Overcoming Adversity: Embracing Life with Metastatic Breast Cancer
At the 2023 Speaker Slam® Grand Slam, the Inspirational Speaking Finals held at CBC Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Lindsy Matthews took the stage with a five minute story and was named #3 Inspirational Speaker of the Year.
Transcript
I've always had a 5-year plan but two years ago that plan was wiped out and completely Rewritten into two simple Words Be Alive Now a couple months ago I had the opportunity to go learn how to surf in California and I met some awesome new friends and we all had one thing in common we were all ridiculously good-looking also cancer now 5 years ago I was diagnosed with cancer and 2 years ago I learned that it had turned to stage 4 metastatic breast cancer therefore incurable and it's my heightened perspective on life that made me say yes to the surfing trip in the first place
and I learned so much it was symbolic to my life in so many ways there I was on the first day in the freezing cold ocean surrounded by sharks if anyone's asking and the fear was real what if I couldn't do this I've been through a lot the these past 5 years what if I wasn't strong enough to paddle out anymore what if I injured myself on the Rocks what if I couldn't get back through the crashing waves the what ifs can be crippling and in my life my fear of the future or lack thereof can be crippling too have you ever noticed that we're
all really good at creating the worst case scenarios what if we use the power of our imaginations to create the best case scenarios and then let's take that one step further and be brave enough to believe it to be true a little while ago I was joking around at home with my son and he thought it was going to be so hilarious that he would be taller than me one day immediately the intrusive thought I'll never know what it's like to hug my son when he's taller than me now it's taken me some time but I have learned that the key to staying positive is
to challenge those types of thoughts and beliefs and do the mental work for me personally consistent meditation has been a game changer do I know for sure that I won't be able to do that in the future no I don't is there a way that I can make this moment amazing for both of us right now yeah there is so I told him to stand up on our living room couch and hug me as tight as he's ever hugged me and as we both giggled it felt so good to let myself be in the future recently my daughter asked me if I was excited for
her to go to University and am I going to miss her if she decides to go far away immediately I thought it's going to take a literal miracle for me to be able to drop her off in a dorm room one day or will it do I know for sure that's true no I don't is there a chance that the best case scenario could play out yes yeah there is so in that moment I decided to tell her the truth I said of course I was excited for her no matter what she decided to do and I'm going to be the proudest mom in the
world and if she decides to go far away she knows that I'll always be with her even when I'm not but the best part was then we got to talk about her hopes and dreams and I was able to pull the excitement of those future moments into the present now living a life with such an uncertain future ahead is hard for sure just like learning how to surf is hard but I have found that when those waves of fear grief and anxiety come it's best to just ride them out as for surfing I will admit I was having a little bit more trouble riding those
waves my body was sore I was disappointed that I wasn't trying harder and doing better and I really missed home home but then on the last day I got a wakeup call more specifically a wakeup text a friend who shared my diagnosis had passed away and it hit me hard I thought she can't surf anymore but I can and it gave me renewed motivation to get out there one last time and do the hard thing in her honor so that morning I suited up I grabbed my board and marched down to the water I let all of my new friends in on the news so
they knew that I was a woman on a mission and off I went as I paddled out to the spot the sun came out from behind the clouds and I closed my eyes and I just thought about how grateful I was for that moment and for every part of my life really every single part and then I did it I got up on that wave and I finally rode it all the way out and then I was so proud of myself and I felt so free as I got wave after wave after wave so now I'm not like a regular Mom I'm a cool mom
so I've revamped that 5-year plan to be a lot more than just two words because there's so much more to life than just surviving and I'll be riding those waves as they come literally and figuratively because the hard work may be here to stay but my determination to live a glorious life is even stronger thank
Transcript generated from the recording and lightly cleaned. Some names and wording may differ from the spoken speech.
