{"id":1038,"date":"2023-05-09T04:26:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T11:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2023-05-13T17:07:21","modified_gmt":"2023-05-14T00:07:21","slug":"letting-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Letting Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h3>\n
\n

\u201cHere’s the thing. Your career won’t take care of you. .. It\u2019s never going to leave its wife. It will never marry you\u2026 your career is a bad boyfriend, it is healthy to remember you can always leave and go sleep with somebody else.\u201d<\/span><\/h3>\n

Amy Poehler, <\/span>Yes Please!<\/span><\/i><\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Lives I’ve Lived<\/h3>\n

At twenty-two years old I received the University of Saskatchewan Department of Biochemistry Convocation Award. I graduated top of my class, astutely aware of the intricacies of DNA\u2019s base pairs and the central dogma of molecular biology.
\n<\/span>\u201cNinety-eight percent, Cheryl! That\u2019s incredible.\u201d My professor remarked after grading my midterm exam. He had accepted my request to supervise my honors research project at the cancer center and I could tell he had high hopes. \u201cHow\u2019d you do it?\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I shrugged shyly, the material was fascinating. I couldn\u2019t get enough. That\u2019s how.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet, at the end of my project, I knew grad studies was not for me. The actual day-in day-out tedium of being holed up in the lab with beakers and pipettes had grown boring. Even so, this field of study continues to have a soft spot in my heart. It is one of the \u201clives\u201d that I have lived.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rosalind Franklin<\/h3>\n

Therefore, just the other week when my husband, Ryan, slung around the phrase <\/span>Elementary my dear Watson<\/span><\/i>, it got me thinking about Watson. Not from Sherlock Holmes, but from Watson and Crick- the scientists awarded with discovering DNA\u2019s structure. These two blokes pretty much stole fellow scientist Rosalind Franklin\u2019s work from under her to achieve this success. A story of science, sexism and scandal. As I growled at the thought of Watson, I wondered if anyone had written about Rosalind recently. \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

To my delight I found that last year author Marie Benedict published a historical novel, <\/span>Her Hidden Genius,<\/span><\/i> based on Rosalind Franklin\u2019s life. I checked the book out from the library and discovered a Rosalind who pushed the limits despite the barriers her gender placed on her, defied her father\u2019s wishes by choosing science not philanthropy, and worked meticulously and around the clock in her research lab. In her scant spare time she climbed mountains and challenged others alongside her, until her very last days.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As I sat on my bed to escape the noise of my family\u2019s boisterous playing and fighting in the living room, I reached the final pages of Benedict\u2019s superbly researched book. Tears threatened to spill. I knew how this story ended. Yet, \u201cwatching\u201d 37 year old Rosalind\u2019s death from ovarian cancer was too much. Too much like my own story.<\/span>
\n<\/span> And then I read these words on the page that left me completely undone: \u201cscience was letting me down\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Oh Rosalind,\u201d<\/span><\/i> her name escaped my lips and I felt a raw and emotional kinship to this incredible woman who died over twenty years before I was even born. I looked from the pages as my throat squeezed, then grabbed my pen and scrawled into my journal, <\/span>I love you Rosalind.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Over and over into my memoir I\u2019ve written about how science let me down. It was a religion of sorts with an air of infallibility. Therefore, being a pharmacist gave me a sense of autonomy, self-sufficiency, agency, and validation. Yet, Glioblastoma came and plucked that from me leaving me with a nearly empty medicine chest and an imploded Evidence Based Medicine paradigm. <\/span>Rosalind I know you understand. <\/span><\/i>My revered framework for life was gone.<\/span><\/p>\n

