Surviving Daughter of Josephine S., 40-Year Fighter

Jo Ann,

Thanks for sharing your mom's story. Her oncologist was right: having cancer doesn't mean you've been given a death sentence. I am living proof of that!

Kim

I would like to tell the story of a wonderful and amazing woman, Josephine Strelzoff, my mother. My mother was born in 1921. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1967. The doctors told her it would only be a partial mysectomy when it ended up being a "full" mysectomy. In the process of being diagosed her and Frank Strelzoff were in the middle of adopting me, a 16 month old little girl. At this time my mother was 46. She was so afraid the adoption agency would find out she had cancer and deny them adopting me. They didn't.

In 1987, now at the age of 66 she was diagnosed again with breast cancer and had to have her other breast removed. She remained cancer free for about another 5 years when again she was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had the tumor removed and we thought all was well. As it turned out, her cancer returned now into her lymph nodes which spread to bones, mostly in her thoracic area. She started chemo therapy again but after a year of therapy she took herself off of it. She continued taking her "cancer free" pill, as I like to call it, but eventually in 2005 she was told the cancer had spread to her lungs to her vocal cords. On Dec 1, 2007 she ended up in the hospital due to a lower abdominal obstruction. They had to do emergency surgery on her, which she made it thru but due to the tube that they use during the surgery, it irritated her vocal cords worse and it became very difficult for her to breath. She was very tired of all the fighting she had done for the past 40 years and wanted to join my father in heaven. I have never met someone who put up such a fight.

Here she was diagnosed back in 1967 when the medicine we know today was nothing
back then. She passed away Dec 9, 2007, she was 86, but it wasn't because of the cancer. She taught me that no matter how old you are, you must fight to go on living. Her oncologist once said to me, just becuase someone might have "cancer" does no longer mean a "death sentence" I want to believe this and do believe this. I am 43 and all I can think of is my mom battled with breast cancer as long as I've been alive... My mom was a 40 year breast cancer survivor and this is her story. Rest in peace mom, I love you!

Your Daughter,
Jo Ann S.