El Ultimo Peregrino
by Leah Rando
In June 2013 at the age of 45, I was diagnosed with
DCIS in my right breast. I remember every detail of
that day; the heightened emotions and particularly
the initial fear and uncertainty of what was going to
happen. Was I going to die? What about my
husband and my son? What would I look like if I lost
my hair; my beautiful curly hair that so many identi-
fied me with.
All these questions rolled into one stress ball tightly
knotted up in my stomach. Some very real and some
very superficial, but all very significant at the time.
And then I remembered who I was and that I was too
busy to die! I had too much to do…raise my son, my
step children, be the wife, daughter and sister that I
wanted to be…yeah, too busy to fall off the perch
yet!
So, I used this to motivate me to find the positives. I
could hear the words of my dad, “There is a positive
in every situation”. At the time, it was like…yeah
right! In reflection, it became my truth. So, I set about
looking at what I could control and that was my
attitude to the whole situation. I had a choice. Let it
beat me emotionally and physically or make a
conscious decision to find my new normal. joining one of the global treks, however, I think it was
the lack of courage, more so than timing, that
prevented me from moving forward. This time it is
different, as I have been further involved as a volun-
teer for some community groups who provide
support to breast cancer patients and survivors. I
have experienced the good of such a service, so
paying it forward is important. At no point during my
five surgeries did I ever feel that I did not have the
backing of wonderful people and services behind
me. I want this for others.
As a fiercely independent woman, I had to let others
love and support me the way that they knew how
and allow myself to be open to new ways of receiv-
ing support. I learnt that others were more
concerned for me than I was for myself because I
knew that my normality was about to change. I was
OK with that, but it was those around me who found
the possibility of my changes difficult. I can now
confidently say that I think that those who have
known me for a long time and those who meet me for
the first time, like the new version of me, because of
my positivity and strength that I now have. The El Camino Trail in North Western Spain, with
origin points in France and Portugal, lead to Santia-
go de Compostela, where it is believed that the
remains of the Apostle Saint James rest. Although I
will undertake the last 112km of the trek between
Sarria and Santiago de Compostela, I will be consid-
ered a Pilgrim, along with fourteen fellow surviving
breast cancer companions from the East Coast of
Australia. This pilgrimage means so many things to
so many people. Not one reason fits all and it is what
makes the journey such an interesting undertaking,
for many say that your El Camino is life changing.
What do I do with this new-found focus? Share it, live
it and use it to motivate me towards betterment and
help others do the same. To live life with this new
enrichment is very fulfilling and it is now the strength
of my professional and personal connections with
others. My surgical scars are a reminder of my jour-
ney and the people, especially the medical and
BCNA (Breast Cancer Network Australia) staff, who
gave me the support material and encouragement
that I needed on my journey. I have been asked why I am doing this? I think
simply, because I have the option. I as given this
opportunity to give back to my community and have
done so by raising over $4000 AUD for this trek. I
feel that this is the perfect way to embrace the next
phase of my life showing gratitude to all those who
have gone before me with this disease and give
thanks to those who have supported me along the
way. This year is my year!
So, why El Camino and why Spain? For the past 4
years I have read the emails and contemplated https://donate.grassrootz.com/bcna/el-camino/leah-ran-
do
“El Ultimo Peregrino”