As a physician, cancer was not something unknown to me. I was involved diagnosing and treating cancer for many years. When my beloved wife was diagnosed with breast cancer it became my goal to get her the best medical treatment possible.
It was New Year's Day, 2007, when my personal journey into the world of cancer would begin. The ease of life that existed before that day would be forever challenged; nothing would ever be the same again.
I am a cancer survivor of 19 years. Throughout the years, I have experienced being a cancer patient, survivor, caretaker and advocate. Each of these experiences helped me to gain the insight necessary to understand the importance of advocacy.
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer 8 years ago I wondered what good could possibly come from this journey. I made it through the chemo, surgery and radiation the only way I knew how; be tough, suck it up, and endure until the nightmare ended and I could get back to my normal life.
Almost from the day I was diagnosed with stage IIC ovarian cancer, I knew there was a reason, and that I could help others because of my experience. I started sharing through Care Pages, and soon had a large following of friends and family and friends of friends.
Taylor Bell was a healthy, athletic young woman enjoying the typical college life with her friends. Then two weeks after her 21st birthday Taylor received a shocking diagnosis: Lung cancer.
Sherri Romanoski, a teacher, wife, and mother of three had a great life. Then, in 2000, she got the call from her doctor: a diagnosis of breast cancer. While undergoing three surgeries and chemo, Sherri learned to be a fierce advocate for herself.
Hearing those three fateful words: “You have cancer,” can be one of the most life- changing events anyone can possibly encounter. Instantaneously life changes and will never be the same again. Most will ask the question with no possible answer, “Why me?”
s an 8-year, two-time cancer survivor, I’ve had friends lovingly tell me they worry that I think about cancer too much through my advocacy work. My response? “I will never stop thinking about cancer, so I may as well help some people along the way.”
I am a three-time cancer survivor who had my first cancer diagnosis at three years old. My second cancer came 30 years later, and I was diagnosed with my third cancer 30 years after that.
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