Jennifer’s Story (Breast Cancer)

This is photo is of myself, my beautiful mother, and my son, “nana’s little boogs.” My mom is currently fighting her second battle with breast cancer. She is 49 years young, a woman of strong faith, and an amazing daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend.

It had been 16 years, last year, since my mom was considered “cancer free,” when a call that will haunt me forever gave us the news that she had cancer once again. I have since then gone through every emotion known to man. I have been sad, angry, sorry, and most of all, scared. One thing I know that I will always have inside me is the awareness that my mom is a fighter like none I have ever met. She is my hero. She has more strength than an army of men. In fact, I’ve never met anyone as strong. I have seen her collapse on the floor, unable to get up from the news that once again broke our hearts. But I have also seen her get up, dust herself off, and shine like NEVER before. She doesn’t let stupid cancer bring her down one bit. Her faith in Jesus Christ is as strong and inspirational as ever. She glows like I have never seen her glow before. She is wearing this with more pride than I can fathom. I admire her courage to go through chemo and radiation once again, not only for herself, but for the ability to care for my youngest brother who is autistic, for my dad who loves her and whom she loves dearly, for me and my other two brothers, and for her grandchildren who love her more than anything in the world and who were placed in her life exactly when they were for this exact reason–to keep a smile on her face, even in the hardest of times.

Right now, my mom is in a hotel in Chicago, Illinois, after enduring her third chemo treatment today. WOO, only one more to go, but the battle is not over, and sometimes, that scares me the most. If ever my mom has taught me anything without even speaking though, it is to really treasure every moment and every memory. It really might be your last. Don’t look at it as a gloomy thing, but see your glass as half full, even through the tears and the fear that takes my breath away at times. Even though there are days I’m so scared that I cry the whole day and beg God not to take my momma, deep inside my heart, I know that if he so chooses to do that, I have captured some of those amazing moments recently. I know that I will not regret a single one of them. I know that I will teach my son about what an amazing woman she was and pray that I can instill her values in him. I will also know that we did not spend any of these days wallowing in misery. My mom is survivor of MANY, MANY things. She is proof that there are miracles and good people left in this world. I have so much faith in her and in her faith that some days it seems like there isn’t a thing wrong with my mom, and some days we are reminded that this cancer is an ugly, disgusting thing.

My mom fights like a girl and shines while she is doing so, and until the end of our time together, whenever God chooses that to be, I will stand beside her and fight as well. Keep our family in your prayers 🙂 and fight on, all you co-fighters. May Jesus be with you and yours as well.

Jennifer
Illinois
Submitted 02/19/2016

This story is intended to convey a personal experience and, because every person’s experience is unique, should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional healthcare advice.