My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. –Maya Angelou
It’s very important to follow up and establish a relationship with a new doctor when relocating to a new city. There should be no breakup of care. During a visit with my daughter in Manhattan in 2007, I ended up in the hospital because of stomach pain. The scan revealed a mass on the right side of my stomach. Relapsed for the second time, not even a year later, the cancer was back. I went back to Philadelphia to meet with my doctor at Fox Chase Cancer Center to begin a treatment plan. It was decided that I would begin to receive four to six treatments, with a three-day inpatient stay for each treatment. The care there was more advanced, a whole new world of cancer care. I knew I had made the right choice. The PET scan revealed that I was free of cancer for the third time. I was referred over to the Abraham Cancer Center, Perelman Cancer Center at The University of Pennsylvania Hospital to receive
a bone marrow (Autologous) transplant. This would give me a better chance for many years of remission. The transplant was the hardest thing I had ever gone through thus far. It took much prayer, lots of tears, and all the strength I could find to complete. Sometimes God will bring you to a place where you will have to depend only on Him. For me, that was that time and place. Looking back, I know that He brought me through. I could never have done any of what I did on my own. Every time I think about the hospital and the nurses who took care of me, it always brings tears to my eyes. The doctors and nurses were professional, caring, and loving. I moved to Las Vegas in 2011. I was referred to a physician at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada. My physician ordered a new PET scan to see how things looked. The scan showed disease progression. This was considered my third relapse. Almost three
years of complete remission. Under the direction of my physician, I made the decision to begin another treatment plan that would hopefully put me in complete remission. After four treatments, the tumors revealed significant decrease. Though they were still there, they were very tiny. Treatment was stopped at that point. A routine scan in 2013 showed that the smaller tumors were stable but new tumors were growing again. Progression was obvious. I was feeling great, life was good. We decided to wait until my health changed before thinking of the next step. After I started losing weight and feeling more fatigued again, we felt it best to start another treatment plan. I am currently receiving chemotherapy every other month for four treatments. There is no cure for Lymphoma but through excellent care, the goal is to keep it controlled and stable. So at this point in my life, “Quality of Life” is what I
seek. To live a normal life filled with friends and family, to be a part of a team, doing the things that I love is enough for me right now. After over twelve years of fighting, my goal is to NEVER GIVE UP! God is everything to me and I thank Him for keeping me strong! I was not built to break. Through this adversity, I got to know my own strength. My mom, Martha, had been my rock. She is a prayer warrior and the best person to talk to when I just didn’t think I could find the strength to endure. I thank God for her wisdom and late night prayers. I founded the organization preciousislife.org to share my story of faith to support, encourage, and give hope to all. When cancer interrupts our lives, we all have different experiences, different outcomes but we all have the same goal: to be “cancer free”. We want to be able to enjoy life again. Stay healthy! Being healthy before and during can-
cer is the best way to beat cancer. Keep a positive mind! Work on seeing only the positive and block out the negative. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny. Laughter is a great medicine - do lots of it. Smile often because your smile could make someone’s day. Just doing simple acts of kindness is all it takes. There are so many people with such amazing stories of survival which we may never hear about. There is always someone, in some place, whose struggle may be much worse than yours. Remember to always show compassion to everyone you meet each day. You may never know what they are going through. We must lift each other up and support one another. God gives his toughest battles to His strongest soldiers. Those battles add depth to our lives and our testimony will help others. No matter what you may have to endure in life, never let it define
who you are as a person .Have the courage to be who you are in spite of it. Your dreams can still be accomplished. You can still become an entrepreneur, author, whatever your heart desires. You don’t need anyone’s permission to love yourself. It all comes from you! You are much stronger than you think you are. Stay humble and be patient with yourself. You may not be there yet, but you are on your way. Now let your light shine through for the entire world to see.
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