After returning from a day of shopping with my friend Patty, I went to hang something in my closet and it felt like a knife was inserted in my back. Falling to my knees from the pain, a trip to the emergency room was in order. I thought I was having a heart attack. Much to my surprise, it was not a heart attack! My diagnosis was Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer in my spine, ribs and hips.
I entered the hospital for 9 days and had every test imaginable. There were no signs of cancer in my breasts at all...but it was breast cancer. In 2001, I had a lumpectomy after some calcifications were discovered; but for 12 years, I was clean. My oncologist was mystified at first because he said I had it for a very long time! He said it looked like a moth had been eating on my spine.
After the initial shock wore off, I began chemotherapy. The radiologist did not recommend radiation as he said it could make it worse, but offered it for the pain. And so it is now 6 months later, and I am able to walk better with less pain. My faith, friends and focus has gotten me through the worst of times. Faith in God keeps me hopeful...my friends keep me uplifted...and my focus is on one day at a time.
I have learned through this journey that no one gets out of this life alive...and that my cross, although it be heavy most days, is lighter if you are surrounded by people that love you! I press on and pray that everyone who gets this horrible disease will know that they are not in this alone. I call cancer survivors the "suffering saints" because until you walk the pink road you don't get it. I used to think this disease was something other people got and I always felt sad for them. Now when I look at my bald head in the mirror, I realize you never know what is around the next corner. KEEP FIGHTING!
St. Ignace, MI