Today...She Spoke!

I TOOK THE DAY OFF!

I Volunteer with The American Cancer Society,
Action Network in Illinois.
The asked me to SPEAK before The Illinois General
Assembly...
Department Of Health And Human Services,
Illinois Health Appropriations Committee.
(This Committee deals with Public Health Issues, and Funding)

Wow...That was a mouthful!

The Committee was ATTEMPTING to DETERMINE...

Just how MUCH...
Of the Governor's PROPOSED Cuts...
They would VOTE For.
Governor Quinn PROPOSED...
3.3 Million in cuts to IBCCP Funding.
If you've READ my Blog...
You are AWARE that Program,

SAVED MY LIFE!

The Program PROVIDES...
TOTAL Care for Women with Breast Cancer.

REGARDLESS OF INCOME!

LACK...Of...Insurance...

Is what DETERMINES your ELIGIBILITY.

SO CUT...WHAT?

I HAD TO SPEAK!

CUTS=DEATH!
(And, NO...I'm NOT being OVERLY Dramatic!)

After WAITING almost FOUR Hours...

It was MY TURN!

I closed my eyes...

And, ASKED the Lord...

TO USE ME!

It's IMPORTANT...
That the LEGISLATORS,
HAVE A FACE...TO PUT ON THIS DISEASE.

WE ARE MORE THAN JUST "NUMBERS" ON A BUDGET PROPOSAL!

They NEED to KNOW...
LIVES WILL BE AFFECTED!
LIVES "HANG" IN THE BALANCE,
BASED ON THE DECISIONS THEY MAKE!

I UNDERSTAND...
They have to be FISCALLY Responsible.

But,

As I "expressed" to them...
A MORAL responsibility,
Should "trump" that!

1 in 8  Women...
(I kid you not!)
Are DIAGNOSED with this disease EVERYDAY!

We Did NOTHING...
To DESERVE it.

I BELIEVE God "allows" things to occur in your LIFE...

TO SEE...

WHAT YOU WILL DO.
WHO YOU WILL BECOME.
AND, HOW IT WILL "TRANSFORM"...
YOUR LIFE...YOUR FAITH.

I told a "Sister" from Susan G. Komen TODAY...

BEING DIAGNOSED with BREAST CANCER...

ALLOWED MY "BREAKTHROUGH"'.
ALL THE "STUFF"...
THAT HAD NO PLACE...
TAKING UP "RESIDENCE" IN MY LIFE...

GONE!

I WAS HUMBLED...
I WAS "NAKED" FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE.
"STRIPPED"...BARE!

BUT...

I BECAME A "BETTER" VERSION OF...ME!

I AM AN ADVOCATE FOR THIS DISEASE.
I AM PASSIONATE ABOUT THIS CAUSE!

I PRAY...
THAT "ONE" DAY...
WE LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT...
BREAST CANCER.

IMAGINE THAT.

TODAY SHE SPOKE.

Until Next Time...

"TO GOD BE THE GLORY!"

A FRIEND...IN NEED!

If you are anything like me...
You've HEARD things like this,
All your LIFE.

"In each LIFE...A little RAIN must FALL"
"It's ALWAYS darkest BEFORE the DAWN"

From "well meaning"...
Parents,
Grandparents.

Although,
When I was DIAGNOSED with Breast Cancer...
It DIDN'T rain...
IT POURED!

But, I've LEARNED,
There IS truth...
In ALL those OLD sayings.

On one such RAINY Day...
During my Chemotherapy,
I was feeling OVERWHELMED!
So, I drove to Mercy Hospital...
For a Breast Cancer Support Group.

As LUCK would have it...

It was the WRONG Day!

And...With TEARS welling up in my eyes...
THREATENING...To "spill" out...
The Nurse said, "Wait!"

There IS a Class in the Conference Room,

Called, "Look Good...Feel Better"

The Class is given by The American Cancer Society.

She went on to say...
"It teaches women going THROUGH Chemotherapy,"
How to "camouflage"...
The LOSS of your...
Hair...Eyebrows...Eyelashes.
Make-Up Classes.

NOT quite what I had in mind!

But...at the very LEAST,
There would be Women,
Who LOOKED like ME...
BALD,
And, ENDURING Chemotherapy.
(Yes...I ENDURED!)

So...I took...

A LEAP OF FAITH!

There were at least six women there.

In EVERY color of the Rainbow.

I "gravitated" towards a "Sister" who was there.
Who "appeared" even sicker than me!

She LAUGHED...TALKED...
Had FUN with her Make-Up!

Virginia.
(She won't mind me using her "real" name!)

