16 minute read
My Cancer Story
Written by: Kelly Morin
Hi my name is Kelly I was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 26th, 2018. I am passionate about sharing my story as there is little to no awareness about Pregnancy Associated Breast Cancer. 1 in 3,000 Moms are diagnosed every year but yet there is little to no awareness. Please read my story and spread awareness
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At the time my son was only 8 months old and my daughter 2 1/2 years old. I was working per diem 2nd shift as a nurse and a stay at home Mom during the day. I was healthy, happy and overall feeling great! I had just stopped breastfeeding my son when I noticed a few small lumps on my right breast. I figured I would give it a little time. 1 1/2 months went by and they were still there. I made an appointment with my PCP as I was starting to become concer ned. My PCP said “it is most likely a cyst or build up of milk but let’s get an ultrasound to be sure”. I had an ultrasound that looked suspicious and a few days later had a biopsy done. I received "the call" on Monday, April 16th mid-mor ning. The Doctor said "I am so sor ry Kelly but your biopsy came back positive for breast cancer". I responded "oh my god" and my hear t started pounding out of my chest. He started talking about the type of cancer and upcoming imaging, so I took a pen and paper out to write notes. I started crying and he said "Kelly you won't remember most of this conversation, call me back a little later". I remember hanging up the phone and sobbing uncontrollably. No one is ever prepared to hear those words. My husband came home first and he held me tight. Shor tly after my Mom, Dad and Mother-in-law. Hours went by and I was numb. So numb. Days went by and things started happening quickly. Ultrasounds, MRI, Mammogram, Lymph node biopsy, and meetings. Once all imaging was complete I had a meeting with my breast surgeon on Thursday, April 26th to discuss treatment.
She made it clear this was a large tumor, 7cm to be exact and that I have invasive ductal carcinoma, right breast only, stage 3, HER2 negative, estrogen and progesterone positive. She explained that due to the size of the tumor and being close to my chest wall we needed to start chemotherapy as soon as possible to try and shrink it prior to surgery. After 5 long months of chemo, a double mastectomy and 5 1/2 weeks of radiation I am finally done all breast cancer treatment and living “life after cancer”. Remission life feels great and I am so blessed and thankful for this second chance of life. The world is my canvas :)
Here is a pretty picture, because healing isn't always pretty, and sometimes the healing hurts more than the wound. I know you're worth it, and I'm here for you!
Laurinda Andujar Transformational Speaker/Coach, Certified John Maxwell Speaker Certified Grief Recovery Specialist Author Available for events Keynote Speaker Event Moderator Workshop Facilitor Guest Speaker Discounted Grief Recovery Sessions for 501c3 organizations and youth
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Born & Raised Washingtonian HS graduate of McKinley Tech class of ‘94 Strayer University Business Management with Concentration in Human Resources 2015 .Program Manager by Day .Concierge Service by Night .Entrepreneur Always on the Grind .CEO|Owner of Vision P. O. P. Designs est 3.2020 Purposeful|Organized|Personalized .Teacher of Crafting Class (Bling, Cricuit, Notebook & other Class)
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LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. BELIEVE IN YOUR STRENGTH!
Surviving, its very definition is to stay alive. This sometimes sounds pretty straight forward and easy to achieve, just eat drink sleep and repeat right? Well unfor tunately no, it’s not that simple as for some of us out there its our destiny to work hard to ear n our survival. Challenges are brought forward to us and we must comply, we must fight and as we do a whole lot of strength and inner powers, we never really knew we had or were capable of star t to shine through and we concur.
One survivor and absolute inspiration is Stacee, a mother of 5 from Atlanta Georgia USA, Stacee’s challenge for survival has been that of battling against her own body whilst the disease Leukemia threatened her life. In 2003 Stacee was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia and even though she did not know the signs at the time, she
says she knew her body was out of sor ts as she was unordinary tired all the time and her breathing became more and more laboured. But it wasn’t until Stacee discovered she needed her wisdom to be extracted that her health would reveal what was really going on. After Stacee had her wisdom teeth removed the site would not close up (heal). She was eventually rushed to the hospital and that is where they discovered the terminal diagnoses and informed Stacee of the distressing reason behind her gums not healing. The doctor gave the prognosis of Stacee only making it another 6 weeks before she would sadly pass to the disease Leukemia over took her body and killed her. as she processed this information, she felt weaker and felt she had no fight left, she did not see a way out and was ready to just accept such fate delivered to her by medical professionals.
