You are 24 years old, you have two children, you have a new job, moved to a new town, you’re sick and you don’t know why. You’ve lost 60 pounds over the last 6 weeks and you’re so tired, so very tired. You visit doctors, you have test, various medicines are prescribed, more test are ran, finally there is a word, but not a good word. Surgery has been scheduled in 5 days, the best method to approach “cervical cancer” in 1982. And of course, the lymph system appears to be under attack as well and the word from the “specialists” is “Go home, get your house in order, prognosis is about 20%”. Thus began my journey with cancer.
The days after the diagnosis were a mixture of calm and chaos. Calm with the knowledge of what I was facing, a name had been attached “Clear Cell Carcinoma” a delayed response my body suffered from a drug “Diethylstilbestrol (DES)” given to my mother to prevent her from miscarrying me. And chaos at the prospect of leaving young children motherless, consoling my own mother who thought she’d caused this, my little girls who didn’t know what was happening, and a host of family and friends who felt powerless.
I educated myself on the disease with as much information as I could get my hands on in those days before “Google”. I bombarded my doctor with question after question. I loaded my gun so to speak with all I could to fight this thing. I was surrounded by people who loved me and looked to me to strengthen them. They were more devastated than I was, I had to be strong. The one thing I had that no disease could take away was my Lord, the perfect physician, the healer, the comforter; Jesus was with me through it all. He gave wisdom to those who worked on the physical part, courage to those who counseled me spiritually and an abundance of love through family and friends.
Surgery was successful, cancer contained. I beat the odds set before me, not alone but with the help of the Lord and those he chose to care for me.
Since then cancer has touched my life through my loved ones, my sister has had breast cancer, my father – prostate cancer, a granddaughter, Paige with ocular melanoma, my brother cancer of the prostate and bladder and currently another granddaughter, Harmony, battling leukemia. It is much easier to be the cancer patient than to be the one watching what cancer can do to those you love. God is good and He continues to give us strength. I am thankful for the American Cancer Society and all the research, support programs, resources they have available. Thank you for coming tonight and all your hard work to help us fight this disease. Don’t forget your regular checkups, listen to your body, don’t let anything go, early detection is the best thing. Finally I want you all to remember my wonderful friend, Dr. Steven Banks, who was to be here where I am tonight giving his testimony. But his leukemia has returned with a vengeance and he is presently in the hospital waiting bone marrow transplant.
