I decided to create this page so that my viewers could get more involved. If you have a particularly touching story, that you feel needs to be shared, please let me hear it! It can be completely anonymous if you choose, or can use real names. The story that you share with me will be posted under this tab. If you know of an unexplainable curing that happened to someone with cancer, or the story is simply of one that is in honor or memory of a particular person or yourself. Please don't hesitate! I would love to hear from you! =D
I feel like before posting everyone else's stories, you should know a little about my background with cancer. Let me begin with, I was 7 years old and living with my family in eastern NC. The year was 1999 and Hurricane Floyd had just devastated the NC coastline and my hometown of Tarboro, NC. During the Christmas season of that year, I was sitting in the ER waiting room for a family member when one of my parents noticed a large lump on the right side of my neck. My mother was in nursing school at the time and was immediately concerned. Not too long after that I saw the doctor and he iniatially thought that it was nothing more than Cat Scratch Fever, but after more tests he soon discovered that it was NHL.
I started treatment right after the diagnosis and continued it for about 6 months. They could not remove the tumor with surgery because it was sitting directly on a nerve that controlled the upper right half of my body. During those six months it was hard for my family because we were financially burdened and my parents were doing all they could just to keep us afloat, not to mention the fact that my mom was in college, while I was in the hospital.
After discontinuing treatment, I was well enough to go to camp. I still had my regular check-ups with my wonderful oncologist and the caring nurses, to whom I owe a huge thanks! When 5 years had passed, I was considered "In remission." I've been so now for 14 years! =)
I would also like to share with you my family's history with cancer and some honoring and inspirational stories about them...
First, my Great Grandmother Essie O'neal at one point, many years before I was born, had breast cancer. She has long since passed from other causes and is well missed, but cancer did not beat her. At that point in time, the survival rate for a person afflicted with breast bancer was 1 in 3. She was that one!
Second, my Grandfather Jan Gardner developed bladder cancer. I don't remember much about his experience, but I do know that during that time, the overall survival rate for bladder cancer was 81 percent. He was part of that percentage.
Third, my Grandfather Harry Varnadore is still struggling with skin cancer. Many times he has gone to the doctor to have large pieces of skin taken off of his body because it has been deemed cancerous. This has probably come from spending so much time in cotton and tobacco fields when he was younger. The current overall survival rate for skin cancer is 91 percent.You get where I'm going with this?
Fourth, my Grandmother Lexie Varnadore. Her experience was more traumatizing to me than my own experience was. She developed Non-small Cell Lung Cancer. She smoked heavily up until shortly after I was born and after that she still continued to chew tobacco. When it was found, it had already spread to her bones and her liver. She was diagnosed in November of 2009; a few months later she was home on oxygen and bed rest, this was after starting chemo. During this time, I spend many of my days helping her cook and keep the house clean and doing things for her. I often swapped days with my aunts to help take care of her, as my aunts had families of their own and couldn't be there continually. Still, an even shorter amount of time after that she went in the hospital. I tried to stay by her side whenever I could. It hurt me to see her like that, but I wanted her to know that I was there. She passed away on March 4, 2010. On the day that she died, my cousin and I were going to have a mock graduation ceremony in her hospital room so that she could see her first grandchildren graduate from high school. At that point in time, the survival rate for a person with lung cancer was 15 percent. Unfortunately, she was not part of that percentage, but she will forever remain in my heart as a martyr!
And without further adue, here are your stories:
Our first story is one of inspiration for all the women out there. It comes to us from Billie Jo Whitehurst in North Carolina. This is her story...
"I found out on May 2, 2011, that I had Stage 1 Cervical Cancer. After telling my husband, my sister, my mom, then my in laws, I called Nancy Biggs Roberson (My bestfriend). We prayed and I gave it to God to handle. I had surgery in June of 2011. I'm blessed not to have had to go through chemo. The doctors were able to get it all. I just have to keep a close eye on myself because they left my left ovary, which is a blessing. Thank you God for loving me! I pray every night for everyone in this world who has any kind of disease to be held and pray for a cure. I know it could have been a lot worse. People just don't know how blessed they are, no matter what the situation is."
Thank you for sharing!
