Ways You Can Celebrate a Cancerversary

Being diagnosed with cancer is a scary and stressful time that can turn your world upside down and make it never the same again. The treatment can be horrible and exhausting and make you feel like you’ll never have fun times again.

However, there are many milestones along the way in your health journey, such as completing different rounds of treatment, having surgeries, and, hopefully, being told you’re in remission.

These days, many people who have been touched by cancer choose to celebrate a cancerversary – an anniversary of a specific date or event related to their cancer, such as the day they had cancerous cells cut out, treatment ended, or the day they were told they were cancer-free. If you’re keen to have some fun and rejoice about some good news, here are some fun ways you could celebrate.

Throw a Big Party

Firstly, why not throw a huge party on your cancerversary to celebrate the occasion? Invite all your closest family and friends and medical workers and the like to enjoy some festivities with you, either at your place, a loved one’s home, or in a restaurant or other venue. For an extra special treat for you and your guests, you could arrange to have some fireworks set up on the night. Choose some mortar fireworks and cakes, rockets, roman candles, etc., for a display that’s vivid and memorable.

Take an International Holiday

If you’ve been counting down to the time when you can travel freely because you’re not in treatment anymore or worried about COVID-19 restrictions and related factors, you might start planning an overseas trip for your cancerversary. Think about the place or places at the top of your bucket list and see how much budget you have and how far you can stretch it to visit as many of these destinations as possible.

You might choose to travel solo to enjoy some special time by yourself, or you could invite a partner, sibling, close friend, or another person in your life to experience the vacation with you. Either way, taking in the sights at incredible locations is sure to give you many fabulous memories that will show you just how far you’ve come.

Write a Memoir

If you enjoy writing and don’t want to forget all of the ups and downs of your cancer journey and the things you’ve learned along the way, write a memoir. Celebrate your cancerversary by compiling a book that details what you’ve been through and what it has shown you about yourself, others, the world in general, and so on.

You could write this down purely for your own records or even potentially get it self-published and printed or submit it to traditional publishers to see if they’re interested. Talking about your experiences openly and honestly can help other people going through the same types of things.

Give Back

Many people who have a cancerversary coming up think about ways to spend the day giving back somehow. If you’re in a good place mentally, emotionally, and even physically, you might like to spend time around your cancerversary volunteering at a hospital or other medical practice or helping out with an animal shelter, food bank, or another charitable location.

You might do some fundraising to support a not-for-profit that’s close to your heart, donate money or goods to an organization, or become a mentor to a young person who needs the support. There are many great ways you can help others in your community and enjoy the feel-good buzz that comes from doing that.

Set Some New Goals

Another great way to celebrate a momentous cancer-related milestone in your life is to set some fresh new goals for yourself. When battling cancer, many people find that their days and focus revolve around treatment and health, and other life factors fall by the wayside.

If you have more mental energy and time now to concentrate on other areas, it can be great to set some brand new goals for the coming months or years. For instance, you might plan to complete a physical challenge like climbing a mountain or doing a triathlon, learn a language, buy a house, or move to a new city or country. Think about what will provide excitement and clarity for you moving forward.

Some other ways to celebrate a cancerversary include visiting the medical staff who helped you through your treatment, arranging for a special photo shoot of yourself to commemorate this time in your life, planting a tree, or getting a dog, cat, or other pet.

There’s no right or wrong here; just do what feels like a natural, suitable celebration for you and enjoy your day to the fullest.