I Have Cancer. I Want To Live.
The True Story of an Unlikely Outcome with Honest and Practical Suggestions for Those Who Want to Be Supportive
by
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May 1, 2004, my husband and I were enjoying an engagement party for a friend’s daughter, and I recognized - my life is good. My younger daughter, Grace, was finishing her first year at the College of Charleston having just competed in the Miss Teen USA Contest, my older daughter, Meredith having been graduated first in her accounting class at Ole Miss, was enjoying her work in Lexington, KY, at a major accounting firm. My husband was engaged in a successful law practice and my work as a Speech-Language Pathologist was in full swing. I had just received an ‘all clear’ annual medical examination in Memphis, and had adjusted to actually enjoying the ‘empty nest’ with its opportunities to enjoy my many blessings. Life is good. I am 50 and in certified good health. Soon there will be weddings – and grandchildren, and a little slower pace that comes with getting older, so that we can enjoy living each day. Yes, life is good.
May 1, 2004, (evening) I noticed a sore lump in my left breast- wonder what that is? Can’t be much. I had just had a mammogram and my annual physical a week ago and been assured I was healthy, but I know I need to get it checked out.
May 4, 2004: CANCER! I HAVE CANCER! There are three ‘multi-centric’ tumors in my breast. ‘Inflammatory ductile carcinoma’, I am told. My life has just been completely changed. How bad is it? What do I do next. I am scared. I want my ‘good’ life back, the one with the weddings and grandchildren and vacations with my husband.
May 14, 2014: I am at the best cancer treatment hospital in the world and have just been told the cancer has spread to my liver. I have metastatic invasive ductile carcinoma …….and no future.
GOD, PLEASE…………….I WANT TO LIVE!!!!!
January 21st, 2014 – I have been slow dancing with ‘NED’ (no evidence of any disease) for almost ten years and am filled with GRATITUDE, and wonder, at how I have been blessed. The journey has not been easy, but I realize that through my journey, my Creator has blessed me and my family in ways no one could imagine. I realize that I now am given the opportunity on a daily basis to share hope to those battling the demons of cancer, and I have a duty and a desire to share HOPE OF LIFE with those who need……hope.
I AM ALIVE……….and love to DANCE!
Scripture reference to Christ who lives with
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About the Book
When one family member has cancer, the whole family has cancer.
This is not just another story of a family’s victory over cancer. The intent of the author sharing her story is to give practical suggestions to patients and their family and friends on how to help. Returning home from successful treatment in 2005, Darlene consistently receives calls, emails, and visits from people who are newly diagnosed and from the patient’s family and friends who want to know how to help their loved one. They ask her: What can I do? What should I say?
Included are suggestions for the patient on how to battle not only the disease but also the onslaught of fear and anxiety that accompanies a diagnosis such as cancer. Although every case of cancer is unique and each family is different, Darlene has found that there are some universal dos and don’ts for those who find themselves in this battle:
- Motivate yourself for the fight.
- Create ways others may join in.
- Learn how to encourage and help those battling cancer.
About the Author
Darlene Gore is a speech-language pathologist who was told at age fifty that she had stage IV breast cancer and would likely not see her daughters graduate college or marry—nor would she meet her grandchildren. Ten years later, Darlene has no evidence of disease (NED) and lives in Grenada, Mississippi, with her husband, enjoying four grandchildren and her new business ventures.
Meredith Gore Warf is currently a physical therapist in Jackson, Mississippi, where she works in sports rehabilitation. She is wife to Bruce and mom to Silas and Avery, their three-year-old twins. Not a day goes by that she isn’t thankful for her mom’s journey and example of a life worth living.