Courageous One

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Courageous One

City

Buffalo

State

Occupation

On disability

Hobbies

Time w/Grandchildren, knitting, church, reading, writing, music, photography, nature

Favorite Books

Chip Ingram, Watchman Nee, Bible

Proudest Moment

When my first grandchild called my name...Nana

Where I look for inspiration

My heavenly Father

LIFE "ON THE OTHER SIDE OF CANCER"

I am a

Recently-Diagnosed Survivor

Age at Diagnosis

Survivorship

Working on my 4th time survivorship

Diagnosed

2001

Biggest Fear When Diagnosed

I would leave my friends and family and just miss out on all the things that hadn't taken place yet. I raised my two daughters on my own and they were still very young, 17 & 19, and I wanted to see them get married and have children and maybe fall in love myself. I have never been in love really...I loved my ex-husband, but I don't think that I loved him the way I should have...I was very young and didn't even love myself. How could I love anyone else?

How did you overcome that fear?

It was my faith in God that pulled me through. I had experienced a lot of suffering in my growing up years and this was just another one of those things that I needed to stay in the zone; mind or matter. In fact when my doctor told me that I would have to have a mastectomy, I told him, "oh that's okay, nobody is playing with that one now anyway and I will still have one as a standby"! Well he didn't know what to make of that...I thought it was funny!

What got you through your cancer experience?

My children mostly...my friends were always there too and my mom...we weren't very close, but this was the beginning of something new that we never experienced with each other...that was love...the real kind...the kind that comes from our Father above.

What advice would you like to pass on to others?

God never gives you any more than you can handle. I know that sounds like a cliche' or sounds kind of tough. But I've never been in such a place as I am now and my fight isn't over...this is my 4th time through chemo and the breast cancer showing up somewhere else in my body...so I know that it gets hard...just don't give up...when you think you've had all that you can take...go take a nap...say a little prayer and when you wake up you will feel stronger again.

What would you like to tell other women who are either newly diagnosed or too afraid to seek treatment?

First of all, don't waste any time to be diagnosed. I waited and now I'm still fighting...you have much to live for and the people in your life want you around. Don't believe any of the lies you might be hearing right now, they are not true...you deserve to know and be healed. You deserve to have your life back and you will get it back...find a doctor you like, even if you have to see more than one, that's okay. It's all really going to be okay. It's scary at first, because it's all new, but think of the people that you will meet, the people that you could inspire in some small way, the people that maybe are older than you that are having a more difficult time, you can share a smile, words of encouragement...what a gift that is...don't look at what you have as bringing you down, this is an opportunity to add so much more to your life than ever before. And always remember, it's going to be okay.

Best advice given to me by a Survivor

Listen to your heart, do what feels right to you...don't let others talk you into things that your unsure of...you don't need to be educated to have cancer. You don't need to go on the internet to look into all the literature there is to breast cancer...ask you doctor, bring up the questions that you have and if you don't understand when he/she is telling you, tell them to explain it better.