Inspiring Strength: A Powerful Collection of Inspirational Quotes About Cancer

"You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live."

- Stuart Scott

"Acceptance of death and cancer did not mean I intended to give up, just the opposite. I was prepared to fight cancer not out of fear of dying, but out of joy of living."

- Edie Littlefield Sundby

"Believe you can, and you are halfway there."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"You can be a victim of cancer, or a survivor of cancer. It's a mindset."

- Dave Pelzer

"I have cancer. Cancer doesn’t have me."

- Marco Calderon

"When you die, that does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live."

- Stuart Scott

"Believe you can, and you're halfway there."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and loved more than you know."

- Christopher Robin

"Cancer is only going to be a chapter in your life, not the whole story."

- Joe Wasser

"Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul."

- Jim Valvano

"Cancer didn’t bring me to my knees, it brought me to my feet."

- Michael Douglas

"We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up or fight like hell."

- Lance Armstrong

"Cancer is a word, not a sentence."

- John Diamond

"When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds, and diamonds are made under pressure."

- Peter Marshall

"When I was given a short time to live, I was told by one of my kids, ‘Mom, you’re a fighter! Let’s do this!'"

- Mary Bollinger Appelhanz

"My first oncologist told me: ‘When you read about the statistics/prognosis; remember that you are NOT a statistic, you are YOU and you are unique.’ The prognosis I later read about was not good, so his statement always gave me hope. I have survived over 10 years. The prognosis was 2-3 years. He was right!!"

- Karen Kockelman Schultz

"Cancer is a marathon – you can’t look at the finish line. You take it moment by moment, sometimes breath by breath, other times step by step."

- Sarah Betz Bucciero

"Yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today, let us begin."

- Mother Teresa

"Don't lose hope."

- Joel Siegel

"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."

- Samuel Smiles

"When the sun goes down, the stars come out."

- Joel Siegel

"Tough times don’t last. Tough people do."

- Robert H. Schuller

"Hope is the ability to hear the music of the future. Faith is the courage to dance to it today."

- Peter Kuzmic

"You have to be willing to give up the life you planned, and instead, greet the life that is waiting for you."

- Joseph Campbell

"In the depths of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

"Accept what is, let go of what was, and have faith in what will be."

- Sonia Ricotti

"If the only miracle we are looking for is the big one ... then we will most likely miss the other miracles that are unfolding before our very eyes, each and every day."

- Deacon Wayne Charlton, Rogel Cancer Center Chaplain

"I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within."

- Rummi

"My husband would always tell his mom, 'Just keep punching,' and 'Whenever the opponent hits you, get up and hit back harder.' It gave her such a focus, and every time cancer knocked her down, she'd do her best to bounce back up and punch back. She repeated it so often that it was her mantra."

- Rachel's husband

"It's not the load that breaks you down: it's the way you carry it."

- Lena Horne

"Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left."

- Hubert Humphrey

"When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven't."

- Thomas Edison

"To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To the problems of your life, you are the only solution."

- Jo Coudert

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"You have to fight, because if you don’t, you let the opponent win. And if your opponent is cancer, the results can be deadly."

- Lawrence Wray

"All we’ve got is hope, and we hang on to that every single day."

- Caleb Scott

"Only in the darkness can you see the stars."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Today we fight. Tomorrow we fight. The day after, we fight. And if this disease plans on whipping us, it better bring a lunch, ’cause it’s gonna have a long day doing it."

- Jim Beaver

"You need to spend time crawling alone through shadows to truly appreciate what it is to stand in the sun."

- Shaun Hick

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear."

- Ambrose Redmoon

"Above all, cancer is a spiritual practice that teaches me about faith and resilience."

- Kris Carr

"To have courage for whatever comes in life — everything lies in that."

- Teresa of Ávila

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude."

- Scott Hamilton

"Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

- A.A. Milne

"Take one day at a time. Today, after all, is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday."

- Billy Graham

"With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have."

- Cayla Mills

"Sometimes even to live is an act of courage."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Hope is the power of being cheerful in circumstances that we know to be desperate."

