Karamjit’s Story: A Refuge in the Storm

Karamjit would rather forget the date March 6. In 2009, it was the date she was first diagnosed with breast cancer. After a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and reconstructive surgery, she hoped her ordeal was over. But in 2015 – on the same date – she learned that the cancer had not only returned, but it had also spread throughout her body.

“They basically said, you’ve got six months to live,” Karamjit recalls. Thankfully, she has exceeded her doctor’s expectations, responding to treatment and now living with metastatic breast cancer and undergoing regular scans and treatment. However, she’s had to weather the physical and emotional impact of the disease, all while working full-time and raising a family. “Unfortunately this journey never ends. The war never ends.”

As it often happens with cancer, the challenges have extended beyond her illness. Her family took a hit during the financial crisis of 2008, just before her diagnosis. Now, she is the primary breadwinner for her family of four, supporting them through her career as a senior project manager with a large tech company and maintaining the health insurance she relies upon, working through her treatment despite her loss of energy. In 2013, she moved her family from London to California – a major cultural shift in daily life.

Karamjit’s two daughters, now teenagers, were small when she was diagnosed. She believes that her connection with them has suffered because of her surgery, treatment, and the belief that she had little time left.

“You think, ‘What have we done to deserve all of this?’ My daughters were only two and three when I had surgery, and they couldn’t jump on me, so we lost that physical connection. Then chemotherapy made me go through menopause. And then obviously I worry about what is going to happen in the future, and will I be there for them when they graduate?

“The impact of cancer is phenomenal. And it’s not just a physical thing, it’s all the emotional stuff as well. It’s not just the treatment and when you’re surviving, it’s everything else that goes around it. It’s crippling, and leaves you completely feel battered and bewildered—it really does.”

Finding an outlet

In a search of support services for cancer survivors, Karamjit stumbled across A Fresh Chapter (AFC). “After talking to Terri I was hooked,” she said. “I attended the Elemental Odyssey program between L.A. and Phoenix (in 2016). The U.S. program connected me to many great people whose story I am still following.”

Karamjit then joined the Costa Rica trip in 2017. “With the extended time volunteering in one place, the trip is very, very special in my heart, as are the fellow cancer survivors I traveled with. Costa Rica was also fantastic due to being in a different country and culture.”

The perspective she discovered through her connection with other cancer survivors, as well as through volunteering in underprivileged schools, gave her something important to carry home and to carry forward as she endured more treatment.

“You see what we have and what they don’t have, and how sometimes their life may be richer because they have more love—you learn so much,” she said. “You feel great in giving, and that starts a new journey for yourself in terms of volunteering work.

“It’s also learning to be more grateful for where you are. I am still alive. You have this community and you follow people’s lives, and unfortunately some are ending due to cancer. They are passing away, and that’s a real look in the mirror each time. It brings great sadness and brings great perspective. And it gives you that jump to make the most of your life, because I’m lucky to have one, still.”

Going forward

Karamjit now has a leadership role on the AFC Ambassador Team, representing AFC, talking with potential volunteers, and providing mentorship for fundraisers, as much as her schedule allows.

Karamjit finds meaning in the connections with fellow tribe members and in encouraging others to take the leap in becoming new tribe members.

“It’s something I love to do. It helps me just knowing I could have a connection with other cancer survivors. I believe in everything about AFC. I believe in what it is trying to do for the individual, healing the emotional scars. And just in terms of the impact you make in the community by being able to give back. I think what Terri has achieved is absolutely phenomenal.”