This is my mom's story, she passed away 12/29/2014 (two weeks ago) after a courageous battle with stage IV, it was her second time having it...the first time she was only 43 years old and it was stage I...it came back 11 years later as stage IV at the age of 54....she died at age 59...She was taken from us too soon! I am getting married in 5 months and she will not be there now...but I know she will be watching...I have decided to get "sleeve" tattoos now...all breast cancer related...it is my new mission in life...my old mission was to convince at least one person to go for their mammogram...and I did that. A co-worker has been putting it off for years now, after my mom's death and hearing her story, she has finally made the appointment.
I included part of the eulogy I gave at my mom's funeral...it was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do in my entire life
Who my mom was to me…she was a brave, selfless fighter, with a huge heart of gold, she is my hero, my best friend, the strongest woman I have ever known, someone I could talk to about anything, whether it was to get advice or when I just needed someone who would listen, we also worked together for over 10 years…she always stayed positive no matter how grim the situation may have been, giving up was Never an option for her…she was a wonderful and supportive mom to us, an awesome grandma to our kids, and a loving wife to my dad for almost 37 years…and finally…her courageous story of survival makes her an inspiration for other women (and men) fighting breast cancer everywhere. She had a 1 in 4 chance of living 5 or more years...well she was that ONE! She did it, she made it as long as she possibly could and fought cancer with every ounce of her strength up til the very end…just as she promised us she would! She fought for 5 years and 4 1/2 months!
Racine, WI
