When Cancer Doesn't Get The Best Of You

(as seen on Rebelle Society)

Fate is what happens to us.
Destiny is what we make in spite of our fate.

You have cancer.As frequent as these three words have become over the past decade, they still have the power to tear your world apart and make you question everything you thought you knew.

Until last May, Yulady Saluti was just a 32-year old mother of six, beautiful wife of a loving husband and a passionate yoga teacher. Now she still is all of that… plus Cancer.

Sadly, as cancer has turned into our century’s most feared pandemic, it has stopped being news.

What still inspires and starts a revolution is not our life-threatening trouble, but the way we use our power and creativity to turn a curse into a blessing.

Our ability to create our destiny by recycling our fate is what ultimately defines our courage and touches the lives of those around us.

“Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

~ Oprah Winfrey

I met Yulady just a month before she was diagnosed with stage-2 breast cancer and had to go in for a double mastectomy.

I’ve been following her journey ever since, never ceasing to be inspired by her courage and passion for life.

Her openness to not just accept her pain but to document it and share it with the world, has been an inspiration to many people across the globe.

If life is what you make of it, here is a wise soul in a young body, literally creating her life day after day, as she is also fighting for it.

We wanted to know more…

M: Yulady, how are you feeling?

Y: I am felling very tired lately and I have been spending a lot of my time napping… hehehe.

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M: You are winding down your chemo treatments. What was the most difficult part?

Y:  For me, it has been the physical pain that I feel about three days after my infusions. It feels like you have the flu times 10. Myalgia, bone pain, and nausea are my biggest problems and they last about five days. Not fun!

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M: You kicked cancer in the butt by creating a vlog (video blog) and sharing your experience with the world. Why did you do this?

Y: I did it because after undergoing 20 surgeries for my colon issues and now dealing with cancer I felt like I had to help people and show a different side of dealing with cancer, basically, laugh in the face of adversity. If I don’t laugh about it, it will kill me. I know it.

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M: Do you think this helped others as much as it is helping you to heal?

Y: Oh for sure. I get emails from women who tell me that because of my videos, they went and got mammograms that were long overdue. That is music to my ears and it feeds my soul. It makes my day.

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M: Your husband, Jerry, has played a major role in your treatment. How is he holding up?

Y: If it wasn’t for him, I would probably be dead. He is my rock. He seems to be holding up pretty good. I sometimes see the worry in his eyes, especially when I have anther round of chemo.

M: You’ve used humor and raw emotion to show your fans how you are dealing with this. Do you think this has eased the fear for some people? Is this making it more bearable? 

Y: It has eased the fear for me so I am hoping it does for others. Like I said before, if I don’t make fun of cancer and laugh at the situation,  I will die. The mind is very powerful.

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M: What are some of the gifts—if you can call them gifts—cancer has given you?

Y: Yes, gifts, they have been the good side effect of cancer. It has brought my family and I closer together.  It has brought new friends into my life. It has taught me that I am not my body—by losing my hair and gaining 20 pounds. When I look in the mirror I no longer criticize what I see. I embrace and I say: Thank you. I am so happy to be alive.

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M: You have bared your soul and your chest in the name of healing. Have you had much backlash? Have people been open about it?

Y: You know what? Everyone has been awesome about it, even my teenage kids. They think I am a great mom who helps others. Strangers love it and my parents—who I was a little worry about—also love it.

M: I hear you are filming a documentary about your cancer journey. Can you tell us about that?

Y: Yes we are filming right now and it is so much fun. The girl that approached me about it, Veronica, happens to be an amazing person. I love spending time with her and I forget that she is even holding a camera. The documentary is going to tell my story from the beginning. It will also touch on how Yoga has changed my life and what it’s like to deal with cancer.

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M: And are you pitching your story to others?

Y: Well, we have been approached for some pretty cool projects. Stay tuned!

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M: Will we be able to see more of your inspiring vlogs here onRebelle Society?

Y: Absolutely! I would love to post my first video so everyone can get a glimpse of how it all started.

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M: Our darling Yulady, we wish you continued health and peace and hope to see you on the mat, soon, doing handstands with your husband, Jerry and keep on inspiring us to love our lives and live with intention. 

Y: Thank you so much and yes, see you very soon. Love you!

 *****

Yulady Saluti never stops moving. She is a Yoga Alliance certified yoga instructor who has appeared in DVDs with Tara Stiles and Deepak Chopra. She has rocked her yoga on television with Sadie Nardini, teaches at four different yoga studios, and is doing all this while taking care of six kids and a devoted husband. (Oh, and she has cancer.) Yulady is now documenting her journey as a mommy-yogi-with-cancer on herYoutube channel. She plans to return to a full teaching schedule after treatment in New Jersey at Powerflow Yoga, Onyx Mind Body, Poe Yoga, and Inferno Hot Yoga. Find out more about her journey on her website & follow her uplifting tweets at @yogalody.