareness

I think that there's a need to bring a lot of awareness to the public. I don't know about other countries but we have the pink ribbons here. Everybody supports cancer patients. But when it comes to awareness, people are unaware and are still afraid. I think we are afraid of what we don't understand. People, especially in developing countries, are really very concerned when they have to talk about cancer, so they still hide it and don't want to disclose if they have cancer.

So I think it's mostly due to the lack of awareness. People are not so open about it. They're still afraid of the disease called cancer. I think people should accept it and embrace it and learn from it. It's hard for them to connect to cancer patients. I know this because of my own experience. They struggle to say anything. They don't know how to act around you. I would ask them to treat cancer patients as their friends. You're not going to catch it so be their support system. Don't assume that they're just okay by themselves. Be around and love them.