Ten years ago, socially isolated, as the H1N1 pandemic was at its peak, I was battling a stage IV cancer.Today a fellow cancer thriver and friend share the parallels of "survivorship",the lessons we've learned,and the power perspective can play in "embracing the suck". Like cancer,the effects of COVID won't end the day we are able to go back into the world, but the opportunities we will have to transform our lives, and the lives of those around us will be determined by how we handle today.