Battling cancer is completely different for everyone. Take my sister, who was once a survivor and is now battling again, and my father, who passed away Mar. 18, 2015, for example. Yes, the cancer cells are throughout the body, but the pain, journey and diagnosis are extremely different. The cancer journey is not only tough for the patient, but it is also very tough for the patient’s friends and, more importantly, family. I know first-hand that everyone will try everything in their power to help ease the pain but believe me, if you have encountered a loved one with cancer, nothing anyone says will help make the pain go away.

I am here to inform you through all the pain, suffering and heartbreak, there are a few things that cancer cannot do. Even though cancer is so limited, it cannot:

1. It Cannot Cripple Love.

2. It Cannot Shatter Hope.

3. It Cannot Dissolve Faith.

4. It Cannot Destroy Peace.

5. It Cannot Kill Friendship.

6.

7. It Cannot Suppress Memories.

8. It Cannot Silence Courage.

9. It Cannot Invade the Soul.

10. It Cannot Steal Eternal Life.

11. It Cannot Conquer the Spirit.

As I mentioned earlier, I know nothing anyone says will take the pain away, but I will be the first to tell you that these 11 things that cancer cannot do make this journey slightly easier because you learn that everything the patient is dealing with becomes your entire world and so much more precious than anyone else during that time.

Let me explain what I mean. When my father got sick in Oct. 2014, we didn’t realize how fast and how hard the journey of pancreatic cancer can be. But once we heard the diagnosis, our lives changed not only for the worse but also for the better. We realized that my father’s life was becoming more and more precious day by day.

The things he did, the things he said, the facial expressions... Just everything stuck with my family and we soon realized that cancer cannot cripple love, shatter hope, dissolve faith, destroy peace, kill friendship, suppress memories, silence courage, invade the soul, steal eternal life and conquer the spirit; it may try, but in no way shape or form can it do any of that. Once my father died, number nine really struck me as true because now my father has eternal life and I can’t be any happier for him.

As mentioned earlier, my sister is battling cancer for the second time and she abides by these 10 things cancer cannot do. And boy, she is the strongest person I know. She lives out her life the way she wants, and this stupid C word isn’t changing her on the outside at all.