Together we beat it down

I REFUSE to let this demon take control of my life. Sadly, to say on April 12th, 2018, it was a change in my life. I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I couldn't believe it hit so close to home. I remember sitting in my doctor's office as he said those words, "You have stage 3 breast cancer." I didn't hear anything else. My mind was so far gone, my heart stopped beating for a split second, my hands were trembling and I was yelling from the top of my head but yet not a sound came out. I felt cold, alone, and so lost. Then I blurted out, “Am I going to die?” still in a state of shock as the tears rolled down my face. I couldn't wait for this visit to be over as I walked to my car still in disbelief, confused and nervous. So I immediately called my BFF hoping that she would pick up the phone, and when I heard her voice on the other line immediately I broke down once more. She said, “Weeksy what's wrong?” I don't know how she heard me through all the crying. I said, “I have cancer.” I heard her take in a deep breath and release. Then she replied, “We got this. You're so strong and that's one of the things I admire about you, and don't forget we serve a higher power. With him by our side, all things are possible. So now I need for you to pull yourself together and drive yourself home and we'll talk later.” On the drive home I was thinking about how I was going to break the news to my family because I didn't want to mess up their focus. My daughters were both in college and it was around midterm time, so I waited a month later to tell them over dinner. At the same time, I invited my mother-in-law and let her in on it too. That was the best thing I could have done because the support was so amazing. It made everything so easy, it gave me the courage to tell the rest of my family and my friends at work. It felt so good not to hold it in anymore; that was just the beginning.

Now on to the next battle, chemo. Oh yes, chemo came out throwing punches but it was no battle for God, me and my support team behind me. Yes, I always had two or more people with me who walk with faith, and every Friday chemo lost the battle. Moving right along with the next step in my life, that was radiation. It was kind of different because your family wasn’t allowed in the room, but my God was. Just knowing that he was by my side through it all, there was no battle that I couldn’t tackle. So, what I’m simply trying to say is stay prayed up, have your family around you, and be happy at all times because sometimes there will be those bad days, but what you need to do is turn them into good days. With happiness, faith and family you can conquer it all. Stay true to yourself and don’t let anybody or anything steal your joy.