My friend's Story from Tennessee

My friend/coworker had Breast Cancer in 1999 and went through the chemo treatment. She was so strong, she would go for her treatments, and most of the time she would come back to work at least for a little bit. She came back to work the day after she got out of the hospital for a few hours each day.

She never let her cancer get her down, and she was always upbeat about it. She even talked with my daughter about her illness because my daughter thought that Ms Donna was going to die. She has talked to other ladies about it and has even cried with one of our customers who found out that she had cancer. She is willing to talk to anyone about it, and is the first to encourage and make them laugh.

She had four children since 2000, and has never allowed anything to get her down. I have always told her that if I ever get real sick I want her to be in my corner cheering me on. She is an amazing person.

Jackson, Tennessee

Rita's Story from Tennessee

My sister Rita, is the sweetest lady you will ever meet. She never has anything bad to say about anyone, and she would be the first to say pick some one else for this award. She is probably not the neediest as through out her surgery, chemo and radiation she has worked every day she can. But her spirit is truly holy. She will tell you this has made her a much stronger person with a new outlook on life. So please remember her and pray for her and she will be praying for all the others who are much less fortunate. Her Big Sister Dianne.

Alamo, Tennessee

My Mother's Story from California

This story is about my mom. She is the youngest of eight kids. When she was in kindergarten her father was brutally murdered in Fiji. She was a brilliant student but didn’t go to college. She had an arranged marriage to my father. My father turned out to be abusive and an alcoholic. My mom left him and came back to live with her family.

Having being an Indian woman, and divorced even her family was not very supportive of her and what she has been through. Growing up I remember how difficult life was. We always lived with someone else, mainly her family and to be honest they weren’t very kind. They took advantage of our situation in every way they could. I remember when she told me that I was her only child, and she could not give me what I needed (though I never asked for things like most kids do), but when we got to America, life will be better. She promised.

When I was 13 we moved here, and mom worked two jobs to pay her own family’s rent, and endure anything and everything they put us through. In all this, I was diagnosed with severe depression and my mom finally decided to leave her family. We moved to San Jose.

Soon my mom was laid off from both jobs and we had no choice but to move to Sacramento to live with another uncle of mine (whom we lived with before in Fiji and wasn’t a joy). Finally, we managed to get on our feet somehow. She never remarried because her focus was always on me. She starting working at a good job and was there for five years. Something happened and she lost that job, and her medical benefits. Within a few months her breast cancer showed up. She didn’t say a thing to me at first because she knew she had no medical benefits and this would cause us hardship because we had no money. She finally told me what was happening and I took her to the hospital after buying temp insurance.

I started working full time, and am going to school full time. It took ten thousand dollars over the course of a month for doctors to diagnose her with IBC. Surgery couldn’t be done because the tumor was too big. She went through chemo, two surgeries and radiation and all through this she knew she would make it. July 30th 2007 was her appt to begin reconstruction, but a month ago they found a spot on her legs which lead to multiple MRI's. A week ago her doctor called us in and told us her cancer had spread to her brain and lungs...and she has six months or less to live. She is on steroids, going through radiation as well.

She is all the family I have. Her family, no matter how cruel or that some of them didn’t speak for 10+ yrs but when they heard the news, most of them cried. For once in the 20 yrs that I have been alive, this family is emotionally alive and real. My mom tells me that she isn’t ready to die, she says "when I hated life and wanted to die, death never came. Now when I want to go to school and finish my degree, buy my first house, see you grow up, married and play with my grandkids.. now that I love life, death is here."

I have faith, that she might just come out of this okay...so if by Oct 20th, she is still here, please find it in your heart to make her life a little brighter. She is my world, and if I must let her go, I want these six months to be the happiest of her life.

Sacramento, California

Bert's Story from North Carolina

I just turned 41 a few days ago. I lost my Mom on February 22, 2007 after a long fight with breast cancer. My mom was diagnosed at age 73, she had a mastectomy and then a recurrence 8 months later and after 2+ years of chemo she lost her battle with breast cancer. She left behind a multitude of family and friends who loved her dearly. I am writing to tell you the story of a dear niece she left behind.

Vertrice, Bert, is a very caring 50 year old woman. She loved my mom dearly. She and her kids and grandkids referred to her as Nanny. Bert is a single Mom of three. Two of her children are adults but her baby, Sarah, is 14 and has cerebral palsy. Sarah is high functioning but will probably never be self supportive or be able to live entirely on her own. Bert cared for my Mom endlessly. She moved into my Mom's neighborhood, cooked meals and cleaned for her during her illness. She visited every day and was never too tired to step in and do whatever needed to be done.

Two weeks before my mom passed, Bert found a lump in her breast. She immediately went to the doctor, had a mammogram and soon found herself in the hospital recovering from a mastectomy. The reports are good, but she needs to go through extensive chemotherapy. She is keeping a positive attitude, does not ask for help but she is in need. She works as a cafeteria manager at a local middle school and is out of work for 3 months during the summer. She usually saves to cover her expenses during this time.

Unfortunately, this year she got the cancer and this has taken all of her money. She has health insurance but the co-pays for visits and prescriptions are costly. She lives every day to the fullest and does not ask for anything but I know she and Sarah are suffering.

