When cancer survivor Rowena Kincaid found out her second dance with cancer was certain to be terminal friends asked her, "What's on your bucket list?" So she turned that question into a quest and a documentary film cheekily titled Before I Kick the Bucket. Kincaid may be living on borrowed time, but her life force is strong.
Kincaid's fought her first battle with breast cancer at the age of 33 in 2009. Six cycles of chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, and radiotherapy later, it was in remission. But the cancer returned. Following reconstructive surgery in 2012, she began experiencing pain in her chest. The pain intensified and in 2013, after discovering lumps in her neck and armpit, she was diagnosed with stage four secondary cancer.
What that means is that this cancer would kill Kincaid, sooner or later.
Meanwhile, a tumor the size of a potato was pushing against her heart and lungs. Six cycles of chemotherapy reduced it to the size of a strawberry, which helped. But she was still dying.
"So many people tell me how great I look, or tell me that I can beat it with chemotherapy and surgery," Kincaid told the Daily Mail. "They don't understand that I am in pain and I can't be cured."
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But that didn't stop Kincaid from pursuing her bucket list. She posted a video on YouTube, asking viewers to reach out and make suggestions for what should go on her list. She started a Facebook page for Before I Kick the Bucket. And she got the BBC to produce her documentary.
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.
As she met other people with terminal illnesses, what started out as a list has become something much larger -- an entire community, and an awareness campaign. Kincaid tells the Daily Mail, "I want to raise awareness about the diversity of terminal diseases and about how people live with them day-to-day." She wants to show the "hardship, heartache, laughter, and life" beneath the surface.
Kincaid's bucket list items include running naked down Queen Street in London in an attempt to get arrested, buying a sports car, and trying out a coffin dressed as Wonder Woman. Filming has been difficult, what with blood transfusions and treatments, but Kincaid also describes it as "exciting and tons of fun."
Now she says she's less focused on her bucket list and more choosing to "cherish the little things." But she's still hoping to make the last item on her list: living to her 40th birthday in December, which she wants to celebrate at Cardiff Castle in Wales.
Here's hoping she makes it -- and that she has the strength to enjoy her day.
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Image via BBC One