I want to tell you about July 1st.
Marc and I were riding our bikes along the Lachine Canal. It was the kind of day that feels like it’s quietly blessing you, warm sun, light breeze, water nearby, nowhere to be except exactly where you are. On the ride home, we stopped for ice cream.
That’s when I noticed the missed call.
Doctors don’t usually call on national holidays unless something is wrong. My heart started racing before I even listened to the voicemail. When I heard the words, I collapsed into Marc’s arms. He didn’t say anything. He just pulled me in tighter and held me while I tried to match my breath to his.
The sun was still shining. People were still eating ice cream. The world kept moving.
But something inside me had split open. Quietly. Irreversibly.
I wrote about that afternoon, and everything that came after it, in a book called Cancer, the Gift: A Breast Cancer Survivor’s Companion to Defiant Joy and Grace. My chapter is called “Becoming When I Could No Longer Pretend.”
This book is a collaboration between 12 women sharing their experiences of hearing the words no one ever wants to hear. It’s not a book about what to do. It’s a book about real, raw emotion, and how each woman found pieces of hope, love, resilience, and meaning in the middle of fear and uncertainty.
The book launches June 9, and pre-orders are now live.
→ Pre-Order Here: https://cancerthegift.com
These micro-memoirs are intimate glimpses into the lives of women navigating diagnosis, family, relationships, confusion, grief, fear, and yes… hope. As I read each chapter, I found parts of myself in every story.
If this message resonates with you, or if you know someone walking through breast cancer right now, I hope you’ll consider gifting them this book. I truly believe it can offer comfort, connection, and a sense of being understood during an incredibly difficult time.
Sending you much love,
Patty
PS: If this message touched you, I’d be so grateful if you shared the book with someone who may need it right now. And if you’d like to support this project and the voices of these incredible women, pre-ordering the book truly helps us spread this message of hope, resilience, and healing even further. → Pre-Order Here: https://cancerthegift.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pattycontenta/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePattyContenta
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pattycontenta