What now?\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

What now, that brain cancer\u2019s upheaved my life?<\/span><\/i> I\u2019ve asked myself this question countless times over the past six years, usually with a pained longing in my gut. <\/span>Should I try to return to my profession?<\/span><\/i> I literally dream about being in the pharmacy dispensary regularly (where of course the pharmacy is always happily overstaffed). Each morning after such dreams I make a studious list of pros and cons of trying to return to my old life. Without fail, health always wins out and I know I am living the best life for me and for my family. Yet, I find myself lusting for these old lives of mine: scientist, pharmacist. They feel glamorous and sexy, stable and safe (1). Oh how I long for the greener grass of yesterday. And increasingly so in the past six months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My Year of Letting Go<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You see, in January I deemed this my year of \u201cletting go\u201d. This isn\u2019t just arbitrary. After June 30 if I have not renewed my pharmacist license, I will have to rewrite my exams to return to practice. Am I planning to return? The simple answer to that complicated question is no. In my core I know that returning would be suicide. I can\u2019t handle stress like I used to; glioblastoma brought a big cloud of chaos that pulverized my nervous system. Taking care of myself requires a quieter kind of life. That is why I write now. (2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, writing as a vocation has become increasingly vulnerable. \u201cSay what others aren\u2019t brave enough to say\u201d, and \u201cwrite what you <\/span>feel<\/span><\/i>\u201d are both gutsy pieces of writing advice that I adhere to. Yikes! Being a writer is not \u201csafe\u201d like science. It\u2019s the most vulnerable job I have ever done. And I find myself lately wanting to run away from it. I\u2019m scared of the intimacy of it all. Peeling back my armor and showing you my soft core, oh this is daring. Especially in light of my (seemingly) waning mortality; feelings of invincibility thwart my vulnerability. (What strange creatures we humans are!)<\/span><\/p>\n

I long to guard my \u201csoft front\u201d(3). Yet at the same time this softness of mine aches to be shared. On my desk I\u2019ve posted what I wrote in 2018: \u201cWhat good is a closed book on a shelf collecting dust? (No use at all!) And so I choose to live my life as an open book.\u201d <\/strong><\/span>If I smother my soft front, I\u2019ll lose my wild heart. The nugget of me that is my true essence distilled. It is a risk I cannot tolerate. I have been learning over the past years how to be kind to myself. How to love myself well. How to uncover and polish that brilliant nugget of me. <\/span>Brene Brown in her book <\/span>The Atlas of the Heart<\/span><\/i> says, <\/span>\u201cHeartbreak is unavoidable unless we choose not to love at all. A lot of people do just that.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

I raise my right hand and pledge not to be one of these people. In doing so, I pledge to be prone to heartbreak.
\n<\/span> For me, this means letting go. <\/span>
\n<\/span> Letting go of the pharmacist, sciency me. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Burning my Boat<\/h3>\n

This all means letting my boat burn.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span> I learned the burn your boat concept from Jim Collins\u2019 book <\/span>Good to Great<\/span><\/i>. As the story goes, a General destroyed his army\u2019s boats upon landing. This meant there was no turning back and moreover there were no <\/span>thoughts <\/span><\/i>of turning back. The boats were burned, there was only one thing to do: move forward.
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span> Of course this is not a fun place to be. It\u2019s unnerving at best. Always risky. And one hundred percent certain to be chock full of uncertainty. It’s all brand new. I don\u2019t know about you but I like the comfort of knowing, of having the map and pre-planned exit ramps for when the heavy traffic makes my heart beat into my eyeballs. Burning your boat is not like that. It is more like stepping into a gnarly wilderness full of unknown dangers, the scariest kind.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

But as Joseph Campbell wrote (quoted in Brene Brown\u2019s <\/span>Braving the Wilderness<\/span><\/i>),
\n<\/span>\u201cIf you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That\u2019s why it’s your path.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Wilderness
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Life since I completed my cancer treatment has very much felt like a wilderness. A no man’s land between healthy and sick. It has been arduous to find a space where I belong. I\u2019m no longer my old self, yet I\u2019m struggling to figure out who I am now and if I even like <\/span>her<\/span><\/i>. (And what would Rosalind think of her?)
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span> This wilderness could easily become a prison of sorts, if I let it. I could ruminate about the unfairness, about my lost past, about my uncertain future. But I know where that would leave me: vice-gripped with fear. As holocaust survivor Edith Eger describes in her book, <\/span>The Choice <\/span><\/i>finding freedom is not just about being free from imminent death as she faced in concentration camps and as I thought I was facing when I was first diagnosed with brain cancer. \u201cWe also must choose to be free to-\u201d Eger says, \u201cfree to create, to make a life, to choose. And until we find our <\/span>freedom to<\/span><\/i>, we\u2019re just spinning around in the same endless darkness.\u201d
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Maya Angelou put it this way, \u201cYou are only free when you realize you belong no place – you belong every place – no place at all. The price is high. The reward is great.\u201d (4) This quote, Brene Brown says, is about belonging to yourself first. Moreover, it’s about letting go of your desire for security, affection, and control – because you already have these, from the Divine, the Universe, your Life Force (5).<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nThe price is high when you let go, it’s difficult to say goodbye to what was. And its scary AF. But I trust that the reward indeed will be great. Because letting go is not about less. No, it\u2019s about making space for more. More love, more life, more beauty, more warmth, more intimacy.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nThis is surrender. It\u2019s waving the white flag. Not giving up. Oh no! It’s about claiming agency and working with, rather than against, the waves of the Universe. It’s about releasing control that I never really had in the first place. Sarah Blondin puts it this way, \u201cwe are not in control\u2026[the more we] trust the journey, the more fluid and joyful life becomes. \u2026Instead of feeling fear of all that may come\u2026from the unknown, feel intrigued, delighted even that something new is being born.\u201d (6) I trust that surrender is where the magic happens. For health and wholeness, love and life – rich life!
\n<\/span><\/p>\n


