Cancer and cancer treatment are not for the faint of heart. I ended up in the ER and a hospital stay last weekend. During the darkest moments of that experience, I stopped fighting what was and surrendered to what is. I was overcome with a sense of peace. And, then the tears came. I realized what I was feeling was self-compassion: a feeling I had not felt in the seven years of living with cancer. Self-compassion is the key to self-soothing. Yet, it is often misunderstood and and so many resist its practice. Let me tell what I learned from facing fear.