Survivor's Guilt is Real

The first time she experienced survivor’s guilt was when her grandfather was passing away. They were both being treated for cancer at the same time and while Racheli was declared to be in full remission, her grandfather was told that his cancer was spreading. “Ultimately, in July 2016, I sat next to him as he took his last breaths, and I couldn’t help but wonder why I got to survive this disease while the chemo didn’t do its job for him. Again, it’s not always a rational experience, and these questions of guilt often form through grief for us survivors,” she wrote.