Survivor Story - Sherry C.

You GO, Sherry! The reason I called this blog "Ya Only Live Once" is because, since having cancer, I try to live by those words. After I was diagnosed with a Stage IV recurrence in 2006, I vacationed to the Rocky Mountains (which I'd wanted to see for a long time,) thinking I better do the things I've always wanted to, and SOON! I finally started getting my photo albums in order (okay ... that endeavor was short-lived!) and I visited friends and family I hadn't seen in a long time. But a year or 2 into my very successful treatment, I started to realize that we, all of us, should ALWAYS live ilke this! Because I have cancer, I've been given a big reminder of my impending mortality. But the truth is, lives are taken in an instant in car crashes, heart attacks, you name it. You never know when your time will come. Or your loved ones'! So don't put off the things in life you've always wanted to do. Ya only live once! :)

In Feb, the Dr. called me to say the biopsy did not look good and that as soon as all the tests were complete, he would call me again. Two days later he called to say "Well, you DO have cancer" and then asked me to come seehim the next day after undergoing my first CT/Bone Scan. That was hard as the x-ray tech grilled me about why I was having it done. After about three attempts of saying it any which way other than using the C word, I finally blurted out, "I have CANCER." Me? I thought about it and soon came to the realization it was true. That afternoon, in a further whirlwind of the mind, I was in the Dr.s office. He first asked "why is there no one with you?" Well, I am single and miles away from any family. We both sat down on his sofa and he began drawing diagrams, listing statistics, and then in a seperate column laying down my personal data. A family history, repeated biopsys, and the type I had. By the end, it was decided a double mastectomy was best....next week!

The day came and very calmly I lay on a strectcher with friends coming in to pray with me, laugh with me, and wish me well. The Dr.'s last words before surgery was "I don't expect any surprises!" Well, that was short lived when he called me two days after I left the hospital. "I thought we had gotten it all, but we took out a few lymph nodes just to make sure. The results were...now he struggled for words....it has spread. You need chemo. Its stage 11B or [perhaps 111?) Well, luckily I am now 3 years out and so far "cancer free", but another developement came...I also have SLE. So I am still on a milder form of oral chemo and go in every six to eight weeks for an IV treatment.

Whatever, I celebrate each day I wake up, each time I have another clear CT/Bone Scan and every time I find another positive thing towards my future. Right after the chemo was done, I took a mini dinner cruise, a year later a hot air balloon ride, and now I am looking forward to a helicopter tour. Celebrate your life, no matter how big or how small a milestone maybe. Just because cancer may have challenged you, it doesn't mean you can't challenge yourself. Live to tell about your adventures, most of all do whatever you can to live, live, LIVE!(and of course love and laugh too).

Sherry C.