Dear Thriver,
October 4th is what I consider my cancerversary. It’s the date of my lower anterior resection — the surgery that removed my tumour, making me cancer-free. For me, this day marks more than just time passing, it’s a personal milestone of survivorship, one I acknowledge every year.
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) has embraced the idea of a cancerversary to describe personal cancer milestones. It’s not a fixed date or universal definition — it’s whatever feels most meaningful to each person, whether diagnosis date, end of treatment, or other important date.
Cancerversaries are deeply personal, each one shaped by our stories. As I acknowledge mine today, I wonder — do you have a cancerversary you mark?
With gratitude,