- G. K. Chesterton

"When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: You haven’t."

- Thomas Edison

"Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient."

- Steve Maraboli

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf."

- Jon Kabat-Zinn

"Be strong, be fearless, be beautiful. And believe that anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you."

- Misty Copeland

"For every wound, there is a scar, and every scar tells a story. A story that says, ‘I survived!’"

- Fr. Craig Scott

"In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer."

- Albert Camus

"Cancer is messy and scary. You throw everything at it, but don’t forget to throw love at it. It turns out that might be the best weapon of all."

- Regina Brett

"If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude."

- Maya Angelou

"The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places."

- Ernest Hemingway

"What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Difficult roads can lead to beautiful destinations."

- Kia Wynn

"Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow."

- Helen Keller

"Strength is born in the deep silence of long-suffering hearts; not amidst joy."

- Felicia Hemans

"She believed she could, so she did."

- R. S. Grey

"The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it."

- C.C. Scott

"Once you choose hope, anything’s possible."

- Christopher Reeve

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain."

- Vivian Greene

"Run when you can. Walk if you have to. Crawl if you must. But never give up."

- Dean Karnazes

"There are no great people in this world, only great challenges which ordinary people rise to meet."

- William Frederick Halsey Jr.

"No matter what the statistics say, there is always a way."

- Bernie Siegel

"Stand in your light and shine brightly because that is how you defeat darkness."

- Leslie Knope, "Parks & Recreation"

"Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often."

- Susan Statham

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."

- Proverb

"Dealing with it is the operative word. I found myself at seven years not battling it. Not struggling with it. Not suffering from it. Not breaking under the burden of it, but dealing with it."

- Michael J. Fox

"For every mountain, there is a miracle."

- Robert H. Schuller

"It’s about focusing on the fight and not the fright."

- Robin Roberts

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey."

- Kenji Miyazawa

"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

- Dolly Parton

"Cancer can touch you, but not your soul; neither your thoughts nor your heart."

- Vikrmn, Guru with Guitar

"To fear is one thing. To let fear grab you by the tail and swing you around is another."

- Katherine Patterson

"Cancer is the be-all and end-all of the sport, and the only thing you can do is show up to the game with your jersey on."

- Colleen Hoover

"The mind is everything. What you think you become."

- Buddha

"Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, ‘I’ll try again tomorrow.’"

- Mary Anne Radmacher

"When you see an obstacle approaching, grab your courage and speed up."

- Angela Lynne Craig

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference."

- Winston Churchill

"Don't look for miracles, you yourself are a miracle."

- Henry Miller

"When it rains look for rainbows, when it's dark look for stars."

- Oscar Wilde

"Love and laughter are two of the most important universal cancer treatments on the planet. Overdose on them."

- Tanya Masse

"Time is shortening. But every day that I challenge this cancer and survive is a victory for me."

- Ingrid Bergman

"Don’t let pain define you. Let it refine you."

- Tim Fargo

"Cancer opens many doors. One of the most important is your heart."

- Greg Anderson

"Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

- Sarah Williams

"To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering."

- Friedrich Nietzsche

"Don’t count the days. Make the days count."

- Muhammad Ali

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any."

- Alice Walker

"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’"

- Audrey Hepburn

"Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You may not be where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be."

- Rick Warren

"Cancer is not a death sentence, but rather it is a life sentence; it pushes one to live."

- Marcia Smith

"Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher."

- Oprah Winfrey

"Cancer is a journey, but you walk the road alone. There are many places to stop along the way and get nourishment — you just have to be willing to take it."

- Emily Hollenberg

"Hope is living with courage and confidence, not fear."

- Penny Boldrey

"Keep the faith— faith in God, faith in your doctors, faith in yourself. One day at a time."

- Albert

"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."

- Theodore Roosevelt

"HOPE is living with COURAGE and CONFIDENCE, not FEAR."

- Penny Boldrey, Cancer Survivor

"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well."

- Robert Louis Stevenson

"Cancer is a journey, but you walk the road alone. There are many places to stop along the way and get nourishment - you just have to be willing to take it."

