I hunched over, about to fall to the floor. "I'm in a lot of pain. I can barely lift my arm. Something is wrong." The substitute radiation oncologist said, "You need your plastic surgeon. You'll have to call them." I was a football being handed off to someone else. One person needs care. Another--or a team of others--are there to give it. What happens when they don’t?

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In 2021 Stephanie S. Abbott became a cancer patient. She went from subject matter expert and healthcare executive to patient—and acquired a fresh outlook while navigating the full spectrum of care. From depths of frustration and vulnerability to the solace and encouragement of compassionate human connections, she sought glimmers in the shadows. It was in the darkness she realized she wasn’t being buried; she was being planted for something greater.

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“Chemotherapy, surgeries, radiation: cancer tried to kill me. At times I felt buried. I began to grow when I realized that instead, I’d been planted. I suffered through the journey and found grace in the wounds—a new version of me I’d never known.”