We spoke...
Didn't exchange numbers.
But, when I returned home,
I mentioned her to my daughter.

At the next Support Group...
(Finally, had the date right!)

There she was.

We became "fast" friends!

Virginia had 1 Round of Chemo left...
I had 3...(I have to admit...just a "little" jealous!)
She was ALMOST done!

We DISCOVERED...
We had ALOT in COMMON.

Our Daughters are around the same age...

Both Of Us...

PROFESSIONAL,
STRONG,
INDEPENDENT,
(Did I mention...OPINIONATED?)
Women!

"Struggling" with CANCER.

DEALING...
With the RECENT LOSS...
Of OUR Moms.

NOW...

We're "Sisters"
(In EVERY sense!)

WE LAUGH,
WE CRY,
WE PRAY,
Together!

WE ENCOURAGE,
WE UPLIFT,
WE SUPPORT,
Each Other!

(It DOESN'T go AWAY after Treatment is OVER!)

We SHARE...ALL that we HAVE.

I have a FRIEND...

FOR LIFE!

Who has WALKED in my SHOES.
Who has ALSO come THROUGH...
VICTORIOUS!
On the "Other" Side,
Of Breast Cancer.

Who QUITE Simply Put...

UNDERSTANDS!

A FRIEND...INDEED!

Until Next Time...

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend,
who sticks closer than a brother"
Proverbs 18:24

Just Beneath The Surface...

No matter how HARD I try,
The Remnants...
Of My Breast Cancer Journey,
Remain...

Just...Beneath...The...Surface.

Lying...Dormant.

Waiting...

For the OPPORTUNITY,

To...Take...Me...Back!

To a Place...Far...Far...Away.

A Land...

Where the MEMORIES...

Of ALL I've ENDURED,

Are it's INHABITANTS.

A Place that REMINDS Me...

That although the BATTLE,

Has been WON...

There's still BLOOD,

Left on the BATTLEFIELD.

When you SURVIVE a Cancer Diagnosis,

You don't LEAVE...

UNSCATHED.

Memories are ALWAYS There.

The SCARS...

Gentle Reminders...

That Lord, " I know I've been CHANGED!"

I Don't, " DWELL" on what's happened.

But...

It's ALWAYS There...

Waiting...Just...Beneath...The...Surface.

When I'm HAPPY...It's Waiting.
When I STRUGGLE...It's Waiting.

Just...Beneath...The...Surface.

For the CHANCE...TO...

This wasn't part of MY Plan.
But, I've LEARNED...
( "Storms" are GREAT Teachers!)
This was PART of God's PLAN,
For My Life.

So...

FATHER...
(And, His Name will be called...)

YOUR WILL...
(Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God...)

NOT MY WILL...
(Everlasting Father, Prince Of Peace.)

BE DONE!

Until Next Time...

" Commit your way to the Lord, Trust in Him, And He shall bring it to pass."
Psalms 37:5

Enough...

My daughter "cringes" when I say,
"Breast Cancer...Was a BLESSING!"
The Treatment...Harsh!

I KNOW...

It will take MY LIFETIME...

To "HEAL"...
Emotionally.

But...YES!

It's been a BLESSING!

I've been FORCED, to LEARN,
Some "HARD" Lessons.

One Being...

LIFE...
Isn't about the Planning.

But, about the LIVING...
One Day,
One Step,
One Moment...
At a Time!

Cancer,
FORCES You.
To FACE,
The INEVITABILITY...Of Death...

HEAD ON!

And, IF you...

S-U-R-V-I-V-E...

You RECEIVE...God's BLESSING...

Of GRACE.

The "things"...Of this World,
That you THOUGHT Mattered.

Career...Wealth...Status...Possessions.

You LEARN...

Really...Don't...Hold...ANY...Value...

AT ALL!

Lesson Two,

I NO LONGER NEED...

The "fanciest" Car,
The most "prestigious" Job.

I...HAVE... LEARNED!

Just HAVING...

A Car,
A Job,

IS ENOUGH!

That's what Cancer..
.
Teaches YOU.

That just having...

The NECESSITIES...

Are ENOUGH!

Lesson Three...

The ONLY "things"...

I NEED...

IN ABUNDANCE...

GOD'S LOVE...
FAMILY...
FRIENDSHIP...

And, a LIFE...

Filled...With...JOY!

That Is,

ENOUGH...

FOR ME!

Until Next Time...

"Though you do not see Him, Yet Believing, you REJOICE with JOY Inexpressible"
1 Peter 1:8

Whole...Again!

When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer,
In 2009...
MANY Things were TAKEN from me.