- Emily Hollenberg

"The most important thing in illness is never to lose heart."

- Nikolai Lenin

"One day at a time, one step at a time. Do what you can, do your best. Let God handle the rest."

- Michelle Jones

"Some days there won't be a song in your heart. Sing anyway."

- Emory Austin

"Hope is the physician of each misery."

- Irish proverb

"Without hair, a queen is still a queen."

- Prajakta Mhadnak

"Faith doesn’t always mean that God changes your situation, sometimes it means he changes you."

- Steven Furtick

"I’m a tough cookie. Except for the cancer, I’m fine."

- Lisa Scottoline

"If fear is cultivated it will become stronger, if faith is cultivated it will achieve mastery."

- John Paul Jones

"People who said ‘I am here for you’ were some of the sweetest words I ever heard."

- Sylvia Ramsey Savage

"Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who possesses God lacks nothing. God alone suffices."

- St. Teresa of Avila

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

- Psalm 46:1

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift – that’s why it’s called ‘the present.'"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Our way is not soft grass; it’s a mountain path with lots of rocks. But it goes upwards, forward, toward the sun."

- Ruth Westheimer

"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you."

- Isaiah 43:2

"Plan for the worst, hope for the best and live for the moment!"

- Tiffany Smith

"I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know WHO holds tomorrow."

- Sigrid Devida

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude."

- Maya Angelou

"Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark."

- Rabindranath Tagore

"Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken."

- Psalm 62:1-2

"Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher."

- Oprah

"You must DO the things YOU THINK you cannot do."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart."

- Steve Jobs

"Don't let pain define you, let it refine you."

- Tim Fargo

"It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow."

- Robert H. Goddard

"Cancer changes your life, often for the better. You learn what's important, you learn to prioritize, and you learn not to waste your time. You tell people you love them."

- Joel Siegel

"Seeds of faith are always within us; sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth."

- Susan Taylor

"Cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always."

- Hippocrates

"There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow."

- Orison Swett Marden

"Don't get hung up on the hard times, the challenges. Tell your story by highlighting the victories. Because it's your victories that will inspire, motivate, encourage other people to live their stories in grander ways."

- Iyanla Vanzant

"Faith is a state of mind that can be conditioned through self-discipline. Faith will accomplish."

- Bruce Lee

"The beginning is always today."

- Mary Shelley

"I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am."

- Sylvia Plath

"Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else."

- Fred Rogers

"It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit."

- J.R.R. Tolkien

"Look well into yourself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if you will always look there."

- Marcus Aurelius

"The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory."

- Les Brown

"Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand."

- Oprah Winfrey

"And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb."

- Kahlil Gibran

"Sometimes it’s like the scariest thing in the world becomes the thing that makes you fearless."

- Hoda Kotb

"Once you face your fear, nothing is ever as hard as you think."

- Olivia Newton John

"The soul is stronger than its surroundings."

- William James

"To strive with difficulties, and to conquer them, is the highest human felicity."

- Samuel Johnson

"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night."

- Galileo

"If you can, find a purpose - something to do that occupies your time and your mind so you're not always concentrating on the cancer."

- Diane Detter

"If there’s an experience you want to have, go for it. Try not to put things off. Do what you can to not let cancer be your whole life."

- Darlene Nichols

"A positive attitude is at least as important as everything that’s thrown at you during treatment."

- Scott Ward

"We all know what that isolation of a cancer diagnosis feels like. Hearing other people’s stories and the dimensions that happen on their paths can make you feel less alone and remain positive."

- Wendy Passer

"If you think things are going to go right, you’re probably right. If you think things are going to go wrong, you’re probably right."

- John Schaeffer

"You’re stronger than you ever realized, without a doubt."

- Theresa Gougeon

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters - one represents danger, the other represents opportunity."

- John F. Kennedy

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing."

- Abraham Lincoln

"You can be sad. You can go there. But you can’t stay there. Try to set your intention to get through the day and be as present as you can be."

- Heather Jose

"This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, (cancer) for the battle does not belong to you, but to God. 2 Chronicles 20:15."

- Bible

"The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it flow with it . . . and join the dance."