Much loved by her children and family, they gathered around Stacee, encouraging her to fight, they refused to allow her to leave them and invoked something within that redirect Stacee to acknowledge her inner strength to fight, and fight hard! Simply giving up was not an option. Without such a suppor t system no one will ever know if Stacee’s outcome would have been the same, everyday she is thankful for them and not only being to survive the 6-week deadline but go on to survive a further 15 years and counting.
15 years on and being cancer free Stacee now very Intune with her body and its functions she says how her body began “speaking” to her again. The worst fear for someone in remission – a recurring diagnosis. A day after her 48th bir thday while visiting her eldest son in Minnesota Stacee received her 2nd diagnosis of Leukemia.
All those old memories of the battle she had already endured flooded in crippling her with reminiscing on all the mental and physical feelings she once faced all those years ago, she was meant to be free of this disease but here she was again and she knew exactly what was happening.
Again, Stacee was terrified, thinking she probably won’t make it this time, that she had pushed her luck and the disease had come back to take her away as firstly intended, Stacee stayed in the Minnesota hospital five months with great uncer tainty in her hear t, waiting for a life-saving bone marrow transplant. She was unable to work and so had lost her job, she was miles away from her
home and everything she was familiar with. As time passed, Stacee reflected on her situation, she began to dig deep within her mind and spirit, she was reminded that she was put on this earth to fulfil a purpose, and in that moment, something shifted, her health improved and she was able to return home to Atlanta and star t treatment.
The whole journey awakened the need within Stacee to redirect focus. She began thinking “How can I take the focus from me a little, and do something for someone else?” The nurses would come in and seem stressed, so Stacee started to encourage them, by telling them how much she appreciates them. Getting emerged into the social online world of Facebook, utilising the platform and gaining live audiences that fast became Stacee’s ‘fan base’ and in turn, friends. She quickly realized that people genuinely cared and really wanted to track her progress. She began daily blogs that began to lift her moods, feeling she had purpose and it pushed her to reach out to inspire and motivate others to take on a positive attitude about whatever they may be facing in life. This was a significant moment and major turning point in Stacee’s journey. This was her purpose! This is what she was here to do. Be the light for others. To understand and guide them.
As Stacee was doing her treatment a hospital worker came into Stacee’s room one day and said, “You glow!” she saw within Stacee that her spirit had perked up and was beginning to shine through despite her physically unwell appearance. This greatly encouraged Stacee to keep pushing even further. To keep fighting against leukemia to stop it ravaging her body. Stacee adopted many methods to heal such as Mindful Meditation, lear ning to do intentional breathwork, and staying in her
present moment and how to remove those negative thoughts and vibrations. While waiting for her transplant, she began sharing what she had lear nt and taught others, then took that step even further and became a certified meditation coach. Doing so changed her entire life! She wanted to live! It was exciting awaiting to see what was next in her journey. Unfortunately, finding a bone marrow transplant donor on the registry for an African American person is only 4%. So Stacee had to rely on her family for a Donation as my wait was nearing an end either way. My family was tested and my middle son was found to be the closest match. I had my transplant February 1, 2019.
Stacee’s family is tough, and they have been through so many battles alongside Stacee and independently, This leukemia one. This was the toughest. This one was life altering. It was clear that all involved understood the assignment by knowing “together ness is strength”. Surely, they all had moments of uncer tainty, but they never let on or allow Stacee to see it, rather they helped push her through where she needed to go. They rotated like a roster, giving each other a break and allowing all to continue to give and suppor t. Most critical was the acts of getting Stacee to all her appointments, the affect was great but the result even greater and such a beautiful selfless gift. A family united and not allowing the impact of such a traumatic experience weaken their strength.
This year Stacee turned 52 and her health is very stable and absolutely smashing goals in survival after her transplant and building herself back up, Stacee started an LLC called Auranj (pronounced as Orange). The colour orange represents the colour for Leukemia awareness and also represents the second chakra (energy centres) which promotes creativity and emotional wellbeing. Stacee now Mentors Cancer survivors and warriors by promoting positivity and teaching them the impor tance of affirmations, prayer, and meditation. they have a line of essential carrot oil that helps cancer patients and others who may be dealing with dry skin because of chemotherapy and radiation, also eczema symptoms. Auranj also have an array of positivity t-shir ts and so much more! Stacee claims this is the path she was meant to be on and will never ever stop suppor ting for survivors and telling her story of victory against Leukemia! Stacee acknowledges that she was given multiple chances to redirect her path to its intended destination and provide
to others, she refuses to let her past dictate and only sees a bright future no matter what may be install! Wow! what and inspiration!
