Sarah Brown

Co-Survivor

As a professional athlete I am accustomed to dealing with quantifiable results that are within my control. My brain works in miles, meters, minutes and seconds. My goals are given tangible references such as a specific time or finishing place.  Basically, I work in terms of numbers and these numbers allow me to feel very in control of my situation. However, this way of dealing with and processing things was completely shattered when my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001.

My mom’s diagnosis of cancer was a loss of control over my world. Sure, there are plenty of quantifiable statistics and numbers that come along with a cancer diagnosis, but unlike my running career, these results were out of my control and my mom was not a statistic … she was my mom.  This loss of control over the situation made me feel helpless and tested the very core of who I am. It was during this time that I allowed my faith to be my source of strength.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Knowing that I did not have to carry my fears and anxiety alone helped give me the strength and peace of mind to support my mom through her course of treatments and surgeries. In times of doubt, I would cling to my faith and put my hope and trust in The Lord. My faith allowed me to overcome my need to control the situation and I am happy to say my mom is healthy and cancer free.