Cope with the mental pressure of a breast cancer - People's stories
#2. I have to give up my dreams
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2nd Step
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Witness how others have used Thee Puzzle and inspire yourself
People's story
Thoughts
3rd Step
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2. Apply the tip
3. Follow up on progress & results
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Deep dive
FAQ
Introduction - People's stories
All People's stories are written in the 1st person to reinforce their impact.
While anonymity is preserved, all stories are inspired by real facts.
People's stories are examples, to feed you with concrete cases of how Thee Puzzle has been used. They are not to tell you what to think, or absolute truth: they were created with the intent to illustrate how you can transform your life with Thee Puzzle.
Each People’s story is presented in the following way:
Part 1. The authentic life experience
Part 2. What that same moment could have been, leveraging Thee Puzzle
Part 3. Decoding the story through the lens of The Puzzle framework
Part 1. I have to give up my dreams
I am a very active person. I have lots of projects ongoing. Lots of dreams too.
Lately, I went through difficult times, as I separated from the father of my kids. That was a very ugly divorce.
But I chose this path, and no matter how hard, it was also liberating. It reminded me of all these things I always wanted to do and never did.
Like travelling more. Like volunteering to help others. Like spending more time doing things I like. Like taking an art class. Like going on hikes. Like laughing more. And so much more... I have so many ideas, so many things I want to do! I feel full of energy for it: a new page is turning, and it feels good!
So when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I just could not believe it.
The first thought that came to mind was that none of my dreams would come true. I would die without living them.
I was so devastated. Also because I was so mistaken!!
I felt full of energy while I was seriously sick.
I felt like I was taking a new start, and now my wings were cut.
None of what I believed true was. Nothing. How could I trust myself moving forward?!
My body had betrayed me! I was both sad and so angry!! I could have punched myself in the face. I wanted this “thing” out of me. Out of my life. It was ruining it!!
My whole happy future was destroyed. I was running out of time.
What had I done, losing all these years?! All this for nothing!!
The more minutes were passing by, the more furious I was at myself. I wanted the tumor out. The idea of carrying it was driving me nuts.
It had to go. Right now. Go and disappear forever.
I wanted my life back. Right now.
I am generally not a patient person, and even less so in that moment.
It just had to go!
The idea that my life could just be what I did until now—that was not acceptable. I just could not hear it. It was too unfair to take in...
And yet, no matter how much I was pushing back, reality was there.
Like a stinky fish on the table. Slowly poisoning me from the inside.
I like to live fast. I enjoy the adrenaline—so this was all counterintuitive to me.
Because I knew it would take time and patience.
But I have no patience and I wanted time to do other things. Not to spend it on curing!!
I was so furious!!
I hated whomever did this to me—whatever it is!
“Unfair”, “unfair”, “unfair”—this is all I could think of, over and over! I had tears of rage in my eyes.
I would have loved for someone to do something wrong around me at that point in time: I could have unleashed all my anger at them!
This was all boiling up inside me. The anger was pouring in my veins, in my cells. And the more it did, the more powerless I felt.
I was no longer in charge. That cancer had taken over. It became my boss and me the slave. In a blink.
And that was not a good place to be. But no better image came to mind.
CONGRATULATIONS
MYSELF
EGO
PRESENT
CONNECT
FILTER
COMPASS
PROTECTION
POLLUTION
RULES
MASTER
You have gained perspective how others have overcome their challenge leveraging Thee Puzzle!
May it inspire you.
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Part 2. I have a new dream on the long list: to cure!
I am someone who lives at full speed.
Projects, dreams, plans—I always have several running in parallel.
Recently, I made a bold move: I left the father of my children after a very ugly divorce. It had been painful, but I had chosen it. Thought it was hard, it felt freeing.
For the first time in a long time, I could be myself again.
And I remembered everything I had once wanted. Travel. Volunteer. Take an art class. Go on hikes. Laugh more.... I had a long list of things that made me feel alive—and I was finally ready to live them. A new page was turning. I was excited. I was full of energy!
So when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I snapped.
Not gently. Violently.
The first thought that hit me was: “None of my dreams will ever happen. I will die with all of them locked inside me.”
What hurt the most was that I had just come back to myself. I had just started living again.
And now?
My wings were cut.
Everything I thought I knew, everything I had planned - was fake.
My body had betrayed me.
I wanted to rip the cancer out myself if I could.
This thing—whatever it was—was not just inside my body. It was taking up space in my identity. It was making the rules.
And that is when another thought hit me: "This is not sustainable."
I did not want to live like this either: angry all the time, at myself and at the world.
What was happening to me was not fair—but I was old enough to know that life is not about fairness.
