FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Sunday is national cancer survivor day, and across South Florida, survivors, family members, and caregivers are taking time to celebrate how far they\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n
At Gilda\u2019s Club South Florida, Saturday\u2019s cancer survivor celebration brought together people of all ages impacted by the deadly disease.<\/p>\n
For sisters Monica and Magaly Morales, the day was also a reminder of their own journey. <\/p>\n
When Monica was diagnosed with stage one thyroid cancer last year, it caught her completely off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cit took me actually as a shock because it was really unexpected,\u201d she said. \u201cI froze. I didn\u2019t know what to do, who to call. Who do you call?\u201d<\/p>\n
Doctors were able to remove the cancer through surgery, but she says the experience still came with questions, appointments, and recovery.<\/p>\n
Having her sister in her corner made some of those tougher days a little easier.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you see a person weak, when you see a person helpless, confused, depressed, all you can do is encourage them, right?\u201d said Magaly Morales. \u201cEncourage them, embrace them, love them more, and let them know that you\u2019re there for them. Give them a hug, give them that extra kiss, whatever it is that they need that they\u2019re going through, you\u2019re there to see it, and they feel it, and they know that they\u2019re not alone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, Monica Morales says she\u2019s moving forward with a new perspective, grateful for her health and for the people who stood by her side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy to be alive,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m happy to have health. I\u2019m happy to be surrounded by a loving family, great support system, friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
And these days, it\u2019s the simple things she appreciates most.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to sunbathe, I love to go swimming, love to go to the beach,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfe0 News From Your Neighborhood<\/p>\n
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