another newcover needs help

2motivate

Wanted: breast cancer survivors and their loved ones! My Aunt Jeanette recently began her fight with breast cancer. Although she has family and friends who love, support, and pray for her, I need your special support. Please write an inspirational/motivational story, thought, message to my Aunt Jeanette via me. Anything you contirbute will be printed off and put in envelopes and then placed in a basket I am calling the "motivate me" basket which will be given to her. Any time she needs a little extra special support she can read a message from someone who has been there. I believe the power of your words will help her to fight the most important fight of her life! Thank you.

tiger

Hi there, this is Tiger, I think what you are doing is fantastic, I know for a fact your aunt will be ok, just for the simple reason that she has someone like you looking out for her, and she is woman, we are women,see us fight!!! I am 31 soon to be 32,and was diagnosed last Christmas Eve with breast cancer, I had a mastectomy in January 00, and found out a week later that the cancer had spread to my liver, I had six tumours on my liver, I started chemo on January 28,which also happens to be my hubbys birthday,I did three rounds of chemo,then a cat scan and it showed four of the tumours had disappeared!!! and the remaining two were shrinking!!! I underwent three more doses of the same chemo,did another cat scan but it showed a bit of growth, I did two more doses of the same chemo,but turned down the last one as I was starting to go crazy,did another cat scan and it showed considerable growth. Now I am doing Herceptin/Taxol,and after three courses the tumours are shrinking again!!!! I figure that anything good worth having is worth fighting for. I am independant and stubborn as a mule and I will win this fight because the Drs. told me I would not. The best way to get me fired up is to tell me that I cannot do something, well, I am proving them wrong so far, I have gained weight and I look the picture of health,the only way you would know anything is different about me is because I am bald. When my hair started to fall out after my first chemo, I went with my mother and had my hairdresser shave my head, my husband loved it!! I have two sons, ages 9 and 31/2,and they keep me going. We have fun and live each day as normally as possible,I cook,clean and do everything I normally did before, the only difference now is that I quit my job, I was working 12 hr days and never saw my family,and when I did I was stressed out from work, now I am calm and relaxed and able to be a real mom and wife, being happy and relaxed will go along way to fighting the cancer too, if you are stressed your body wont fight back as well.I am into my eleventh month of chemo, and I figure i will finish on my hubbys birthday in jan 01, it is just meant to be. My birthday is jan 29,69 and his is jan 28,68, so you can see we were meant to be together, therefore I have to beat this cancer!!!!The ladies on this site have been absolutely wonderful,if I am feeling low after a chemo, which usually plays with my emotions, i will email for a pick me up and a few hours later i get a bunch that make me feel good again, finding this network was one of the best things that has happened to me.Cancer is a journey,sometimes a short one, sometimes a long one,but whichever it is, have fun with it,the nurses get to know you and you can have fun with them and other people you meet.Friends and family are a great source of love,but negativity is not good,as rude as it sounds,you have to distance yourself from anyone who is negative,this is the fight of a lifetime,you need laughter,and sunshine,happy people,not people who are always asking if you are tired,because then you will start to feel tired,positive thinking is the key.Boy, I am sorry I tend to be a little long winded, but I get on here and just pour everything out. We are here to help you and someday we will be calling on you to help us, by writing to someone else on here who asks for help, makes you feel stronger. Carry on as per normal, and dont believe a word the Drs tell you!!!! You will know in your heart that you are going to be fine.I have a friend who had a lumpectomy ten years ago, about four years ago the cancer came back in the other breast, she had another lumpectomy and last year the cancer spread to her lungs,liver,bones,and eye, the first time i met her i thought she was a caregiver for someone with cancer, then she told me her story, well I could not believe it, she looks outstanding!!! her oncologist is keeping her cancer from growing,and says she could live another 100 years just the way she is!! You should go through all the letters in this site, there are some great ones and some nice stories too that you could print off. We are here pretty much 24/7 there are women here from all over the world,you are not alone ,we are all fighting with you. Along with this letter I am sending a huge hug and lots of love and some of my stubornness!!!I am part Spanish and all Maritimer, so I have lots to go around!!!! best of luck,and hope to hear from you soon. Fight the good fight and dont sweat the small stuff!!!!!!! love from Tiger xoxoxox

jane38

Your Aunt Jeanette is a very lucky lady, to have such a caring niece! Stay close to her, listen to her, help her, be there for her. Encourage her to live her life to the fullest. None of us know for certain when we are going to die, and one of the benefits of being a breast cancer survivor is that we now appreciate every day. The sun is brighter, the moon bigger and prettier, the stars close enough to touch, the flowers smell sweeter. Everything around us has taken on a new meaning. I have learned how to forgive which was a real problem for me. I no longer hold resentments against anyone. It's a waste of my time and my energy. It's much easier to love unconditionally. I have also learned to ask for help when I need it. That was very hard for me to do as I am a very independent woman. My family has taken on a new meaning now. I am in the process of bringing my family closer together, to forget the petty differences because in the big picture, these are not important. Tiger has said it all so eloquently. If ever a hero is needed, Tiger is a true hero, at least in my book she is. You can read my story on my web page. It's pretty mundane and ordinary. My thoughts and prayers are with your Aunt Jeanette and with you. Please keep us posted as to her progress. We are here for both of you. Jane

tcbangels

Dear Jeanette:
I'm a newcomer to the support group on breast cancer because I just bought a computer, but not to breast cancer. I got breast cancer 6yrs ago in March, so I know what you are going through.I never went to a support group but I had more support from my family the love & compassion they gave me help me through it so much.When you hear that big C word you say O know I'm going to died well thats not true, you will live you have to just give it to the Lord & let him take it from you.My family & Lord did everything for me.My husband was the best he accepted that breast gone better than I did because the woman part in me.When I lost my hair that depress me so much I lost my hair in blothches I look like I had a mohawk,My husband shave the rest off , than I was sitting in the kitchen with my daughter my husband had went in the bedroom for a while when he came out he didn't have no hair he look at me & said well baby we are finally twins now .I cry so much to know my husband loved me so much he did that for me.Jeanette I think you have a very special niece who loves you a lot & wants to help you through your ordeal & all I can say don't turn them down they want to do this for you, I believe you are a very special woman who your family loves you a lot.I know I had family that wanted to do for me as well but unless you go through it they don't know what you are feeling I know the first year I had it I would ask the doctor everytime something happen to me I would panic.I got me a composition book & I wrote everything down in it that I could than my husband help me with it because when you are married its not just you have the cancer your spouse as well I had the cancer cells but both of us had the cancer & we even wrote the why's why me ?We both were mad but not at each other but at the disease.That composition book help me a lot to over come all my fears that I had .Its but this is the way I look at it.What you need to do Jeanette is think about a very cloudy day its so cloudy you know there's fixing to be a storm & that storm is going to have a lot of bad weather in it .Than you look outside & see that storm is almost over the clouds are going away & you lookup at the sky & you see that SON peeking out of those clouds, before you know it the son is all the way out & shinning so very bright ,than you know the worst of the storm is over & the son is shinning again look at it that way for you days ahead & the son is there & he's not going to leave you & soonas those clouds go away he;ll be there shinning the light for you so think positive & say I'm going through the dtorm but soon as the storms over the son will shine again I hope this helps you & my prayers are with you so much
love in CHRIST --CHERYL