Why now?

I have been asked this a lot of times ever since I started working on spreading awareness about Breast Cancer and started lending a hand to all non-profit organizations that I work with; that "WHY NOW?" . And I am sure I will be asked this question again a lot of times in the future as well, since I wish to do my Masters in Health Communication and make a career out of my passion.

I feel that I am very good at public speaking. I have great communication skills and I am very social and like to reach out to people. I guess I would have applied those skills somewhere if not towards spreading awareness on this particular cause. I am very proud to say that I went through my Breast Cancer treatment with a positive attitude. I fought like a warrior. I did whatever I could to stay alive and help my family by being here, and not on the other side. Unlike some who choose to stay quiet about their illness, I chose to do something about it. Some people are proud of what they see and others tell me to keep it hush hush. Some say that I have another reason now to participate in social gatherings. I do! And I deserve to! I am one of the very few South Asian people who have a voice and I am not afraid to use it. If everyone went about their treatment staying quiet, where will the awareness come from? Where will you find survivor stories from people like you? These are real life incidents and can happen to anyone. Who will prepare you and support you when you have to face something like this?

It is people like me who have had a first hand experience with this disease who can talk about it. Once you go through it, you know whats it is like.
I pause to think about people with a weak or a sensitive heart who face hardships during their time in treatment. Some people are not comfortable to open up about their conditions, their suffereings, their stories. I respect their privacy. They are survivors too.

But when I see people die without proper treatment, or misdiagnosis or ignorance; I am not going to stay quiet.

So, to people who ask me, "WHY NOW?"...I should ask them: "WHY NOT?".