Taking it One Day at a Time

Breast Friends extends our condolences for your recent diagnosis. That being said, we also want you to know that even though cancer is serious and some will not survive, the rate of survival is on the increase and in many cases the disease is not only treatable but curable.  We are here for you.

Surviving and Thriving

Whichever treatment options you may experience, it’s important to keep track of the messages your body is sending you.  Allow others who care for you to offer their support and encouragement, and take it one day at a time. Here are some resources we’ve collected that may be useful for you as you go through this journey.  Remember, we are here to answer your questions.  All of our volunteers and staff members are survivors who have been through the cancer journey.  Though we don’t give clinical advice, we can answer most questions on treatment options and expectations. 

Welcome to the Sisterhood!

Finishing treatment should be a wonderful time – a cause to celebrate – but it is often not the way it is.  Our friends and family members have expectations that we are “back to normal.”  Our kids are happy Mom is able to do what she did before treatment.  Our partners are excited that the need for special care is over.  Our bosses and co-workers are excitedly waiting for our return to work, fully expecting that we are the same as before we went out on medical leave.

The truth is …

“When am I a survivor?” Is it after I’m diagnosed? Is it when I’ve finished all my treatment? Is it on my one- year, three-year or five-year anniversary?” Though Breast Friends has not put together a written statement on when that exact moment occurs, I think we all can agree that it is personal to each of us. All stories…

~ Featured Story ~

Cancer Survivor/What a difference a diagnose could make

“An Awakening”

When I was diagnosed with Breast cancer a few years ago, I reacted like most; the first thing came to mind was “a death sentence”. However, I found out later it was truly “an Awakening” for me; even being diagnosed with “colon cancer” a few years later, but still alive to tell about them both. I began questioning God. Why would he do this to me? What had I done so wrong in life to have this placed upon me? But instead of bemoaning my fate, I decided to look for the positive side of this; has to be a reason for it all.

I also realized that I was about to face a new beginning, new hope, do and see more with a whole new prospective on life. When I think of the “gift of life” that was given to me, I know that I will develop and gain strength from all my experiences. Even with all the current complications I now have to live with, and all the struggles I’ve dealt with, my whole life, I still feel truly blessed. I was unhappy with how I looked and the excruciating pain I had to endure, but I decided to snap out of it. I thought about the individuals that are no longer among us. I also realize that there will always be someone worse off than I am. Who am I to complain, “I still have my life”. I felt the compulsion to write and turn my experiences into therapy. I felt something of a miracle and turn it into a poem called it “Peace”.  I took that poem, along with many others I had composed during my “breast cancer” period and placed it into book form. I was blessed enough to have the book published and it’s titled, “True Simple Poems of Life, Faith and Survival”.  

I’m hoping that anyone who has the opportunity to read my poems get out of them, what I placed in all of them. My poems are from the heart of a cancer survivor, as real as any could ever be. I never anticipated becoming a writer, I just became one. With the words and phrases of each poem of statement, I wish to make a positive impact on others similarly afflicted with tragedy and life threatening conditions. I hope it gives them the strength to embrace life in a whole new way. I truly believe when you survive a horrific tragedy or a horrible disease as cancer, it’s for a reason, you have a purpose and I want to live to find out exactly what that is for me. The experiences I’ve had to endure and the strength I developed from it all, are what gave me insight to form the words of my poems.

 I recently had another inspirational children’s book published called “If Only I could fly, said Mattie-bee” and I’m working on my third. I would have never become a writer, producing inspirational stories, if I had not gone through all that I did. I’m a true example that you can survive any cancer not once, but twice, providing that you catch it in time. I’m not saying that it will all be easy, but you must have faith and allow that faith to direct your path. This is what my experiences with cancer made of me, a true believer!
Thank You,
Karen Rice/x2 cancer Survivor/now Author

All stories…