By Khalilah Elliott
My name is Khalilah Elliott. I am a wife to a wonderful husband named Jason and a mom to two amazing children, Jasmin and KJ. I am a Certified HR Professional and a Digital Entrepreneur. My family and I live in the beautiful town of Binbrook, Ontario. I am a Christian, a believer in the Bible and Jesus Christ. I enjoy comedies, listening to old school reggae, gospel, and R&B music and reading a good book. I love everything about food. I love watching food shows, watching people eat food and watching how food is grown or made and, best of all, I love eating food! I’ve also discovered that one of my passions is travelling. I enjoy watching travel shows and I’m working towards time and money freedom where I can travel the world and eat the local food.
In December 2016, I was diagnosed with Stage III HER2-positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, two months after my 39th birthday. It was one of the scariest times of my life. It felt unreal at first and everything became a haze instantly. I never imagined I would hear those words and that they would be talking about me. The next thing I remember is the doctor telling me that they know exactly what to do, and that the survival rate was 88% and I should focus on that. To be honest, most of what she said that day sounded to me like jumbled up words. I allowed myself to cry on the day I was diagnosed but very early on, I decided to only focus on what life would be after cancer. To focus on watching my children grow up, on growing old with my husband and enjoying life along the way.
I underwent eight rounds of high dose chemotherapy that caused me to lose all the hair on my body. I had a double mastectomy, 21 rounds of radiation, 18 rounds of Herceptin, and a blood transfusion, all within 14 months. Then, in July 2019, I did a full hysterectomy which led to a life-threatening infection that had me hospitalized for a week, followed by two months of daily intravenous Ertapenem antibiotics.
Cancer has taught me that I can overcome all challenges through Jesus Christ, He is my strength. I’ve also learned that we need each other. We were never meant to walk this journey alone and when we support others, our healing is much more powerful and life changing.
It’s ok to let go and let someone else step in while you focus on you. During my treatment, I surrounded myself with only positive people and positive things. I sought out things and people who made me laugh. I put on makeup, which I rarely wear and some days, I took a bubble bath and got dressed up, especially on the days I didn’t feel like it. I watched my favourite movies and listened to my favourite songs. I searched to find what made me happy deep inside and did my best to do those things. I realized that my mental state is one of the most important parts of healing and overcoming this disease. The Bible says laughter is good medicine, so I laughed heartily and often.
My journey so far has strengthened me and activated the boldness in me to speak up and speak out. To not be afraid to share my story. We all have a purpose on earth, and I believe our journeys and all the challenges along the way are meant to not only strengthen us, but also to make a positive impact in someone else’s life and change the world.
Since my diagnosis, I have been an active volunteer and a community partner for BrightRun, a charity that raises awareness and funds for breast cancer research. My goal, purpose and mission in life is to help others through my lived experiences, letting them know that they are not alone in whatever they might be going through, and to influence others to be the best version of themselves.
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