Walking the Tropic of Cancer is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve seen Simon Reeve do it and felt quite envious. I’ll keep it on my bucket list just on the off chance it could still happen!
Simon’s journey through 17 different countries certainly wasn’t straightforward or plain sailing for him. There were lots of obstacles and eye-openers along the way.
Okay, Simon did the Tropic of Cancer but I’m on the Topic of Cancer.
If there’s one thing cancer doesn’t offer, it’s a smooth ride. It’s full of obstacles too.
There are no obstacle-free roads here. No shortcuts. No scenic routes. Just grit, grief, grace and growth, if you’re lucky.
Cancer carves out a landscape full of unknowns and there’s no GPS. It doesn’t come with signs – you have to make your own.
One minute you’re on stable ground, the next you’re grappling with test results, treatment plans, side effects, hospital corridors, and the deep ache of uncertainty. It’s a road littered with potholes and steep emotional climbs. And while it’s not a road anyone chooses, it is one that reveals who you are and what you’re made of.
It’s easy to long for the easy path. The one where your body works as it should, where plans unfold, where the future doesn’t feel like a moving target. But here’s the thing: easy roads don’t forge strong travellers.
Cancer doesn’t hand you comfort, but it does hand you clarity. You learn what matters. You learn who shows up. You learn how deep your courage runs — not when things are easy, but when everything hurts and you keep going anyway.
If there are no obstacles in your day, you’re probably not in the chair for your 65th treatment. You’re not waiting for scan results with your heart in your throat. You’re not trying to smile while your body is battling a war inside you. You’re not counting small victories like eating a meal without choking.
But if you are doing any of those things then yes, you’re on a path filled with obstacles. And that means you’re on a path that matters.
Because every hard step you take is a sign that you’re still here. Still showing up. Still resisting. Still living.
There’s no glamour in this fight and no fairy-tale storyline.
But there is honour.
There is strength in sitting through another infusion. There is bravery in choosing to smile when your bones ache. There is heroism in choosing to hope when statistics don’t give you much to work with.
Cancer teaches you that obstacles don’t mean failure. They mean you’re alive. They mean you’re fighting for more life, more laughter, more time.
So if your path feels hard today, remember: this is the road of the warrior and the stubbornly hopeful. We don’t go quietly.
And if your road has no obstacles? Be thankful but know it probably doesn’t lead to the kind of perspective, purpose, or presence that cancer carves into your soul.
This road is brutal. But it’s also sacred.
Oh look, there’s another obstacle ahead. The Cancer Path, built on grit, not comfort.
We’ll manage it.
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