Wednesday, October 21, 2015
A Story To Tell
Hey guys! How has life been treating ya? I can't believe how long it has been since I have been on here. Life seems to be going a hundred miles a minute. Seriously. Little man has been getting so big. He will be 2 in December! The girls have been doing great in school. With so much going on at the spa (oh yeah! I forgot to tell you. I have been working part-time/on-call) and throw in my home-based business I guess you can say things around here have been anything BUT Zen. But it's all good. I really have been blessed.
There have been tons of changes going on with people close to me. Some good. Some not so great. But hey, the Lord wouldn't throw anything your way that you couldn't handle right? So let me give you a little scenario so you can understand what I mean by "tons of changes"...
Picture this; You just finished giving birth to a beautiful, healthy baby. You and your husband are excited and feel so blessed for this wonderful addition to your family. You figure, this time around will be like any other. Heck! It's your 4th child, so you guys are pros, right? You've seen it all. You've experienced it all. Bring it on!
Days go by. Months go by. Nursing your baby is going great. Except, you begin to feel a lump forming on one of your breasts. You brush it off as a clogged duct because, well, stuff like that happens when you nurse. Only, the lump doesn't seem to be going away.
You decide to talk to your OB about it. He isn't concerned because you are young, healthy and have no family history of anything that may raise concern. But, just as a precaution, you are sent to get an ultrasound, then a biopsy. OUCH!
After testing, life goes on as normal. You are supermom once again. Then the phone rings. It's the doctors office with your results...and then the bomb drops. You have CANCER.
A few weeks ago I spoke to my cousin up North. This is actually her story. You see, she has no family history of cancer. She is only 34. She doesn't smoke. She doesn't live an unhealthy lifestyle. She is just a normal, dedicated mother and wife. According to her doctor, what MAY have caused the the cancer were her pregnancy hormones. Paired with nursing, this helped push the cancer along. Because of all the hormonal changes, her immune system was not strong enough for the fight. So here she is. Mother of 4, fighting Breast Cancer.
It's crazy how one minute, you think you have everything under control. Then, suddenly, someone pulls the rug from under you. How do you cope? How do you continue to be the strong woman that you have always been? The first thing that ran through her mind were her children. The baby was only 9 months old. Now she is finally learning how to let go. Let go of all control and let people help. Which is something that a lot of us can identify with.
Finding out that she has cancer has been very eye opening. I was in complete disbelief. She is so young. The brutal, honest truth is that Cancer can strike anyone. It doesn't matter how old you are. What your ethnicity is. Male. Female. My cousin wanted her story told so that people could be made aware that you don't have to be 50+ to get screened. Unfortunately, many insurance companies do not urge you to get checked until you are 40-50 years of age. Hopefully her story will inspire you to take control and be proactive.
This past weekend, she and her family participated in the American Cancer Society: Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. She now has a story to tell and her strength, bravery and positive attitude will get her through this. Honestly, I really struggled with how to write her story. I wanted to make sure that I helped her spread awareness by writing some epic piece. But then I realized, this doesn't have to be some Nobel Piece Prize winning entry.
Hearing and writing her story made me remember that our time on this wonderful earth is not promised to us. We have to be grateful for every waking moment we have. Grateful for each and every person that touches our lives in some way. Don't get so engulfed in work, chores, errands, social media and anything else that takes your attention away from what is really important. Stop trying to be perfect or better than anyone else. Just be you and enjoy every minute of it. Focus on what is truly important to you and follow your dreams. Life is a blessing. It won't always be perfect, but it will ALWAYS be precious. Life is not quite Zen, but we can all work on it.
During the month of October, Florida Hospital is offering Digital Screening Mammograms for only $35. To my local ladies, you can call (407)303-7500 to schedule your appointment at one of their 11 Central Florida locations.
For more information about Breast Cancer early detection, please visit www.cancer.org
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| Visit www.cancer.org for more information |
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