“Thanks for breast cancer to bring us here.” One of Australian survivors, Colleen, said to me with her hand stroking my shoulder after I introduced myself to her. I was stunned and only could reply, “yes,” but I was extremely touched by her every single word.
More than 200 breast cancer survivors flied from 32 countries to attend the 2011 16th Reach to recovery International Breast Cancer Support Conference from Nov. 9 to Nov. 12. Combining 400 Taiwanese survivors, about 700 survivors and companions crowded the Taipei International Conference Center (TICC). Besides various sessions, there were many booths, posters exhibition, charming areas like “Cooking for love” where we could enjoy free massage and coffee. Some great cultural trips also been arranged and every morning, we had a professional group to teach us Chi-Gong to get energy for the whole day activities.
“Good morning, my angel,” my masters greeted to me every morning with a warm and big hug. Even until now I still missed it! I felt so happy to join the “angel group” to get the chance to e-mail those foreign survivors before they arrived. I e-mailed to five survivors and got replies from three of them, and I was so lucky to meet all of them. My three masters, their friends and I happened to join the same cultural trip at the first night to visit Si-Men, Long-Shang Temple and Hwa-Si night market together. It was my first experience for me to ramble around those places with foreign friends from Australia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Malaysia. After, we all turned to be friends and they all called me “Christine angel.”
30 speakers come from all over the world to share different topics under the theme of “impact, care and revival”. Three of them made a deep impression on me.
Ms. Meredith Campbell, from Australia, who was diagnoses with breast cancer 11 years ago. Since then, she dedicated herself to help breast cancer patients and established Amazon Heart. By forming a huge heavy motorbike team, she took survivors from one country to another country to help more survivors. She and I almost got the disease at the same age, but she made such great achievement. Comparing with her, I felt what I had done was insignificantly small.
The second one was from the States, Cathy Hirsch, who shared with us some survivors’ stories. They were marathoner, judo coach, etc. They did not give up their lives after suffering from the breast cancer. After they revival, they did many great things. In this film, most survivors were about 40 to 50 years old. A young face caught my eye sight. “I am just a colleague student, how could it possible for me to get breast cancer?” She said these words in the film with her clear voice. “My God, when she was sick, she was only 2 years older than my elder daughter.” I yelled for her in my mind with my heart aching and my eyes tearing…Then her picture showed up again. She was with her classmates wearing a cloth covering her bear head and a brilliant smile, so beautiful!
Ms. Leonie Young pointed the screen which showed some snakes climbing ladders and said, “We all are on the top of the ladders, those patients undergoing breast cancer treatment are in the bottom. But as long as they take treatment step by step, one day they all will get to the top of ladders.” Leonie called it “The ladders of life,” I liked this inspiring theme. Next time I went to visit new patients, I would share with them and encourage them.
Among all programs in the three days, gala dinner was the one we expected most. There were singing, dancing, swimming suit and underwear shows, and different countries’ traditional clothing shows, we could not stop laughing, applauding for all amazing performances.
At the last minute, Jeff announced that next conference would be held in South Africa in March of 2013. All survivors from Africa went on the stage and the chairman of RRI, Ann from South Africa, made a welcome speech. She said, “There are two places in the world you must visit; one is South Africa and the other one is South Africa!” At the end of gala dinner, all audiences screamed, shouted and danced with the music, “Support for Africa.”
In the last morning, everyone was busy visiting all the booths and every booth also gave special offer.
At the closing ceremony, we reviewed pictures took in the past two days. Volunteers gave everyone two light sticks to put on our hands or heads. The melody of a Chinese song, Friend, came out from all the speakers, “We would be friends for the whole life to get through all the difficulties together……” Everyone sang and waved hands together. In the dark conference room, our hands and heads were shining like hundreds of fireflies. Such a touching moment, but I did not cry as I knew that we would meet again in South Africa.
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