My Livelihood...
(I was UNABLE to work during Treatment!)

My Health...
(Chemotherapy took a toll on my body!)

My Self Image...
(The Lord GIVES...And, TAKES Away!)

But...What...
COULDN'T be TAKEN...
MY FAITH!

Facing such UNCERTAINTY...
ALL...I...HAD...WAS...GOD!

EASY?
NO!

Yet, I MADE it Through!

My Journey...
Taught me MANY Lessons...

Humility...Gratitude...Grace...
(Just to name a few!)

A RENEWED Belief...
That WITH God...
NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE!

We HUMANS...
Mere Mortals that we are.

USE that Phrase OFTEN!
Sounds Good, Right?

But, a WALK...
A Journey...
Such as MINE.

Made Those Words...

MY REALITY!

Almost FOUR Years Later...

And, STILL, "CANCER FREE"
(GLORY To God!)

ALL...That was TAKEN..
.
Has been RESTORED!

I have PERMANENT Implants,
I have an UNSHAKEABLE Faith!
I have WOMEN who SURROUND Me,
That have WALKED in my Shoes.

I'm READY...
For WHATEVER Life...
Sends my way!

I have GOD to THANK...
For this RENEWED...
AWAKENING.

WHY?
You Say...

Because HE...And, ONLY HE...

Made ME...WHOLE...AGAIN!

Until Next Time...

"We are the Clay, And You our Potter."
Isaiah 64:8

Genes...

When you are diagnosed,
With Breast Cancer...
You discover who REALLY loves,
And, CARES about YOU.

I know for SOME...

Watching someone you LOVE suffer...
Is HARD!

But, you have to REMEMBER...

It's even HARDER...

For the person who has to ENDURE...

The Treatment!

Going IN...
I had NO expectations.
I was going to BEAT this,
No matter what!

My FAMILY was ALWAYS there...
Doctor's Visits...Surgeries...Chemo...
And, Radiation.

But, what was even more UPLIFTING for me...

I Discovered...
I had ANOTHER Family.
We didn't share the same GENES...
But, the LOVE shown to me,
By Them...

Was INSTRUMENTAL...

In my HEALING...
Conquering this Disease!

Many that I had WORSHIPPED with,
WORKED with,
FRIENDS of my Family,

OVERWHELMED Me.
With their THOUGHTFULNESS!

There wasn't a DAY...

That I didn't receive,
A Card...A Phone Call...A Visit,

To ENCOURAGE Me,
To REMIND Me.

That I was being PRAYED For!

To HELP on "those" days...
When I felt,
I COULDN'T ...

Genes are IMPORTANT.
(Especially a "good" fitting pair!)

They "make-up"...WHO we are.

Through this Journey,

I've LEARNED a VALUABLE Lesson...

LOVE...

ABOUNDS...With, and Without Them!

Until Next Time...

" A Friend LOVES at ALL Times"...Proverbs 17:17

What's Left For Me To Prove?

Since being Diagnosed,
With Breast Cancer...
I tend to not "sweat",
The "small" stuff.

(That INCLUDES..."small" minded people!)

I'm 52 years old...

And, I've done some "things" in
My Life.

I've had..."BIG" titles...
That paid me WELL.

I started at the bottom.

$7 dollars per hour,
Fresh out of an LPN Program in 1987.
And, I was "grateful" for it!
I had a...Profession,
Not "just" a job!
(For a single Mom...It was a "godsend!")

The Apostle Paul gave,(in my opinion!)
The "greatest" summation of one's,
Life Experiences...

"I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all
things, I have LEARNED...both to be FULL
and to be HUNGRY. Both to ABOUND and
to SUFFER need".

And, it ends with...

"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:12-13.

So, with all that in mind...

The only opinion that "concerns" me....

Is what Jesus will think of My Life!

I was "spared"...From DYING from Breast Cancer.
Have I HELPED another "Pink Sister"...
Through her Journey?

I CONTINUE my "emotional" healing,
From this disease.
Because of my "network" of "Pink Sisters"...
Our Support Group...Is Life-Affirming!
Have I brought another "Pink Sister" in?
Into our AMAZING Community of Support?

I PROUDLY wear my PINK...

I did NOTHING to "deserve" this disease,
(You didn't do anything...WRONG!)
Have I shared this with another Sister?

So...

Whatever "drove" me at work...
The desire to prove...My Knowledge,
My Worth before Breast Cancer...

No longer exists!

ALL I want to prove...

NOW

Is My Life a reflection of Christ?

Do you see "Him" when you encounter me?

I just want to hear the words...

"My SERVANT...Well done!"

Until Next Time...