At age 45, I have battled cancer 4 times. My story with cancer began when I was 17 years old after a trip to the ER because I had the worst tummy ache of my life. I had to be put through numerous tests that showed something I would later learn was known as a childhood form of a kidney cancer called a Wilm’s Tumor. I thought I was only going into surgery to have my kidney removed because it wasn’t working anymore without knowing why that had happened. After coming out of intensive care, one day in my room when I was alone, I asked a nurse if they found out what was wrong with my kidney - only to be told that I had cancer. She asked me if anybody had told me? I said NO! It didn’t really sink in that "I HAD CANCER" until I was being taken directly from that hospital to John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where I lived at the time, to begin chemo. It was then that I realized it was indeed for real! It was very hard to go through as a teen, losing my hair, feeling so … [Read more...]