I realized that I was being very judgmental and definitive in my approach.
Breast cancer was "wrong." I was living in black and white, while life is often in the grey.
I sat down. Not out of wisdom—but because I had no energy left to stand.
And in that stillness, I did something I rarely do: I paused.
I focused on being here and now.
Sick but feeling healthy. The sun and a little wind on my skin. My hands on my knees. Nothing horrible was happening in the moment. I was just here, in stillness. Listening to the silence around me, away from the chaos in my head.
And in that pause, I heard something: “This is not over. It is just different.”
It was not a magic sentence to wipe away all my fears.
But it gave me just enough space to start to come down.
I was still angry, but a little less. Directionally correct.
I started to notice that buried underneath the anger, there was fear.
The fear of not getting to live the life I had finally claimed.
The fear of missing my second chance.
The fear of disappearing before I could fully become myself.
And once I saw the fear, I could not be angry anymore. Instead, tears came out.
A shoulder to cry on I did not have in the moment, but I had myself. I put my arms around me and hugged myself the best I could, while letting the tears go. I needed to release the pressure out of my body, and crying helped.
While crying, I also started seeing what mattered.
It felt like the cancer had taken over because I had handed it the keys. I did not have to let it define me. I had let it steal my voice: well, now was the beginning of me reclaiming it.
We were sharing a body: I also had a say.
And slowly, I started to feel the strength in me. Deep down, it was there: I had the resources.
I could gain my voice back.
I could not control how fast the treatments would go.
I could not guarantee how this would end.
But I could choose how I would live in the meantime.
I could protect the part of me that had just come back to life—the woman with the dreams.
I could refuse to bury her again.
So I made a choice: my life will not shrink around this diagnosis.
I will not make cancer my identity.
I will slow down and make space for healing, and I will continue to make space for joy.
I will not trade one for the other.
I am not the slave.
I am the author.
And it is for me to write the next chapter.
Part 3 - Thee Puzzle decoder
Let's decode this People's story with the lens of Thee Puzzle pieces.
MYSELF
EGO
PRESENT
When the diagnosis came, one version of me—the one that had just re-emerged, full of dreams—was immediately hijacked by another: the part of me that saw only loss, betrayal, and rage. It took me time and energy, but I realized I did not want to be that person. And that I did not have to.
That Ego in my head screamed that the future was dead, that my body had failed me, that I had been a fool to believe in a fresh start. It was harsh, loud, and convinced me at the beginning was the only truth.
Being present helped me to come down and be more lucid with the situation. Being angry would not cure me: it would just make my life even more painful.
By taking a pause and naming my anger —recognizing it as a legitimate part of me—I made space for another voice to emerge. The one who could say that this is not over yet. It is just different.
And that opened other options for me to think differently - scenarios that helped me rather than thoughts solely feeding my anger.
CONNECT
FILTER
My body felt like the enemy. But ironically, it was also the only anchor I had. The emotional storm was loud—rage, fear, unfairness, frustration—but my body offered something quieter. I did not have to find peace. I just had to be present and feel all what was around me. Away from the chaos in my head, my environment was calm.
That presence became a natural filter. It helped me separate the noise from truth. I saw that nothing horrible was happening in the exact moment. I could start from there.
That moment of pause allowed something else to flow in—first physically (breath), then emotionally (tears). And those tears became a way to reconnect with myself. I was not comforting myself out of pity. I was reconnecting with the strength and energy to live my dreams. And be fueled from it, rather than from the anger that was literally consuming myself.
COMPASS
PROTECTION
POLLUTION
The anger had masked a deeper fear: that cancer had erased my second chance. And that story had power because I believed it at first. ... Until I was able to question it.
From that questioning I was able to reposition my compass. I would not let anger drive my life. I will replace that dominant emotion, because it is not the person I want to be. Rather, I will seek for strength and joy - because I also have plenty in me. It was time to step up and protect myself from being swallowed by this anger.
As I started to clear my head from this pollution loop of unfairness and let my anger vanish in tears, I was also able to gain my voice back. I know it was come before it goes, but now I am equipped and ready to manage these episodes.
RULES
MASTER
This disease make me realized that I believed that “Life rewards the goods and the braves.” I thought choosing myself after the divorce had guaranteed something better. But life does not work like that. And when the cancer arrived, that rule collapsed—and so did I with it.
But in the collapse, I found a deeper truth: while I cannot control outcomes, I can still choose the direction. Reprogramming my beliefs did help me cope better.
And to reclaim authority over my life! I will make space for healing and for joy. I will not shrink my dreams to fit a hospital room. I will be patient. I will follow the treatment. I don't know who will win, but the cancer will not be the only one to write my story.