\nThe Hot Air Balloon<\/span><\/h3>\n


\n<\/span> For a few years now I\u2019ve viewed myself as if in a hot air balloon anchored to the ground with four tethers. With all the personal introspection, counselling and reading I\u2019ve done, I\u2019ve managed to imagine myself severing three of those tethers. The fourth one however is difficult to cut. It\u2019s the tether that wants to keep me stationary. What is that last tether? It\u2019s finality and watching my boat burn. It\u2019s saying goodbye one last time with prickly tears slipping from my eyes, dripping onto my squeezing chest. And it\u2019s all wound up in fear, of course.\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nYet, \u201cFear\u201d Blondin explains, \u201cis useless in these times. Trust, however, is paramount\u2026it is in our favor.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span> So I wipe my tears and I blow my nose. I mourn my heartbreaking losses and celebrate my ever-present wins and belt out a broken (and very off key) Hallelujah. Promising as Blondin beckons us, to \u201cGet out of [my] own way.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\nDeep within I know, if I let go, if I surrender, if I cut that fourth tether, I will soar. Like Angelou, I will belong everywhere and nowhere. And like Eger, I will be free to. <\/span>
\n<\/span> And Rosalind will be right there with me, part of this: my becoming.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sending love as always,<\/span>
\n<\/span>xo<\/span><\/p>\n

