8 . In March 2022, I was recovering from an operation for breast cancer and going through a terrible time. I spent my days at home ________ everything to myself. Then one of my colleagues suggested ________, “Why don’t you pick a couple of days and go to Ireland and escape?” I ________ the tip.

The trip was fun, but when I got on the ________ to go home, I wasn’t feeling well. My plan was to sleep for the ________ journey, but the guy next to me looked ________, eager for a conversation because he had kind eyes.

“I had an operation,” I said ________. “I had breast cancer.” He paused for a moment and said, “What’s wrong with that? Breast cancer is just a small ________ of your life, like going to college or getting married.”

I could feel my eyes ________ up with tears.

“Don’t think too much of your problem,” he said. “Instead, think about how many people you could help.”

I had tears coming down my face, and said, “I can’t ________ I’m crying in front of you. I don’t ________ know you.”

“Look, you have a ________ in life,” he said. “You can either ________ your things deep in your pockets and take them to your grave (坟墓), or you can help someone.”

I’ve not been a very outgoing person, and except the few people who needed to know, I’d kept my illness ________. I didn’t want to be ________ as a defective (有缺陷的) person.

But this man, whose name was Ken Duane, showed me that my illness gave me ________, because it gave me the ability to ________ someone else’s load. I decided at that moment that I was going to try to help others by sharing my story ________, in the hope of inspiring those who were in the same or similar situation. Later that year, I talked about my illness and my ________ with Ken on air.

I am forever ________ that I never took a nap on the flight over the Atlantic.