It’s Pride month …

Advocacy 2 Minutes

and living here in Florida means this month is especially poignant. I recently wrote this article for AdvancedBreastCancer.net about what being an ally to those in the LGBTQIA+ community looks like from a Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer (MBC) perspective.

Here’s the bottom line for me …. we are all different human beings and deserve to live our lives without interference from others. It really is that simple to me. When someone else feels comfortable instructing a person on how they should live their life or seek to have the government control others, we enter into a slippery slope towards horrific things happening. Yes, I agree that there should be boundaries (like not killing others) but those behaviors or choices that don’t affect anyone but the person making that decision should be left alone unless asked.

I know that I don’t have all the answers and I learn new things all the time about how to better assist those who are different from me and have different perspectives. Below are the five recommendations that I included in my ally article linked above.

  • Ask questions. Many people who have different experiences don’t have an outlet to talk about them or are ignored.  When you meet someone who has had a challenging experience, ask them about it.
  • Speak up. If there is a situation happening within your earshot, speak up.  If you learn about how people in our community are treated differently, ask questions of the leadership of your cancer center or support group or otherwise.
  • Show up. If there is an educational opportunity or march or discussion about people who are different than you, show up to learn more.  If there is someone you know who is being treated differently, offer to accompany them to their appointments.
  • Hold Space. While it is good to learn and ask questions when there is an unfamiliar situation, sometimes the person who is experiencing bigotry or marginalization just needs you to be there, to be present with them.  I find it hard to always know when to do this but have never experienced holding space as the wrong choice.
  • Be Open. The experiences of people different from us can often be baffling, and it’s easy to assume that the person themselves might be at fault rather than the system as a whole.  I remind myself daily to be open to the possibility that I don’t always know.

And now it’s your turn. What would you add or subtract from my list above? We are #StrongerTogether.

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Published by Abigail Johnston

I'm a daughter, a wife, a mother, and I've been living with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer since March, 2017. All of the words I publish are my own.

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10 thoughts on “It’s Pride month …”

  1. As I am visiting the National Parks, I interact with many people with many opinions. One woman called me a racist for asking her if she spoke English. One man tried to involve me in a conversation about the immigrants and N——, who are coming to America and one man explained how he was proud that he is on disability even though he has no disability and he gets paid!!! He also explained how Gays are going to hell.
    My opinion is this! You gotta know when to just let that person talk. Sometimes, even though I have strong opinions that are the same as yours, Silence speaks more than words. Some people want to converse for the
    Argument and quote Bible
    Verses, to prove their point, I am a talker, but at times Silence is the best medicine!!! I am presently in Wyoming and Montana and I choose who I talk to.❤️❤️❤️👵🏻👵🏻👵🏻👍👍👍

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  2. It is amazing the way some will treat another, there is only one race the human race. My oldest daughter goes through a lot from others because she is young and chronically ill with many rare diseases as well as having adrenal cancer, and a few weeks ago she had a feeding tube place in her. as well as being in a wheelchair. People believe because she is young she should not be sick or in pain, I wish that was true. My daughter was a conjoin twin while I carried her and her sister in my womb, she also did absorb some of her sister, she has two sets of DNA in some parts of her body as well as some of her sister’s organs, and we also find out since she is missing chromosome she truly isn’t male or female (but she is my daughter) There is so much we truly don’t understand with the human body perhaps just perhaps that was God’s intention all along when he created all of us.

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  3. I am now dealing with immediate family emboldened by Florida to show hate toward my daughter. It’s heartbreaking and I didn’t know how much it affected me until this week and more so upon reading your post. Thank you for always being an ally to those who need it most, from someone who has witnessed it both before your diagnosis and after. ❤️🏳️‍🌈❤️

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