The cancer journey has no shortage of grey days but other colours are available. Some you have to mix yourself.
But grey days tend to dominate.
These are the ones where the fog of fatigue hangs heavy, where the news isn’t what you hoped for, and where every step feels uphill.
But then something out of the blue comes along and it’s actually purple.
When you hit a purple patch such as a stretch of good scans, fewer side effects, more energy, or even just a week where you feel more like yourself, it can feel like you’ve stumbled into a different land.
What you do when you arrive in that brighter place matters just as much as how you endured the darker ones.
When you hit a purple patch, you might feel guilty because you know that others are still walking in the rain.
But, savour it. You’ve earned every bit of purple on this road. These aren’t accidents. They’re the dividends of your grit, your treatment, the team around you, your relentless spirit.
My advice is to don’t let guilt creep in just because you know others are still struggling. This is your patch of purple so stand in it. Soak it up!
When you hit a purple patch, hold it tightly – not as a betrayal of those still struggling but as proof that colour is still possible.
We have to celebrate the victories no matter how small. Cancer teaches you that even the smallest wins count. A clear scan. A day without nausea. A walk in the sun. No pain for a few hours. Each one is a milestone, not a mirage. They’re real, and they’re yours.
When you hit a purple patch, keep building strength while the winds are in your favour. Use the good days to stock up on energy, to make memories, to reconnect with the parts of your life cancer forced into the background.
This isn’t about ignoring the reality of the disease, it’s about making the most of what’s available to you now.
Push harder, if you can. Write that letter. Take that trip. Do the thing you’ve been putting off ‘until you feel better.’ Because sometimes the purple patch is your chance to feel better.
When you hit a purple patch, don’t mistake it for the end of the road. This is a chapter, not the whole story. The journey continues, and staying grounded is how you stay ready.
Be grateful, but remain vigilant. The journey demands readiness, not complacency. Complacency is tempting, but experience teaches you that cancer is an unpredictable guest and you don’t want to be caught off guard.
Meet the purple patch with quiet strength. Don’t cling too tightly. Everything changes — and changes quickly as I found out last October when I was in Critical Care with multi-organ failure and aspiration pneumonia.
Walk through it with the same steadiness you walked through the storms. After all, you’ve learned by now that joy and pain are just different seasons of the same path.
And finally, when you hit a purple patch, allow yourself to laugh again.
Cancer can’t keep you from being fabulous. Smile and make the most of it and wear your victory like a crown.
The key is balance. Try not to waste your purple patch, but don’t squander it worrying about when it will end, either.
Use it to recharge, to rebuild, to remind yourself that even cancer can’t keep you down forever.
These bright stretches are proof you can still shine. And even when they fade, you’ll carry their light forward into the next fight, the next scan, the next step.
Because you’ve learned that the cancer journey isn’t just about surviving the bad days – it’s about embracing the good ones without apology. Don’t waste your purple patch and don’t spend it fearing its expiry.
So when you hit a purple patch, savour it, build on it, enjoy it, stay grounded and smile. And most of all, keep walking!