Sticking with the Lion King theme and one of my favorite Disney movies, I’m talking about missing my you know what…tatas. I’ve seen shirts and team names at breast cancer walks over the years with a play on the song from the Lion King, Hakuna Matata.
Hakuna Matata, what a wonderful phrase. It means no worries for the rest of your days. It’s a problem free philosophy.
I wish I had no worries, but I have more than ever especially about my health. But my tatas are not one of my worries. I knew fairly early on in my cancer battle that I would need a double mastectomy. I needed to do whatever was necessary to reduce my risk of a recurrence and if that meant removing my tatas, than so be it.
My tatas weren’t the only thing I lost as chemo caused hair loss. I learned that this didn’t matter either. The person I am matters. My attitude matters. My health matters and if I lose my hair in the treatment process, so what? The year was all about survival and if I lose my hair and tatas in the process, that’s ok.
I still have worries about a recurrence but I’ve learned to let a lot go and just enjoy life even more after being given this second chance. I’ve learned to be in the moment and focus on what really matters, my family.
My favorite scene in the Lion King is when Simba, Timon and Pumbaa are crossing the waterfall singing Hakuna Matata. They grow older as they walk along the waterfall but also grow more carefree.
Letting go of the control and worry we have is one of the hardest things to do in life. But the release let’s us become closer to carefree and able to enjoy ourselves.
I had to let go a lot of control during this cancer battle. There wasn’t much I could control other than my attitude which I tried to keep as positive as I could. I couldn’t control my hair loss or loss of my tatas but I could control how I responded to the loss of these defining features of me.
My hair and tatas didn’t matter. What mattered is that I was here. It wasn’t easy to initially accept but once I did, the weight of the loss of these things was lifted and I learned to walk with a little swag like Timon, Pumbaa and Simba crossing the waterfall.
Appearance is not what matters in life. What matters is our approach and attitude and how we respond to the many changes of life. There’s still a lot I worry about including my upcoming return to work, but there’s also a lot I stopped worrying about because they don’t matter. What matters is I’m here. I won’t be worry free for the rest of my days, but my tatas are one thing I won’t be worrying about.
Hakuna Matata and Hakuna My Tatas!
#thelionking #hakunamatata #hakunamytatas #breastcancerbattle #doublemastectomy #chemo #onetoughmother
