One reason I kept a written record of my cancer journey was so I could maybe share my experience and encourage someone as a result.
Recently I had a call from my sister-in-law Lori. A features writer from the Cortland Standard was wanting to do a feature on the topic of hope as it relates to cancer survivors. She asked Lori if she knew anyone who might be willing to be interviewed. So, Lori called me to ask me if I would consider doing this. I said that I was willing. Although it's not me to be so public, I thought that this would be a good thing for me to do. I had often wished that one of my friends had been more open in her dealing with cancer -- she ended up passing away before I started my battle.
Not too many days later, I received a call from Katie Keyser, the woman doing this feature. We set up a time for her to come interview me and take some pictures.
One thing I wanted to be sure to do was to give credit to God for His enabling me to get through my cancer battle as well as I did. No guarantees, I know, as to what Mrs. Keyser would write afterwards; but at least she would hear about how God gave me peace and kept me from worry. Actually, that was something that caught her attention. I had printed off the blog entry in which I had written many verses that I remembered and that were shared with me. They were verses I had on index cards for ready reference On the sheet I had printed, i had put a red circle beside ones that had been especially meaningful to me. At the end, I asked her if she would be interested in taking that copy. She had mentioned how she struggled with worry and fear, and so I saw this as an opportunity to give her something to reflect on later.
I had pulled out my box with my cards, notes, and other items from that year. The box was one of those fancy ones that Gary and Marilyn had sent me with some treats in it. The front of it had the Serenity Prayer on it, which Mrs. Keyser noticed. So, I connected that to what we had been talking about peace . . . about fear . . . about worry.
Things in my box she found interesting -- and took pictures of -- were some of the notes/cards my second graders had made for me. There also was a Bible study book written by a woman who had had breast cancer to encourage other women who had it. There was a bracelet with the breast cancer symbol on it that my friend had sent, along with the book. She took pictures of me as well.
I think the article, which will feature one other woman, will be out in early October. October is "Breast Cancer Awareness Month." It will be interesting to see what makes it into the article.