Sharing her journey is impor tant, simply because it gives her an oppor tunity to inspire and encourage others who may be going through a cancer struggle or any test in life. To be able to give others hope by allowing them to see that it isn’t over until it is over. Stacee wants people to understand that having a positive attitude will help them see life with a different lens and if she can survive, they can too. Its all about mind set and wiliness to participate in a positive existence over a negative one. For anyone battling cancer Stacee want you to know that To be perfectly honest, cancer of any type is not easy. So please never be hard on yourself. You may experience so many emotions but allow yourself to feel, but do not stay in that place. Know that you are amazing and the attitude in which we have is a great part of your strength and healing. believe in you! Because she many more people in the world do! To any readers wanting to connect with Stacee you can do so via the following Instagram: @staceegigisturgis and @auranjllc Facebook: "auranj llc official
"HAVE A POSITIVE OUTLOOK.... IT WORKS!"
Infinity and Beyond
Writ ten by: Tonya Clover
Iam not sure where to begin so I will begin with my mother. She was in foster care when she gave bir th to me. She was a survivor of sexual and child abuse. She died giving bir th to me at 17 years old. She had a hole in hear t from a bir th defect and needed a blood transfusion and was given the wrong blood type 6 days after I was bor n.
I put into the system automatically. The first memory of abuse for me was around 2 or so I was in diapers and from there I fought off child abuse and incest from foster parents then adoptive parents till I ran away at 15.
Like so many that have been abused as children that end up with abusive partners I feel victim to this partner as well. There is but one night that stands out in my mind that reminds me when times get bad I am a survivor. I came in the house to find the lights out I flicked them in off but they wouldn’t come on. I stepped on glass. I looked up to see the bulbs out and then the battle began. I was hit from behind and all over the living room dining room and kitchen stagetigicly weapons were placed to injure me. Knives, broken glass to cut me, pillows to smother me, ropes to choke me, drag me along the floor, hammers to hit me.. my new husband had gone way to far beyond shoving, pushing and hitting he had snapped. I never saw this coming to the point of killing me, this was a very violent side he never showed me to this extent so far. I was in a fight for my life all night long. At one point I played dead from him smothering. At some point he left the house never to return. It is by the grace God I made it out alive that night. To this day I still think how well planned everything was on planning my attack but God had a plan that was greater. I am Tonya I am a Survivor of Domestic Violence.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Written by: Tonya Vernon
Being a case manager for Dart, the statistics show that the first seventy-two hours of the domestic situation your life is in danger. An average of twenty-four people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner. In the United States- more than twelve million women and men over the coarse of a single year. 1 in 4 women (24.3%) and 1 in 7 men (13.8%) aged 18 and older have been the victims of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year. From 1994 to 2010 approximately 4 in 5 victims of intimate partner violence were females. Some victims take the abuser back at least 7 times before actually leaving. Here are some things you can do when in a domestic violence situation. If you have kids teach them to call 911 whenever a situation happens. When a police comes out make sure you get a business card. When the abuser is gone try to do a safety plan by hiding things like social security cards, bir th certificates and clothes in a safe place. Please let a family or friend know what's going on.
If you are experiencing, see or know of domestic violence contact 911 or a hotline immediately! Most women are afraid of starting over or being alone. Never feel this way because we are special to the God we serve. Most people think it's just women who find themselves in violent situations but it's men also. Here are some more things that will help you get through. Go to Candle Light vigil events and attend weekly domestic violence meetings. This is just a suggestion of mine for avoiding fatal situations. Never date or marry anyone that calls you out of your name or puts down your dreams in the early stage of your relationship. That’s a red flag. If in the beginning it starts off as emotional abuse it usually ends in physical abuse. Emotional abuse is equally as bad as physical abuse. This goes for women and men. When the abuser starts to abuse you in any form remember he is seeking to control you. The best advice I can give you is to get out while you can. If you don't have family or a friends, you can call Dart and they will contact and transfer you to your local safe house.