Cheryl<\/p>\n


\n<\/span>PS. Thanks for sticking with me, this got long! I first sat down to write this post and realized that I had enough content for a book. The concept of surrender is indeed a big one that I have not done justice to in this blogpost, but perhaps one day, I will have the good fortune of having time and space to write a book about this powerful topic.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. \u201cThey feel glamorous and sexy\u201d . I just have to note that I know I\u2019m odd – (my counsellor even said so in the kindest of ways) But when I was 24 years old, an incredibly likeable Principle Researcher I worked for described her science as sexy, that adjective stuck.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. \u201cThat is why I write now.\u201d. This is an extremely simplistic way of describing my scenario. Nothing about becoming a writer was simple. Yes, I\u2019ve always wanted to be a writer. Perhaps it would have always suited me well. But life thrust me onto this path, mostly against my will. I am learning however, that it is best to surrender to where life\u2019s paths lead. All goes better that way.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. \u201cSoft front\u201d.\u00a0 In her book <\/span>Braving the Wilderness<\/span><\/i> Brene Brown describes that a soft front is synonymous with vulnerability: \u201cthe birthplace of love, joy, trust, intimacy, courage – everything that brings meaning to our life\u201d. Furthermore, Brown describes that to have a soft front you must have a strong back strengthened by things like boundaries, integrity, and accountability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Maya Angelou quoted in <\/span>Braving the Wilderness<\/span><\/i> by Brene Brown.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. \u201cletting go of your desire for security, affection, and control\u201d. This is a concept from The Contemplative Life Program 40 day practice from Contemplative Outreach (<\/span>www.contemplativeoutreach.org<\/span><\/a>)<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. YouTube. Sarah Blondin LiveAwake, Learning to Surrender. <\/span>LIVE AWAKE- LEARNING TO SURRENDER<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cHere’s the thing. Your career won’t take care of you. .. It\u2019s never going to leave its wife. It will never marry you\u2026 your career is a bad boyfriend, it is healthy to remember you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1039,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,60],"tags":[69,50,68,51],"class_list":["post-1038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancer-journey","category-glioblastoma","tag-acceptance","tag-brain-cancer","tag-surrender","tag-terminal-illness"],"yoast_head":"\nLetting Go - Cheryl Rostek<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Six year Glioblastoma brain cancer survivor Cheryl Rostek imparts wisdom on how to stay resilient in the face of terminal illness.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Letting Go: Brain Cancer Survivor Cheryl Rostek's Story of Resilience\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Six year Glioblastoma brain cancer survivor Cheryl Rostek imparts wisdom on how to stay resilient in the face of terminal illness.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cheryl Rostek\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authorcherylrostek\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-09T11:26:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-14T00:07:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1272\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"CherylRostekBlog\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"CherylRostekBlog\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"CherylRostekBlog\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0217b08333082baf840b17c8b91f0ba\"},\"headline\":\"Letting Go\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-09T11:26:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-14T00:07:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2264,\"commentCount\":6,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"acceptance\",\"brain cancer\",\"surrender\",\"terminal illness\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Cancer Journey\",\"glioblastoma\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/\",\"name\":\"Letting Go - Cheryl Rostek\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-09T11:26:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-14T00:07:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0217b08333082baf840b17c8b91f0ba\"},\"description\":\"Six year Glioblastoma brain cancer survivor Cheryl Rostek imparts wisdom on how to stay resilient in the face of terminal illness.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg\",\"width\":900,\"height\":1272},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/index.php\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/09\\\/letting-go\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Letting Go\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cheryl Rostek - Glioblastoma Survivor, Author and Cancer Coach\",\"description\":\"Finding Hope in the Hopeless and Impossible Situations of Life\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cherylrostek.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b0217b08333082baf840b17c8b91f0ba\",\"name\":\"CherylRostekBlog\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6e4c1e04fadc4727394f025b82681efe8cbe6e1ee91e05dc7533352bd5d79a7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6e4c1e04fadc4727394f025b82681efe8cbe6e1ee91e05dc7533352bd5d79a7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6e4c1e04fadc4727394f025b82681efe8cbe6e1ee91e05dc7533352bd5d79a7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"CherylRostekBlog\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.cherylrostek.com\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Letting Go - Cheryl Rostek","description":"Six year Glioblastoma brain cancer survivor Cheryl Rostek imparts wisdom on how to stay resilient in the face of terminal illness.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Letting Go: Brain Cancer Survivor Cheryl Rostek's Story of Resilience","og_description":"Six year Glioblastoma brain cancer survivor Cheryl Rostek imparts wisdom on how to stay resilient in the face of terminal illness.","og_url":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/","og_site_name":"Cheryl Rostek","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/authorcherylrostek\/","article_published_time":"2023-05-09T11:26:20+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-05-14T00:07:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":900,"height":1272,"url":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"CherylRostekBlog","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"CherylRostekBlog","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/"},"author":{"name":"CherylRostekBlog","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b0217b08333082baf840b17c8b91f0ba"},"headline":"Letting Go","datePublished":"2023-05-09T11:26:20+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-14T00:07:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/"},"wordCount":2264,"commentCount":6,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg","keywords":["acceptance","brain cancer","surrender","terminal illness"],"articleSection":["Cancer Journey","glioblastoma"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/","url":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/","name":"Letting Go - Cheryl Rostek","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-09T11:26:20+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-14T00:07:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b0217b08333082baf840b17c8b91f0ba"},"description":"Six year Glioblastoma brain cancer survivor Cheryl Rostek imparts wisdom on how to stay resilient in the face of terminal illness.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1603659071567-527aa235-2ba2-42b7-b867-1c4a401f70ad_-1-scaled-e1683563035669.jpg","width":900,"height":1272},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/09\/letting-go\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Letting Go"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/","name":"Cheryl Rostek - Glioblastoma Survivor, Author and Cancer Coach","description":"Finding Hope in the Hopeless and Impossible Situations of Life","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b0217b08333082baf840b17c8b91f0ba","name":"CherylRostekBlog","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e4c1e04fadc4727394f025b82681efe8cbe6e1ee91e05dc7533352bd5d79a7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e4c1e04fadc4727394f025b82681efe8cbe6e1ee91e05dc7533352bd5d79a7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6e4c1e04fadc4727394f025b82681efe8cbe6e1ee91e05dc7533352bd5d79a7f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"CherylRostekBlog"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.cherylrostek.com"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1038"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1056,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1038\/revisions\/1056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1039"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cherylrostek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}