- Alan Watts

"Shining through tears, like April suns in showers, that labor to overcome the cloud that loads em."

- Thomas Otway

"The wish for healing has always been half of health."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid."

- Frederick Buechner

"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're probably right."

- Henry Ford

"My private measure of success is daily. If this were to be the last day of my life would I be content with it? To live in a harmonious balance of commitments and pleasures is what I strive for."

- Jane Rule, American novelist, critic

"Mt 19:26 says, ‘all things are possible with God’ – there are many things that are impossible for us humans. So please be careful not to communicate False hope."

- Bible

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

- H. Jackson Brown Jr.

"You have to figure out your own way to deal with this diagnosis. You learn about yourself, what you are made of. This can be extraordinary and you want to share this, help others who go through the same thing."

- 2012 Cancer Survivors Day attendee

"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and twice as beautiful as you'd ever imagined."

"Remember you are the one fighting the battle – and it is up to you how you fight. Never give up on yourself no matter what others say!"

"Be at peace with the cancer; don't be angry at it and don't say ‘why me’."

"I HAVE CANCER….BUT CANCER DOESN’T HAVE ME."

"Remember how far you've come, not just how far you have to go. You may not be where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be."

"Never give up. Never give in."

"Cancer may have started the fight, but I will finish it."

"I can and I will."

"I had cancer, cancer never had me."

"It is often in the darkest skies that we see the brightest stars."

"We may have cancer, but cancer doesn't have us."

"Remember: you're not dying from cancer . . . You're LIVING with it."

"Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons."

"At any given moment you have the power to say this is not how the story is going to end."

"We can't always choose the music life plays for us, but we can choose how we dance to it."

"One day at a time! I can only do this by getting through each day the best I can, then through the night, and when tomorrow comes, I start over!"

"God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way."

"Cancer cannot cripple love, shatter hope, corrode faith, destroy peace, kill friendship, suppress memories, silence courage, invade the soul, steal eternal life nor conquer the spirit."

"For a star to be born, there is one thing that must happen: a gaseous nebula must collapse. So collapse. Crumble This is not your destruction. This is your birth."

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations."

"Small steps every day."

"Be thankful for this day."

"Your life is your story. Write well. Edit Often."

"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over it became a butterfly."

"You have been assigned this mountain to show others it can be moved."

"We can only appreciate the miracle of the sunrise if we have waited in the darkness. Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible."

"Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you've ever been, to stand up taller than you ever were."

"Faith is daring to go beyond what the eyes can see."

"Broken crayons still color."

"Don't look back. You're not going that way."

"When it rains, look for rainbows. When it's dark, look for stars."

"Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart."

"TAKE RISKS: If you win, you will be happy; if you lose you will be wise."

"Always find time for the things that make you feel happy to be alive."

"Today will never come again. Be a blessing. Be a friend. Encourage someone. Take time to care. Let your words heal, and not wound."

"Optimism: someone who figures that taking a step backward after taking a step forward is not a disaster; it's more like a cha-cha."

"Good thoughts only."

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here, we should dance."

"Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you."

"Life is so much brighter when we focus on what truly matters ..."

"Life is like the ocean. It can be calm or still, and rough or rigid, but in the end, it is always beautiful."

"When I was diagnosed with breast cancer same breast 2nd time I said “I am not going down without a fight”"

"You’re a victor over all circumstances with your faith and we stand with you!"

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass It's about learning how to DANCE IN THE RAIN"

"You can't smooth out the surf, but you can learn to ride the waves."

"At the timberline where the storms strike with the most fury, the sturdiest trees are found."

"You are loved. You are wonderfully made. You are beautiful. You are a masterpiece. God has a great plan for you."

"Cancer cannot cripple love, it cannot shatter hope, it cannot conquer the spirit."

"It cannot kill friendship. It cannot shut out memories. It cannot silence courage. It cannot reduce eternal life. It cannot quench the Spirit."

"You are NOT a statistic."

"You are not your Cancer"

"You have cancer….but it doesn’t have YOU."

"Feed your faith, and your fears will starve to death."