My name is Charlee Corra, and I am a
21-year old cancer survivor. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
in May 2012 and four months later, finished 6 intensive rounds of
chemotherapy. Before my diagnosis, I was just returning from my
semester abroad in Costa Rica studying tropical biology and getting
excited to go back to Tufts University in the fall to start my senior
year. I was supposed to lead new freshmen on a backpacking trip in New
England, see friends I hadn't seen since the year before, and take some
pretty interesting classes. Unfortunately, cancer doesn't wait for a
pause in your life—it is the pause. My normal life was put on hold and a
new life took over, one entirely focused on my health and healing.
While my hennas were giving me spiritual healing, my incredible team of doctors at the Providence St. Joseph’s Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center were physically healing me. I owe so much to them, not only for accompanying me and helping me on this grueling journey but also simultaneously helping all of their other patients battling different types of cancer. I admire their equal determination and dedication to each case. I also feel a strong sense of pride for the facility itself because my grandparents Roy and Patty Disney generously provided the donations necessary to establish it. For all of these reasons, I have decided to give back and contribute 20% of this website's proceeds to the Providence St. Joseph’s Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center.
Chemotherapy isn't the only thing that has healed me.
Visualizations and meditation have played a fundamental role in my
mental healing process. Someone once shared some advice he had heard
about how to get the best results out of chemo: laughter and visualizing
the tumor melting away. When my visualization came to me, a
significant portion of it involved a dragon breathing fire on the tumor
and melting it off my heart.
When my friend suggested I get a dragon henna tattoo on my head I
asked him if I had ever explained my visualization to him. I hadn't.
Things got even weirder when we found the henna artist and asked if she
could do a dragon on my head. She told us that dragons are a Chinese
symbol for strength and longevity. Somehow the stars had aligned to give
me this dragon that would prove to be an incredible source of strength
for me throughout this entire ordeal. Over the course of 4 months, I had
four different dragons henna-tattooed on my hairless head. My hennas
themselves gave me healing energy, but the attention they drew to my
head gave me confidence I had never really experienced before. This
confidence helped keep my spirits up even when I was feeling low.
While my hennas were giving me spiritual healing, my incredible team of doctors at the Providence St. Joseph’s Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center were physically healing me. I owe so much to them, not only for accompanying me and helping me on this grueling journey but also simultaneously helping all of their other patients battling different types of cancer. I admire their equal determination and dedication to each case. I also feel a strong sense of pride for the facility itself because my grandparents Roy and Patty Disney generously provided the donations necessary to establish it. For all of these reasons, I have decided to give back and contribute 20% of this website's proceeds to the Providence St. Joseph’s Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center.