Sarah is a typical teenager, she tries to be understanding but it is hard for her to understand why they do not have money to do things or why her Mom may not even have the energy to go to McDonalds, much less take a vacation. I will end this letter now but this is a story of a working American, who has no extra, but is just above the level to seek public assistance. Even though Bert's doctors are optimistic I know that my Mom's situation is always on her mind. To be told that you are totally cancer free and then to die within three years from cancer is not real reassuring. I know her worries are not for herself but for her daughter, Sarah, who needs her to be healthy to care for her.

Raeford, North Carolina

Lisa's Story from Ohio

A few months ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a mastectomy. I was fully aware of how important it was to get annual mammograms because of my family history, and because I am a nurse. I found my lump by accident and it had been one year since my last mammogram.

I tried to convince myself that it was really an imaginary lump. I went in for my biopsy, and I thank God that I had a friend with me. My husband was away that week, and would not be back in town until that evening. Initially my head just spun and I was in tears when I was told the diagnosis. I could not believe it. However, the doctors and staff and my husband and friends have been incredibly supportive and I am so lucky. Although I am going through chemo and some days it is not easy, I am doing well overall.

If I am awarded the prize of $10,000, I do not want to keep it. I would like to have it donated to a non-profit women’s health foundation I started a few years ago. Although I work all day in a hospital, I spend my free time as the volunteer Executive Director of The Women’s Sexual Health Foundation (www.TWSHF.org). The Foundation’s mission is to educate women and healthcare providers on medical conditions that may impact a woman’s sexual well being, health and intimacy.

Since my diagnosis, I have personally come face to face with the fact that women with breast cancer may be able to obtain good medical care for their condition, but chemo and all of the subsequent medications, along with the surgery can impact a woman’s intimacy with her husband. Women hesitate raising this issue with their doctors and doctors often do not address these concerns. The money would be used to further educate women and healthcare providers on a topic that is a health issue and women desperately want help with. The e-mails we receive from women express devastation and a loss that only they can describe. It is a deep sadness, and as one woman has stated, it was as if she had a hole in her heart. Her sadness was that great. I believe no woman should ever have to suffer such a loss. With the award we can be minimize this sadness and patch the hole in their hearts.

Cincinnati, Ohio

Shannon's Story from New Hampshire

My name is Shannon. I am a 28 year-old living with breast cancer. The long and short of it is that I was diagnosed on 8/31/06, and I underwent many surgeries after finding out I had the gene mutation for breast cancer.

We thought I'd be cancer free- I had some chest pain after my last reconstructive surgery 5/01/07 - which shed light on the fact that breast cancer had made its way to my lungs. I am going to Boston in two weeks to talk to them about a new chemo regiment. I am so VERY anxious to get it going!

I have continued to be strong and positive and found it most important to LAUGH! I am a firm believer in positive thinking and that laughter can be the best medicine!

My story is in GREAT detail on www.breastcancerstories.com/Under 30/Shannon, I encourage any and all to read. It has been a great site for me to release... but to also keep friends, family, doctors, nurses, co-workers and customers- up to date on my progress. People have told me its made them cry... and made them laugh...I prefer the latter!

I have been through so much in the past not even a year, and have been told I've touched so many people, though THEY are the ones that have touched me with their thoughts, prayers, hugs and smiles. I am strong for not only me- but for them and my most wonderful husband Todd.

I too will continue to spread awareness to help with prevention, support and most of all- to let people know that this isn't the end! Last October- one month after my diagnosis and five days after my first chemo treatment- I comprised a team of over 30 for the Making Strides for Breast Cancer walk in Nashua NH. Our team raised over $3,600 in the short period of time. I could not have been more proud! I wasn't able to walk, but my husband pushed me in a wheel chair. This year I will walk it strong, and we will raise even more - for a cause that I hold so dear to me! Again, thank you for this opportunity!!

Milford, New Hampshire

Wendy's Story from Maine

My name is Wendy, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer December of 2003. I started http://www.breastcancerstories.com/wmccoole so I could share my journey with friends and family and not bombard them with email updates all the time.

It all began when I found a lump just two weeks after a self-breast exam and just five days after my OBGYN check-up. Bizzare. My doctor suggested I wait a few weeks to see if it went away after my menstrual cycle, but it didn't. On Tuesday 12/2 I had an ultrasound, on Friday, 12/5 they said it was "suspicious" but likely benign, on Monday 12/8 I saw a surgeon and on Wednesday 12/10 I was in surgery to have the lump removed. That Friday they called to tell me it was cancer - ductal carcinoma, the most common kind - and the following Tuesday I was back in surgery to do a complete lumpectomy. I was absolutely wiped.

Because my Mom had BC three times and her sister had it once, they suggested I test for the cancer gene. Talk about anxious waiting! After just over a week we got the results back and I do NOT carry the gene (THANK GOD) so we started to prepare for treatments. Part of my testing showed I was positive for the HER2 protein, meaning my cells grow quickly, and since I am also in a pre-menopausal state, they suggested chemotherapy, followed by radiation.

What I can't say enough is how incredibly blessed I am to have the best family and friends in the world! I've received cards, flowers, gifts and so much love, support and prayers. Between that and my continuing to remain positive, I know I am going to be just fine.

Eliot, Maine