This is the true story of my aunt Magda Batista's battle against breast cancer. As a lupus patient I know how hard battling an illness can be. Magda inspires me to fight my battle with illness everyday with my head held high. Here's hoping her words inspire a fight within you... "Ms. Batista; you have breast cancer." After the shock, my first thoughts were, "Why me? I don't smoke or drink!" I had always figured that if I did the right thing, lived the right way that I would escape such horrors. I started to fear death, horrified that I would leave my son without a mother. However, all was not lost. My family, friends, and faith kept me going when I thought I didn't have the strength. I began to see life in a different shade of light, even though the doctors didn't tell me what I wanted to hear I began to change for the better. I started to feel good about myself, and learned one should never take life for granted. I discovered that people living with illness don't … [Read more...]