Stand Firm

Hearing the news that you or your loved one has cancer (in my case, breast cancer) is a tough pill to swallow; it's life-changing. A million things go through your head: What's next? Is surgery needed? Chemo (will there be hair loss)? Radiation? Am I going to die? What about my family-husband, kids, our finances? What do you do, or how do you even move forward?

With so many questions and uncertainty, the first thing that came to me was, I am going through this for a reason, and while I may not know right now, God knows. I told myself I am going to journal and document my every experience so I would be able to give my testimony to encourage and help others, giving them strength-mentally, emotionally, and/or spiritually! I wasn't sure at the time, but I thought, just in case I decide to write about it, I decided to be very open about my journey and diagnosis. By doing so, it led me down pathways I wouldn't have journeyed on otherwise, and it led me to people whom I would help as they were beginning their journey through their cancer diagnosis.

In this book, you'll read about my personal journey as a breast cancer survivor; check out the listed resources that I was able to use to help us as well as pictures that document my life throughout this journey. I got firsthand experience in becoming my own navigator and health advocate-from finding doctors to surgery, post-op, and recovery! Just when I thought there was a light at the end of the tunnel, it got that much further away because my diagnosis would become worse before it got better, which completely changed my treatment plan.

Each story of survivorship reveals a unique path through their journey, and as I continue on mine, I am here to bring you along for the ride in hopes that my story will help you in some way or lead you to be able to help someone else.